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A Weekend In The Raw Event w/ Karen Knowler

Nov 20th – 21st – London, England

Are you ready to meet and start creating the new super-healthy you? Here’s an exclusive invitation to do exactly that. Philip McCluskey just joined forces with The Raw Food Coach Karen Knowler to co-host the first-ever Weekend in the Raw, happening the 20-21^st November in LONDON!

And we’re really pumped about it! Why?

# 1 – because it celebrates raw food, which we love promoting

# 2 – (and most importantly) because it is going to spread the word to more and more people about the power of living raw.

# 3 – karen is launching her first book in 10 years, Raw Food Made Simple

Now, maybe you’ve been eating raw food for years. Maybe you’re just starting the raw lifestyle. Or maybe you’re just intrigued by raw, wondering if it’s the right direction for you. No matter at Weekend in the Raw! There’s a little something for everyone…

“A Weekend in the Raw” – a live, 2-day event happening November 20-21, 2010, at America Square Conference Centre, Tower Hill, London. “A Weekend in the Raw” is designed for the complete beginner through to the advanced raw foodie who wants to learn more about weight loss, gaining more energy and clarity and passion for life and how to make delicious food through living raw.

Knowler will be sharing the stage with popular American motivational speaker and weight loss expert Philip McCluskey, who will be telling his fascinating story of how he lost over 200lbs on a raw food diet when no other diet would work.

Seating is LIMITED, so you want to sign up FAST to make sure your VIP spot is reserved: www.weekendintheraw.com

More upcoming events…

Transforming Your Life Lecture/Dinner – Scotland

Nov 27th – Glasgow, Scotland

Join us for a fun event/lecture in Scotland to see and hear the weight loss expert Philip McCluskey. Learn how Philip released over 15 stone (over 200lbs) in 2 years on the world sexiest diet. Take home tips on how you can transform your life, lose weight, gain energy, and feel great! Be inspired and educated. 

5:30pm to 6:30pm Lecture by Philip

6:30pm to 7:15pm question and answer session plus book signing

8:00pm onwards – 3 course gourmet dinning experience with a selection of raw cocktails (alcoholic and non alcoholic) spring water, live music and raw chocolates 

* Book the dinner and the talk before Nov 15th and receive a gift bag worth £40 full of yummy goodies and discount vouchers

** Discounts available for single moms, unemployed, and students.

Tickets: £15 lecture only, £60 (lecture + dinner)
More Details

Get Juicy! Retreat with Philip McCluskey – Toronto Area

May 5th – 8th/11th 2011 – Ontario, Canada

Isn’t it about time you gave yourself a vacation? Sure is… as I know you definitely deserve it!
Join Philip McCluskey for up to 7 days of green juice, lectures, relaxing, and rejuvenating your body.
 
Where:
House of Verona Retreat Centre
Blue Mountain
Ontario, Canada

Menu:
Green juice, green coconuts, B12 & E3Live, and medicinal teas.

Activities:
Lectures, hiking, steam baths, hot tub, health library, farm tour, documentaries, relaxation and enjoying life with a supporting and loving community.

Optional Activities:
Dockside Yoga, Scandinavian Spa, Windsurfing

*Reserve your spot today as spaces are limited.

For more details or to book your ticket visit: GetJuicyRetreat.com

Future Events: More details to come on Philip’s upcoming lectures/dinners in Miami, West Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, Houston, Galveston, Spring, Dallas, Atlanta, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Seattle, Dubai, Australia, and NYC.

I am living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico with my 3-year-old daughter, Maia, and working as a Waldorf Kindergarten teacher in Mexico’s first ecological school.

I remember when I read the first “My Way” nearly two years ago, and I thought, “I will never, ever write one of those!” That was when I was eating all raw foods, and now, neither raw foodist nor vegetarian, and here I am giving a peek into my life.

I discovered raw foods in 2006 when I was only 18, one year after becoming a vegetarian. I decided to give it a go just for the fun of experimentation. I continued with it only for one summer, but in 2007, after giving birth to my daughter, I became ill with hyperthyroidism. I went back to raw foods for the following two years for health reasons. I am grateful for the healing that these foods provided me at that time.

A year ago, I made a choice which has radically changed my life: a move to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Here in the Caribbean, I have joined a community of teachers in an amazing initiative–Ak Lu’um International School—which is the first ecological school in Mexico and a developing Waldorf school. My understanding of “health” has been evolving daily since becoming a part of this community.

