Is raw food the secret fountain to health and youth?

I was never really interested in Hollywood's anti-aging secrets. Most of them fake anyhow ;-) But isn't it amazing, that a lot of people like you and me who start eating a raw food diet not only lose weight and look great but also regain their health and seem to reverse in age? It's so inspiring to learn about and from other raw food stylists.

A few weeks ago I met Lou Corona, a Holistic Health Educator in Orange County. He has been living a 'clean, serene, and energetic lifestyle' for 38 years! I couldn't believe he's 59. Eating 'rabbit food' is definitely not a 'women's thing' only, guys!

And today I found this interview with Mimi Kirk by Woman Go Raw: She's 2009 "Sexiest Vegetarian over 50",
a contest created by PETA. She was the oldest one in the contest at 71(!) and attributes her youthful looks and vitality to her raw vegan lifestyle, although she's has been a vegetarian since her 30s.



Wow, I want to feel and look like that in my 70s! She seems like a total sweetheart, and when I was watching some of her videos I wanted to have her over for dinner some day. I love what she said in one of her interviews: "I always have a smile on my face which makes my wrinkles look pleasant."

Let's try to smile through your day!

Love,

Elis :-*

How many of us out there have started making our New Year's resolutions come true?

When I cleaned up my desk today, I found the Flying Wish Paper my sister and brother in law gave us last year. It was a wonderful idea, and I thought of the magical moment on New Year's Eve: to watch our wishes and resolutions for 2011 lift off and fly.

New Year's resolutions. New Year. New You. The impending vows to eat healthier, lose weight, have more 'me' time, spend more time with your family, and, and, and... If you haven't started yet, that's ok. But let me give you an idea of how to make your resolutions come true in 2011: Think of your resolutions as concrete changes in your lifestyle. Be good to yourself and take 'baby steps'. Make simple plans that are possible to stick with throughout the whole year. And 2011 will be your year!

Laugh a lot, love a lot, take things as they come and don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. I hope 2011 is going to be the year you made your resolutions come true!

Love,

Elis :-*

P.S. You can find the Flying Wish Paper here: http://www.flyingwishpaper.com/, or you just cut a tea bag open, empty it and use the fine paper roll. That'll work as well! ;-)

What are the dessert rules?

Dessert first. Just simple as that.
Enjoy your dessert any time of the day.
Indulge and relax.

Raw dessert, that is! And I'm not talking about funnily decorated celery and carrot sticks. There are a lot of opinions out there to explain proper digestion. My motto is: Be your own judge. Experiment and form your own opinion rather than just taking it at face value. What is good for one may not be for another.

Myths or Tuth?
Dessert first, greens 30-45 minutes after fruit, honey and other sweets as they require acid to digest?
- I personally love to have my dessert whenever I want, and I feel good. What's your experience?

Anyhow, I loved my breakfast idea this morning: a rawlicious chocolate cream muesli. Please feel free to try it:

- 1 banana
- 1 avocado
- 1 tsp raw honey
- 2 tsp raw cacao powder
- 2-3 tsp raw shredded coconut
- 1-2 tsp goji berries
- 2-3 tsp chia seeds
- 2-3 tsp walnut pieces
- 1-2 tsp chocolate nibs
- handful peppermint leaves

Peel, cut, mash banana and avocado. Mix with honey and cacao powder. Put chocolate cream in little bowls and decorate with seeds, nuts, berries, chocolate nibs and peppermint. Indulge! It will almost feel like a perfect Sunday morning! :-)

Have dessert for breakfast!

Love,
Elis :-*

Forever raw?

This is a question I'm asked a lot. The answer is: I don't know. All I know is that right now I'm excited about being 97-100% raw and the raw food lifestyle I live. It changed my life. Somehow it feels like a defining moment that has brought everything into focus. Everything that seemed impossible before, maybe it could happen now!? I hope it does. Only time can tell where this journey is going to take me. Let's call it 'broadening your horizons'...

Strive to live a raw food lifestyle! I hope all your dreams will come true.

Love,
Elis :-*

What would you call that flavor?

I never was a 'cooking girl'. But since I'm raw, I sometimes feel like Disney's Ratatouille. My taste is a lot more sensitive than it used to be, and I love to experiment with different kind of flavors. It's all about how to create a wonderful marriage of flavors and textures. Almost sounds like I'm a little chef! ;-)

I want to share with you a recipe I love: Juliano's Cheezy Kelp Noodles with portobello mushrooms, green onions and fresh basil on top. It's really easy to prepare. Here's the basic recipe from his website http://www.planetraw.com/:

Cheezy Kelp Noodles
Prep Time: 10 - 15 minutes
Wait Time: 1 hour
Equipment: Vita-Mix blender, Excalibur dehydrator
Lasts: 1 day
Servings: 4

- 2 packages Sea Tangle Kelp Noodles
- 1⁄2 c nut cheeze (see below)
- 1⁄8 c olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
- 1⁄4 tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1 TBS fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp Bragg Aminos
- 3 TBS Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix everything in mixing bowl, add 4 TBS chopped portobello mushrooms, 2 tsp green onions and 2 tsp fresh basil, minced, and place in the dehydrator for 1 hour. For juicier taste I recommend to cover it.


