Super-Food
THE PRANA CAFÉ
NOW OPEN!
292 CENTRE STREET, NEWTON CORNER
3 DOORS DOWN FROM PRANA POWER YOGA NEWTON
JUICES-SMOOTHIES-BEST FOOD EVER
GREAT KIDS MENU AND THE KIDS CORNER, WHERE KIDS CAN WATCH WELL-CHOSEN KIDS FLICKS, PLAY WITH WOODEN TOYS, DO ARTS AND CRAFTS, AND READ WHILE THEIR PARENTS ENJOY GOOD FOOD AND CONVERSATION 
At The Prana Café our intention is for you to enjoy the best food ever in a warm, inviting, comfortable, and happy atmosphere with good friends and good energy. We select the finest Organic ingredients to create all of our Raw Vegan offerings, and support local farmers, sustainable agriculture, and environmentally friendly products. This is the freshest, most vibrant food that you can eat. And it makes you feel good! Now you can, quite literally “have your (chocolate ganache) cake and eat it too.”
Our food is prepared with love and is Raw*, Organic, and Vegan. We use no animal products or processed food of any kind. Every dish is dairy and gluten free. Some selections contain nuts, and we also offer a few non-Raw selections for our transitioning friends. Every dish is made fresh today–with the intention of you enjoying its incredible flavor and vitality as well as the amazing way you feel when and after you eat it.
Begin now nourishing your body, mind, and spirit with the food you eat—and enjoy it! Congratulations on treating yourself to the very best—starting now with what you are putting into your body. We put only the finest, freshest, cleanest, most amazing ingredients into our Raw Vegan Organic food, so that you will feel and be the finest, freshest, cleanest, and most amazing ever!
Taste what really fresh food tastes like. And watch your body, your attitude, and your life transform.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Super-mom Taylor
NOW OPEN!
292 CENTRE STREET, NEWTON CORNER
3 DOORS DOWN FROM PRANA POWER YOGA NEWTON
JUICES-SMOOTHIES-BEST FOOD EVER
GREAT KIDS MENU AND THE KIDS CORNER, WHERE KIDS CAN WATCH WELL-CHOSEN KIDS FLICKS, PLAY WITH WOODEN TOYS, DO ARTS AND CRAFTS, AND READ WHILE THEIR PARENTS ENJOY GOOD FOOD AND CONVERSATION
Six years ago I began an unplanned and uncharted journey, as many of the best journeys are. After hearing about the vegan* lifestyle for many years and being a vegetarian for 17 years (except during my pregnancies and while I was nursing), I had a spiritual epiphany on my birthday and decided that I was not going to consume animal products anymore.
I had had many, many people attempt to move me toward the vegan lifestyle in years past. A friend and one-time teacher at Prana who would yell at me (with love), thinking that it would sway me “to the other side.” I can still hear him: “Tail!! Ya GOTTA GO VEGAN!!”
It didn’t work. I still ate my cheeseburgers with mayo, and loved them. When I was pregnant with our second child, Sage, I lived on steak and homemade whipped cream.
But on that fateful day three and a half years ago, I “got” what my friend had been trying to tell me.
Every Super-mom’s eating lifestyle is very personal. I in no way judge what any other Super-mom (or anyone for that matter) chooses to put into her body. We are all on a different path and at a different place—a place that is right for us at this time.
Even though I had many well-meaning people urging me to go vegan, I was not ready and so it didn’t flow.
I think it’s super-important, Super-mom, to listen to your body and your spirit and do away with restriction in every area of your life, including the super-foods you eat. This is the basis of freedom, which is imperative for joy.
It’s super-important that all foods you eat are prepared with love and consumed with love. Setting an intention for what the food will do for your body, mind, and spirit is also important.
So loving your food and loving yourself while you are eating is more important than what you are eating. You can eat the world’s most “perfect” foods while thinking negative thoughts, and they won’t be so “perfect” anymore, Sistah.
All of this said, I did happen to have an awakening of sorts on my birthday three and a half years ago…and I acted on it.
I decided to go vegan. But I had fear—not for myself, but for my baby girl. I was nursing our daughter Sage at the time and worried that she wouldn’t get what she needed if I wasn’t eating animal products. I was born and raised in the Midwest–meat and dairy country–and so I had been suitably brainwashed.
A student had told me once about a fantastic nutritionist/herbalist/energy worker/spiritual teacher in California who had his Ph.D. in something that had to do with food and biology. They were working together to hone her vegan lifestyle, and she loved him.
I called him and we spoke for almost two hours, while I crouched in my kids’ bathroom to have some silence during dinner time (helloooow, what Super-mom hasn’t done that?).
I remember feeling overwhelmed and scared as he talked about something called “the raw food lifestyle.”
“I just want to learn about being vegan and what I need to eat so my baby will get what she needs,” I protested. “I don’t want to hear about sprouting nuts, seeds, and grains!! And what does that mean, anyhow?”
Then after a few deep breaths, my yoga practice kicked in. I calmed down and listened to what Daniel had to say.
After we’d said goodbye, I went downstairs to my husband and two kids, and began to tell Philippe about our fateful phone call.
“He was talking about this thing called the ‘raw food lifestyle,’” I explained.
“Really?!” Philippe exclaimed. “I just bought these books!!” he said as he unwrapped three books on the raw food lifestyle that had just arrived that afternoon from amazon.com.
Two of the books were Eating for Beauty and Feeling Good Foods (listed below), and I don’t remember the third.
A coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences.
So I read the books—and I jumped. We both jumped, in fact. We went “raw.”
Going raw has been one of the most transformational experiences of my life—joining the ranks of giving birth to my three children, finding yoga, and meeting my soul mate.
When people ask me why I am raw, I tell them because I love who I am when I eat raw food. I am happy. I am energized. I am calm. I am focused. I am relaxed. I am patient. I am Super-mom.
I also sleep less, eat more, eat a huge variety of foods—way more variety than I ever ate when I ate cooked food—and I never, ever think about calories, fat, carbs, or my weight. My body is where it needs to be–effortlessly, and that feels good.
And all of the energy that used to be channeled in to that painful and pointless topic is available for me to use in any way that I wish!! Do not underestimate the amount of energy and focus you will have when you stop thinking about what you eat, your body, and your weight. I’ve been there, Sistah, and I know. And I haven’t really met many women who can say this—honestly. And those whom I’ve met are mostly raw-foodists.
