Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
~ John Lennon

As we’ve progressed into our super connected era with cell phones that are online and so many people are making a living from computer based technology, the need for quality living has never been greater! We receive a lot of emails asking how to incorporate raw foods into busy lifestyles. Our answer is simple. Just incorporate what you can. If you can achieve 50% living foods into your daily life, that’s great! What a change you will feel. Some days maybe you can eat more living foods. Some days might be less. Forget stressing about it! Just live! The important thing is to love the life we live. Love the foods we eat. That means realizing what impact they have on our bodies and minds. Do you really ‘love’ that chocolate cake or that donut? Does it actually make you feel great and full of energy? If you are in tune with your body, you will hear its response to what you eat. Make conscious choices!

We’ve all done the guilty thing and munched on comfort foods with a broken heart or a disappointed turn of events. We’ve also turned to ice cream and getting wasted to celebrate. Celebrate WHAT?????? I am here to testify that it is much better to celebrate life’s events with living foods and:
a. Remember the celebration!
b. Feel fantastic the next day!
c. Enjoy the moment and feel the full benefit of rewarding ourselves with something that tastes good and is nourishing at the same time.

Yet I know we’ve been told so many confusing things about food. I used to think that milk was good for me! Outrageous! I know better now. I used to think eating chicken was good for me, too. And whole wheat bread. And … on and on and on. Oh, that boxed cereal? Gimme a break! It’s like consuming ‘matter’.

What’s my point? The point is when you have the time to make something truly wonderful and alive and full of nutritional density like true raw vegan food, then do it! When you don’t, make as wise of a choice as you can. Eating 50% raw and then going to McDonald’s ain’t gonna cut it. In fact, it would probably totally stress your body out with a yo-yo effect. Remember that raw foods will detox your system so you want everything else you’re eating to be CLEAN.

Enjoy life. Choose to stop emotional eating habits! Eliminate candy, gum, ice cream, milk, cheese, animal flesh and if you can limit your intake of bread and pasta you will feel better. Change one habit per week and after one year, you’ll have a whole bunch of new habits. That’s all eating is. It’s daily habits. So break it down. Figure out what works for you and find substitutes.

In the meantime, call your friends, smile from your liver, feel worthy of healthful foods and remember … you are loved, loving and lovable.

PS. The pics here are from a lunch we had with our dear, non-raw friend Lisi Grinstein. Bam made raw spinach quiche and raw vegan blueberry cake. It was …. to say the least… amazing! She loved every single bite and we had a wonderful afternoon. Oh, and Bam also juiced apples and ginger for a delicious drink!

Want more info? Feel free to email us: info AT rawpirategourmet.com

I was chatting with a friend who lives in another city the other day and was saying how we’d gone for a mountain hike. This friend had exclaimed… “In LA? Are you kidding me?” I guess if you don’t live here you just think the place is Hollywood and beaches. But trust me. There’s mountains galore. You could hike to your heart’s content!

Quite close to our house is a place with a crazy view of downtown LA (a place we refer to as Gotham City) and is pretty easy as hikes go. I know it’s smoggy but hey, it’s all we’ve got. To offset that, here’s some much nicer pics of lovely living things! We found tadpoles in the manmade pond at the top of the mountain!

We also found walnut trees and what we think is an olive tree. Of course, Bam with his natural curiousity had to open a walnut then and there. Only to discover it completely stains your hands with its natural iodine!

As we continued walking we found this area with what looked like little white flowers on these dead stalks. But lo and behold… they were SNAILS! It was so bizarre looking!!!

Finally we sat down on a little bench and ate our raw snacks.

Wishing you happiness and health in your raw food pursuits.