Now living in a different culture and economy and viewing poverty from a whole new perspective, I am increasingly thankful that I have food to eat at all. Having a daughter with severe celiac disease and other digestion difficulties, I am thankful for any food that is digestible and that provides nutrients to the body. We don’t abide to any particular “diet” other than strictly “gluten-free.”  Cooked or raw, I believe it is best to eat whole foods that are fresh, local and organic whenever possible, and even more importantly, to live a life rich in nutrients for the spirit and soul.

My Way: Audrey

Thursday – I wake up at 6:00 am- 15 minutes before my set alarm. I have been practicing not using an alarm by preparing myself the night before for the hour I must wake up.

Breakfast is a glass of water with fresh lime, yogurt with amaranth and raw honey (local and raw), and I grab an apple as I run out the door.

At 7:30 we have a teacher’s gathering at school to begin the day as a family with a verse, eurythmy, and a song.

“Estoy aqui. Abierto a la vida. Abrazo el mundo con amor, y lo llevo a mi Corazon”

“I am here. Open to life. I embrace the world with love, and take it to my heart.”

8:00 and my kindergarteners begin to arrive. We go together to the school kitchen to get the vegetables of the day, and together we prepare a salad. Today it is simple: lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and lime. At 10:30, our school chef, Señora Laura, finishes making us broccoli and eggs. We all sit down together by candlelight to sing “thanks” and share a meal.

While the children are outside at recess, I see that one of our papaya trees has a ripe papaya to eat. I bring it in and the children and I eat it together.

Our school has well over 30 papaya trees, is covered in passion fruit vines, has several lime and lemon trees, nopales (cactus), spinach, mango trees, chaya (a leafy green), tomatoes, peppers and banana trees growing. One of the school’s fathers has been attending biodynamic courses to help us with the gardens. Our goal is eventually be completely self sustainable. Along with our gardens, we use solar electricity to run a fan in every classroom and a computer in the office, we have a composting bathroom, maintain chickens and turkeys, and have our own water source.

We also have a dog, Pixie, and several cats that live at the school. Another one of our big excitements of the day is that one of the school’s cats has had kittens. We all visit the mother and her three adorable orange kittens. 

On Thursdays we have a staff meeting after school. At the end of the school day, the teachers close the school day together with a song and verse, and we prepare the table to share a meal before the meeting begins. The centerpiece of the table: a single passion fruit flower. Today, Señora Laura has made us a salad (lettuce and tomato) and soup with epazote (a delicious, common herb down here) and mushrooms.

The staff all goes out downtown together to chat after the meeting, and once finally at home, I snack on mandarins with my daughter and am in bed by 9pm. Mandarins are not quite in season, but they starting to come out which means soon one of my favorite winter treats will be available—fresh mandarin juice!

Friday – Today I wake up a full 30 minutes before I need to. It is still quite dark. I get up to take laundry off the clothes line, prepare my daughter for school, and I grab an apple to eat for breakfast as I walk out the door. 

The teachers meet together in the dome, as every morning, for a moment of group unity to start the day.

Verse of the week:

Resurrected deep within,
I can sense the breadth of my own being
And, filled with strength
Send radiant thoughts
From sunlike soul forces
To help resolve life’s mysteries,
And give fulfilment to many a wish
Whose wings were crippled by hope.
Rudolf Steiner, Calendar of the Soul: Week 28

I prepare salad with my children again (this time just lettuce and lime juice) and Señora Laura makes us spinach tacos with the spinach that grows in one of our gardens.

I stay late after school today to talk with the team of preschool teachers. We plan for the upcoming weeks when our children will be living a celebration of Day of the Dead. In a Waldorf School, we study and follow the rhythm of the year—including seasonal changes and festivals—and we bring this rhythm to life through the classroom curriculum.

I head home, get cleaned up, and go out for dinner with my boyfriend, Jaime, and my daughter for fresh seafood. I order a filet of fish with steamed vegetables. My broccoli-loving daughter steals my broccoli and eats the tops off of them.

In the evening, Maia goes to sleep at Jaime’s mother’s house, and Jaime and I head to the jungle and into a cave where a concert is to be held. The band is called “Bole.”  I have never heard of the band before, but I figure anything in a cave is something worthwhile to attend. It turns out to be relaxing music by candle light, deep into an INCREDIBLE cave. The best part is walking through the cave before the music even starts. I could have spent hours upon hours walking around.

One of the most amazing things about the Yucatan Peninsula is that underneath the entire peninsula is a system of underground caves. Many of them are filled with water and open up to tropical swimming holes of crystal clear mineral water called cenotes. The cave we head to is a part of a park with a large underground river called “Rio Secreto.”

Saturday – I wake up with my daughter at 7:30am. I grab a glass of water and begin to tidy up. We eat yogurt, amaranth, raw honey, and apples for breakfast.

