We Like It Raw - Raw Food Goodness

Women at Work: Chef Meredith Baird brings raw food to the movies

Napa, California is known for its wine, scenery and deep appreciation of culture. Now, thanks to Chef Meredith Baird, it's also known for having raw food present at the big screen.

Meredith Baird, founder of Love N.U.D.E. Food and featured Chef of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival, has been given the fantastic opportunity to share her raw snacks with the movie-goers at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, (15 minutes North of Napa).

Meredith setup a special raw menu just for film buffs that includes crispy, spiced pumpkin and sunflower seeds along with a seasonal selection of gourmet sweets. And, from what we hear, Mr. Pibb and Red Vines have nothing on N.U.D.E.

Many people who consider themselves healthy find themselves attached to their traditional movie fare. And it's not that they enjoy the disgusting food, they just feel they don't have options. Those that stick to their dietary standards are forced to come to the movies empty handed or smuggle in kale salads under their hoodies, (been there, done that). N.U.D.E. is providing some great options here and we personally hope that this trend will catch.

Meredith hopes so too,

“I love going to the movies, but I am always so put off by the foods they have to offer. It’s scary when the popcorn is almost the “healthiest choice". Hopefully we will start seeing more alternative options at the movies, and right now I am so fortunate to be a small part of that change.” 

N.U.D.E Food snacks can be found at the concession stand and go for the following prices:

• Seasonal Cookies: $2 each or 3 for $5
• Spiced Pumpkin Seeds: $5 bag
• Garlic Sunflower Seeds: $5 bag

The theatre opens at noon for the matinee and closes after the 8 o'clock film. The stand is open during those hours.

Congratulations Meredith and keep up the fantastic work!

If you're in the Northern, California region and would like to attend one of Meredith's classes/potlucks, feel free to contact Meredith at lovenudefood [at] gmail.com

Related

• Love N.U.D.E. Food
• Meredith Baird on GI2MR

Ani's Raw Food Kitchen get's some big time love

Via: Raw Food Right Now

A few days ago, the second most popular blog in the world, Boing Boing, featured chef Ani Phyo and all the good stuff she's been up to. Can you say "sa-weeeeeet!"

"This month, Ani's first (un)cookbook was published. If you're not hip to the raw food scene, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen will surprise you with recipes that somehow seem very familiar even if you've never eaten them before."

Yes indeed! Last week we actually featured one of those recipes, Kreamy Curry Dressing, but now were writing about Ani again just to remind you how cool she is. And, if you move quick you just might have a chance to meet her at one of her local book signings.

Related

• Ani's Raw Food Kitchen on Amazon
• Ani's Recipes on YouTube
• Ani's Blog

Bay Area Kombucha

The first time I had Kombucha I took it down like a little kid takes down cherry flavored Robitussin®. I was not a huge fan, to say the least. However, while exploring the Bay Area earlier this month (with my WLIR squad), I came across a tasty Kombucha that gave you all the benefits of Kombucha, without the normal distinct, strong, vinegary taste that most Kombuchas beverages have.

The company's name is Kombucha Botanica and their product line comes in 3 tasty flavors: Pomegranate, Elderflower, & Ginger Tulsi, (my personal favorite was pomegranate).

Even if you've previously hated Komubuch with a passion, (like our WLIR Editor Dhrumil) I definitely recommend giving Kombucha Botanica's unique blend a try... you just might be surprised!

Note: Although Kombucha Botanica is still a relatively small shop, they can be found in quite a few locations around the Bay Area. Click continue reading to check out a list of their locations.

N.U.D.E. Food Classes & Wine Pairings in Napa

A few weeks ago, while Vinit and I were hanging out at Juicy Lucy's, we had the pleasure of meeting Meredith - a talented Raw Food Chef and WLIR reader. Meredith's young and hip energy totally lit up the room. It was clearly evident that this young lady had a passion for great food and that she was out to make raw exciting!

Meredith mentioned that she had a few raw food preperation classes coming up in the Napa Valley and immediatly I knew this was something our readers would be interested in attending. If you are from the Bay Area/North Cali and love raw food, we highly recommend you checking her classes out.

N.U.D.E. Food - Raw Food Classes and Wine Pairings in the Napa Valley.

For a Naturally Unique Dining Experience...Starting in November, certified Raw Food Chef and Instructor Meredith Baird will be hosting raw food classes and wine pairings in the Napa Valley. The classes for Nov. will be one day and will include lunch with an amazing selection of wines to go along with each dish. Each participant will go home with a recipe packet, some raw goodies and more knowledge about raw food and wine!

