We Like It Raw - Raw Food Goodness

My Way: Disa Jean-Pierre

This week's My Way feature comes to us from Los Angeles, California. Disa Jean-Pierre is an entrepreneur, community organizer and proud mother. She loves raising a conscious son, making green smoothies, taking the bus or her bike whenever possible, living the Tao, making time for yoga & pilates, the work of Eckhart Tolle and having the best day ever.... to name a few things.

I met Disa online a few years ago an immediately fell in love with her kind spirit and her dedication to bringing people together. Even though we have yet to meet in person, I feel like I've already learned so much from this compassionate soul, and I appreciate her friendship and willingness to join us for this feature.

I also appreciate Disa's "hustle". Recently she took her passion for health living further by going full time with her raw treats business. Disa creates some of the most amazingly delicious treats out there including Banana Cream Pie and her famous Mama's Loveroons. You can check out her Etsy page for more details.

And now, without further ado, the lovely Disa Jean-Pierre.

My Way: Disa Jean-Pierre

I approached Dhrumil to submit my own My Way as I approached a huge transition in my life.  I had just submitted my resignation to the office job that I had held onto for a little too long. That’s right Dhrumil didn’t approach me, I approached him.  Finally, this once shy little girl is ready to speak up for herself. In sharing my story I am paying tribute to this community.  This sexy group of people, who are all courageously moving forward to make changes in the way we all eat, think and live. In particular, Dhru and Philip have directly and indirectly stepped in as gurus and angels to guide me in my journey. 

Looking back I realize that the following is just a peek into the massive journey that I experienced this past week. By making a choice to start a 30 day juice feast as soon as I quit my job, I not only facing a huge career transition but also get to face a detox of body and mind.  I have had some of the most profoundly joyous and heart opening experiences in the past week.  I worked through tears and laughter, energy and fatigue, silence and noise. I can only imagine what more is to follow, but I am extremely grateful for the change to share the start of it with everyone.  

Friday

I awoke on my official first day of freedom. You might think it would be time to sleep in, relax and take things slow.  But this day turned out to be quite the opposite.  It’s time to get to the real work that I have been putting off.  So I drag myself out of bed, immediately head downstairs to fix my morning water with MSM and brew my mate.  I fell into this habit of brewing mate first thing in the morning, but don’t enjoy it till I’m out the door. It’s like my little prize for getting up and out.

With Mason jar of water and coffee mug of mate in hand I headed to downtown Los Angeles to pick up organic produce for my bulk buying club.  As I pull away from the wholesale mart I talk myself out of a trip to the irresistible raw food heaven, Erewhon.  I remember that it was too early for them to be open, and I need to get home and sort the produce for my group. The group is small, but so grateful.  They ended up getting about $48 worth of fresh organic produce for $25, and I sold out! I had planned on having a share to myself for juicing but thankfully I had it on hand and ready to give to a member that had mixed up her RSVP.  I felt fulfilled, but now had to figure out how soon I could find a farmer’s market. 

The day continues with me running around all of Orange County, delivering more produce, picking up payment for my macaroons aka “Mama’s Loveroons”, buying supplements for my juice feast and playing in the park with my son and some amazing friends.  It really was a busy day, so I took a nap with my son, and then awoke to find him passed out for the rest of the night.  Thanks to my live in babysitter, my mom, I was able to sneak out to the famous Au Lac, which is like my raw version of “Cheers”.  I was so happy to celebrate with my family (these people are really closer than family for me) and sharing chlorella tablets with my favorite raw toddler. The night ended it usually does lots of laughing, talking and planning with friends while sipping on the best custom elixir till 2 am and Ito trying to get us all to go to the midnight movies.  
 

Saturday

It’s Independence Day. I am feeling independent, and now the wave of emotions hits me.  Now that I have slowed down and don’t have anything to distract me all the fears and worries of being job-less are catching up with me. The only thing I have on my agenda is following through with the full juice feasting protocol.

So I start the day with MSM and water, enema, skin brushing, hot-cold shower, the works!  I was hesitant about the hot-cold shower, but I came out feeling amazing!  I pampered myself by making a huge smoothie of local citrus from coworker’s gardens and aloe vera from my backyard.  As the day progressed detox set in hard core.  I needed some rest and had some anxiety built up.  Not to mention my son seemed to still be going through his transitional period.  Any parent who had split custody knows how this is.  I am reminded of my whole motivation for going raw two years ago. I wanted to make sure I could keep up with my sons unending energy and enjoy life with him.  I update my Facebook status with: “Detoxing while son is still house transitioning, I am getting a lesson is this skilled art today”.

I managed to keep my head on and not fall asleep too early so my son could enjoy fireworks like all the other little kiddos.  We made it to a friend’s house shortly before dark and I was relieved to see him quickly entertain himself with some new friends while I got to catch up with some beloved friends.  I was proud and surprised as I helped out in the kitchen, peeling cabbage shells for raw tacos without any struggle to resist taking a bite of guacamole.  After a bumpy day we ended up having a sweet night. I spent some sweet catch up time with a partner I was blessed to spend four months in an amazing relationship with but has been on the road working the raw festivals and will be gone all summer. I carried my son to the car after he fell asleep outside under the stars.

Sunday

I had just signed up for a single parents Meetup group and we were supposed to have our first play date this morning.  But I had to flake out on my RSVP and go with the flow for the day.  I got an invite from my friend and another raw mama to enjoy some fun at the Long Beach Park Jam.  Ah yes, sounds perfect to me.  So I took care of my essentials, stocking up on the most amazing Fuji apples, raw apple juice, lemongrass, chard and a few other juicing staples at a local farmer’s markets.

I filled our cooler with two big jugs of green juice for me and some raw trail mix and farmer’s market fruit for Kaj. I find this cooler to be my new essential, right along with my purse. We picked up out friend Robin, who owns LoveSnax Inc., a new raw chocolate company, and we discussed how  we both blew off getting some business work done because was such an amazingly beautiful day to enjoy some DJ’s spinning hip hop and reggae in the park.  We all sat, talked, ate and drank (green juice). The kids played, the girls danced. It was an amazing time.  Several times during my time there keep thinking how that was just the vibe that I have wanted to be part of for so long.  It’s an eclectic mix of ethnicities, music, culture, ages and fashions all coming together with the intention of creating a one love community.  I found a place outside of the raw food restaurants and Meetups, where I feel completely at ease.  It was an answer in disguise.  By signing up for the single parent’s Meetup I was asking for something just like this. I just wanted an opportunity to show myself that I can be a raw foodie that really can hang in any type of social environment.  After the jam we got home relaxed, ready for bed and I was really enjoying not having the Sunday night anxiety of falling asleep and waking up to a “case of the Monday’s”.

Monday

What an amazing Monday. Today marked the day that I started assisting my close friend and old coworker through a raw detox.  I started her with an amazing green juice and a jug of alkaline water with MSM.  

My son was picked up by his papa and I quickly ran down to my local organic, raw, vegan  lover’s market, Mother’s.  I have been known to frequent this store twice in one day.  I sipped on a delicious green juice from their juice bar while shopping for my supplies.  Then quickly ran home to whip up some chard wraps with sunflower seed pate, guacamole, sweet corn and mango relish and chipotle cashew crème all before her lunch hour.  Being that I am juicing I try the taste and spit method to make sure it’s all delish. I know, not attractive.  I was pumped to see that my culinary creativity was flowing even more as a result of juice feasting.

After all was delivered and the kitchen was clean I felt like a nap was in order.  I quickly recharged after thirty minutes and awoke to a ringing phone.  A blocked caller, who I figure was my father.  He had been calling for the past few weeks but I was never in the right place to take the call.  Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right?  Just step aside and pick up the phone for a minute. Well, I have been waiting for this conversation for almost 21 years!  The house was quiet, I had nothing I needed to get to and I was refreshed and in a good place to handle this.  So I stepped into my tiny backyard and made the call. About 30 minutes later, I came back inside with one more thing to check off my wish list.  It was a beautiful and actually quite simple conversation.  I always thought it would be very emotional for me. Instead I was ready for it; it came at the perfect time in my life where I could process things on a whole different level.   With that I had confirmed again that I made the right decision in quitting my job.  Once I let go of something that was not inline with what I wanted for my life, all the pieces of the puzzle started falling right back into place. The rest of the day I continued to support myself by simply enjoying the quiet simplicity of the having some free time.  My old coworker sent me a text exclaiming how she now realized why I do what I do. Wow, that is a profound statement from someone who I have wanted to help for the past two years. 

