Choosing Raw

Celebrating an all-natural lifestyle

  • Home
  • About
  • Plant Based Lifestyle
  • Digestion
  • Get Started
  • Recipes
  • Archives
  • Is CR for You?
  • Contact

Pure Gratitude

Written by Gena on December 20, 2009 - 27 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Hi all,

Hope you had a lovely weekend. Mine was filled with snow (all hail the great Blizzard of ‘09!), with some cooking, with holiday parties (including a very nice gathering at a friend’s place last night, as the winds raged around us), and with some live performances (a culture vulture friend was visiting).

Thanks to Michelle and Lori, it was also filled with raw treats!

The holidays are wonderful, but they can also be difficult. I know I’ve struggled to purchase all of my last minute gifts this weekend, to bake some last minute goodies for my colleagues, and to keep my head straight as I sort through Christmas plans (being a child of divorce makes the holiday schedule slightly complex). But there are some folks who manage to make time to do kind, thoughtful things for others, even as the holidays test their patience and energy. And the Pure2Raw twins are most definitely such people.

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to recieve the following package:

047-500x375

It was assortment of raw breads (including such scrumptious varieties as swiss chard and black sesame seed flatbread), crackers (some of which I scarfed up immediately, including a kale and pumpkin seed cracker), and sweets (like fudgy chocolate ginger coconut bites):

049-500x375

Lucky, lucky me!

The Twins, as you know, are the geniuses behind Twin Cakes, where they offer catering services, baked goods, and raw cooking class. Their amazing un-baked goods are not only highly delicious, but cruelty free and supremely health-conscious! The Twins, unlike other raw un-bakers, take care not to overdo it on nuts, and they even use a combination of stevia and dates/agave in some of their recipes so that the sugar content is moderate. Good stuff!

The best news for you all is that you can order packages of their excellent products online at the Twin Cakes website, or you can find out more about the opportunity to learn directly from the ladies themselves! The Twins are also offering a special January package of scrumptious, yet all natural and healthy goodies to help you begin the year off right. Paired with participation in the Choosing Raw + Spark! Wellness January Cleanse, I think it’s the best kind of start to a new year!!

Lori and Michelle are some of the warmest, kindest, and most devoted raw folks I’ve met. They believe deeply in good health through raw and vegan nutrition, and they’re 100% committed to the lifestyle. What you see on their blog (that is, kindness, intelligence, and determination) is most certainly what you get in person. I thank the twins for sharing their culinary wizardry with me at Christmas!

I also thank them for bestowing the Beautiful Blogger Award on me! I’m a little late in sharing it, but I was so flattered to recieve it from them.

blogaward

This award asks me to share seven random things about myself with you all. Here they are, a mix of intimate and trivial, food related miscelleny, in no particular order:

1) I’ve lived my whole block in the same forty block radius of Manhattan. I know I’ve told you this before, but quite honestly, it’s so peculiar to me sometimes that I often repeat it.

2) I’ve wanted to be an editor since I was a kid. Most editors–who are writers who had a change of heart, or academics-to-be who got dissilusioned, or people who couldn’t decide what to do with an English degree–think it’s freakish that I knew so early, and also strange that I never nursed dreams of being a writer myself (which I didn’t, and don’t; editing is my forte!).

3) I was not popular in high school. At all. In fact, I was nerdy and bookish and quiet and often the brunt of teasing; on the other hand, I was a little snooty about my book smarts. I like to think I’ve grown out of the snootiness, and grown into more of a social butterfly.

4) The only vegetables I do not like are radishes and onions. And cooked spinach; I love raw spinach, but cooked spinach gives me the creeps.

5) Though I’m half Greek, I don’t identify with my Greek heritage very much at all; I’m an Episcopalian, not orthodox, and don’t speak a word of the language, save some curse words. It’s neither a good or bad thing, but given how overwhelming Greek culture can be, it’s odd.

6) I went to an all girls’ school in NYC. And we had uniforms. Contrary to what people assume, though, it was about as far from Gossip Girl as can be: I was actually very sheltered growing up, and very well behaved (painfully so), and didn’t even think about dating till my senior year of high school. Far cry from the New York City kid stereotype!