Dates: November 11th, 12th and 15th
Time: 10am to 3pm
Price: $400 and $350 (without pairing)

For more information contact Meredith: mertb33@aol.com - (843) 813-3158

Related

• G Living: Drinking & Buying Organic Wines

SF's Small Wonder: Jucy Lucy's

Juicy Lucy's, San Francisco's all organic juice bar and cafe, is one of the Bay Area's best juice bar. Many locals have been familiar with the cafe and owner Lisa Bach (shown above) for close to a decade now, but the WLIR squad has only recently become familiar with this small wonder. Although they are better known for their juices and healing elixirs, Juicy Lucy's also servers vegan and raw vegan dishes as well.

While Juicy Lucy's does have a warm atmosphere, a slow food preparation style, and a very knowledgeable staff, one common challenge that newbies have is that all the juices and smoothies are served a room temperature. We here at WLIR tend to prefer our juice cold, but as one reviewer said:

"Smoothies, just like wine and everything else, are more flavorful at room temperature than they are cold. This is why Germans often drink their beer warm. Sometimes tradition can get in the way of progressing your pallette. Get over it."

So if you can get over it, know that Juicy Lucy's comes highly recommended from the boys that love to give it to you raw.

Juicy Lucy's (map)
703 Columbus Ave
San Francisco, CA
Phone: 415-786-1285
Hours: Varied throughout the year, please call

RAWvolution Reader Review

Mamta Jain, our good friend and fellow globe trotter, sends us her reader review of Matt Amsden's RAWvolution book signing and food tasting hosted at Santa Monica's Euphoria Loves RAWvolution.

Note: When reading emails like this you just can't help but to smile. Welcome to the world of raw food baby!

Hey Dhrumil,

Thanks for last week's posting on WLIR re: Matt Amsden's new book and "open house" event on Saturday. I took my boyfriend (a raw virgin) and we had an absolutely savory meal. Thought you'd want to hear about our experience.

We started with the bok choy salad, a very crunchy and fresh salad. We also had the no-bean hummus --- Suman (my BF) la-la-la-la-loved the hummus and could not get over the fact that it was bean-free and 100% natural. We also tried two entrees -- the "Big Matt with Cheese" -- a non-traditional quarter-pounder slathered with cheese, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato, and onion in between 2 slices of onion bread. This really hit the spot. It was filling but not too heavy, very tasty and filled with yummy greens. Suman loved it so much he decided to try the "Sloppy Joe" -- a nut and veggie pate in a rich, sun-dried tomato marinara, layered over crisp lettuce and served between two pieces of onion bread. We enjoyed it, but it wasn't as tasty as the rest of the meal. I've never left a raw joint without trying desserts and since Saturday was such a beautiful day on Venice Beach, Suman and I splurged on three after-meal specials -- chocolate chip cookie dough, apple raisin cookie, and coconut walnut fudge. By far, my favorite was the cookie dough. It wasn't too sweet, and the texture did me in. It melted right on my tongue leaving just a little crunchy cacao to chew. Second place was the apple raisin cookie.

We also picked up a copy of Matt's book. It's a beautiful publication -- the pictures make you want to eat everything right off the pages! More importantly, though, it's filled with a variety of recipes for every part of food preparation including breakfast, lunch, dinner, salads, appetizers, dressings and sauces, desserts, juices, and smoothies. It's very user friendly too -- each recipe is assigned a number (1-3) that correlates with the ease of preparation. Most were either a 1 or 2. I asked Matt how many recipes require a dehydrator (which I don't own), he estimated between 10-15%.

Not only was the food amazing, the people who work their are extremely friendly. Kam is my new Punjabi friend who eats about 80% raw, he made excellent recommendations. Amita, a Hungarian woman who has been raw for 17 years (and has also been to Vipassana), told me about some of the key ingredients in many of Matt's recipes (Nama Shoyu, a non-pasteurized soy sauce that shows up in a lot of recipes). The location is amazing -- it's a very funky, hipster area of Santa Monica just one block east of the Pacific Ocean, which you have a decent view of from the restaurant windows.

Granted I don't have the most critical taste pallet, but we had a great experience at Euphoria and Suman is officially a believer :).