I decided to finally get my Etsy page up and going while my official website is still in the works.  This Monday felt like no other.  I had just made progress in several areas of my life with such ease and grace. The day ended up being simple, sweet and refreshing, just like the watermelon mint cooler that I enjoyed during the heat of the day. It was a perfect start to my first week of doing it all My Way.

Disa Jean-Pierre is an entrepreneur, community organizer and proud mother based in Los Angeles, California.

You can follow Disa on Twitter or friend her up on Facebook / GI2MR.

My Way: Andrea Crossman

Is it Christmas already? Two My Way's in one week! You know how we do here at We Like It Raw. We just can't stop highlighting amazing peeps in the community who are both looking good and up to something special. And speaking of looking good and doing good....

This week's second My Way feature comes to us from the lovely Andrea Crossman, half of the two-member-soul-sisters-team responsible for Lovemore. The mission of Lovemore? Inspire the world to "let love be our guiding principle in every situation."

Andrea is based in Brooklyn, NY and to really get her you have to see a list of her favorite things: Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Buddhism, vegetarianism, peace, love, yoga, Bikram yoga, holistic health, guacamole, cocktails, campfires, hot springs, deliciously bad tv, books, google, the moon, the stars, waxing philosophical and being ridiculous.

Damn, you go girl...

Andrea was always into keeping fit and healthy, but only recently jumped into the world of raw foods. She'll tell us a little bit more about the motivation behind that jump, but it is safe to say she's been loving every minute of it. Now, let's here from Andrea how she does things her way!

My Way: Andrea Crossman

On June 1st I signed up to be a guinea pig for Penni Shelton’s Raw Foods Rehab, an 11-week experiment about raw foods and weight loss. Penni is writing a book on the subject so to test her theories she created Raw Food Rehab—RFR for short. This group was heaven sent. As the co-founder of a love-infused social entrepreneurship venture called Lovemore, I was deeply bothered when I began to realize that I was not in alignment with my own mantra, “love more,” in some fundamental ways. I had stopped the exercise I loved, put back on 40 pounds I was oh-so-proud to lose a few years ago, and my social life all but ground to a halt as I struggled with not feeling in my skin, or my spirit. It was in this place that I stumbled upon Penni’s open call for guinea pigs. This kind of serendipity is not to be ignored. This raw connection back to my soul was masterminded by the cosmos, of that I have no doubt. As of this moment, early morning on July 2nd, I have been raw for exactly 31 days, and the first 18 were spent in a juice feast. Here are my last four raw days, My Way.

Sunday

I got up at 1 pm. I wonder if I’m the first My Way’er who is a shameless night owl. I’ve always had the propensity for the second wind, but ever since my stint on the night shift as a labor and delivery nurse, I slip back into a late to bed, late to rise habit often. Today was the Smith Street Fun Fair in my neighborhood of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. As I got ready to head to the fair I decided if there was something I really wanted to eat, I would, even if it wasn’t raw. This felt a touch scandalous both because I hadn’t had anything un-raw since May and also because it was day 1 of this My Way. I checked out all the street fair food and was tempted by some vegetarian sandwiches from Mario Batali’s Po, and some others from Stinky Cheese, but not enough to take the plunge.

I checked out the non-food goings on as well. I talked with a guy who owns Brooklyn Tattoo as we want to create a tattoo inspired Lovemore t-shirt. I talked to some other artists and designers too and felt a kinship with them for the first time. I didn’t expect to make Lovemore connections today and it felt great.  

I wanted to stay out and enjoy being with the people so I went to Pacifico, a Mexican restaurant with great outdoor space. I did have a little cooked food: two tostones, and a handful of chips, both merely as guacamole delivery devices. I figured guacamole and a salad (hold the cojita cheese and croutons please) were the best near raw choices. 

I also ran into Brandy Barber at Pacifico, who I know because she co-produces Mortified, a show where people read their angst-ridden teenage diaries. I was in the Mortified in April of 2008 and it was without question one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Mortified’s other co-producer, Anne Altman contacted me about a week ago asking if I’d be free for a show in September. Oh yes I would!

Back home I took a nap and then had my favorite salad: baby romaine, shredded carrot, and avocado dressed with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I also had a few leftover raw stuffed mushrooms, and some freezer fudge from the Sarma Melngailis cookbook Raw Food, Real World.  

Around midnight my sister (best friend, business partner, neighbor) returned from a weekend trip to Seattle. I headed over to meet her for a late night walk and debrief of our respective weekends. Happy to have my sister back safe and sound I headed the 3 blocks back to my place and to bed. 

Monday

I had a restless night’s sleep and woke up at noon. I hopped on the scale and took my measurements like I’ve been doing every Monday for RFR. So far I’ve lost 19 pounds and a whole lot of inches, and I feel so much better. Something interesting about the past month is that I don’t want to eat until quite late in the day. Before my lunch I spent some time on calls with my sis and then made my first ever video for RFR. It was a little nerve wracking, which is funny as I was a professional trainer and public speaker for years, and still consider that my core competency, but it took a minute to get used to the lack of a live audience. Once I did, I loved having another way to connect with this community that has shown me so much humanity and love.

When I finally got around to eating I had a snacky assortment beginning with stuffed mushrooms and a few raw crackers with lemon-garlic-tahini sauce mixed with some leftover pesto. Still needing more veggies, I made a big bowl of broccoli, which I mixed with a more of the lemon-garlic-tahini sauce and nutritional yeast. This is one of my new favorites. I ended the meal with a nibble of freezer fudge.  

For dinner I had some nuts mixed with EVOO and spices. I then made hummus. Sorta. It wasn’t very hummus-y. It was zucchini and sunflower seed based and I dipped rounds of yellow squash into it. Then more chocolate.  Then a realization: I’m much more satisfied and ultimately eat less when I have something more traditionally meal-ish, even if it’s just a salad. This is going to be quite a process of figuring out what works best for me.

Late tonight Rawdawg Rory sent me a photo of him sporting a Lovemore t-shirt. We love to collect pics of folks wearing or using their Lovemore gear so we can to add to our flickr stream. Rory has been very supportive of my new raw journey and also of Lovemore. He is one of the connections I’ve made in this community that show me something special is going on here. He just created a new “Why Raw?” page on his site that is very helpful for newbies like me. I couldn’t have been more psyched when I saw his “after” picture. So cool!  

Tuesday

Ok, so I may have downplayed the final dose of chocolate I had Monday night. Holy. Cacao. Starting at about 2:30 am I had an anxiety attack like no other. By about 6:30 am, still wide-awake, with a pounding heart, and the inability to lie still, the light bulb went off. Crack-cao! Ohhhhh…noooooo… I finally slept for a few hours and when I woke up I felt what I described as “vomity.” (Please don’t tell my alma mater Columbia University School of Nursing about this word I’ve invented.) I wrote a long whiney rant on the RFR message boards that ended up creating some good comedy as our Raw Food Rehab community truly become REHAB. I simply couldn’t handle the hard stuff. I cancelled my evening plans, moaned about not being able to have my mommy or her homemade white toast, eventually got over it, and laughed at my raw rookie mistake.

In lieu of toast I made what I dubbed a Calm Belly Smoothie: Brazil nut milk, a pinch of salt, vanilla, dates, bananas, chia, pineapple, and nutmeg. It hit the spot, but not like mom’s white toast with butter would have. I’m not gonna lie. Sorry die-hards.

In the midst of cacao withdrawal, I followed up with Equinox about some trunk shows they want Lovemore to do in 4 of their NYC stores and strategized with Angela about an inquiry from a local Shakespeare group about Lovemore eco-tees for their organization. Synergy rocks. 

As the day came to a close I made plans with Dave, one of my oldest and best friends to meet tomorrow at the raw foods Mecca: Pure Food and Wine.

Wednesday

I got up late as per usual, fed my kitten (she is 9, but always a kitten to me) and packed food and sundries to head over to Angela’s.

Having grown weary of watching Angela eat pizza or bagel sandwiches, I decided to bring lunch to her place. Before we got down to business, I made us the raw vegan version of that Chinese chicken salad that was popular in the 90s. Remember? With the ramen noodles crushed on top? No ramen for us today. I used cabbage, shredded carrot, red onion (would have preferred scallions but was out), and dressed it with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave, and salt and pepper. Once it was all mixed up I sprinkled it with slivered almonds, which totally make the dish.

After lunch we checked in a delivery of new stock. We got to see our brand new reusable bags bearing our tag line, “be the love,” Lovemore’s riff on Gandhi’s “be the change you wish to see in the world.” I am thrilled with this new addition to our line of green living gear. Once all was unpacked we got to flip ‘n folding. It is amazing how as an entrepreneur you truly do everything. While we were flipping right, then left, then up, we talked about the possibility of being a vendor at the upcoming Raw Spirit Festival in DC. We need more information, but if Lovemore would be well received, we think it could be a really cool opportunity. We’ll see.