And the food tastes great!! I can’t imagine going back to eating cooked food, because the flavors of raw are so much more vibrant and delicious. Also, at this point, cooked food doesn’t even appeal to me. It looks fake—almost plastic. It’s hard to explain, but what I say to people when they ask me if I “want” that donut, that steak, that pizza, that omelet, etc., is that I don’t have any desire to eat it, just as I don’t have any desire to eat a pencil or the piece of paper I’m writing on. At this point, my body knows what it needs and wants, and so the cooked food doesn’t look appealing in any way. This happened after about one year of eating raw. Up until that point, I only missed/craved one thing: muffins!!
No, I don’t just eat salads. In fact, I eat every thing I used to eat before—and more!! I just use raw nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, and grains to prepare my food. And no, it doesn’t take any more time for me prepare my raw food than it took for me to drive to Wholefoods and get take out salad bar and cooked food or boil some pasta.
Interestingly, I never liked to cook but I *love* to prepare raw food—to make raw burgers, blondies, nori rolls, crackers, breads, eggplant parm, sweet potato corn chowder, etc. Whatever I’m into that week. Also ironically, I had never made homemade soup in my life–until I went raw!! And when you blend raw soup at a high speed in a KTech blender, it is actually very warm, bordering on hot!!
There are many, many excellent books and websites which explain the raw food lifestyle and how to prepare raw foods. They give many testimonials about how raw food has transformed countless people’s lives, and healed them. I have listed a few of these below. I recommend these websites and books highly. I know and resonate with David Wolfe, and have met and hung out with Alissa Cohen and Mathew Kenney a few times. I can attest to their wisdom, high vibration, and beautiful intentions.
So check out these websites and/or books—if they speak to you in this moment. If not, let it go and maybe one day they will. Hey, you read this far, and that rocks!! And as always, take what you want, and leave the rest.
*vegan= (pronounced VEE-gun) means, for various reasons, choosing to avoid using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians do not consume flesh foods, vegans also avoid daily and eggs, as well as fur, wool, down, leather, and cosmetics tested on animals.
Living on Live Foods – Alissa Cohen alissacohen.com
Eating for Beauty – David wolfe rawfood.com
Eating in the Raw – Carol Alt rawfood.com or ecookbooks.com
Feeling Good Food – Susie Miller rawfood.com
Green for Life – Victoria Boutenko rawfood.com or ecookbooks.com
Raw Food Real World – Matthew Kenney ecookbooks.com
Rawsome!! – Brigitte Mars rawfood.com or ecookbooks.com
The Raw Food Detox Diet – Natalia Rose rawfood.com or ecookbooks.com
May 21st, 2008 at 7:10 am
Taylor, thanks so much for putting this out there. I’d like to
add how well the Vegan philosophy ties so well with the concept of our first Yama, Ahimsa.
When we practice Ahimsa, or the concept of doing as less harm as possible, the diet part begins to happen on it’s own accord, effortlessly. When you embrace all beings as ‘worthy’ of living in peace, you’ll see that they are not, and never were ‘food’
for us to take.
Om Lokah Samastha Sukino Bhavantu,
(May all beings be free of suffering)
Thanks so much !
John Calabria
http://www.YogaWithJohn.com
May 21st, 2008 at 10:03 am
Thanks John.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
It’s my pleasure and my honor to put this information out there…it’s about time.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Taylor,
I am not tyring to sound rude, I am just curious, do you have a stove. If you only eat raw foods then you would not need one or if you have one then you would not use it. Are your children on a raw diet? I only buy healthy food for my children and I’m very particulr about what they eat, but this can be difficutl when they go to friends house or birthday parties especially seem that there is so much junk food and everything has high fructose corn sryup and saturated fat!! How do you handle this? Can you drink hot tea on a raw diet or only cold tea?
Jacqui
May 24th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Thanks Super-mom Jacqui.
You are so funny!! You don’t sound rude at all. I am very real and very open—so lay any questions on me!!
We DO have a stove. Although when we first went raw I immediately wanted to give away all of our pots and pans and get rid of our stove but my husband suggested we keep our stove and a few pots and one pan, for the kids and their friends.
I’m glad that we did, too, because we do occasionally make sprouted wheat pasta for our kids or brown rice quesadillas with almond cheese, etc. We also use the oven to bake for school bake sales and other random things—always baking vegan and wheat-free, and using as many raw ingredients as possible (i.e. we use raw nut milk instead of cow’s milk and raw olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter).
We have three children: Madison (10 years old), Sage (4 years old), and Phoenix (1 year old). Phoenix is 100% raw. He has never had any cooked food, even in utero (I was raw while pregnant with him). He is incredibly healthy, sleeps well (slept through the night 10 hours a night at five weeks old) and is happy all the time.
Sage is about 80% raw. She still eats some sprouted bread, sprouted pasta, and Cherrios with nut milk. When she does eat something cooked like sprouted bread, she just has “balance” with it. She knows that “balance” means something raw. So if she wants some pasta, she’ll say “May I please have some pasta and I want to have some apple for my balance.” Or she’ll eat the sprouted bread with almond butter on top. We’re all about balance and not restriction. We never want our kids to feel restricted, but instead want to educate them about why raw food is the best possible thing you can put in your body, why we eat all raw food, and why they’ll feel best if they eat a lot of raw food. We also want to offer them a wide variety of delicious raw foods so that they won’t even want the cooked equivalent (i.e. yummy raw brownies, cookies, blondies, ice cream, pizza, “burgers,” oatmeal, chocolate, etc.). We explain to them that when they eat raw, they can eat dessert for their entire meal!!
Our kids love to eat the raw ice cream at Pure Food and Wine when we are teaching at Prana NYC in New York’s Union square, and they love to eat raw bagels with “cream cheese” and raw chocolate pudding cake with raw “hot chocolate” at the East Village’s Quintessence Restaurant (both are listed in Super-mom’s top picks).
Madison, our ten year old, is about 40% raw. She is a work in progress.
For many years of her life, Madison’s diet consisted of mainly “white foods” (pasta, bread, risotto, fries) along with chicken nuggets. This was certainly not my intention when she was born. I believed that if I offered my child everything and did not restrict, she would choose the best food for her body. Madison proved me wrong!! My ex-husband ate the standard American diet and so we offered Madison things that I ate (healthy foods but I was not raw yet) and things that he ate. In the end, she chose the cheese puffs and French fries. And thus, at age ten she was afraid of fruits and vegetables. So about 9 months ago I had a talk with her and explained what had transpired and said that we needed to make a shift, and that I would be patient with her and I hoped she would forgive me for giving her Ritz bits as a toddler!! 
You live and learn. And then you learn some more.
