I was flipping through my VegNews and stumbled upon yet another reason why Portland, OR is such a superb veg-friendly city. They have opened up the first ever all-vegan mini mall. That’s right. One stop shopping for vegan clothes, literature, accessories, and of course, food. This is monumental on so many levels. It gives vegans a place to go to get all kinds of goodies that don’t sacrifice their beliefs. You can buy that leather belt, eat that slice of heavenly cheesecake, or get that tattoo sleeve you’ve been longing for, all in full confidence that no animals were harmed in the process. It also gives vegans a sense of community. It’s a place to hang out with like-minded folks. And finally, it’s great promotion. A way to show the doubters that there is such a thing as delicious vegan food, and faux suede shoes can be high quality.

So far, the businesses included in the mall are Sweet Pea Baking Company, Scapegoat Tattoo, Herbivore Clothing Company, and Food Fight Grocery. And it sounds like they have room to grow if you know of any vegan companies that are interested.

The world’s first vegan mini mall is located at 12th and Starks streets in Southeast Portland. 503-281-TOFU. I hope all major cities wise up to the brilliance of this idea.

Hoorah! 46 days as a raw foodist! Done! Though I must admit there were a few moments of weakness when I broke the 100% raw thing and had a cooked meal, or a bite of a cooked meal. Towards the end my stomach was having a rough time with the raw food so I cheated a little to keep my stomach from collapsing altogether. But I’d say I had at least 35 days of being 100% raw and the cheat days I was about 80% raw or more. Overall, I’m really glad I did it. It was a relief to do an extreme detox. It was a nice break from my usual caffeine, artificial sweeteners, processed food and alcohol that I consumed on a regular basis. The hardest part was on cold days when I couldn’t have a nice hot drink to warm me up. If I wanted anything hot, I drank hot water. And there were definitely times where I was so sick of raw food, slaved over a raw meal and ended up hating it, and became desperate for something new and tasty. But it was all a learning process, and I still have plenty to learn.

Since going back to cooked food I’m trying to be gradual. My body is no longer used to cooked food so I’m really putting my stomach through the ringer right now. Raw food is too rough and cooked food is unfamiliar. I had a big bean burrito for lunch yesterday, and though it tasted amazing, I was in agony afterwards. My stomach hurt so bad and my acid reflux was in full effect. Oy!

But I guess that’s good in a way. I don’t want to go crazy and start packing on the pounds by eating too much processed food. My body won’t let me. So I’m going to continue making my green drink in the morning, and probably eat mostly raw food during the day and maybe a cook up a nice dinner. I want to continue the raw thing but I’m not ready to be 100%. From what I’ve heard, many raw foodists say it took them a couple of years before going all raw. I can see why. Diving into it is not very realistic. It takes a lot of research and planning, learning how to make plenty of delicious raw meals so you don’t get bored or malnourished, etc. and it’s easier on your body if you gradually adjust your diet.

Here are some of the best things that I’ve gotten out of this whole ordeal: I really listen to my body now. I eat to fuel myself. I can sense when my body is craving leafy greens or a banana. And in the last couple of months, pretty much everyone I work with has gotten sick except for me. My immune system is stronger than ever. My stomach has gotten smaller and I get full much faster. I eat more slowly and really appreciate what I eat. I don’t need as much sleep, I am more efficient with getting work done, and I have more endurance when I excersize. And overall, I’ve just been a happier person. I’ve been more confident, have had less anxiety (even though it’s my busiest time of the year at work), and more ambition. I signed up for a pole-dancing class with some friends just for the hell of it. I have a more positive outlook on life. Not that I was a very depressed person, but I just feel like a weight has been lifted off of me and I’m more excited about life. It’s really amazing what a healthy, clean diet can do for your outlook on life.

I didn’t have any dramatic weight loss like I hear happens to many people when they go raw. I was all ready to be a sexy skinny size 2 with radiant blemish free skin and rock-hard abs. Ah well. Maybe if I go to one of those raw resorts for a month and get tons of colonics and wheatgrass enemas and fast on green juices I’ll have better luck. But until I am able to take that much time off of work (taking a whole week off is hard enough!) I guess my transformation to perfection will have to be more gradual.

I challenge you all to add more raw food into your diets. Give yourself a good cleansing. You’ll understand why raw foodists are so devoted to this lifestyle. It really is magical.

Ready for spring? Me, too. This smoothie will make you sing spring. Drink it in…

• 1 banana
• Juice from 2 mandarins
• 1 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks in 100% pineapple juice (no preservatives)
• 6 strawberries

Blend all ingredients together for a bright pink, decadent smoothie! Serves 2

That’s what I said when I heard there was a raw version of Pepsi hitting the streets. How could they possibly take something made of chemicals and convert it to all natural ingredients? On the other hand, I guess they’ve converted plenty of natural foods into chemical flavors, why not go the other direction? I am pleased. I never thought “natural” and “soda” would go together. Perhaps this is a response to the Coke Plus (the chemical soda containing vitamins). We’ll see if Coca-Cola responds to Pepsi Raw by making a Coke Health Shake or something. Such cute competitors they are. But hey, if they’re competing for the healthiest soft drink, I’m in full support. And if this is a hit, just imagine how the energy drink trend could shift. Like Michael Pollan says: Don’t Eat Anything That Doesn’t Rot. Hooray for natural ingredients!