A few more random tasks and it was time for me to hustle home, get pretty, take my 30-day raw picture, and hop on the subway to Pure Food and Wine. I arrived shortly before my 8 o’clock reservation to meet my friend Dave, who I have known since 1989, when we both lived in Middlebrook Hall at the University of Minnesota. Dave has never had a raw dinner so I was very excited to share this with him. I am an extremely lucky girl because he generously treated this budding social entrepreneur to the Pure Food and Wine tasting menu. There is truly nothing more loving that a friend could do for me to celebrate my 30 days raw. Thank you Dave! Technically it is a 5 course tasting menu, but there were actually 7 episodes of deliciousness, because the dining experience began with an amuse bouche (cherry tomato, watermelon, basil and balsamic…shockingly tasty) and there was a peach popsicle palate cleanser before dessert. After our 2nd course, Dave, looking for some more substance, said, “I’m feeling a little Gary Crossman here,” invoking my father, an old-school meat eating man if there ever was one. The waitress assured him that would all change by dessert, and she was absolutely right. By the time the entrees started coming—lasagna, Thai curry something or other, fettuccini, falafel—Dave and I were both beyond pleased. And then dessert came. Oh. My. God.

There was a fruit crumble-esq thing that was fantastic, but whatever. Why whatever? Because of the other thing. A minty, chocolaty, ice creamy, fudgy, wow-this-is-so-good-are-you-kidding-me creation. Dave’s commentary went something like this: “this is ridiculous…there is no way this can be good for you…this is ridiculous.” It was…beyond... Pure Food and Wine, you outdid yourselves with that one. We literally closed down the patio and experienced one of my favorite revelations about raw foods, the experience of complete satisfaction without uncomfortable fullness. We left feeling light and happy, me a bit giddy from my first wine in over a month, and we continued on to a further subway stop just to enjoy the walk.

Now I am back home in Brooklyn with my sleeping kitten Lizzy, and putting the finishing touches on My Way. As I reflect, I thank the gods for giving me this beautiful community and way to love*myself*more. I also thank them for that dessert. Blessed be.

With love, 

Andrea.

Andrea Crossman is an entrepreneur and love goddess based in Brooklyn, NY

p.s. To say thanks, in my own little way, for all the amazing support I've gotten from the raw food community, I'd like to share a special discount code to the Lovemore site. The code is "LoveRawMore" and when entered on the checkout page it will give you 15% off every single thing on chooselovemore.com through August 16th, which is when RFR wraps. Hope you enjoy and again really, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Related

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• My Way Archives

My Way: Jessica of Raw Food Nation

This week we've invited Jessica, of the recently launched Raw Food Nation, to be our My Way feature. In the spirit of seva (service), Jessica runs her raw food portal pretty much anonymously. In fact, when I asked her to talk about her daily routine she hesitated just a bit because her ultimate mission is "to further promote that we are not just one or two people, but a nation, we are everyone." But ultimately Jessica did agree and for that we are thankful!

What is Raw Food Nation? "We are the beginner's guide to raw foods, eating healthy, going green and lovin' life!" Sweet!

And now we bring you Jessica on behalf of Raw Food Nation:

My Way: Jessica of Raw Food Nation

Saturday

Rise and shine! The rays of the sun find their way through my bedroom window and dance across the floor. I'm up! Green smoothie for breakfast and I'm ready to face the day. Meeting sisters and friends down in Annapolis, Maryland for a day of kayaking and outdoor fun. We hit the water with ease and start to paddle around. Yikes! Turning is not as easy as I thought it would be. It feels like we're in bumper cars at first but it's all in good fun. And what a workout! Back on dry land after a couple hours in the water and we walk to a local restaurant for lunch. No salad for me! Their veggie burger looks delightful and I would like to give it a try. That on top of a bed of greens hits the spot. We finish up our day by walking through the local shops of the town and doing some window shopping. I'm loving the brightly colored paintings I'm seeing in the art galleries. They are fabulous and the colors are exciting! After we part and go our separate ways, I head home and decide to veg out on some veggies (throw some delicious greens into a salad topped with carrots and a lime vinaigrette). My sofa sure looks comfortable; I thrown a DVD and get comfy, ready for a relaxing evening at home.

Sunday

Ahh! My arms! Kayaking must've been quite a workout. I didn't feel a thing yesterday but today is a different story. After some stretches I managed to get up and get ready for the day. I'm excited because today is Wholefoods day! I don't go here all the time; my wallet would be on life support if I did! But they to have an extensive variety of organics and their produce section excites me. So every 3 or 4 weeks I make the trip. The earlier in the morning I go, the better.

I eat some fruit for breakfast and I am out the door. I rope in a couple other errands and then I'm ready to hit the back roads to Wholefoods. The drive is one of my favorites, I always take this winding one lane road that weaves and curves through fields, trees and other natural surroundings. Nature provides its own soundtrack so I usually don't play music. Once inside the store I roam the isles like I have the place to myself, spending extra time in the produce section to see if there is anything new to try. I treat myself to a Larabar on the way out. After a hearty salad for lunch I spend some time tending to my patio garden (these plants sure do let me know when they need water!). A couple other household projects plus lining up some articles for the website take me into my evening. Some light reading followed by meditation and my day is complete. A weekend well spent.

Monday

What?! 5:30am already? Not possible. I roll over and wait 5 more minutes (but it really feels like 5 seconds). I wake up and officially start my weekday morning routine, which involves stretching, me time, and getting ready for my 9 to 5. But not before making my green smoothie and sending positive ibes out into Twitter. At work my colleague has surprised me with a new loose leaf tea to try that he picked up while visiting friends in England. The flavor is kiwi, and it is delicious! After work I made it home in time to stroll through my neighborhood for a low impact workout before dark. Then I prepared a raw red cabbage slaw for dinner and mixed it with shredded carrots and raw almonds. After dinner I do a little research for an upcoming article (for Raw Food Nation), and I end my day chatting on the phone with a friend I haven't spoken to in a while. It's always good to catch up with people and find out where life is taking them.

Tuesday

What?! 5:30am already?...just kidding. This morning I am making a superfood smoothie with gogi berries and cacao nibs (along with a little romaine lettuce, and pear). The highlight of the day will be meeting up with a couple of friends for dinner that I haven't seen in a while. One is a newly wed and the other is settling into a new apartment in the city. I arrive early to Fells Point but I don't mind the wait. This gives me time to walk down the cobblestone street clsoest to the harbor, catching the breeze that rolls in with the waves and paying visits to my favorite neighborhood shops. Eventually I meet my friends at the restaurant, and we continue talking long after the food is gone and our bill is paid. I brought them each a little bamboo plant for their homes as a "just because" gift. Bamboo is a symbol of luck, and they loved it. Good conversation and a good meal shared with friends is the perfect way to end the day.

Wednesday

Today I awake to grey clouds and the sound of rain. I wish that the sun was shining and I always joke that I am solar powered like plants (must..complete...photosynthesis!). A green smoothie and a double shot of wheatgrass give me the boost I need to start my day. I conveniently leave my lunch at home, but that's okay because the rain has cleared and I can enjoy the fresh air while walking to the nearby market for a salad. With the sun finally coming out from behind the clouds I decide to join my colleagues outside for lunch. After the work day I am happy to be going straight home. Sometimes I am so busy that I appreciate the days when I can take it easy. Me time is spent rockin' out to my favorite tunes (in case you didn't know, I play a really good air guitar). Then I curl up on my comfo sofa and watch one of my favorite DVDs, "Stranger Than Fiction." Needless to say, I barely make it half way through before I am drifting off into a dream. I can see the weekend from here, which includes more funtimes with friends, more produce shopping at the local market, more sunshine, and more doing raw my way.

Related

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My Way: Princess Superstar!

This week's My Way feature follows emcee and DJ, Princess Superstar, through her European touring adventures. Princess Superstar got her first taste of music from her parent's daily servings of 70'soul and rock in the suburbs of Philadelphia. At the age of 17 she moved to NYC and shortly thereafter recorded her first demo. Princess Superstar has recorded over six solo albums and she regularly tours both here in the US and internationally. Princess loves yoga, raw food, animals and healing music that just makes ya wanna dance!

My Way: Princess Superstar!

Sunday May 17

I am in Dusseldorf, I played a show there last night at the 3001 club. I wake up and chug a liter of water which has become a habit thanks to my raw/emotional/spiritual healing guru Amy Rachelle.