So currently, I am happy to say that Madison drinks green juice every single day (kale, broccoli, spinach, celery, lemon and agave) and also eats agave nuts that I make for her in the dehydrator and other assorted raw treats. It’s one day at a time with her and she’s doing great. One day, as she watched her baby brother scarf down his raw lunch and request the green juice his papa was drinking, Madison sighed “I wish I could start over. Look at Phoenix—he loves everything that is good for him.”
I told her she CAN start over—we all can—in any moment. Once we set that intention. And at the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist us.
Regarding how I handle my kids going to friends’ homes and birthday parties, for the most part, I just let that go. Control is an illusion and I can’t control what other people have in their homes and/or feed their children, and that is their choice. I refrain from asking Madison’s friends’ parents to not give Madison junk food; however, since Sage is so “raw” now, her little body can’t handle it if she eats the junk. If she eats processed flour and sugar at her friends’ homes she comes home feeling not well and/or has a meltdown when she is usually happy and calm all the time. Food really affects moods—all of our moods.
So with Sagey, we asked her school to give her only fruit at snack time (instead of fruit and Cheezits) and asked her friends’ parents to give her fresh fruit, lara bars, and/or almond butter sandwiches on sprouted bread when she asks for snack. Her friends’ parents have been awesome about it and have loved learning more about raw food. And Sagey is really into it and so she is proud to eat her fruit at school and her special snacks at friends’ homes. She also likes to educate people about raw food.
I also made some wheat free vegan chocolate cupcakes and brought them to her school for when there is a birthday at school and all of the other kids are eating cupcakes. They froze the vegan wheat-free cupcakes and pull them out when a party is happening. Easy!!
As far as tea, I don’t really like cold tea and if I wanted hot tea I would have it—I’d just make it with not quite boiling water. I am often asked how I am raw in this climate and it’s funny because I have never once missed “hot” foods, even in New England. Also, if I wanted something warm, I would make warm oatmeal or soup and/or heat something in the dehydrator.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 26th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Taylor,
I love all of your articles and responses to raw food. I learn something new everyday with your postings. As you know, I’ve been 100% raw for 2 months (thx. to u & Philippe and my beau), but I’m not really counting the days anymore because I’m not going off it. I love raw foods and I love making them. It’s easy, fun, and guilt-free.
I agree with you that it’s easier to adapt to if you make the process simpler. I love not having to wash greasy dishes, pots and pans, wait for the water to boil or wait for something to simmer, etc. Although, I do think about some of the Asian dishes that I haven’t had for a while like Pho, but it doesn’t really bother me that much because I know it’s not healthy food. And I always feel guilty after eating it because it’s full of carbs! So the craving comes and goes.
Just wanted to thank you for turning me on to raw food. I’m learning and experiencing so much and I know it’ll get better from here. I’m starting to do some food combining but not sure if I’m right all the time. Regardless, it’s all good…sistah!
Cheers,
Julie
p.s. now, you have the best day ever and ever and ever…
May 27th, 2008 at 3:47 am
Thanks Julie.
I’m so glad that you are enjoying the raw journey and learning more every day.
It WILL get better from here–every day!!
It’s amazing to Philippe and I how much better–and easier and more fun–it gets every single day.
Yesterday we spent the day in York, Maine at a Wild Animal Kingdom and Amusement Park and then took a walk on the Main Street of the town and the beach, and let me tell you girlfriend, there was no raw food in sight!! LOL!!
But we came prepared, as we do when we journey to Disney World, and it was so easy and fun and we were talking about how we enjoyed the day so much more with the clarity and energy that raw food provides.
When we noticed a lot of the other parents slowing down late day, we still had tons of energy.
Also, it’s so wonderful how the food they sell at amusement parks, zoos etc. doesn’t even look appealing–or real–to us anymore. It’s just a non-issue.
As far as the food combining, just do your best (with breath
) and it’ll come with time.
Don’t obsess about it or try to be “right all the time.” There is no such thing as right all the time!!
Just try what speaks to you and see what works for YOUR body. All of the things that are written about raw food are so helpful and wonderful; but let your body be the final judge.
And just like your yoga practice, your body is different every single day, and especially as you detox with your new raw food lifestyle, you’ll see that your body’s needs and cravings will be ever-changing. As is the flow of life.
This is a good thing…keeps our lives and food fun and interesting, sistah!!
So have fun on this journey, Julie and
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 27th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hi Taylor,
I am learning so much from this site – and I am not even a mom (yet)! I was hoping you would be willing to reveal the recipe for “green juice”. Also, what is the name of the nutritionist/herbalist in California that helped you kick off your raw food lifestyle. Thanks so much for creating this forum!!
May 28th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Thanks Heather.
I’m so glad that you are enjoying the site and learning things, and I’m so happy that you brought up the fact that Super-mom.com is so NOT JUST for Super-moms!! It’s for EVERYONE, just as Prana Power Yoga is for everyone—not just yogis and/or athletes and/or people with yoga clothes.
Thanks for pointing out that important point.
I’d love to share my green juice recipe; however, I must say that with raw food (and life) things are always changing, and so what I make now for green juice today may be different than what I make next week or next month. What I make and eat changes with the seasons and what is fresh and local and also, most importantly, what my body and spirit wants. Also, my intuition plays a part in this process as well. Sometimes it will just come to me on my mat to incorporate more of this or that food in my day, and I always follow that.
So that said, this is what I’m making for our green juice these days. I make as much juice as my Breville Juicer will fit into its pitcher…I think it’s about forty ounces, and I drink a huge glass of it (about 20-25 ounces I’m guessing) and my kids each drink a smaller glass than I do. I juice: kale, spinach, broccoli, celery, and lemon (two small or one large). Then I add agave to taste to make green lemonade.
This really tastes like lemonade—it’s delicious!! Play around with how much of each green you put in, according to your taste. Celery makes the most juice, but you want to make sure you juice a lot of the very green veggies also because they are the most nutrient dense. Spinach and broccoli have a lot of protein. I use a lot of veggies in this juice…2-3 bunches of kale (depending on how big the bunches are), about a half of a package of broccoli from Trader Joe’s (be mindful not to juice too much broccoli or it may be tough on your digestive system), about half of one of those big plastic containers of spinach from Wholefoods (spinach doesn’t make that much juice so I tend to juice a lot), and one to two bunches of celery. But remember, this is for a HUGE juice!! So you’ll likely need less veggies than I’m listing. But the more green juice you can drink, the better. When I first learned about green juice, I drank this much twice a day if possible because my body needed it to heal from all the years past of processed and cooked food. I love and crave this juice. It’s delicious!! Don’t forget to use ONLY ORGANIC produce in your juice.