Here are the ingredients in Pepsi Raw:

• apple extract
• plain caramel colouring
• coffee leaf
• tartaric acid from grapes
• gum arabic from acacia trees
• cane sugar
• sparkling water

The word on the street is “It is paler in colour and less fizzy than other cola brands.” Is the soda really made of “raw” ingredients? Nothing heated over 118 degrees? I doubt it. But I sure as heckfire want to try it. I guess it’s currently only being sold in the UK. I really hope it makes it’s way over to the US. It could do a world of good over here where much of the country survives on soda and highly processed foods. This would be a great asset to the rising health trend. Apparently they haven’t made a new Pepsi drink in a decade, so they better be pretty confident that this is a good idea.

Many vegans, health nuts, and raw foodists alike love the green drink. It’s a great way to jumpstart your morning. And if you are trying to follow the 3 Body Cycles, this is the perfect way to begin your day. There’s no one way to make a green drink. Every morning I like to try a new combination of vegetables, maybe with a little fruit added for sweetness. Here’s one I find to be particularly tasty.

• A handful of freshly cut wheatgrass
• A handful of baby carrots or chopped carrots
• A handful of Goji Berries
• Around 1 C water, more as needed to make juice-like

If you have a juicer, use it! If not, you can blend all of these up in a blender (I like to use my cup-size blender) and then strain to remove any chunks or fibers. Use a spoon to stir and push the liquid through the strainer if it’s being stubborn. The result is a deliciously fresh glass of juice. Your body with thank you.

Lately, I’ve been getting pretty bored with the raw food I’ve been making. And the last several recipes I’ve made were not to my liking. I was starting to feel pretty down about raw food. But I had heard there was a raw restaurant nearby, and last night I finally made the trek over there. I am soooo glad I did.

Omar’s Living Cuisine, located in the Sugarhouse district at 2148 South Highland Dr. in Salt Lake City, has the appearance of a “natural” cafe. The unpainted wood furniture and natural colors throughout the restaurant are comforting. Our waitress was very sweet and very dedicated to the raw lifestyle. She said she wasn’t even vegan or vegetarian prior to going raw. She ate meat and dairy and thought she was fairly healthy until she went to a raw seminar and was blown away. It took her about 2 years of gradually incorporating raw food into her diet and now she maintains about a 97% raw lifestyle and says she drinks alcohol occasionally. She also said working at Omar’s helped her with her raw diet because she has learned so much about raw food and they have a constantly changing menu so she gets to try many new recipes. One customer asked her what she recommended (you could tell he was unfamiliar with the raw diet) and she said, honestly, I can’t recommend anything because I love it all.

I’ve recently started subscribing to a weekly email from Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach. Her most recent email contained an article I found intriguing. Instead of thinking about how you nourish your body on a daily basis, think about each day as a series of 3 cycles. Each cycle serves a different purpose.

• Stage 1, which occurs between 4 am and noon is Elimination. This is when your body is at its peak hours for eliminating. During these hours, it’s best to help aid your body with elimination or “housecleaning”, not prevent it. You can do this by eating fruits, veggies, and drinking green drinks because they require the least amount of digestion. These items help continue the elimination process. Once you start eating other foods your elimination will halt.
• Stage 2, which occurs between noon and 8pm is called Appropriation. This is the peak time to eat because your digestion capability is at an all time high. We are also burning food up faster because we are awake and active (ideally). But don’t eat if you’re not hungry. Listen to your body and eat when you feel the need. Learn to get in tune with your natural hunger signals.
• Stage 3, which occurs between 8pm and 4am is Assimilation.This is the time when you make use of the food you’ve eaten. Much of this time you’ll likely be asleep (ideally) and your body can run it’s course, absorb the nutrients, heal and rebuild your body. Once that’s done, the body is ready to start cleansing and eliminating which leads back to Stage 1.

For anyone who is trying to lose weight, listening to this cycle is supposed to be a great help. This was taken from a raw foods article but I think it can be applied to any diet. One of my favorite things to make in the morning is a shot of wheatgrass. Maybe eat a banana, orange or some other fruit. It’s a great way to jump start your day. And I can tell my body is in peak cleansing mode in the morning. But I was unaware of these cycles until today, so with this knowledge I think I can go even further with maximizing my health.

Update: I’ve been raw for… 32 days now. Wow! I do feel much better (though I definitely miss cooked meals, miss the taste of coffee, beer…). I think I’ve lost weight but I don’t own a scale so I can’t say how much. I don’t think it’s anything dramatic. As far as the energy level goes

Eating raw can be tough. It’s hard to find any prepared meals. So when you need something tasty and on-the-go, Raw Revolution is at your service. These things are so delicious. I especially like the spirulina and cashew. They fill you up and keep you happy. Raw snacks done right!