I am desperate for a green juice, usually when I tour I bring my travel blender and strainer and make myself a cucumber/ginger/apple juice in the hotel room but alas I didn’t bring it. I call up room service and get a fresh squeezed orange juice and also a double espresso (my filthy habit! I tried Matt Monarch’s challenge of replacing coffee with cacao but I just end up drinking both!!) Then I go to the sauna in the hotel.  What I love about Germany and most of Europe is that boys and girls go naked in the sauna and it ain’t a big deal. Freedom! (Except when once I did a record deal and saw the entire German staff naked in the sauna the next day. Um, Too Much Information!!)

I do a 20 minute yoga session- portable Jivamukti DVD which has saved me so many times doing grueling tours and then I pull my lettuce out of the minibar fridge. I always fly around with produce with me and it stays remarkably fresh as long as you stick it in the minibar when you land. My motto is don’t pop the champagne out of the minibar, pop da kale!

I cut up an avocado, an onion and soak some arame (arame is totally fast food! Amazing and ready in minutes), add some sundried tomatoes and make a lettuce sandwich. Yum time.

Amazingly at the Dusseldorf airport there is a juice bar! Unheard of! But they have NO greens (of course) so I make do with a ridiculous concoction of banana, carrot juice, spirulina powder and mint.

On the airplane I have them fill up my stainless steel water bottle with water. That way I don’t have to use plastic cups and can drink tons of water. Another good travel tip is don’t take their napkins. Or I mean don’t use napkins in general. That’s a tree you know. I love Julia Butterfly for influencing me to think in this way.

I eat some Elements for Life cacao nibs (I am a distributor in theory- but if you tried to order something from me I wouldn’t know how to do it- I just want the wholesale prices because I like the products!) and mix in some dried apple rings and dried figs. Then I snack on a lara bar type thing I bought at the juice bar.

On the plane everyone’s eating some plastic wrapped cheese sandwich thing and drinking diet coke or acidic juice from carton, or beer. I feel bad that everyone is so unconscious about what they put in their bodies. And, not to mention, what it does to our planet (don’t get me started on vegan issues!) But I remember- HUMILITY. I was like this only 3 short years ago so whatever.  Also I eat so much- so I have my own eating issues! So I silently bless everybody and go back to reading Here Comes the Sun, the George Harrison biography. I read that the song “Something” this most beautiful love song- which I thought was to a woman is actually his love song to his idea of God. Awesome.

8 pm Back to London. This guy Joe (Mister Bliss) on Give It To Me Raw befriended me so I asked what was going on in London. He told me about an open mic night at Inspiral -a yummy sort of raw place (it’s not entirely raw let alone vegan so I have some issues with it- at least be vegan if you are gonna be part raw restaurant right??!!) But anyway, I love their nutburger and little chocolates there and I can finally get my green juice.

Also hoping Joes’s cute in real life. Hee hee.

9 pm Well, I was running late and Joe canceled and that’s ok, I have tons to write for my album that I am recording here in London. There is nothing to eat in this house where I am staying and I have to replenish my raw supply. There is popcorn and I am craving it. I do have my Artisana Coconut Butter and ingeniously surmise that since there is oil as well as coconut meat in there and coconut oil doesn’t go rancid when heated like other oils. So I'm thinking, "Hey, I should use it to pop the corn!" Big mistake. The coconut meat quickly burns and it becomes a congealed mess of unpopped corn and brown goo. I throw it out and boil up some small potatoes my roommate has lying around and put some salt and curry powder, balsamic vinegar and tahini on them- it’s SO delicious. However I know the potatoes are turning to glue in my colon so don’t nag me about it.

Monday May 18

Wake up, drink my water and have a coffee with my homemade almond milk (almonds, stevia, maca, alcohol free vanilla extract, cinnamon.) Really desperate for green juice but it’s near impossible here. Really need to quit this horrible coffee habit but totally at a loss. I’m recording so that becomes my excuse for everything- overeating, coffee, etc. which doesn’t make any sense at all really since I want to give the best performance I can. But if you knew what I USED to do years ago whilst recording- oh boy, that’s a whole other blog!!

I have a slight potato hangover so I fix up a blend of pineapple, lime, spinach, collard greens and ginger, and add in some more Elements stuff- blue green algae, cordeceps mushroom something or other, and Revitaphi beauty blend.

I’m recording this song called “Dip into the Magnificent” which is kinda like the Beatles “Tomorrow Never Knows” mixed in with Special Ed, Salt n Pepa and Missy. The producer takes me to a vegan place with mostly cooked food called Food for Thought, and I have a salad with Thai Curry and rice and an oat cake dessert. Great the week I do a raw food blog I’m eating more cooked food than I ever eat! I haven’t had potatoes or rice in ages I swear! I have another double espresso with stevia. My throat is starting to hurt I think because of this coffee and cooked starches cuz I never get sick since going (mostly) raw a bit over a year ago. I need to do a major green juice fast and a colonic when I get home. I put some vitamin c powder and revitaphi in water and down it and go to sleep completely wiped out.

Tuesday May 19

No sore throat thank god because I am so Fresh and so Clean Clean except for my starch & coffee excursions. I am in the studio recording “Must.Take.Control.” which is about not being ruled by the senses, and meditation. But you might not know that because it’s an electronic hip hop frenzy! I do it in honor of Shri K Patahbi Jois who passed away last night.

It all comes out amazing, of course when you dedicate yourself to something higher this is a given. I head to a mostly raw restaurant in Shoreditch called SAF. Finally a green juice! My long lost friend!

I down it, forgoing this whole notion of “chewing” juice which I learned at Tree of Life where I did a spiritual juice fast with the almighty Gabriel Cousens.

I meet a really nice stewardess called Amanda who offered me a bite of her root vegetable tart while I was waiting, while we compared airports around the world. I can’t believe I have so much in common with a stewardess... that’s how much I fly.

I am starving (ok not literally, who came up with that expression?) so I order way too much food- a spinach salad with pomegranate seeds, a pesto raw cheese appetizer and raw tacos.

The pesto cheese is unbelievable, the consistency is hard in a way I haven’t known raw cheese to be, and it’s both sweet and pungent. The tacos lay flat and pretty tasteless but of course I am comparing them to Pure’s which in my opinion are flawless.  Then I get chocolate cake (I didn’t eat all of my food, I saved it for tomorrow’s trip to Dortmund, Germany so I will have something other than wienerschnitzel to eat) and some raw ice cream-  the best raw chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten, it tastes like a light mousse mixed with ice cream- and a sorbet which is cucumber peppercorn and surprisingly light sweet and yummy.

I never eat this much dessert- two days in a row and I feel sick. I think I gained 5 pounds on this trip. I do a visualization to send love to my body because I, like many of my women friends, “feel fat”. Ugh, when are we gonna get over this as a culture?? ENOUGH already!!

Wednesday May 20

Off to Dortmund, Germany to play a show. I have no idea where that is. I just go where they tell me. I have a shake consisting of cabbage, lettuce, pineapple, cordeceps mushroom, revitaphi. Then you know, my coffee with homemade almond milk. Can someone please help me off this evil substance? I pick up a salad with avocado, pumpkin seeds, arugala and carrots at this Japanese restaurant in Terminal 5 Heathrow called Itsu, and eat that and a bit of food from the night before from SAF.

I get to Dusseldorf again, which is an hour from Dortmund and the promoter picks me up. Turns out he is Arabic, from Jordan, and a vegetarian for 15 years, and wants to make me a vegan meal. In all my years of touring nobody has offered to prepare food for me personally- EVER, so I of course say yes. He makes a delicious hummous, falafel and tofu scramble and brings it to my room, (I won’t eat soy in the USA because it’s all genetically modified however in Europe GMO’s are illegal which is cool!).  It is prepared with love and I am completely stuffed.

A really sweet guy from my management team is traveling with me today and I invite him for tea. He is looking for some milk for his English tea and there is none so I offer to make him some fresh hemp seed milk. I whip out my travel blender and put in hemp seeds, water, vanilla extract, stevia and cinnamon. He totally loves it and I launch in to my whole raw food spiel and he seems really into it. Converting them one at a time! I’m on a mission! Although from these last few days I better take a good look at my own eating!

Because I am not used to all this cooked food I am totally wiped out and want to sleep and my set time is 1:30 am. My friends/fans who are reading this who are not members of this website and not eating raw will be like what the f is she talking about? Wiped out from vegan cooked food? But when you reach a certain level of cleanliness digressions really affect you, which goes to show you how much power and energy eating raw can give you. It’s really changed my life.

So there you go, there is my 4 days of eating. If it were next week it would probably be 100% raw so please don’t kick me out of the community!

You can follow more of Princess Superstar's daily happenings on Twitter.