Daniel Schmachtenberger’s email is geosol114@yahoo.com.
Also, check out my top picks for Adrienne Martin’s info—she’s great too!!
Thanks again Heather and have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
May 31st, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Taylor,
I am very interested in this raw lifestlye. I have a 10 month old daughter who is just started to eat more of what we eat and because of this I am becoming much more aware of what I am consuming and the foods we have in our house. When you decided to no longer consume animal products, did you completely change your diet that very day or was it a slower process? Also, since you and your family eat only raw foods, do you never go out to dinner? I know you mentioned a few places in NYC that serve raw foods (and I know of an excellent place in Chicago, it’s called Karyn’s) but other than that are you limited to making all of your own meals?
Thanks very much for this fantastic information,
Laura
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:55 am
Thanks Super-mom Laura.
I am actually going to be teaching a raw detox workshop at Prana Power Yoga in the near future (the date is still being determined) so stay tuned—keep checking our website at pranapoweryoga.com. It will be both asana (yoga poses) in a heated room with music during which I will talk about the raw food lifestyle, along with an information and Q and A session about the raw food lifestyle. There has been a lot of interest in the raw food lifestyle, which is wonderful, and I would like to teach people about it while they are moving their bodies and opening their minds, so they can integrate the information with ease.
Isn’t it so amazing how when we begin to feed our babies “finger food,” we become so much more aware of what we are putting into our mouths? That’s a good thing!!
In answer to your question, when I decided to no longer consume animal products it was a very transformational day for me—it happened to be my birthday and I had a sort of spiritual epiphany (as I talked about above), and so I made a decision to stop completely right then.
However, I had some fear, since I was nursing our 7 month old daughter at the time. I was concerned she would not get what she needed nutritionally. And thinking back, I had fear also about whether I would get enough “protein,” since I was brainwashed about how much protein I needed and the sources from which I could take in that protein.
So for a little while, Laura, I recall having “protein shakes” using egg white protein powder. I forget the brand but I think it was called Jay Robb’s. I got it at Wholefoods. Anyhow, it wasn’t long (a matter of a few days) until I just couldn’t consume the protein shakes with the egg white powder anymore because it looked and tasted awful to me. It just wasn’t appealing anymore physically, emotionally, or spiritually. I remember that day vividly—as I took the canister of protein powder out of the fridge I felt sick to my stomach.
I love when decisions come from this place, from a place of coming from your center and saying “no, I don’t want that because it doesn’t appeal to me,” instead of “I am not going to eat that—no matter what. I am forcing myself to do this.”
I was just telling some students after my class yesterday how when you practice Prana Power Yoga, you will begin to do exactly this—to eat foods that are right for you and your body, without even thinking about it. It will come with ease.
So I made the decision to go vegan but moved at a gentle pace in that direction, honoring my fear and working through it, drinking some egg white protein shakes until they no longer appealed to me. And it wasn’t long at all before I was all vegan—just a few days, but everyone is different and so everyone’s path will be different. The important thing is to honor your path and what you need in the moment.
As far as going out to dinner, it’s funny, because we just went to a wonderful dinner party at our good friends’ and neighbors’ home last night. The adult’s dinner was actually completely raw and fantastic!! This is what was served: two dips with onion bread and raw veggies, lasagna with extra amazing sauce and “neat” balls , wild rice with cashews and the most outrageous coconut cream peach pie and mango pineapple cream pies I have ever consumed. Philippe and I were the only “all raw” people at the dinner party and every single one of the guests was amazed at how amazing the food tasted. Everyone was asking all about raw food because it tasted so good!! There was homemade baked pizza for the kids at the party, or they could eat the raw fare if they so chose.
Regarding going out to a restaurant, there are two raw food restaurants in the Boston area: the Organic Garden in Beverly (listed in my top picks section) and Alissa Cohen’s Grezzo in the North End.
We go to the Organic Garden pretty regularly for lunch. We used to go every Saturday for lunch as a fun family outing, and go to the beach afterward with the kids (it’s five minutes from the Beverly beach). We haven’t been going as regularly anymore because we’ve been teaching teacher trainings on weekends and teaching at Prana NYC once a month, etc.
Other times we go to local “conventional” restaurants like Zaftigs (a student of ours owns this awesome kid friendly restaurant in Coolidge Corner) where our kids eat the cooked fare (they are not 100 percent raw—except the baby, and it’s all about balance) and we order salads and bring an avocado and dressing if we feel like it or just order an abundant plate of fruit. It’s more about the experience than the food and so unless we go to a raw food restaurant where they make cool things that we want to learn about so we can make it ourselves, what we order isn’t really a big deal—it’s just about being with our kids and enjoying each other’s company.
I think it’s interesting that you say “limited to making all of your own meals” because before I went raw, I would have used the same words, but now, I actually like what I make so much better than anything I get at a restaurant!! This is a big statement for me, since when I ate cooked food I did not like to cook at all. Now I love to prepare raw food and find it really relaxing, fun, and grounding. People used to say the same thing about cooking but I never related. Now I do!!
And since we love the foods Philippe and I make so much and so do our friends that taste it, we are going to open “Prana Raw”—a casual raw food restaurant where you can eat in or take out. We are in the process of signing a lease and so I can’t say where or when yet, but stay tuned!! Philippe and I are psyched to open Prana Raw to bring affordable delicious healthy food to our community. It’s not going to be a forty minute drive away!! It will not be completely raw—we’ll serve a few cooked things like brown rice and ezeikeil wraps, etc. It’s all about balance.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I am so excited about PRANA RAW!! It is exactly what we all need!! Thank you for spreading light with love and allowing the process to happen with intuition. It is truly AMAZING!
June 4th, 2008 at 3:09 am
Thanks Lorraine.
I am so excited for Prana Raw!! too!!
It’s going to be so nice to have a quick, delicious, affordable, and healthy raw food restaurant in our community.
Prana Raw!! will be completely vegan and we will serve mostly raw, with some cooked foods like brown rice, tofu, and wraps–for those who are partially raw and enjoy some cooked vegan foods and their friends/family who aren’t raw at all but still want to enjoy Prana Raw!!’s excellent food and comfortable atmosphere. And who knows, after they taste some of our desserts, they may just consider the raw path!!
A student just told us about a space for rent yesterday pretty close to Prana Newton and we are considering it.
It’s a different space than the one that we were working with but we are open to everything that the universe brings to us.
Good luck on your raw path, Lorraine, and
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 5th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Hi Taylor!