Nut cheese
- 2 c cashews (I used 1 c cashews and 1 c Macademia nuts)
- 1 tsp de-stemmed finely minced fresh rosemary
- 3 TBS fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp Celtic sea salt
- 1 1⁄2 c water

Blend into a thick cream, add more water if needed.


I wish I could share it with you. It's got this kind of nutty, melty taste... Raw Appetit!

Love,
Elis :-*

Are we the new trendsetters?

This afternoon I met with one of my girl-friends for dessert at Juliano's Planet Raw Restaurant in Santa Monica. Over Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Parfait (so sorry, I didn't manage to take a picture of the Chocolate Mousse - yum ;-) we talked about the 'new lifestyle'.

Looking back, I was introduced to raw food in 1994 but really fell in love with raw living food in 2010. There's something very special about eating raw living food. I learned it's far from just 'boring' salads. 'Living gourmet cuisine' consists of creamy and crunchy dishes - all created from fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains - the plates look like art to me.

Today raw food restaurants are popping up internationally. Hollywood's celebrities are touting its fountain of youth and beauty benefits. People around the world talk about eating living raw food as something to be discovered, as though it is THE revolutionary way of living. The truth is, it isn't exactly a new concept, it is centuries old.

All trends come in waves, and they are often times here today and gone tomorrow. The 'hottest trend' in health - going raw -  isn't just a fad, I think, it's here to stay. Today there’s a lot of emphasis on how you eat and what you eat. Food has become kind of 'fashionable'- and consumers want to know more about it. So professional chefs might unexpectedly have become influential culinary figures who have the great opportunity to educate consumers about a healthy, balanced diet, and I hope it will have an impact.

As living raw food is a lifestyle, it's not just about eating raw food but living it. The philosophy behind it is both nutritional and spiritual. I think, it doesn't matter whether you are just raw-curious, increasingly raw, mostly raw or 100% raw, either way is fine. But the more fresh, living foods you consume daily, the healthier your mind and body will be.

Inspire your friends to add 'living foods' into their meal plans! This 'new' way of eating is rawlicious, easy and so much fun. Remember, you are what you eat.

Love,
Elis :-*

In a city like Los Angeles with its infinite possibilities, when is the right time to start living the good life?

"A magic dwells in each beginning, protecting us, telling us how to live.” My husband recited these lines from Hermann Hesse's poem "Steps" on Christmas Day. It is one of my favorite poems. It reminds me that every phase of our life has something good to offer, and something new and different to teach us.

You can probably imagine how overwhelmed I was by my husband's creative gift (wrapped in hundreds of our happy moments pictures) asking me to start living the good life on Christmas Day. For 1 year or longer - full time good life.

I want to share with you my Raw Food Lifestyle Journey - Raw and the City at the intersection of food and the good life. I look forward to seeing what the future brings.

Let this be the 1st day of the rest of your good life!
Steps
As every blossom fades
and all youth sinks into old age,
so every life’s design, each flower of wisdom,
attains its prime and cannot last forever.
The heart must submit itself courageously
to life’s call without a hint of grief,
a magic dwells in each beginning,
protecting us, telling us how to live.

High purposed we shall traverse realm on realm,
cleaving to none as to a home,
the world of spirit wishes not to fetter us
but raise us higher, step by step.
Scarce in some safe accustomed sphere of life
have we establish a house, then we grow lax;
only he who is ready to journey forth
can throw old habits off.

Maybe death’s hour too will send us out new-born
towards undreamed-lands,
maybe life’s call to us will never find an end
Courage my heart, take leave and fare thee well.

As Hermann Hesse is a German poet and writer, here is the original version:

Stufen
Wie jede Blüte welkt und jede Jugend
Dem Alter weicht, blüht jede Lebensstufe,
Blüht jede Weisheit auch und jede Tugend
Zu ihrer Zeit und darf nicht ewig dauern.
Es muß das Herz bei jedem Lebensrufe
Bereit zum Abschied sein und Neubeginne,
Um sich in Tapferkeit und ohne Trauern
In andre, neue Bindungen zu geben.
Und jedem Anfang wohnt ein Zauber inne,
Der uns beschützt und der uns hilft zu leben.

Wir sollen heiter Raum um Raum durchschreiten,
An keinem wie an einer Heimat hängen,
Der Weltgeist will nicht fesseln uns und engen,
Er will uns Stuf´ um Stufe heben, weiten.Kaum sind wir heimisch einem Lebenskreise
Und traulich eingewohnt, so droht Erschlaffen,
Nur wer bereit zu Aufbruch ist und Reise,
Mag lähmender Gewöhnung sich entraffen.

Es wird vielleicht auch noch die Todesstunde
Uns neuen Räumen jung entgegensenden,
Des Lebens Ruf an uns wird niemals enden ...
Wohlan denn, Herz, nimm Abschied und gesunde!

Happy and Healthy New Year 2011!

Love,
Elis :-*