The plan for the day is to head to a local, non-profit pet shelter (“The Peanut Pet Shelter”) to volunteer in the Saturday dog washing. When a teacher misses a faculty meeting at Ak Lu’um, they make up for it by volunteering their time to another local non-profit. I love that the consequence can be something so enjoyable. Unfortunately, I have trouble getting in contact with the shelter to find their location, as they recently have moved to a ranch in a nearby village. I decide to reschedule for next Saturday.

Homeless dogs and cats are a big problem throughout all of Mexico. Starving, sick, and often abused animals run through every street in town. The Peanut Pet Shelter puts forth an amazing effort to give these animals a new chance of life and family. Definitely a worthwhile cause to check out!

At noon, my daughter helps me prepare lunch. We make a great big salad. We don’t have a lot in the refrigerator today, so we go with something simple. She cuts the lettuce, and I cut up cucumbers and tomatoes. I serve it with fresh lime juice and sea salt, and tahini on the side. My daughter is a tahini freak and eats three plates of salad with tahini to dip her veggies. She calls it her “special sauce.” We are fortunate to have someone locally who sells fresh, raw tahini, as I have no blender or food processor.

1:00 is nap time for my daughter while I do some preparation for my week at school and start a bit of house cleaning armed with vinegar, tea tree oil and water.

In the afternoon Maia and I walk to a local park, La Ceiba, which is an ecological park that preserves natural wildlife. We bring a few plastic bottles, as they have started the first recycling efforts in town. An extra surprise for us is that today is the monthly Saturday community market at the park. It is just finishing up so we get to listen to some music and pass by the last few booths before they pack up. They are selling plants, baskets, natural soap/sunscreen/repellent products, local honey, clothing, jewelry and more. Afterwards, Maia plays on the swings there at the park.

Tonight for dinner: eggplant, carrots and chayote (a type of squash) in homemade tomato sauce.

Shortly after dinner, we get cleaned up, I tell Maia her bedtime story, and I stay up for a little bit of “me” time.

Sunday – I wake up at 6:30 with my daughter. She tells me that it is best to get up at the same time as the sun. I suppose she has a good point, but I am tired. We go into the kitchen so that I can cut up fruit- apples, mandarins, bananas. I lay in bed and read all morning while she digs in the dirt on the back patio, right outside of the bedroom.

At 11:00, we pack up to head to the beach. First, we make a stop at a local restaurant that makes fresh juice to pick up a liter. We go with a fruity one today with orange, pineapple, strawberry and kiwi. It was a nice treat for a hot, beach day. We meet friends and stay at the beach a few hours. There is hardly any beach (sand) today because the “almost” hurricane we had a few days ago really brought the sea up high, but that is the only evidence of the storm.  The sea is gorgeous, calm and turquoise and the sky is clear blue. I brought a few bananas to snack on, and everyone is grateful to have them after swimming!

At 2:30 we head to my boyfriend’s mother’s house to celebrate the birthday of a cousin. She has made fresh, green mole using a variety of greens, herbs and chiles which was something I had never tried. I tried it with some fresh tortillas, black beans with epazote, vegetables and rice, while everyone else ate chicken.

Once we get home, I eat the salad that is still leftover from yesterday, get Maia ready for bed, review my planning for my week of classes, read, and am in bed by 9:30.
————

I have to admit, that when I started reading back on my last few days, I began to feel anxious about sharing my diet with everyone. “Wait, that’s not healthy! That’s not raw! That’s not even vegetarian!” But, then I remember that one of the biggest steps to living a “healthy” life is not to judge, starting with not judging myself.

My name is Audrey and this is My Way

What a beautiful life Audrey. Thank you for being of such wonderful service to Mexico, which is dear to my heart. Please consider checking out Audrey’s Walforf School in Mexico, and offering support if you are called to… or hit her up on Facebook!

Heather Heather Haxo Phillips is an accomplished raw food chef who teaches classes and produces raw food events primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, and throughout California and the Western States.  Her classes are featured at premier venues such as Whole Foods Market and Cafe Gratitude. She is a certified raw food chef/instructor and graduate of the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. Spend time with her and you will find tools and inspiration to infuse more health and fulfillment into your life. Students say Heather’s classes are inspiring, informative, well presented — and fun!

My Way: Heather

Wednesday - 6:25 am, I wake up. 6:30 am, Bashir’s alarm clock rings loudly. Bashir ignores it and falls back asleep for another hour. I lay there for about 10 minutes wishing I could do the same. Doesn’t look like it’s happening. When this girl is up, she is up!