MJ

Related

• Mamta's Review of Karma Cuisine - Boulder, CO
  

Cali Raw Food Love

SF Weekly profiles Alive, San Fran's raw food hot spot famous for its deserts

Raw food restaurants usually get a bad rap for serving food that's artful but less than filling. An exception is Alive!

LAist highlights Leaf, Culver City's Organic Oasis famous for its smoothies

No matter which location you pick, Leaf is going to offer you just what it's eponymous name refers to: leaves, rather... leafy greens.

RAWvolution Event & Book Signing

Matt Amsden is throwing a party in Santa Monica, and you're invited! If you go, you might even see some raw celebs.

You Are invited to join in celebrating the arrival of Matt Amsden's newly released raw food recipe book entitled "RAWvolution gourmet living cuisine."

This will be an amazing all-day, open house event! 11am-9pm!

Saturday, July 15th at Euphoria Loves RAWvolution.

• Come check out this gorgeous new book!
• Meet the author and purchase a signed copy!
• Attend a free lecture and reading by Matt! (approx. 2pm)
• Hang out at the hippest raw spot in town!
• Enter to win "The Box" from RAWvolution & more!

The summertime raw event you don't want to miss!

Hosted at the Euphoria Headquarters
2301 Main Street Santa Monica,
CA 90405 310.392.9501

Related

• RAWvolution: Gourmet Shipped Meals
• Euphoria Loves RAWvolution: SoCal's Live Food Store
   

An urban Pa~Raw~Dise in San Fran

Bryan Au, raw food author and chef, has recently crossed off one important goal off of his list: Open one of the world's most eco, green and health conscious restaurants. Located just outside Union Square, Pa~Raw~Dise is just that and more. The restaurant features some of Bryan's famous Raw In Ten dishes as well as new dishes from Bryan's most recent experiments in the kitchen.

The WLIR squad has not been yet, but according to our good friend and raw food dabbler, Lisa Mehta, the Pa~Raw~Dise experience is quite amazing.

Pa~Raw~Dise | map
587 Post Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 346-8935

But wait, Bryan isn't stopping with just this successful restaurant, here's a little sneak peak, from Bryan, about more to come:

My PA~RAW~DISE 100% Raw Organic Cuisine Restaurant also finally opened on Union Square in San Francisco. I also want to open PA~RAW~DISE all around the World, would LOVE to open one in NYC. There are some SoHo locations that are available and Union Square as well, I was in NYC a few weeks ago scouting and meeting people.

Also my new DVD video is finally out, there is a sample of it on YouTube. It looks really cool and I will have a longer version of it in a few weeks, it also serves as my PBS TV Show Series and will be on many other TV shows too!

We wish Bryan all the best and will be sure to keep readers updated on his progress.

Related

• Bryan Au's Raw In Ten
• Bryan Au's Paw~Raw~Dise projects
• WLIR: Heard It Through The [Organic] Grapevine

Sol Food Experiences in Big Bear

I enjoy traveling, but like to maintain my raw-lifestyle as much as possible when out discovering the world. I must admit that I do occasionally partake in local cuisine, but it’s always nice to find a place to call “home”. I was recently in Big Bear, CA vacationing with my mom and fellow Sarano Kelley mentee member, Carly Baird. I love escaping the rough and tough streets of the O.C. for some fresh mountain air. Whether snowboarding in the winter or wakeboarding in the summer Big Bear has everything a true-to-heart naturalist could want, except raw-friendly food… until now. 

I had the great fortune to come across Sol Food Market. They carry wheat/gluten free foods, vegan food, dairy alternatives, raw foods, organic produce, baby food household products & more. If you stop in, make sure to talk to the owner Susie, and support her as she is starting to eat raw foods. Her goal is to start with one raw meal/day.

The best part about this trip was spending time with my mom. She’s been fighting a liver dis-ease for several years now. Before coming out to visit (She’s from Fort Smith, AR) she got her 6 month check-up and has fully recovered. Being around me she’s decided to try this “raw food diet”. I will give her some credit; she was macrobiotic some time before I was born. She went through a pretty heavy detox the first 2 days we were there, but the 3^rd day she awoke saying “WOW Gabe, I feel great. I feel light, I have all this energy”.

So anyways, it’s always nice to take an opportunity to connect with nature. I find the longer I am a “raw-foodist” the more I appreciate Mother Nature. It’s nice to know that when I escape to Big Bear, Susie and Sol Food have the goods to keep me nurtured.

- Gabe

Related

• Gabes Goodies: Morning-After Delight
• SoCal, SoRaw: Au Lac's Reviewed