It takes a village

According to my friend Arletty, a raw foodie Curaçao-Parisienne, there are 100,000 raw foodies in the entire world. This is not a large number, yet simply being able to count the size of this community points to the growing interest in consuming a living, plant-based diet. The Paris raw food community parallels the global dynamic--it is small and growing.

As with any diet and lifestyle choice, the reasons for choosing a raw food diet vary. For me, one of the reasons is I love food, and I love experimenting with food -- I was curious to make a raw lasagna. Second, I was also curious to see if the health benefits were really as life-changing and profound as raw food advocates claimed. Last year I did a 30 day raw challenge with support from Alissa Cohen's Raw Food Talk Forum. For anyone considering going raw, this is a great place to start.  The changes in my energy level, mental clarity, and skin were incredible. And finally, I believe that as individuals, each time we consume, we have the power to choose the economic and world order we want to see manifested. And a raw food diet does not support today's mainstream agro-business.

I think the desire for better health and greater vitality is probably the key factors that attract people to a raw food diet. And then the delicious variety of food keeps them hooked. Perhaps this is why Arletty organizes cru potluck (raw potlucks) in Paris.

Last week, we gathered together near the Seine on the eve of Bastille Day to share homemade raw goodies, and the food and conversation was so inspiring the next day I made raw pizza bread.  Check out my pizza marinara made with a raw basil/oregano/flax seed/almond flour crust, raw marinara sauce, and fresh basil from my balcony garden. Yum!

I am not 100% raw right now and when I travel, I tend to migrate back to cooked foods. But since our cru potluck, I have once again started experimenting with raw recipes such as zucchini-etti with raw alfredo sauce (cashews, fennel, shallots, lemon juice, and garlic) and banana carob pudding (banana, coconut oil, carob powder, cinnamon and lucuma). The joy that comes from eating raw food always raises the question as to why I choose not to eat it 100%. But that's another question for another post.

When I look at the pictures from the cru potluck, the saying: It takes a village to raise a child, pops into my mind. In this particular analogy, the village is the child -- 100k strong and growing. Tomorrow night I have been invited to a ladies night with a group of women I do not know very well. I am inspired to bring a raw dessert -- a combination of this raw almond cookie and cacao walnut cookie recipe with my own twist -- and spread the raw food vitality to a new community. I am amazed at how joyful I feel to do so. A year ago I was tentative to discuss raw food as I often felt as though I had to defend my choice, and being on the defensive is never enjoyable. I no longer feel the need to explain myself. The food will speak for itself.

Living well, China

I first became interested in a raw food diet after a detox fast in Koh Pgnan, Thailand. I was living in Beijing, China at the time and two of my best girlfriends convinced me to try a fast with them to counter the negative effects of China's pollution and lifestyle. In Thailand we met many expats from China using their vacation time to detox and take care of their health. I loved living in China, but I am convinced it did slice off the end of my lifespan. In fact, one reason why I moved to Paris was to try to add back a few years by living somewhere cleaner and with a greater variety of healthy eating options.

I am fortunate that my work brings me back to China several times each year. During this past trip I came across a few new developments indicating that China's big cities are beginning to offer access to some of the health trends sweeping other large international cities.

Macrobiotic restaurant, Shanghai

In Shanghai I had a delicious and energizing dinner at Annamaya, a macrobiotic restaurant owned and run by a Japanese woman. The menu is great with a range of offers -- to drink there are fresh fruit juices and teas, as well as organic sulfate-free wine, and to eat there are various salads, curries, vegan burgers, and I am sure I am forgetting everything on offer. I had a delicious meal starting with a salad of carrots and daikon radish followed by a veggie curry with barley. Afterwards I felt totally grounded and peaceful. If I still lived in Shanghai, I would be eating here quite alot.

Annamaya
3 Taojiang Lu, near Hengshan Lu (French Concession Area)

Wheatgrass, Beijing

Beijing is not built on a human scale. It is larger than life with Soviet-style buildings that take up entire 15-minute walk blocks. Development is never ending, and new shopping malls, apartment buildings, office buildings, and compounds containing all three, sprout all over the city.
I entered a newly developed shopping mall called Fortune Shopping Center (Caifu Gouwu Zhongxin) off Dongsanhuan where only a handful of shops had opened, and came across a kiosk called Jambo that had trays of fresh wheatgrass in the window. Wheatgrass is not easy to grow, so to see it nonchalantly growing in an empty shopping mall in Beijing surprised me. So I entered the kiosk and promptly ordered a shot. Not only can you buy a wheatgrass shot at Jambo, but you can also order pots of freshly grown wheatgrass delivered to your home. If you buy a wheatgrass machine from them, they give you two free pots of wheatgrass. Amazing. I hope they are marketing their product well throughout the city and that this business thrives.

Jambo Juice
Caifu Gouwu ZhongxinDian 2nd Floor
Enjoy Liquid Sunshine at Home -- +86 15710023807
Oh yea, their juices are great too!

Wellnessecity, China
I am sure there are many other new, health-conscious initiatives happening in China. My friend Amena, who is based in Shanghai, has started a new project called WellnesseCity focused on helping urbanites live healthier. This past May she organized a Health & Wellness Fair in Shanghai that brought together a range of local producers and organizations all focused on holistic, natural, healthy living.

Hmmm, if the air was a bit cleaner, I could be convinced to move back to China!

Update: Since writing this post, I have come across two great resources for Beijing-ers.

• One is the Beijing Organic Consumers Yahoo! Group.  The mailing list is great even for non-Beijing- based folks filled with interesting information and discussions.
• Another is the World Health Store in Beijing. They are offering a Raw Class this August 14th!