I always ask my husband Bashir to keep his alarm clock off, because I often teach late until the evenings and I really appreciate my sleep, but he refuses. This alarm is part of his routine, even if most days it doesn’t get him out of bed. That’s OK, because Bashir is the most supportive husband a raw food chefstress could ask for. He carries my heavy boxes, allows me to stop mid-sentence to catch phone calls, and dons an apron without any hesitation. For that, he can have his rotten morning routine.

My morning routine?  Most mornings I grab my iPhone and read email in bed while waiting to see if I can fall back asleep. All this Raw Bay Area energy keeps the sleepies at bay so I head to the kitchen for a big glass of water with a few drops of dhla-nanoplex. On the way out I say good morning to the sprouts:  summer wheat, winter wheat and sunflowers (for this weekend’s class) and broccoli, radish, clover (for me). Then head upstairs to my yoga studio for pranayama.

Today I woke up wired about my most ambitious raw food project yet: a chef showcase at Thanksgiving to help our raw food community stay rawsome through the winter and thrive through the holidays. So I chose a pranayama to help balance my brain. I started with simple Ujjai breathing but the stuffed nose wouldn’t allow it. Khabalabati worked great though so I stuck with that.

By 8am, I am in my office working and drinking chai. Bashir makes the most amazing chai! Ironically, we stayed up late last night too, having a debate about whether chai was healthy. He is starting a chai business, ‘cause his chai is the bomb! He put 100% healthy on the label and I totally balked. Perhaps plain milk and sugar are not as bad for you as a Big Mac, but they are not a health food. Tasty, yes they are. Bashir’s chai is the only animal product that I put in my body with any regularity. It is love in a mug.  I have made it with all sorts of different nut milks but it doesn’t taste the same. Oh well, milky love in a mug it is.

Around 9am, I wander out to the garden to take care of chores. We have a rather large urban homestead, sharing 3 units with raw food enthusiasts, growing much of our food and hosting a menagerie of chickens, bees and even newts. Our vegetable and flower garden is a lot to take care of, but this morning we harvested a-plenty: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, fava beans and much too enormous zucchini.

I came in from the house by 11 ready for breakfast.  Breakfast is eggs for Bashir and somthin’ truly yummy and satisfying for me. Today it was a glass of fresh green juice with a spoonful of Mila in it, followed by some coconut yogurt that I made with Lisa Paris the other day. I made a parfait topped with raw granola, a gift from my friend Chef Lisa Books-Williams. You can check out how to make your own yogurt parfait here.

Powered up, I got a ton of work done this morning.  I had a great planning session with Darcy Crosman, who runs our 300-member strong Oakland Raw Food Meet-Up. I planted my sprouts, and made some hibiscus-orange kombucha.

At noon, I take a break from all the work stuff to take care of my volunteer gig.  I am on the board of the Iyengar Institute of San Francisco. Every day I take time out to do something to improve this world through Iyengar Yoga.

By 2 o’clock I am hungry again. Being in work mode, I just grabbed a small bowl of leftovers, a mash of cooked quinoa and beans with zucchini, topped with homemade raw salsa and nacho sauce. It hit the spot.

At 3 o’clock, I get a huge need for sugar.  Today it was satiated by a large glass of Grapefruit kefirade – a fermented blend of homemade coconut kefir and grapefruit juice.

Then Jeani my marketing angel came over and we worked and worked and worked on a whole bunch of cool projects. I needed another snack just before 5. After taking a huge slurp of E3 Live directly from the bottle in the fridge, out came the carrot-ginger soup made by Chef Patty Searle in her weekly to-go kit.  I topped the soup with my seasoned seeds and ate Lydia’s amazing new kale chips on the side. I lurve the new Mega Green she is carrying.

Tonight was one of the first nights in eons I didn’t have a class scheduled. So I went with Bashir to a friend’s birthday party in an awesome machine shop, in the old part of Oakland. Loved the setting, but didn’t love the food options – would you like the bisteak, tri tip, fish or cheese? Um, how about dinner at Café Gratitude? After enjoying the fire and the good company, Bashir whisked me out of the zone of the meat carnival and over to Gratitude.

I immediately feel festive from the taco salad I was eating.  We sat chatting with the manager Vanessa and ended up brainstorming about my upcoming holiday event. The line between my work and life is very thin, I suppose. Vanessa has so many ideas and we get to sample the very first night of Kombucha on tap. Lovingly made by Terces Engelhart herself. Afterwards, we walk next door to the church where I am hosting my next event and do a late night walk through. Super fun. Again, the line between my work and personal life is very thin.

