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!

Bio Panier: organic local goodness delivered!

France has a proud agrarian culture that is reflected in the outdoor markets, at the food and wine expos, and in the focus and respect for  local cuisine and artisanal products.

To protect its agrarian heritage, and to maintain its culinary and vegetation diversity, there is a growing focus on promoting organic and local food production. This promotion meshes well with increasing demand from consumers for better health and to know where their food comes from.

As consumers, each time we spend our money, we vote for the type of economy and world order we wish to have. It may sound dramatic, but it is the truth! Buying locally produced organic sustenance is a vote against the industrial, monoculture agriculture that is stripping natural resources from the planet and our health, and a vote to support your neighbor workers and the ecosystem that surrounds you.

I recently discovered the Bio Culture site that delivers organic fruits and veggies from France and Europe at a reasonable cost every Wednesday to my local wine store. In the above picture Serafina is checking out the goods. Each week I am informed as to where my produce comes from, and what stage of the harvest we are in. I swear there is something about having this knowledge that makes the food taste better! There are many different bio (organic) delivery or local produce sites in France (see the list below for delivery sites around Paris), and around the world. If you live in the United States, check out Farm Fresh for a list of local farms and what produce is in season near you.

Paniers Bio
www.mon-panier-bio.com
www.reseau-amap.org
www.lespaniersduvaldeloire.fr
www.lehautdupanier.fr

Mamma Mia!

My first package of raw food arrived from the UK. I ordered it from a site called Mamma Earth, which I discovered through the Google ads on this blog. How's that for targeted advertising! As there are no raw food stores in Paris, I am so excited to discover that I can have raw food delivered with minimal shipping fees to my home. My first package of goodies consisted of Supreme Greens powder, several packets of raw crackers, and raw cacao in both powder and candy bars.

Raw chocolate is a superfood. There is an excellent post titled 'All Things Chocolate' on The Sunny Raw Kitchen where Camilla quotes from the book Naked Chocolate:

 ...David Wolfe and Shazzie teamed up a few years ago in order to write their book "Naked Chocolate", in which they reveal "the astonishing truth about the world's greatest food."

According to David, "Every study on chocolate is pointing to the same conclusion: there is something in chocolate that is really good for us. That something is the raw cacao bean, the nut that all chocolate is made from. The cacao bean has always been and will always be Nature's #1 weight loss and high-energy food. Cacao beans are probably the best kept secret in the entire history of food."

And Camilla goes on to write...

In a pamphlet prepared by my friend and Raw Chef Chantale, I just learned that aside from being the best known dietary source of magnesium, raw cacao is exceptionally high in sulphur (the 'beauty mineral'), rich in antioxidants, is an anti-depressant, AND an aphrodisiac! In fact, the cacao bean "contains over 300 identifiable chemical compounds, making it one of the most complex foods known to man."

These laudations combined with my occasional chocolate craving (see previous post 'My Raw Hiccups') inspired me to taste raw chocolate. First I tried the Ombar with coconut and cashews. The chocolate has a similar consistency to the crumbly portion of chocolate truffles with the smoothness of coconut butter. It is good, but the coconut butter is a bit overpowering for me - I like my chocolate pure. Then I tasted the Conscious bar which is pure chocolate with a hint of cinnamon. Fudgey delicious, and one little piece really hits the spot. And wow, chocolate with cinnamon is a great combination! I am very pleased to know I now have nutritious candy bar options to satiate my chocolate cravings.

But the best was yet to come. I decided to try the raw cacao powder by making a raw chocolate mousse. Mamma mia! Absolutely divine!

Easy raw chocolate mousse recipe 
With approximate measurings 
* Use a ripe avocado as the base, blend it in a blender with:
* Agave syrup (or a natural sweetner of your choice, I used a little less than 1/4 cup)
* Coconut butter (optional - I added it for the consistency, 1 T)
* A dash of cinnamon (also optional - you can add vanilla bean, orange zest, however you fancy your chocolate!)
* Cacao powder (1 T or more if you want it super chocolatey!)
* Blend and voilà, you have the tastiest, chocolatiest, most delicious raw mousse imaginable!

My first taste of the spatula reminded me of eating raw brownie dough. Simple to make, delicious and nutritious! Enjoy!