I am not a Mom but wanted to check out your Super Mom website. I am SO excited you will be opening Prana Raw sometime in the future! We need more raw restaurants. I just began about a 50% raw food diet after a recent cleanse. I feel so much better eating raw foods, but don’t feel quite ready to make a 100% shift yet. I’m on my way though! My biggest problem is being social with my friends (which often involves food) and usually not having raw options. I’m pretty good on my own. I usually “give in” when I’m out to eat to not create difficulty, but then I am not being true to myself. Though sometimes, my body does want the bread at dinner or that Indian dish. I think what will be good for me is to have a night where I can have my friends over and cook them a completely raw dinner. By sharing myself with them and my new interest, they may in turn want to explore it more with me. I am planning to get the cookbook Rawvolution soon. Sue had it at the yogaHOPE office (she’s been going raw too) and we drooled over the recipes!
Be well, and will see you soon!
Love,
Amanda
June 6th, 2008 at 6:21 am
Thanks Amanda.
Super-mom.com is not just for moms!!
It’s about inspiration and community and support—Mom or not
So welcome to the site and I’m so happy for you that you had a nice cleanse and then decided to eat 50% raw clean foods.
It feels good, doesn’t it?
No worries about making the 100% shift.
I am really not into labels or restriction—just following your intuition and your heart and feeling good!!
Many people describe this issue you are having with being social with friends and maintaining a raw lifestyle.
As with any process, be gentle with yourself and take it one moment at a time. Try to not anticipate too much, as this can create anxiety.
When we first went raw, Philippe and I found that the “issue” with the whole social thing was more in our minds than in reality.
When we really got down to it, our friends and family were totally supportive of our choices and lifestyle, and in fact, were fascinated and wanted to learn more!!
So our social events often involved and still involve a lot of education around raw foods—because people just want to know, and we love to teach.
It’s fun to spread the light.
So you can explore what’s going on with you and your social stuff, but often, most of it is in our own minds, and when we become comfortable with whatever we’re doing (not just food), everyone around us is comfortable as well. It’s just a non-issue.
It’s most important to be true to yourself. Everything else will follow.
Also, there are some easy ways to not be “difficult” when out to dinner or whatever.
Eat something before you go out to the restaurant so you’re not starving, and then bring an avocado and some dressing and order a big salad. If they don’t have a big salad (did you see that Seinfeld?
) order two or three smaller ones!! When we were in Paris last June with our three kids and my brother and his family, I was 100% raw the whole time and sometimes I would order three salads!! I’d order one and eat and enjoy it and then order another and sometimes another!! The French loved it.
You can also bring some raw crackers, bread, or nuts. I brought a bunch to Paris. The most important thing is to feel comfortable and confident with what you are doing. As with anything, it’s all about energy. It’s not about the food.
I think it’s a great idea for you to invite your friends over for a raw dinner. We do this all the time. And now, our friends invite us over for raw dinners as well!! It just took some time. Sometimes our friends invite us over for dinner and serve cooked food but have some raw stuff for us to eat as well. And the other guests end up wanting more of the raw food than the cooked!! Some friends will look up a raw dessert recipe or whatever and try it and again, that’s always gone before the cooked options.
Rawvolution is a great raw book. The onion bread is our favorite!! I brought a lot of it to Paris. He also has a service where you can order a week’s worth of raw food and he sends it to you. So maybe check that out. I got it once and it only lasted me three days but it was good. It wasn’t as fresh as what I make though, which is to be expected since it’s shipped to you.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:01 am
you’ve inspired me to eat more raw foods! i’ve dabbled in raw foods for the last few years but can never seem to commit to eating 100% — i always seem to get derailed by the time factor of sprouting, dehydrating, etc. you’ve inspired me to just think about it differently…i just need to give it another chance and try easier raw food recipes to begin with. also, a BIG congratulations on starting your own raw food restaurant — seattle could certainly use one of those!
if you don’t mind me sharing one of my all-time favorite snacks
it’s also my daughters’ favorite:
Cashew cream (or frosting):
soak 1.5c of cashews for 25 minutes, 5 dates for 15 minutes and then throw both into a high speed blender (we have the vitamix) with 1 cup of the date-soaked water, 1 tbsp vanilla, 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (i like honey), juice of 1 lemon (meyer lemons make the BEST) and blend until creamy. you may need to add more date-soaked water. This is great straight out of the jar but even better as a dip with strawberries, raspberries, apples, etc.
by the way, how do you crack a coconut??
thanks for your awesome site!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Thank you, Taylor for sharing all this good info. I am the super-mom of a four legged, tail waggin’ Rhodesian Ridgeback and am loving super-mom.com. I am also proud to say that I open the coconuts in my house!
We are entering the raw food lifestyle via Natalia Rose’s book The Raw Food Detox Diet (which includes good coconut-opening instructions) and are addicted to green lemonade!
Sarah
June 24th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Thanks Super-mom Sarah.
Can you come to the pink house and open coconuts?
I like Natalia Rose’s book a lot.
I read it a few years ago in two nights on Nantucket…I stayed up really late reading because I couldn’t put it down!!
That was when I read about green juice for the first time and understood its importance.
I began juicing immediately and have juiced every day since.
Green juice is so important and I really saw a difference after I began drinking it regularly.
I just filmed a segment yesterday at our home with Adrienne Martin for Abundant Living about my green juice (on youtube on June 28th) and also Super-mom.com and what’s new at Prana Power Yoga.
17-month-old Phoenix stole the show—calling for the green juice after we made it and then chugging it on camera in a wine glass.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
June 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Hi, Taylor.
Thanks so much for the suggestion of the Organic Cafe in Beverly. My husband, 11 month old daughter, and I went there tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delicous! Everything on the menu sounded delicious and we were all happy with our order. We are really looking forward to Prana Raw!! I think a raw restaurant would be a big hit in Newton (or somewhere close to Boston).
Thanks again,
Laura
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:52 am
I think all of this raw food talk is so inspiring!! There is Grezza in Boston’s North end for a raw food eatery. I am so ready to start!
I also think you have to join forces with my childhood friend raw food frank!!
here is his blog:
rawfoodfrank.wordpress.com
August 3rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Thanks Laura and Tracee.
I will check out your friends blog Tracee…
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
September 25th, 2008 at 9:01 am
Hi Super-people,
I get 100s of SPAM messages daily and at this point, I delete them all manually (whew!!).
On occasion, one of your comments gets SPAMED by accident.
If you ever post a comment but don’t see it on the site, this is what happened (it’s rare–it’s happened only twice so far).