Back home, spent a few hours on the computer and here it is 11:30pm. Time to go bed. I made the mistake of going to the kitchen and wound up playing with Bashir’s new industrial spice grinder. Another example of my idea of fun. I ground up my sprouted wheat berries a little bit to make them ferment more quickly, and then slipped them into water. In a few days my Rejevelac will be ready so that I can drink healthy probiotics and make some CHEESE.

Thursday -  I had the same morning routine with the alarm clock, but I did manage to get back to sleep.  Then I stayed in bed reading, so my day really didn’t begin till about 9:30. After my water, pranayama, and a cup of tea, Bashir and I got into a big discussion about the politics of humor on facebook, and the science of labeling on packaged goods such as P for parve and V for vegan. I tend to not ever pay attention to labeling on packages, cause I cannot remember that last time I bought anything packaged that I didn’t already know was raw vegan. But Bashir had a lot of opinions, and talking with him is always eye opening.

Its 11 am and I am thinkin’ about what else, food. I made Bashir some grapefruit juice ‘cause it makes him so happy.  I poured mine into a jar with kefir. Call it a mimosa or whatever you like, cause its good!  I chased it with a big gulp of E3 Live.

Before I could eat a real meal, I got distracted with other projects. Jennifer Cornbleet called and we had a planning meeting for the raw food intensives will are going to co-teach this winter. Jenny just moved to Oakland. Yipee! It is great to have a raw food pioneer and partner in crime in the East Bay. 

After the call, I was so hungry, so I went into the garden searching for a snack. My strawberry sugar bombs fit the bill. Bashir caught up with me there and we took some pictures together. I teach for the Institute for Urban Homesteading and Ruby the founder of the organization is writing a book on the subject. Ruby needed some before and after pictures from us. I took pictures with the chickens, which was totally weird for me. After two years of having the chickens I had never even touched them, much less modeled with them. I sorta felt like Brittany Spears and her snake, but not really. This is the thing about me and animals. I stopped eating red meat when I was 15. I went veg about 10 years ago. My raw vegan tendencies started 4 years ago. I just have no relationship with animals in that way anymore. I am not really interested in animals as pets or food. I can understand logically why some people want to have a different kind of relationship with animals. But my heart just really doesn’t get it anymore.

Ok now its 1 o’clock and I am really hungry. The beans and quinoa from our meal a few days ago is still in the fridge, so I warmed them up and put them in a bowl with huge pile of kale and topped it with a raw tahini green goddess style dressing.

The problem now is I need to go practice my yoga. I tried to practice several hours every day, but it takes a lot of discipline to make it happen. I suppose that is one of the main reasons I do yoga; to create and maintain a sense of discipline and order both inside and out. Anyhow, I did practice and felt great.

Tonight I was teaching – Green Juices and Smoothies at Café Gratitude – so I spent some time preparing the materials for that, and then off I went to the Café. It was a great class – well attended and folks were super enthusiastic about improving their own health. I stayed afterward to have dinner with Uma, my friend starting a raw food coop. He is raising bees on our property, and other gardens around the East Bay.

On my way home I did follow up work from the event I just hosted with Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes. You can check out Matt’s interview of me and Bashir from that event right here. In the video we share some tips on relationships when one person is raw and the other is not. 

Anyhow, by 8 pm I was kissing Bashir hello and then back in my kitchen. Bashir brought home a ton of foraged fruit including plums and white peaches. Super yum! I made a bunch of fruit leather and a huge vat of almond milk. I also worked on my new crustini recipe that I recently used for the Hot Chefs, Cool kitchen showcase. Bashir opened a bunch of coconuts for me, so I made some more coconut kefir and yogurt for Saturday’s class. By 11 pm I was in bed.

Friday – Today is a yoga day. Taught several classes, practiced and then helped Bashir get ready for his debut performance as a Chai Walla. My friend Elwyn Crawford makes the most amazing hats, and she invited us to her art opening where Bashir sold his famous brew, and I dished up the raw version.

 It made for a late night, and an early morning cause at 6 am we were at Café Gratitude in San Francisco to teach “Focus on Fermentation” an introduction to yummy foods like kefir, sauerkraut and komboucha. Despite the early hour, it was a ton of fun.

My work and my play are one and the same right now, and I couldn’t be happier. I used to work a day job where my schedule and projects were not my own. I was surrounded by donuts and pizzas and all sorts of foods and people that did not always make me feel very good.