7) I hate watermelon. Like, a lot. I’m not much of a fruit lover in general, but watermelon really sinks to the bottom of my list. I know most people like it, but not me!

And now, seven people to whom I pass the torch!

1) Melissa

2) Jessica

3) Katherine

4) Aletheia

5) Diana

6) Tasha (who’s having a giveaway right now!)

7) LC

Love to you all!

It’s another busy week, but I promise to return with some pre-Christmas recipe posting. Get excited.

xo

27 Comments

Choosing Raw 2009 Holiday Gift Guide!

Written by Gena on December 15, 2009 - 37 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized

Hey guys!

Keep your awesome responses to the Choosing Raw and Spark! Wellness Cleanse coming! I’m so excited that many of you have expressed interest in it.

I know that I’m a little late on this (just like me — saving holiday shopping for the last moment), but I’m here with my official Choosing Raw holiday gift guide. I began this baby a few weeks ago, and it seems to have gotten longer and longer as the days of holiday shipping grow fewer and fewer. There are so many wonderful things to give a vegan, a raw foodie, or anyone who takes an interest in health and wellness!

What you don’t see here are my very favorite gifts: handmade ones. I didn’t include those because they’re best when they’re personal and unique, but some great ideas include knit scarves and hats (for a great post on vegan knitting, click here), homemade vegan peppermint donut holes, candied nuts, pickled vegetables or homemade sauerkraut, or homemade kombucha (what a lineup of lovely raw ladies that was!).

If you’re short on time, or you’d like to invest in a gift, though, here are my top picks for everyone on your list! Hope they give you some last minute inspiration.

For a major splurge:

1) VitaMix, Blendtec or Dehydrator

vitamix_fruit

2) Infrared Sauna

3) Rebounder

rebounder1

4) Water Filtration System

5) Trip to an eco-friendly resort

resort

For the Fashionista

1) Kate’s Design eco-friendly bracelets

032photo

2) Beau Soleil Groove Dress

beau-soleil

3) 7 For All Mankind Organic Slouchy Jeans

4) Non-leather bag from The Sak

5) Stella McCartney shoes

shoe

For the Foodie

1) Bamboo knife set from Target

knifeset

2) Membership to an Organic Wine Club

3) Bell Canning Jar Set

fresh_preserving_kit_p

4) Slow Food Apron from MotherTongues

apron

4) New Salad Spinner

5) Indoor Pot Herbs

potherbs

For the Yogi

1) Jade Yoga Mat (because you can never have too many)

2) Bendie Yoga Bags

bendiebag

3) Lululemon Gift Certificate

4) Yoga Is Yummy yoga DVDs!

yogaisyummy

5) Sigg Water Bottles

For the Eco-Fanatic

1) Indoor Compost Keeper

compost

2) Donation to The Conservation Fund

3) Voltaic Solar Backpack

backpack6v

4) Buy Carbon Offsets

5) A Rain Barrel

For the Book Lover

1) The China Study

thechinastudy

2) Eating Animals

eating-animals

3) Living Raw Food

livingrawfood

4) Eat, Drink and Be Vegan

edandbv

5) Food For Life

food-for-life


Stocking Stuffers

1) Priti Nail Polish

priti

2) Lululemon headband

headband

3) One Lucky Duck Macaroons or Cookies

macaroons

4) Whole Foods Gift Certificates

5) Food Tee

food-tee

6) Fine and Raw Chocolate Bon Bons

bon-bon

7) Dry Brush

dry-brush

8  ) Oracle Organics Soap

soap

9) Pacifica Soy Candle

candle

10) Set of Five Reusable, Eco-Friendly Tote Bags

totes

You can also check out TreeHugger for a great eco-friendly gift guide, Melissa’s blog for a fitness-savvy run down, and Bitt’s blog for more raw ideas.