Chelsea’s comment got accidentally SPAMED and so I am reposting it here:
Hi Taylor!
I stumbled upon your site recently, and have become very interested in your raw lifestyle. I grew up on cooked foods, but have been realizing that I do not feel my best when I eat meat, cheese, or primarily processed foods. However, I am concerned that switching completely will be a shock to my system. I am wondering if you have any advice as how to ease into these eating habits. Or if you have any advice at all. I should also let you know that I am a college student (and not a mom) so this could be very difficult for me. Please let me know whatever you can. I am very interested.
Thanks!
September 25th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Hi Chelsea,
I think practicing AHIMSA, which means non-violence in Sanskrit, is a very good practice–both on our yoga mats and off.
This applies to many things–all things–including being gentle to the physical body.
So I completely agree that it is not a good idea to “shock” your system.
Your intuition will tell you what will be a shock, and you can experiment with different things.
Some people like to ease into a partial or completely raw lifestyle, while other people like to jump in 100% overnight.
It is extremely rare to jump in 100% overnight and live a successful 100% raw lifestyle, but it has been and is done, if everything is in alignment.
One thing you can do to ease into a more healthful lifestyle is to put less processed foods into your body in general.
Be mindful of what you put into your mouth and ask yourself, is this a whole food?
Is it in a package?
Has it been processed and if so, how much?
An excellent way to eat less processed foods is by ADDING IN more healthy raw unprocessed foods.
I like the idea of ADDING IN instead of TAKING OUT/RESTRICTING.
Restricting doesn’t work long-term.
This is a fact.
Adding in does work long-term, and is fun!!
So find things that you love to eat that are not processed and include more of them into your days and nights.
Even just setting the intention to do this will shift your life dramatically.
At the moment of commitment, the universe conspires to assist you.
Some awesome raw super-foods that I highly recommend to ADD IN to your life are: avocados, olives, coconut, RAW CACAO, goji berries, hemp seed, and greens.
Start where you are and be gentle with yourself.
And have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
December 19th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Taylor,
Wow! You are a super Mom! I love your blog so far. My husband and I are newbie prana power fans and found your site with the latest abundant day announcement.
We’re really interested in trying the raw foods diet. We were introduced to raw foods at a Perfect Health conference in CA, met David Wolfe, (bit cocky for my taste) but we loved the raw cacoa and seeds. Then we were introduced to daily greens & currently do, then we sampled some raw foods at a whole foods conference and were amazed at how good they were. I’m curious as to the expense of all the equipment you need for a raw foods diet. A juicer, dehydrator… which book of all of them do you recommend the most for beginners? I’m excited to hear about your upcoming restaurant too. Thanks for being an inspiration to so many!
Jana
December 20th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Hi Jana,
Thanks for your kind words and welcome to Prana Power Yoga!!
Our practice transformed my life, and I practice every day, so keep showing up to your mat!! I teach on Fridays at 6:15am in Cambridge, 9:30am in Newton, and 12:00 noon in Winchester, and I’d love to meet you sometime at my class.
I’m so glad you are interested in incorporating more raw foods into your life. I don’t like the word diet so I never use it, since a. it has such negative connotations–and for good reason!! and b. eating raw foods is not a diet. It’s making a conscious choice to bring more life force–more prana into your life by choosing to consume foods that contain energy, instead of robbing you of energy. Raw foods have enzymes, cooked foods don’t. Enzymes=life force and keep us young, healthy, and happy.
That’s great that you met David!! He’s a friend of ours and is actually not conceited at all—he’s just so full of energy, life force, and enthusiasm that he may sometimes come off that way if you don’t know him. ☺ Once you get to know him, you’ll love him.
I would recommend a Breville Juicer. We’ve had a few juicers and this is by far the best. And it’s easy to clean. It costs about 400 dollars, depending on the deal you get. Google it and find the best deal you can.
I would recommend the Excalibur dehydrator, and that ranges between 100 and 220 dollars, depending on how many trays you get. I recommend getting the larger one with the most trays so you can have many goodies dehydrating concurrently!! Then you can have crackers, agave nuts, muffins, breads, and cookies dehydrating at the same time!! I heard that they now sell dehydrators at Target and I think that’s terrific—it shows that the word is spreading. I don’t know about their quality though since I’ve never used them.
If I were to buy only one gadget, I would buy a juicer. I drink green juice every single day, and so do my three children. It is by far the most important thing I consume daily as a raw vegan, because all of the nutrients go directly to my bloodstream, and greens are by far the most nutrient dense thing you can consume. My recipe for green juice is on YOUTUBE. Just type in Taylor Wells green juice and it’ll come up. You can see how my son Phoenix loves it so much that he stole the show!! ☺
We explain in detail all about green juice and it’s benefits and so much more at the PRANA CLEANSE™, which is January 9-11th at Prana Newton. You and your husband should do it!! It’s going to rock. We taught the first one in September and it sold out, and people loved it so much that they asked for it again in January. There are a few spots left so sign up soon!! You can read all about what it is and the four different levels online at pranapoweryoga.com.
Out of all the raw books out there, I would recommend Everyday Raw by Mathew Kenney. I used to recommend Alissa Cohen’s Living On Live Foods, and that’s a close second, but a student/friend gave me Everyday Raw and I have been using it “every day” since!! Seriously, the recipes are so easy and quick and I actually do refer to it daily to make mac-n-cheese, seaweed salad, and creamy sesame dressing, which are my recent favorites (my favorites change all the time, which is good because you always want to vary what you eat). I make my own versions of his recipes (and all recipes) but I do open that book daily. I also love his macaroons and mashed potatoes. All of these things take five to ten minutes max. Alissa’s book is great for describing all about raw foods and the philosophy about going raw and letting you know that you can do this. She has a lot of great, inspirational stories of people who healed by going raw. Her recipes take a bit more time in my opinion but are also good. We also know Alissa, and she too is a very nice person. As is Mathew!! The raw food world magnetizes vibrant, high energy people who want to make the world a better place. ☺
We have found a space for PRANA RAW and are currently talking to the landlord. So stay tuned and have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
January 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I just wanted to email you to tell you that I had the same moment when I went vegan too, but three months later I am on thyroid medication because my “healthy” vegan lifestyle blew out my thyroid. I did not eat any tofu or imitation meats. I simply ate Eziekel bread, lots of fruit and veggies, pasta, potatoes and lentils, seeds and nuts. I used soy products for any dairy like butter, cream cheese, etc. I also switched my kids to soy milk. This has been an eye opening experience for me. Here I am thinking I am being so healthy and that my children are being raised in a healthy home–and then come to find out that soy is a danger. I think you need to talk about how these “vegan” “raw” diets can also be harmful.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Hi Karly,
You are so right–a raw vegan lifestyle (I don’t use the word D-I-E-T because I don’t believe in diets
) can be harmful if it is not balanced with care and cutting-edge knowledge, just as ANY lifestyle can be harmful if it’s not properly balanced for the individual utilizing it.