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My Way: Mike Lieberman

This week's My Way feature comes to us from Brooklyn, NY. Mike Lieberman is a hip hop loving, glam rock bump'n, raw food eating, urban gardener who loves to share. Mike can regularly be found talking about the his passions on Twitter and his blog. He loves New York and he loves life... and ladies, yes, Mike is single. Holla!

My Way: Mike Lieberman

Saturday

I woke up at 9am, surprisingly early for the weekend, considering that I've been getting to bed mad late and waking up early during the week. It's all good though because I have a lot going on and can't get any of it done while in bed.



I get up and do what's become my morning routine of dry brushing my skin, cleaning out my sinuses with a neti pot, brushing my teeth, pounding a mason jar of lemon water and preparing my green smoothie: lacinto kale, aloe, grapes and figs. I pour it into my six-cup mason jar and get my day going. Green smoothies are my raw staple.



There's lots of my list of to dos for the day, most of which revolved around one project that I'm working on - organic vegetable gardening across New York City at my Manhattan apartment, my Grandmother's Brooklyn backyard and my parents condo in Staten Island.



Mind you I have zero experience in gardening, so the whole thing should be interesting. Part of this project is also documenting it all in a blog, which should've been the easy part since my 9-5 job is in online marketing. I didn't have the blog idea until a few weeks after starting, so I've been busy playing catch up while moving forward with the plans.



I get organized for the day and head out the door to the Farmers Market at Union Square to get some more info on gardening. When speaking with one of the farmers, I learn that some of the vegetables should have already been planted. Um oooopps.


For lunch, I head to EarthMatters Cafe so I can continue to work. I get a stalk of celery and two pears. When I asked the cashier for a tray to bring it up to the cafe, she responds with "That's it? That's all you're going to eat?

"

My response, "Yes."



After a few hours at the Cafe, I head back to my apartment. Since my fridge is a bare I stopped at a local raw friendly restaurant, Caravan of Dreams, for dinner. I had the Live Nachos, which in my opinion are the best flax-chips-nacho-dish that I've ever had. I also had the Live Sprout Sandwich.



I head back to my apartment and stay up until 3am to knock the rest of the things off of my "To Do" list.



Sunday

Even though I was up mad late on Saturday, I was up at 9:30 Sunday. There is too much going on for me to be in bed sleeping. I take care of my morning routine and make a swiss chard, cucumber, strawberries and fig green smoothie.



I set up my video camera and film the making of the smoothie for another web site that I'm working of easy and simple raw food recipes. There are a lot of gourmet sites, but haven't come across many that provide recipes that are sustainable on a daily basis. I am hoping to launch that one next week.



While sipping on my smoothie, I start back working on the gardening site again. Before I can blink it's 1pm and I'm still in my PJs. I give my parents a call to see what their plans are for the day and ask if they could pick me up from the ferry, so I can build some of the self-watering containers for their place.



I arrive at their place around 3:30. My plans were to build all of the self-watering containers for their place and to shoot a how to video of building one of the buckets. Getting comfortable in front of the camera is one of the challenges for me in this project since I'm not a fan of being the center of attention. I am attempting to break that by forcing myself into it.



When I finally look at the clock it's close to 6. I haven't eaten since the smoothie and strange enough I'm fine. My parents didn't have much of an organic produce selection at their apartment. I find broccoli and onion, cut them up and just pick at them while continuing to build the containers. It's funny how some days I just don't feel like eating and I feel fine.



My father takes me to catch the 9 o'clock ferry home. I wind up getting back to my apartment around 10:30. On the ferry ride home I had the idea for make apple/zucchini wraps for dinner Monday night. So I got those prepared, popped them in the dehydrator and continued to work until 2am.



Monday

Not sure what is going on with me, but I was up and ready to go at 5:45 this morning. I headed out the door to get my morning workout on of a two-mile run along the East River and a prison yard workout on the jungle gym at Tompkins Square Park.



After finishing my workout I headed back to my apartment for my green smoothie - celery, banana and soaked dates. If there is one thing that you takeaway from reading this I hope that it is you start keeping soaked dates in your fridge.



I get my lunch ready while drinking my smoothie. Lunch was romaine hearts with some cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion and dill. At work I have a big glass salad bowl that I mix everything up in.



I also get the filling for the apple zucchini wraps ready by making a coconut curry sauce, chopped up some veggies and threw them in the fridge to marinate.



When I get home from work, I have the apple zucchini wraps and coconut curry vegetables waiting for me. Definitely hit the spot and easily made.



Then I got to finishing up the gardening site. About 10 minutes into working, I got a sweet craving. Very rarely do I eat past 8pm, but I caved into this craving and and had some of the leftover raw chocolate cookie chip dough in the fridge. That's the bad part about having left overs. It's not a completely bad thing, but the seeds don't combine well with the apples that were in the wraps. The rest of the night my room didn't smell the best, I had a different kind of potpourri going on. That's why I do my best to properly combine what works for me, if you know what I mean.



At around 11 I put the finishing touches on version one of the site. It's not perfect, but good enough for public consumption at this point. It will definitely be refined. I am just happy to get to bed before midnight. The smell I could do without.



Tuesday

The morning green smoothie of the day is dandelion, parsley and mangoes. Always hesitant on the dandelion, but it's something different. As I am taking down my smoothie, I prepare my lunch for the day. A head of green leaf lettuce and sliced onion with a pumpkin and pistachio taco dressing.  I get showered, ready and head into work.



During the morning, I "launch" version one my gardening site by tweeting about it.  I was happy and impressed by the love that I received from the Twitterverse. Much appreciation to my friends who helped to spread the word. The last few weeks have been a bit hectic playing catch-up, but I am happy with the result at this point.



After work, I pick up my weekly CSA share and head home to prepare my dinner of green leaf lettuce with onion, olives, parsley and dill in a celery, ginger and pear dressing.



No time for resting, at 12:30am the finishing touches are put on another site that people can share their raw food photos on, and I finally get to bed.



Wednesday

Awake way too early at 5:30am, head out the door to get in my workout, launch another site and start another day... My Way. Did you expect something less?

Mike blogs, gardens and eats raw food in Brooklyn, NY. You can learn more about Mike here.

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My Way: Jaynel Hollis

Our last My Way feature took us to the Land Down Under, this week's feature comes to us from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jaynel Hollis is a passionate locavore, book worm, and raw foodie who loves to be in the kitchen. Three years ago, while waiting for her name to be called at the doctors office, Jaynel came across an article about a woman who's health suffered greatly do to her wheat and gluten intolerance. It was that article that sparked an investigation into her own health challenges and a series of changes that allowed a total health transformation to take place. Today Jaynel and her husband have taken their passion for food pro by opening their own healthly and wholesome snack food company.

Jaynel talks about her passion for food and life on twitter and her blog.

My Way: Jaynel Hollis

A bit about myself… About three years ago I found out I have a gluten intolerance, and since then have radically changed the way I eat. Raw foods have been a big part of my daily diet for about two years now. Most recently, my husband and I began a new adventure as entrepreneurs.  Following a passion of mine for creating yummy gluten free snack foods we call our company, The Greenwood Kitchen… since we live on Greenwood Ave.  Seems fitting right?  This is where it all began, and we’ll never forget.

I find it amazing when things just fall into place. Let me explain. I love reading My Way’s and experiencing others living their journey.  So, you can imagine my excitement when a few days ago I got an email back from Dhrumil, responding to my offer of sharing my own personal …My Way…

Friday

It’s funny; on days I’m off I still wake up early. I wonder if this happens to anyone else?

I take my time getting up, head to the kitchen and start making my favorite juice of cucumber, celery, oranges, and lime. It’s not often I get off on Friday’s, but I love when I do, because of morning yoga with Stacy. She’s a wonderful instructor…and while I’m perfecting my poses, Kyle lifts weights.

We head home to work on some business stuff and enjoy a big bowl of mango and avocado with chia seeds. Every time I eat chia seeds I think about my brother and I growing a chia pet when younger, as a joke to my balding dad. ; )

So I prepare a zucchini flax pizza topped with spinach, tomato, and onion for dinner, and then make some updates on my Etsy account before eating. We head to our local natural foods store, Martindale’s to meet up with the sales manager about our products, and lo and behold, he’s already tried our vanilla macaroons…loves them…and wants them in the store. We head home elated! 

Saturday

I love lazy Saturday mornings, when it’s lightly drizzling outside. My husband surprises me with gluten free pancakes topped with mixed berries, and another favorite juice of mine: oranges and spirulina flakes. We putter around the house doing laundry and checking emails while waiting for the rain to let up.