Three years into my business, nearly 5 years into my raw food journey, I cannot imagine a better life. I work with people I love, and who love me back. I enjoy the projects I engage with. Mine is a world of abundance and opportunity, rather than obstacles and “I cannots.” I wake up most mornings feeling awesome and go to bed with peace in my heart. Raw food has simplified my life, helping me to appreciate the most important things. I am so grateful.

My name is Heather and this is My Way

Interested in trying some Iyenger Yoga? Check out Heather at HaxoYoga.com. Or if you are in the Bay area and looking for her upcoming events, check out RawBayArea.com, or catch up with her via Facebook.

I am the mother of two boys, Pierce and Roman, ages 1 and 2 and just 12 months apart. We, a crazy wild family of four, live together in a house near the beach in Leucadia, CA. I spend most of my time with my kids at home; I’m a homebody that loves to cook, eat healthy superfoods, play with my kids and get creative.

I’m also the sole owner of a small raw/vegan food company – called Kookie Karma, the business I started 5 years ago. And the founder of my second project – PUREmamas, a informational blog/site that helps families learn to incorporate raw superfoods into their otherwise normal diets. It’s full of my daily thoughts, tips, product ideas, modern kids rooms and awesome healthy recipes.

My Way: Juli

Monday – We woke up (as I do every day) to the sound of my 2 year old, getting himself out of bed, and then yelling at the bottom of the stairs “MOOOOMM. MOOOMMY!”

I brushed my teeth and then about 2 minutes later my 1 year old yells “mom!!!” really loud from his crib for me to come and get him. He is NOT the morning person, let me tell you. He throws things out of his crib out of pure frustration, things like that. For no reason other than he’s grumpy.

After a fun breakfast of (usually the same) warm brown rice cereal or rolled oats (or we often have Kookie Karma krunchies – sprouted buckwheat cereal) topped with fresh homemade vanilla bean almond milk, flax oil and probiotics, Wes, the boys dad, left for the gym. On a side note: Wes just finished his first full Ironman a few months ago. Congrats to him.

At about the same time the wonderful babysitter got here. Monday is the ONE day a week I actually go into my Kookie Karma office here in San Diego. I have promised myself, and my family, that I will not work too much outside the home right now. So…we don’t push sales and I’m not rapidly growing my business, nor have I been for a few years. I am focusing on the west coast until my kids get a little older and keeping everything very low-key and stress-free.

My main love, purpose and passion in life is my kids right now! I think it’s important for mom AND dad to be there as much as they can IF and WHEN he or she can! Every family is different. I am lucky to have created a life that is fulfilling for me both as an entrepreneur and as a mom! It feels good to be at home with my kids everyday. Working on my other stuff during naps and in the evenings.

That being said, my Mondays are my empowering days when I get to accomplish a ton of non-kid things, be with adults, create, inspire and GET inspired.

But today, I spontaneously told my 2 year old that he could come to work with me??

Two of my main employees are actually husband and wife. They have been out of town on vacation so I have been in charge of a lot of ingredient buying, customer service and shipping stuff. It’s been so long since I have done it, but luckily it’s been a breeze and actually SUPER fun.

I took my son to our special market to buy vegetables for all of our krackers. We also picked up a few snacks (carrot beat juice – which he loved) at the health food store before ending our day at my office. Everybody always likes seeing him. He was so fired up to hang out that he of course kept touching things he wasn’t supposed to, pushing random buttons, running down the hallways yelling, and so on. At that point I remembered WHY I don’t usually bring him.

Note: my “office” is a large industrial kitchen where we make all kinds of raw vegan kookies and snacks. My team, on a normal week, also spends a lot of time creating new recipe ideas, which I love because that means I get to come in and taste test. I do most of the recipe making but it’s fun to play around with leftover dough, sauces, veggies, etc. In fact, Susan (she and her husband are vegans) created our choco banana cookie – a web exclusive. My employees have been with Kookie Karma for so long that MOST of the workday is really spent just sharing stories about the weekend, talking about life and politics and laughing at everybody’s bonehead mistakes.

Since I’m only in my office/kitchen ONCE a week I get really excited for cheesy kale krackers, salt & pepper krackers and kookies! I don’t stock too many at home so I devour when I go to the office. This is a good thing because on these workdays I’m usually too busy getting the boys all dressed and ready, breakfast together, etc. that I don’t have time to eat much food.

Plus, I normally would grab a HUGE glass of fresh squeezed orange juice but my family is on a no-sugar / candida diet this month. We have been on it ever since our trip to Napa. We sort of fell off the health-food wagon when we left for our trip. It’s hard to feed the children amazing healthy food when you travel. I do my best but realized that fruit/juice/wheat consumption was in excess. Ever since removing that stuff and ALL dairy from their diets we’ve been happier with more normal energy levels and sleeping patterns.