There is actually an thyroid imbalance epidemic in America right now, mostly involving those consuming a SAD (standard American D-I-E-T).
In my case, becoming raw vegan actually healed my hypoglycemia completely and helped to regulate my thyroid, which was and still is hypo. Now my thyroid is much less hypo now as a raw vegan than it was when I ate cooked food and animal products.
My yoga practice has also helped to balance my hypothyroidism–especially inversions, which have been clinically proven to reduce hypothyroid issues, when done on a daily basis.
I talk about the problems with soy products (which I do not recommend) in my article called “Duped Again,” available in the Super-mom.com archives.
There is so much to say on this topic–much more than I can post in this comment–much of which we cover in The Prana Cleanse™, which we just finished teaching a week ago.
The next Prana Cleanse™ is May 14-17th.
The bottom line is that every single person is different and so every eating lifestyle needs to be designed according to the needs and sensitivities of that individual.
One simple thing we teach during the Prana Cleanse™ is how to make nut or seed milk in your blender–since soy milk is so not accessible to or recommended for our bodies for many reasons.
I hope you continue to read, ask, and learn about how what we put into our bodies so strongly affects us, our bodies, our surroundings, and our lives, and experiment with what sustains you most completely and healthfully.
Namaste!!
Taylor
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Hi Karly!
Sorry to hear about your Thyroid issue! Thank goodness for medication! While I am not a raw food lifestyle gal, and do see your point from one side of the fence regarding the safety and nutritional efficacy of “raw” or “vegan” diets, I am left wondering if you may have had an underlying thyroid component to you. From a clinical standpoint, the only thing that could really poop out a Thyroid would be severe nutritional deficiencies, or a sublinical Thyroid disease that had finally found that magic number (or yucky feelings of fatigue) labwork wise to push you into a full fledged Hypothyroid state. I totally agree with the dangers of overzealous adherence to well, anything, but also believe that you can be raw and vegan and be nutritionally sound, you just have to do your homework.
Maybe this just wasn’t the correct path for your body(I love my raw fruit veggies nuts seeds etc, but give me fish and cheesecake on my Bday please:)… you rock on and fix that Thyroid and feel better soon!
January 28th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
This site rocks (!) but with all due respect, I beg to differ on the soy issue. Not all soy is alike. Health-sustaining, artesanal soy products have been cultivated and consumed in Asian civilizations for thousands of years. These products specifically include miso, shoyu, tamari, tofu, and tempeh, as well as the whole soy bean (edamame), all of which are supremely nutritious and healthful when made from organically grown, non-genetically modified soybeans. You are absolutely spot on about soy as it pertains to the heavily processed soy products that have become so prevalent recently in North America (i.e., soy milk, soy-based meat analogues a la “I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Bacon!”, soy cheese, soy yogurt, soy ice cream, etc.) But otherwise, any vegetarian cookbook worth its salt–particularly those in the macrobiotic tradition–extols the virtues of soy foods as part of a plant-based diet. And there are more and more scientific studies being published every day about soy’s medicinal qualities: Tofu reduces hot flashes and other symptoms associated with menopause; Miso is is rich in beneficial enzymes and bacteria that foster good digestion and healthy intestinal flora; Tamari and shoyu combat anemia. The list goes on and on. Please get your facts straight before you potentially turn people away from these traditional foods which have sustained large populations for centuries.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Hi Laura,
Thanks so much for all this great information–all of which I completely agree with.
When talking about nutrition and health, as I did most recently at the SOLD OUT Prana Cleanse™ at Prana Newton a few weeks ago, I always talk about the benefits of NON PROCESSED soy IN MODERATION.
As you point out accurately and articulately, soy has been eaten for centuries by large populations, with excellent results. The issue, as you say, is consuming the right type of soy–the non processed type–but also eating it in moderation. My understanding is that most populations have eaten this type of non-processed soy in very small amounts–usually as a condiment. And my experience is that in this country, very few people–almost no one I’ve ever met–eats anything in this type of moderation. SUPER SIZE THAT SOY PROTEIN BAR!! Lol.
Seriously, though, soy is not a black and white subject, and I am grateful that you pointed that out.
I hadn’t realized that I didn’t bring up this fact in my post until I got your post, so thank you.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
January 29th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Exactly! You got it! Clearly, you know your stuff
As an aside, I will never understand why moderation is such a difficult concept for North Americans to grasp. “Superize that soy protein bar!” is all too apt. Once again, I compliment you on your delightful site. I am one of your readers who is a non-mom and I really enjoy your articles. Keep it up!
Best wishes,
Laura
January 29th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Thanks Sister.
I’m happy you found Super-mom.com.
I think moderation is difficult for North Americans because when you are not centered, you pull from the mass consciousness which says that MORE IS BETTER and YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH.
Neither of these statements reflect my truth, and I think that’s because I get on my mat every day and find my center, and operate from there.
For me, my yoga is, well, yoga–actual asana on my mat daily. And living my asana day-to-day by walking through the world with integrity and grace, no matter what comes my way. And finding compassion and forgiveness for myself and others when things aren’t as graceful as I would have liked.
For some, “yoga” (i.e. union) is gardening, reading, running, meditating, taking a bath, baking, listening to music, walking in nature, etc.
It’s important that everyone find their “yoga” and practice it daily–so they are operating from their center and thus not FILLING UP with anything in EXCESS. Since, as we all know, this only leads to suffering.
I am on a mission to spread the light of “yoga” to this continent, and then SUPERSIZE THIS and suffering will be a thing of the past.
Namaste!!
Taylor
January 31st, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Taylor!
I love how you pointed out that “yoga” means many things to many people..as does what constitutes a healthy “diet” (I know…YUK word LOL). I think that it is easier to place blame on certain factors in our lives first (who hasn’t done that?) rather than say….”HMMMM Ok, where did I go wrong on this path and how can I tweak it for wellness”. We can learn so much from one another, most importantly being not to dismiss anyone’s way because it differs from our own. So raw, cooked, or a combo, matters not! This site has done such a nice job of presenting everyone’s point of view with respect, and the lively conversations keep me checking in once a week!
So many of these posts have truly made me think, and reconsider so many topics!