Finally, it does, so we head to the Philadelphia Fairmont flea market to browse and enjoy the spring air.  I love tea sets.  Especially old ones with character, like the one I see today dated 1912 and made in England. It makes me wonder whose hands something like that has been in before me, and what life was like then…

We stop by a few café’s carrying our product to check up on things and drop some new macaroon flavors off, then head to Whole Foods for some produce. I cave in and buy a watermelon…so you know the first thing I do when we get home is cut into it. Were both starving, so we have huge salads made of local Boston lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, onion, avocado, cucumber and sunflower seeds. Lately my favorite dressing is a mix of olive oil, balsamic, and spicy stone ground mustard.

After dinner we unwind with some reading, business brainstorming…and plenty of laughing! 

Sunday

I wake to more rain. I promise you…I don’t live in Seattle. I do my morning devotions while sipping lemon water. My muscles are sore, so I move into some yoga stretches before skin brushing and showering. Sunday’s I spend some time in the kitchen preparing for my upcoming workweek. I make a juice of kale, cucumber, zucchini, blood oranges, and limes and store it in airtight containers. Using leftover nut pulp, I make a variation of Café Gratitude’s Hazelnut pie while Kyle cracks some coconuts for me.

Its mid afternoon and we sit down to a huge smoothie of frozen papaya, honeydew, spinach, coconut water, MSM, and homegrown wheatgrass juice. Weird, I can’t eat papaya fresh, but frozen the texture doesn’t bother me as much…

We had plans for a Phillies game today, but the rain prevailed and the game was canceled. So I spend a few hours working on Cinema 16:9’s order for macaroons, then head out to rent a few movies; Slumdog Millionaire and Role Models. Dinner is a big salad of bok choy, mango, cucumber, avocado, and my big weakness: tortilla chips!

I catch up on the phone with my mom then watch a movie while sharing a piece of pie. 

Monday

I’m really not a morning person. I go flying out the door, juice in hand. I sometimes ride my bike to work, not this week…the rain, remember?

As a day job, I work at an ambulatory surgery center as a scrub nurse, and spend a good chunk of time here Monday through Friday. I typically brown bag a lunch…made ahead of time, I have a salad with apples and walnuts.

When I get home, I head to the kitchen to work on Martindale’s order, check some emails and update my Etsy shop. My husband takes the car for a delivery, while I start dinner.

I bake a spaghetti squash, and create a dressing of balsamic and orange with diced onion, spinach, garbanzo beans and carrot. Tonight is yoga again with Stacy, which I love because it reshapes my whole workweek!

Tuesday

I’m up and out the door on time, and my day goes rather similar to Monday until I get home. Today is Cinco de Mayo …rather fitting, since Tuesday nights I usually have Spanish class. Tonight we have sprouted corn tortillas filled with guacamole, spicy salsa, and pea shoots. The rain lets up with enough time for a walk…. so we head out hand in hand and I smile, because I wouldn’t want life to be any other way than My Way.

Entrepreneur Jaynel Hollis lives with her loving husband in Philadelphia, Pa.

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My Way: Casey Lorraine Thomas

This week's My Way feature comes to us from the Land Down Under. Casey Lorraine Thomas is a Life Coach and Detox Counselor based in Perth, Australia. Casey’s mission in life is to "help her clients awaken to their highest potential and achieve true vitality and radiant health." On a personal level Casey enjoys Bikram yoga, juicing, laying on the grass and, of course, sharing.

My Way: Casey Lorraine Thomas

I love communities like GITMR that allow people from all over the world to connect -  even all the way from “little” ol’ Australia. There is such a huge community for raw and health lovers alike in the US and the UK, and while there is more and more happening in Australia, we still need to get the message out that there is support, community and that we are on the raw map! I believe we are on the brink of a huge shift in consciousness over here in Oz. So here’s a look into the Aussie way, My Way.

It's Saturday and boy, I am happy. I LOVE my job, I love the work I do, the people I work with, how creative I get to be. But I do find it incredibly easy to work round the clock so when the weekend rolls round and there are lots of social plans, I get my cue to really stop and let my hair down away from the computer. I have to make a conscious effort to get time away from technology on the weekends because so much of my work is online or writing. During the week I always take steps to get my chi flowing so the time at a desk doesn’t drain me. 

Today I jumped out of bed to get to a Bikram yoga class. A studio has recently opened in my home city of Perth, and the West Aussies are mad about it. Honestly, Bikram makes me feel amazing. My diet already does that, and all the things I do to keep my chi flowing, and Bikram really just multiplies the effect. I always feel extra light-hearted and it's the perfect antidote to a week at the computer and the perfect way to set up my weekend. I stop by my favourite organic produce market on the way home and load up with a giant box of mostly greens. I just love looking at the big piles of produce I buy. The colours always make me happy and so excited to get all that incredible goodness into me. My friends, who are truly amazing, regularly laugh (with affection) at my excitement over fresh plant food. It’s all part of the fun.

After two quarts of filtered water, I made my man and I a quart of green juice each at about 2pm. Today it was kale, zucchini, cucumber, carrot, lime and apple. I always add apples to sweeten the juice for my partner as he doesn't like it really green like me. I blogged about how the routine works for me here. Useful if you are living with someone who isn't heavily into eating clean but will take what you give them! My juice habit is the core of my diet so I make the time and effort for it everyday and reap the massive benefit.

After a bit of house cleaning I made some 'Pumpkin Pie in a bowl" from Natalia Rose's book Raw Food Life Force Energy. So delicious. I had two bowls before we headed out to a friend's leaving do. At the bar, I had iced water with fresh lime and then it was off to see another friend who was visiting for the weekend. I picked up some organic carrots and cucumber, and mashed together an avocado, lime, a tomato and some pepper for some guacamole to dip the veg in. I had some goji berries and some 74% Dagoba dark chocolate to follow. The combination of the lime water, the outdoor garden at the bar and the warm, balmy weather, I felt like I was on holiday in a tropical paradise. I love Australia and I love this lifestyle. I find it so easy to fit my dietary and lifestyle choices into my life now. It just comes easily to me although I remember when it wasn't quite so simple.

I woke up feeling refreshed Sunday, jumped on my mini-tramp for a few minutes, then walked the two minutes to the beach. It's a beautiful, hot sunny day and I am blessed to live only a two minute walk from white sandy shores and fresh sea air. My partner and I watched families and friends playing on the beach and surf life-savers strutting their stuff. Nice bit of eye candy for a Sunday morning! Back at home, I made us a giant vegetable juice each of spinach, beet greens, beets, carrot, limes and a little cucumber. Yum!  

Then we were off to wander through some markets in Fremantle, an old shipping port town near Perth and we couldn’t resist lying on the grass in the park basking up the sunshine and reading our books. At the moment I’m reading Book 2 in the Anastasia series. It’s a very enjoyable read and has so much depth and meaning – I love it! We then popped into a favourite organic café of mine for herbal tea and I had two delicious raw “Bliss Balls”. At home I spent some time on twitter and facebook and prepared myself for the working week ahead, setting my intentions, scheduling my timetable and preparing my office space (and my head space!) for a busy week ahead.

Monday I got straight into a very busy work day and put the finishing touches on my All-In-One Workbook for my brand spanking new group coaching program Awaken Your Va-Va-VOOM, which starts on 16 April (and there is still places left!).

I was so involved in my work that I didn’t even think about putting anything other than water into my body until I felt really ready and in a calm and relaxed state. I always find I get hiccups if I drink my juice when my head is swimming so I like to take a more peaceful moment and also really be hungry for it. Today I made 1.5 quarts of a simple combo of broccoli, cucumber, lime and ginger. After the juice I did a great energy meditation and felt the buzz as it charged me up.

I was on fire with my work output all afternoon and stopped around 8pm for some raw nori rolls with a carrot and avocado cream filling, plus sprouts and cucumber. I finished it off with two bananas for dessert while catching up with my man.

Tuesday was another big working day for me, but first, I had a date with my colon…yes you heard me right, we have a very close relationship. Colonics and I go together like peas in a pod. Love them! I felt particularly incredible after my colonic today and had super amounts of energy. I tried to expel some of it at home by doing some crazy dancing and bouncing moves on my mini-tramp while catching Oprah. Oh if the neighbours could see me… And yes, I’m not even a closet fan of Oprah, I’m just a straight out fan! Around 2pm I had a yummy juice of romaine, beet greens, lime, ginger and cucumber. After an afternoon of coaching calls and going over some notes for my free Teleclass (recording available here), I finished the day with some more Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl soup and a big bowl of my Simply Delicious Salad. Lick my lips delicious!

Now here I am, Tuesday night, writing the content for this feature, and I am grinning so wide. Why? Because I am completely head over heels in love with My Way.