Speaking of kids and diets, last year we had a joint birthday party at a nearby park and it was an all raw party. The snacks included boxed organic raisins, a raw ice cream cake (courtesy of Tomberlies), fresh squeezed lemonade, cheesy kale chips, and my famous macaroons! I had no idea that everything would be such a hit with all the children – I was nervous that they would look at us like we were crazy – and of course some did not even want to touch any of it. 

On the way home I grabbed some new succulents and a few herbs and kale plants. I LOVE succulents and my yard is full of them. I get super excited to pot new ones.

When I got back it was SO hot that I decided to close all the blinds and turn on the fan. We are having a terrible heat wave in SD. It was 105 at my office. We live a block from the ocean so it’s much cooler but it was still in the 90s (first time all summer). After sitter went home and I planted plants and totally cleaned the house – windows, etc. Then I made this super awesome seaweed and cabbage salad with tahini dressing. I also baked brussel sprouts and cauliflower in the oven for a good 45 minutes (added olive oil, sea salt, miso mayo and majestic garlic paste) until they sort of caramelized. Then I added them to cooked black rice (black rice is my new favorite grain right now), sesame seeds and raw garlic.

We had friends and their two little girls coming over for “happy hour”. Again, we’re on this candida diet thing right now and wine is not an acceptable beverage. But, I served it up anyways! We all gathered outside in our indoor/outdoor courtyard and talked for hours while our kids all played around us and were coming inside and outside all night. Our house is fun in that it has these doors that open up onto an indoor/outdoor space with a cool fireplace, beer tap and tropical landscape.

The salads were a huge hit. Their 3 year old gobbled up the seaweed & cabbage.

That was our night! I put my kids to bed while Wes cleaned the dishes! We were tired and it was TIME FOR BED!

Thursday – I woke up totally happy because not only was the massive heat wave over with but there were huge thunderclouds overhead! One of my favorite things in the world is a THUNDER storm.  We don’t get them much down here in. Feels tropical.

The day started off quite mellow… made pancakes (whole grain, gluten-free, cooked with coconut oil) and topped them with that yummy Nutzo stuff (have you had this stuff yet?) as well as homemade xylitol jam. I don’t make pancakes more than once a month or every two months, but when I do, we ALL get excited. Sometimes we use maple syrup, too.

After such a long, crazy three days of work, it was nice to just drink green tea and sit around watching Thomas the Train in my pajamas, listening to thunder and playing in the rain.

During the boys naptime I cleaned the house and then sat down at the computer and wrote another post on my blog –a raw PB&J recipe makeover.

It’s actually really good and my boys loved it.

I checked emails and organized my calendar. I am terrible at this. I never usually even know what day it is! So that was quite a feat.

My blog is really easy for me to keep up. I basically just take photos of all the fun things we make, buy and do here at home. It doesn’t take as much time as you might think since I do my own graphics. In fact, I created my entire web site www.puremamas.com – for both my blog and my online store http://www.julinovotny.com using Dreamweaver and of course all those Adobe applications. I was quite proud of that and that’s why you’ll see lots of typos and weird programming errors at times, ha.

But, I’m still perfecting my camera skills. I have the Nikon D80 but don’t know how to do much more than to set it on AUTO and point and shoot. Terrible. So, I grabbed the camera a few times today and practiced focusing.

Then after naptime the boys’ dad took Pierce on the train downtown to the last Padres game of the season. I, meanwhile, took my youngest, Roman, shopping to one of my favorite local home décor stores and then to the paint/art store to buy a large canvas. I had a GREAT idea today and wanted to spend the evening alone, painting something for the wall above our sofa.

I SUCK at painting – I mean I’m TERRIBLE at it – but every time I do it, I tell myself “this time, it will be amazing!” And it never is. 

So, that brings me to now…I just got finished painting the base coat. It’s 4pm, I’m at the computer, it is super dark outside (because of the black clouds) and pouring rain as I write this. I love it.

Dinner tonight? Hmmmmm. Probably a salad – tons and tons of avocado with some herbs and greens, sesame seeds, and a ginger garlic dressing! That’s what I eat when I’m alone. My son will have some quinoa and avo as well. I make my kids breakfast, lunch and dinner almost every single day and night. It’s a challenge to come up with new healthy things, but again, that’s where my blog comes in.

As for myself, I normally have smoothies and green drinks a few times a day. But right now, for this “cleanse”, I’m trying to EAT more of my food, as opposed to drinking more of it. I’ve gained 5 lbs since I started and I’m assuming that is why! The ebbs and flows…right? Or maybe it’s because I’m eating more grains than normal.