Happy Holidays!

xo

37 Comments

  • Foodbuzz

  • Recent Posts

    • Bad Blogger.
    • Progress and Perfection
    • Avocado, Chocolate, and Sweet Potato Pudding
    • Eating For IBS: Soluble Fiber
    • Low(er) Fat Green Pea Guac
  • Recent Comments

    • Maria (Tough Cookie) on Bad Blogger.
    • Freya @ Brit Chick Runs on Bad Blogger.
    • bitt on Bad Blogger.
    • Heather (Heather's Dish) on Bad Blogger.
    • Molly on Bad Blogger.
  •     
  • Search

  • Archives

    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • February 2009
  • Pages

    • About
    • Archives
    • Client Testimonials
    • Contact
    • Digestion
    • FAQs
    • Get Started
    • Is CR for You?
    • Nutritional Counseling
    • Plant Based Lifestyle
    • Recipes
    • Recommendations
  • Food Blogs

    • 101 Cookbooks
    • Chocolate Covered Katie
    • Diet, Dessert and Dogs
    • Eat, Live, Run
    • Eating Bender
    • Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
    • Fitness NYC
    • Hangry Pants
    • Happy Herbivore
    • Heather Eats Almond Butter
    • Hungry, Hungry Hippie
    • Kath Eats
    • Oh She Glows
    • Peas and Thank You
    • Rhodey Girl Tests
    • Runner Wife's Life
    • Soap and Chocolate
    • The Broccoli Hut
    • The Whole Plate
    • Trying to Heal
    • Vegan Crunk
    • VeggieGirl
    • Zesty Cook
  • Raw Food Blogs

    • A Bitt of Raw
    • Crazy Sexy Life
    • Ginger is the New Pink
    • In the Raw
    • Kristen’s Raw
    • Pure 2 Raw
    • Rawdorable
    • Rawmazing
    • The Fitnessista
  • Tags

    Asian avocado banana beets blogger meet ups chloe chocolate dehydrator dessert dressing dressings giveaway giveaways grains guacamole guest post hemp holidays how to hummus Interview January 2010 Cleanse juicing kale meet ups Musings nut milk nut pate product review pudding Pure Food and Wine Question of the week Raw Wednesday Challenge recipe Restaurants salad sea vegetables smoothie soup Spark! Wellness spiralizer sweet potato travel well combined zucchini pasta

Testimonials

–Lyn D., Maryland
Before I started working with Gena, I wasn’t sure whether it would be worth it, since I knew what I “should” be doing. Her counseling, however, turned out to be a key factor in my success.

Not only does she have great advice when I am struggling, but her realistic approach helped me make major changes despite having no time and limited funds. Her recipes and ideas are for real people with lives beyond their diets, and they are great. Gena is down to earth and non-judgmental. She strikes a great balance between encouraging me to go a little father but to keep things in perspective and have fun with the process.

Read more >>

FAQ

So where do you get your protein?
Ah, the million dollar question. I know that my fellow raw foodists are uttering a collective sigh of frustration with me. But it’s inevitable, so here goes:

I get my protein from a wide array of vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. The notion that we need to supplement our diet with large amounts of protein, especially in the form of animal products, is mistaken: our bodies are capable of assembling amino acids from all of the foods we eat and building the “complete proteins” that we’ve all been told we need to get in a single sitting.

Read More >>

Recommendations

Juicer (average $50.00 - $500.00)
If you’re like me, and juicing is a crucial part of your lifestyle, then the cost of a juicer will absolutely be worth it! It will buy itself back again and again and again. The juicer I recommend is the Breville Two-Speed Juice Fountain Plus. It’s the only juicer I’ve ever owned, and it has never let me down. I recommend you invest in a juicer that has at least this level of performance in order to juice leafy greens.

Some of you have asked me whether it’s wiser to buy a juicer or a Vitamix.

Read More

Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor. The information on Choosing Raw is based on research, conversations with raw health practitioners, and my personal experience with raw foods only. It should not be taken as prescriptive advice. If you're seeking a formal medical diagnosis or prescription, I suggest you speak with a medical doctor. And of course, always discuss major dietary changes with your physician.

Site customized by Zesty Blog Consulting

Powered by frugal


Copyright © 2010 Choosing Raw