Related

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My Way: Mark Ament

Mark Ament has been eating high raw diet for the past 10 years. Over the past 5 years he’s taught courses on the raw vegan lifestyle and led cleansing and detox retreats in New Zealand, Bali, Europe and the U.S. Mark is the author of several books on natural health and healing as well as a free enewsletter. You can find out more about Mark and his work at healingvibes.com
 
My Way: Mark Ament

Sunday
Earlier this week the Hindus in Bali celebrated one of their largest festivals and today I can feel the peaceful afterglow as the island seems to take a collective exhale and relaxes. I wake up early today and jump on my rebounder for about 25 minutes. I love rebounding and have been doing it regularly for 5 years. The practice has transformed my life so much so that I've written a book on the topic to get as many people as possible bouncing with me.

While bouncing today, I notice that there’s a rip starting to form on the mat of my trusty Needak rebounder. It will probably be a couple months till it’s no longer working. I do some research to find out what’s new in the rebounding world. I was really happy when I found that there is a new style rebounder that uses bungee cords instead of metal springs for suspension. Many people are saying it’s the best and most fun mini trampoline they have ever experienced. After seeing a couple vids on YouTube, I’m convinced and already start wondering who could possibly bring one from the US to Bali for me. The rebounder, by the way, is from a company called Bellicon.

After jumping, my wife Gabrielle (pictured above) and I head into Ubud to a small restaurant called Bali Buddha for some breakfast. I enjoy their “Lean, Green Superfood Smoothie,” which is based on a recipe that I taught the staff a couple years ago at one of my raw food classes – avocado, coconut water and flesh, bee pollen, maca and spinach. Yum!

Breakfast is laid back and enjoyable with Gabrielle.  Afterwards we spend an hour meditating together using the Holosync program which we’ve done now for almost 4 years.

After the meditation I’m inspired to make something for later. I create a marinade of olive oil, Braggs liquid aminos and dried Italian herbs that I toss into a bowl of broccoli and cauliflower.  Then the mix goes into the Excalibur dehydrator for about 3 hours. Also, since Gabrielle just moved into her 4th month of pregnancy I want to make sure she’s getting plenty of extra calcium. I notice we’ve got a kilo of sesame seeds, which are very high in calcium, and decide to make tahini from them by running them through our Green Star juicer a few times and then spinning them in the food processor for another 5 minutes.    When I’m finished Gabrielle and I share a juicy apple spread with the tahini.

Dinner tonight is at my friend and raw food business partner, Leah Rinaldi’s new house. Highlights are a beet salad with coconut yogurt and chocolate truffles stuffed with a basil cashew cream that reminds me of marzipan.  I love how creative Leah is how much love she puts in her dishes.

Monday
7:30 am and Gabrielle and I head into the rice fields next to our house for a long walk. The sky is particularly blue today, especially set against the horizon of coconut palms. Then it’s rebounding for me again followed by a juice of kale, cucumber, turmeric, beet and carrot.

Today is about putting the final touches on the flyer for the cleansing and detox retreat that I am hosting in Bali this July, so I grab a couple of tablespoons of bee pollen to take out to my tree house/office to make sure I'm extra sharp while working. About 3 in the afternoon I stop for a break and have a small bowl of kale salad with a creamy cashew and orange dressing. Next is a meeting with Leah about our upcoming raw food courses in Singapore and our upcoming raw food weekend retreats.

We wrap up the meeting at around 6:30.

In the mean time Gabrielle has prepared a leafy green masterpiece. Spinach, mesclun, fresh herbs, bok choy, amazing tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs all bought from our local organic produce farmers market. Dressing is a touch of olive oil with apple cider vinegar and a dash of sea salt. I follow that with a couple of dates dipped in yesterday’s tahini.  

Now it’s off to give Gabrielle (and baby) a Reiki session before bed. I like to do that a few times a week.   Gabrielle says that she always sleeps easier and better and wakes up more refreshed. Soon, according to what I’ve read, I should be able to actually feel the baby moving in the womb. I’m extra excited for that.

After the session I reflect and notice that I look forward to having a child a lot more than I could have imagined. As soon as we found out, I did a lot of research and got  Gabrielle on some great superfoods.  She takes Bee Pollen, Spirulina, Chlorella, Flax Oil and Maca in addition to the regular prenatal vitamins.  Every check with the midwife, Gabrielle has had perfect markers in her urine sample. The midwife is surprised since she doesn’t see to many mothers who are taking care of their nutrition.

Tuesday
Today is a break in my usual schedule as I decide to accompany Gabrielle down to the south part of Bali for some shopping. Gabrielle is a psychologist with a specialty in children’s psychology and goes to Denpasar/Kuta every week to offer sessions. Since we don’t own a car and only rent one when needed, I sometimes take advantage of the “free”ride.   

I do wake up in time to make a juice of carrots, beets and leafy greens. I follow that with a couple of handfuls of bee pollen and then prepare some things to take with us in the cooler – a leftover salad, a jar of sundried olives, tahini and some carrots.  

The day unfolds quickly. It’s just about 30 km to get to the main shopping area from our house in Ubud, but it takes about an hour and a half. If you’ve ever been to Bali and seen the traffic you’ll understand why. My main interests are hitting a couple of home improvement stores to get things that are hard to find in Ubud. We are refinishing our bedroom and bathroom as well as creating a laundry room in anticipation of the baby.

After shopping, Gabrielle and I still have time for lunch at a nice little macrobiotic place called Earth Café.’ I have a fresh squeezed lemonade and a sprouted wheat berry salad with miso dressing. With Gabrielle gone to do her sessions, I pass the afternoon reading the local newspaper and then walking along the street leisurely checking out many of the boutique shops in Seminyak.

Gabrielle and I meet again at 7:00 outside of Bali Deli, where I have just bought two Roma apples – not organic, but too beautiful to  resist. Dinner is an apple with tahini and a few olives.

The ride back to Ubud is a bit harried as many people are on the road traveling to ceremonies.

Two days from now is Nyepi, which is my favorite Balinese holiday.  On that day the entire Island stays at home for meditation and prayer. Nobody leaves their house. Even all airplanes are grounded.  Then during the night, no one uses electric lights. This is presumably to keep negative energies away from the island. Maybe it works because overall Bali is a pretty happy and positive place.

Thinking about Nyepi – this is my third – I wonder what it would feel like if the rest of the world joined Bali one day a year with such a quiet peaceful, day. Wouldn't that be amazing?

My name is Mark Ament and this is My Way.

Mark is the author of several books on natural health and healing as well as a free enewsletter. More about Mark and his work at healingvibes.com, freshstartretreat.com, rawfoodbali.com, and safecoloncleanse.com

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My Way: Nancy Sun

Nancy Sun is twentysomething urban professional based in Brooklyn, NY. She loves her some yoga, snowboarding, running, blogging, and of course, tweeting. When Nancy isn't causing a ruckus in Brooklyn, she can be found chillin on the beaches of Costa Rica mastering her newest passion, surfing.

My Way: Nancy Sun

My participation in this series comes courtesy of 'My Way' alumnus Charles Balcer.  One fateful Friday, I ran into him at Pure Juice and Takeaway.  There, while we bonded over my first ever bites of their Moon Pie, I told him I could never do a My Way.  I've been experimenting with this lifestyle for less than a year, am not 100% raw, nor 100% vegan.  I am just a girl who discovered this lifestyle in the journey to eat consciously and live optimally.  Of course, this excuse-slash-explanation prompted Charles to immediately and stealthily text Dhrumil that I should participate.  So here I am and I suddenly feel like an awards nominee - thank you, thank you, it's an honor to even be considered.

Saturday
While most people sleep in on Saturdays, I go to a 9 AM Patternmaking class at FIT.  That early weekend start time might make other people double think, but I enjoy the feeling of being up before others and being productive.  My morning began with a tall glass of lemon water with MSM.  I threw a bunch of organic fuji apples into my bag to snack on in commute and during class as I usually stay late to do my homework.  Starved when I came home, I had a glass of green juice (kale, romaine, ginger, apple, lemon) and 2 more apples with raw almond butter.  From there, I went to the gym for an hour of cardio and half an hour of weight training.

That evening, I attended the WLIR Meet Up at Pure Food and Wine where I hung out with the regular New York crew and was introduced to other raw foodies including Simona McIntyre and Matt Mueller.  I paired a glass of shiraz with the restaurant's Winter Salad: composed of mache, frisee, arugala, local apples, candied walnuts, and dressed with a yakon walnut vinaigrette and smoked cashew cheese.  For dessert, I split with Dhru a Blueberry & Lemon Bergamot Semifreddo with blueberry compote, lavender "ice cream," and lavendar cashew shortbread.  "Splitting," however, is an overstatement: Dhrumil had only a few bites while I could've licked the plate clean.