Anyways, then, after dinner, I’m sure I will get in bed and watch the show Parenthood on DVR.

It’s been a GREAT, cozy day. 

Friday – Somehow I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today! Not sure why. I’m having an off day and I’m trying my best to keep my cool with my kids and everybody around me. Do you ever have those days? Ladies?

It’s not an ‘unhappy’ day, it’s more of an impatience thing. I have to take deep breaths so that I don’t take it out on my little boys that drive me crazy sometimes.

And then, on top of it, my 2 year old was playing with his dad’s keys, which are actually the ‘spare’ to my car. Well, not only did he lose the keys someplace, but he locked my car while doing so. And of course MY keys, the main set, were in the car.

So needless to say, I spent the majority of my morning searching the house for the keys and making my son trace his steps. Of course he’d rather watch Yo Gabba Gabba than help me find the keys, right? So…about 30 minute later, we found them under the sofa.

By that time we missed the ‘class’ that I wanted to take him to. So instead we went to the park.

We get to the park and behind us is an old rusty Tercel with a bearded crazy guy (with a black eye) inside smoking pot. He was drying out his car mats and a ‘rope’ of some sort, hmmmm? Well, of course, he wouldn’t stop talking to me.

He told me that he will have his car longer than I will have mine. And I said ‘you’re probably right!” and that opened a can of worms.

He then asked me if I have any ‘hippy’ in me! I replied ‘of course!’

He then decides to talk to me about peace, deadheads versus hippies, and where pot is legal and where and why it’s not. All the meanwhile I’m unloading children out of my car. He didn’t quite look the ‘pacifist’ type if you ask me.

The park went fine and then on the way home I hear my 2 year old say “I’m sorry I peed mom!” Yup, he peed himself and his car seat. This is the moment today when I had to dig really deep to find that patience I was talking about.

Normally, I don’t really get upset over things like this, but today, today was different. I had to bite my tongue as I DRAGGED him and his sopping pants by one arm to the bathroom. He didn’t want to go. So he pouted and threw himself on the floor.

Meanwhile my 1 year old sat in his car seat in the garage. After I finally got him, I put him down for a nap, made myself some tea and my 2 year old some strawberry/vanilla herb tea as well. He loves it because he can drink it out of a mug, like me.

I hate to say it, but I’m very excited about tonight. It’s Friday and we have a babysitter coming so we can enjoy the evening while our kids sleep tight! A great day for this considering I’m having ‘one of those days’! It’s probably a hormone thing – you know – like when the phone is ringing and you can’t find it anywhere and you’re so annoyed that you want to cry… and then you realize that it’s in your kids room after you just finally got him down for a nap! 

We are off to the bistro at Stone Brewery with a huge group of friends. This place is super cool. Everything about it is pretty aweome – from the sustainable industrial/urban architecture, to their organic, in-season & local ingredients, the great beer selection, the outdoor gardens, and they even do a ‘meatless Monday’! ha.

Alright. I’m long winded and so now tired of typing. I’m going to leave you with a few things I like to tell myself and my clients on a daily basis: stop being so hard on ourselves, stop judging others; Embrace the ebbs and flows!

Ok, on that note, my son is up from his nap. I gotta go.

Happy Weekend Everybody!

My name is Juli and this is My Way

Juli is a UCLA grad and has studied in Spain and Japan. She is 31 years old and has been in the health food world for over 14 years now. She has been baking and cooking professionally since she was 16 yrs old. 

Juli and her family are big travelers who go to Napa, LA, Mexico and NY almost every year! Green smoothies, coconut bacon and steamed collard greens are some of Juli’s favorite foods. You can check out her websites and learn more about her products and services here: Kookie Karma, PUREmamas, and JuliNovotny.com. And… you can follow Juli on Twitter, and find PUREmamas on Facebook  and Kookie Karma on Facebook too!

Recently Greg Larsen, host of the Living With Tolle podcast, asked me to join him on his show to talk about holistic health, raw food and presence. I thought the readers of We Like It Raw would dig the interview, so I’m reposting it here.

Hope you enjoy!

66 minutes | Download the MP3

Raw Food and Cleansing the Body: Interview with Dhrumil Purohit

Is the health of your body a barrier to fully accessing what Eckhart Tolle calls the present moment? How can eating raw food and detoxifying the body by cleansing or fasting help you experience presence at a deeper level?

On this recording of our September 7, 2010, teleseminar, we were joined by special guest Dhrumil Purohit to explore how eating more consciously and cleansing the body or fasting can support a deeper experience of the teachings of Eckhart Tolle.

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