Sunday
The next morning, I met up with my friend Dan at The Smith.  As someone I hadn't seen since 2005 but of course recently reconnected with via Facebook, we caught up over an early brunch.  While he had french toast with maple butter and caramelized bananas, I ordered their baby arugula salad with fennel and lemon (holding the parmesan) with a side of strawberries & bananas.  I drank peppermint tea throughout our meal.

As an aside, as I transitioned into raw, I remember being concerned about ordering at restaurants.  Would I have to limit the number of places my friends and I went to?  Would I be judged for my "less traditional" orders at restaurants?  I thought that my presumably complicated Sally a la Harry-Met-Sally orders would cause undue attention and that I would have to defend my "extreme" eating choices.  The change, however, has been anticlimactic.  Dan didn't even blink at my order as we launched into Catch-Up Mode regarding the last four years of our lives.  After saying goodbye, I did my grocery shopping at Whole Foods for the week.  There, I had Ciao Bella's Lychee and Raspberry sorbet.  

As a Lazy, Single Girl Raw Foodie, Sunday is my day to prep meals for the week ahead.  This way, I can function on 'eating autopilot' as much as possible in case there is a crazed workweek.  To that end, I made salads to "brownbag" to work and a big bowl of raw gazpacho - fortified with bean sprouts.  In addition to tasting as I worked, I grazed my way through the evening with half an avocado w/ lemon, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of raw almond butter, an apple, and a cup of blueberries and raspberries.

Monday
I started my morning with an hour of cardio at the gym and two apples eaten on my commute to work.  Once I arrived, I made myself a glass of lemon water with MSM and St. John's Wort to drink while checking voicemail, email, and getting a start on the morning.  I also usually sip ginger or peppermint tea throughout the workday.  For lunch I had my raw gazpacho and snacked on a Cliff Nectar Bar - composed only of nuts and dried fruit - as the local deli appears to no longer carry Lara Bar.  For an early dinner, I had a marinated seafood salad of crab, calamari, shrimp, red onions, and celery.  Yep, I still eat seafood when the impulse strikes.  I also snacked on dried turkey figs, cashews, and dates later in the evening.  As I just start working out in the mornings again, sometimes I eat heavier foods in the evening while my body adjusts to the new routine.

Tuesday
This morning, I slept in and had an Asian Pear for breakfast.  I continued with my weekly routine of starting each morning with my lemon water-MSM-St. John's Wort concoction.  For lunch, I had roasted brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and marinated baby bella mushrooms.  I snacked on dates and cashews and ended my day with raw gazpacho and dried figs for dessert.  

Normally my weekdays are very boring and formulaic - with fruit breakfasts, at least one other raw meal, and a raw afternoon snack.  Sometimes, however, I develop a mean dark chocolate habit.  While ideally I'd love to only eat raw chocolate (Gnosis, Love Street, and Uli Mana being some favorite brands), I often find myself grabbing Green & Black's or Lindt's 70% Dark.  This is because I tend not to keep sweets in my house - fearing I lack self-restraint and ability to eat all of it at once.  As such, I often rely on what is carried in stores near my workplace to fulfill my chocolate cravings.  Luckily I can still find the higher end lines and avoid milk in these products.

So that's a snapshot of what four days of my eating lifestyle looks like.  As someone who does not fit into any specific dietary label precisely, I am definitely learning how to eat more raw, My Way.

Nancy Sun is twentysomething urban professional based in Brooklyn, NY who is grateful to be alive.

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My Way: Alina Vladimirova

The We Like It Raw Community is in for a real treat. Normally we have one My Way feature a week, but this his week we have two. Consider it part of the We Like It Raw Stimulus Package of Inspiration! Together we are all turning off the news, turning off the TV, turning off the drama and turning on the inspiration.

Speaking of inspiration... today's My Way feature comes to us from a strong female entrepreneur and raw food coach who is overflowing with it - inspiration that is!

Alina Vladimirova had always considered herself a "healthy" girl, but it wasn't until she went raw, back in 2006, that she truly understood the meaning of "health". In 2007, after a year of experimenting with raw foods, Alina took a 30 Day to Raw class with Karen Knowler and discovered her calling to serve others as a health coach. Today Alina is based in Brooklyn and works with clients from all across the globe.

My Way: Alina Vladimirova

I am writing My Way at the most exciting time of my life. I just returned from Peru where I went on a month-long spiritual retreat. I came back with a new perspective on my life, my business, and how I want to be present in this world. I’ve learned to go with the flow and trust the Divine, to listen to my body and my Self, to let go of my labels, and to be “in the moment”.

I am no longer obsessed with being 100% raw; after three years of experimenting, I’ve discovered that I am much healthier and happier when I eat a high raw diet focusing on lots of greens and sprouts with occasional organic, cooked vegetables and grains during winter months and all raw during warmer months. My diet is constantly changing to accommodate my lifestyle needs, but right now this way works best for me.

Monday
One thing I decided on when I quit my job was to not use alarm clocks and just wake up whenever I wake up. Today I wake up around 7:30 am, which seems like my natural time lately. Start my day with a yoga session followed by meditation. I drink tea with honey while checking my emails.  Around 10:30 am I feel hungry and make banana-orange-frozen peaches smoothie for breakfast.  My to-do list is quite big today, which means a busy day at the office: balancing two businesses (one and two) plus an online store is no easy task.  Lunch is kale salad with avocado and cherry tomatoes. Wrap up my day around 8 pm. For dinner I make a mixed greens salad with avocado, bell pepper, cucumber, and scallions.

Tuesday
My day begins with yoga and meditation. Starting my year with a spiritual retreat was an amazing idea, because now I am really motivated to continue all my practices. I make a banana-orange with super blue green algae smoothie for breakfast. I spend most of my morning on the phone with several coaching prospects and my clients. I send out a newsletter to my prospects and take care of urgent e-mails.  For lunch I finish kale salad left from yesterday then sit down to write some articles for my blog. For dinner I eat a mixed greens salad and cup of vegetable soup. Max, my husband, fixes the kitchen facet and re-connects my water ionizer back on so I can drink pure, alkaline water again (it’s been two very long months without it). Oh, how I missed my ionizer! Hubby and I get comfortable on the sofa and listen to Obama’s Presidential Address to Congress. We drink some organic wine and unwind after a busy day.

Wednesday
I am up at 6:30 am, feeling surprisingly well rested. This morning I decide to do Svaroopa Yoga session and Ujaji pranayama.  For breakfast I make banana-orange smoothie with super blue green algae, maca, MSM, and bee pollen.  Set up a couple of calls with raw food coaching prospects, take care of the orders placed on my online store, call my clients, and send out the Radiant on Raw newsletter. Another big salad for lunch – mixed greens with avocado, cucumber, red bell pepper, some dulse, and sprouts. I’ve been really craving greens lately (maybe because I ate so little of them in Peru I am now catching up). I have a really productive brainstorm session with my web designers, and then I spend my afternoon answering e-mails, catching up on Twitter and Facebook, reading newsletters from other raw foodies and network marketers, coming up with ideas for future blog posts and listening to training calls. I make some kale salad and flax crackers for dinner and finish my day with calling in on two teleclasses - never stop learning!

Thursday
Not feeling very hungry this morning I just a spinach-mango smoothie. The weather is gorgeous outside so I go out for a walk in the sun and to get some groceries - sometimes I have to remind myself that I am not chained to my desk! Around noon I drink a quart of carrot-celery-apple juice and then have a blended soup for lunch.  Dinner is mock salmon pate with flax crackers plus banana-orange-frozen raspberries smoothie for desert. I load my automatic sprouter with a new batch of seeds: radish, alfalfa, mung beans, and wheat berries and read some “Inkheart” before calling it a day.

Friday
I get up very early (had to use my Zen alarm clock this time) to begin preparations for my Raw Food for Beginners class that takes place tomorrow. Breakfast is a delicious chocolate nut mylk, which gives me a nice boost of energy. I put flax crackers, marinated mushrooms and pizza base in the dehydrator and head out to Whole Foods in the city to shop for food I will need for the class. Green salad for lunch with some tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and dulse flakes. In the afternoon I print out handouts for tomorrow, clean the apartment and catch up on work. Nori rolls for dinner, one of my favorite things to eat. I love nori sheets – sometimes I just grab one and eat it straight up: crunchy and loaded with goodness. Off to bed early so I am well rested and energized tomorrow and ready to give the best raw food class ever!

This has turned out to be one very busy week but this is My Way and I love every second of it!

Alina Vladimirova is a raw food coach based in Brooklyn, New York. She blogs at radiantonraw.typepad.com

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