February 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
I am glad to see that you have brought up the negative effects of soy as well. I too agree in moderation 100% and I also want to point out that I was not eating any of the “faux” meat products or many of the processed soy products and I did not have a thyroid problem prior to switching to a vegan diet. I just want people to know that they should be aware that this can happen to them, as it did with me. Despite being very careful to get all of my nutrients in while not consuming meat and dairy I started losing hair and stopped menstruating. (My Sister in Law is Japanese and she herself admitted that soy consumption there is more “condiment” oriented) I also have learned how soy mimics estrogen in the body and can help feed certain cancers…so I just think that people need to be aware that nothing is black and white and that before making major changes to their “diet” they need to be well informed. I had no idea that this would happen to me and it did and happened within 50 days or going vegan. Simply typing in danger/soy in google opened my eyes. Thank you for writing about both sides of the story.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Jeez….thank goodness that you were able to figure this all out, Karly and find the source so that you could get rapid treatment. I really think that the balance between Eastern and Western medicine is crucial, and that in our pursuit for “total” health, we really can get caught up in being perfect. Striving for perfection and whatever that means can lead to crazy restrictive diets, emotional suffering, over excercising and ambivelance toward taking medication that can and is helpful or even life saving in so many cases.
I find that is never the modality of food consumption that is the problem, it is how your diet makes you feel emotionally. Are you healthy? Overweight? Underweight? Do you feel well or are you always starving? Do you feel badly if you “cheat” have a “bad” food? Do you spend way too much time thinking about food and diet? If this is the case then you are treading in the area of disordered eating which will lead to Thyroid malfunction, hair loss and poor health. It is easy to be comsumed by what we are or aren’t consuming, and that attitude has little to do with raw or vegan, meat eater, carb free, whatever…it has to do with how much the behavior effects your life!
But yeah….if you are feeling like crap and your hair is going South then it might be time t take a step back, breathe and figure out just what you are doing to yourself, because that is really what it boils down to…what and why?
February 14th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
(One of) my dream(s) is that every Super-person walking this planet nourishes their body with whole, delicious foods that awaken their mind, body, and spirit and give them so much energy to do all the things they want to do in this lifetime. That every Super-person uses their precious thoughts and energy to create dreams and joy. That no time and energy is wasted thinking about food–except when it is an expression of joy (i.e. “I am so excited to enjoy lunch at PRANA RAW* with my friend after I practice yoga at Prana Newton!!”).
LOL.
*PRANA RAW, Philippe and my first raw vegan restaurant, is coming to Newton Corner in May 2009!!
The demo-ing of the space is finished and 3 chefs have been hired, so far. Many more fun things to do and create when we return from Disney World in a week.
Namaste!!
Taylor
February 18th, 2009 at 11:57 am
thank you for all this information, taylor! I have recently incorporated more raw foods, juices into my life (not diet…!) and am also ready to get pregnant! I know that you were raw when you were pregnant with phoenix, and was wondering if you could share with me any knowledge you have about being substantially raw (i’d say about 70-75% in my case) and getting enough vitamins to prepare for and nourish the pregnancy. do you recommend still taking supplements, folic acid, etc, or do you know the foods that contain enough of what you need? I so appreciate you and this blog for spreading the light! thank you.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Prana Raw sounds like fun! I am always up to check out a new place! Food should equal joy! That is the Italian way, and I truly believe that being taught this lesson from all of my Aunt’s growing up, is the reason why cooking, entertaining, and family are central to my life!
I can’t wait to grab a snack after getting all happy and sweaty in class! CONGRATS!
February 20th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
So happy to hear about Prana Raw. Now I have a choice between cleaning my juicer or biking out to Newton Corner.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hi Amy,
Congrats on making the choice to become a Super-mom!!
That’s wonderful news Sister.
Regarding eating 70-75% raw and getting enough vitamins to prepare for and nourish a pregnancy, I say go for it!!
This is why…when you cook food, you lose about 80% of the food’s vitamins and minerals, and ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the food’s enzymes. So if you eat cooked food, you need to eat that much more food to just get the same amount of vitamins and minerals that you would have gotten if you had consumed raw/living foods. And no matter how much cooked food you eat, you ain’t gettin’ any enzymes, Sister, and enzymes give you LIFE FORCE and ENERGY.
There is A LOT of propaganda out there about why we need to eat meat and dairy, that has a lot more to do with politics and economics than actual nutrition facts.
So please always read a lot, sit with it, and then ask your own intuition what to do.
Every person is different, which is why it’s virtually impossible to come up with “one plan” that is “perfect” for all.
Especially since you/I change daily also!!
But the short answer is that living/raw foods contain a lot more vitamins and minerals than cooked foods so the more raw food you eat while pregnant, the better (never raw fish or meat though while pregnant).
It’s totally fine to take supplements/folic acid/fish oil/etc. when pregnant as “insurance,” so to speak. I know raw vegans who did not take any supplements during their pregnancy, but I personally chose to take em “just in case.”
I took Rainbow light prenatals (which have folic acid) and fish oil, since it’s so important to brain development of the fetus. Both are available at vitacost.com.
The raw vegans I know who didn’t take supplements while pregnant had great pregnancies and births and their kids are super healthy.
But I just felt like I wanted to take them for whatever reason.
I did eat 100% raw during my pregnancy with Phoenix and had a ton of energy, especially for being pregnant and having two other children, one of whom was a toddler. I taught and practiced yoga till the day I delivered and delivered Phoenix vaginally and all naturally (with no drugs or epidural).
I was really excited and proud of this, since I had endured natural childbirth for both of my daughters for a LONG TIME, but then ended up with an epidural in the end with both. Sigh.
I do want to be clear that I am totally not against western medicine or pain medication. Whatever gets the job done, Sisters!!
But when I can avoid medication, I do so.
Amy, if you’d like to talk further/in person about this huge topic, I’m available for Prana Super-mom Consulting. There will be a Consulting destination up on the site soon.
Have the best day ever!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
February 24th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Thanks Super-mom Chrissy.
I can’t wait to do the same thing.
We are so excited to finally have some place delicious and healthy to eat in our neighborhood.
It’s about time!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
February 24th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Hi Elizabeth,
Well, I’d say bike and hang at Prana Raw, but that’s me.
Namaste!!
Taylor
February 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Dear Taylor,
I’m one of your students’ (Pam’s) daughters. You probably don’t remember me, but I’ve been a sporadic student of yours since I was a little girl! Anyways, I just wanted to write you and tell you how excited I am for Prana Raw. I have been dying for something like this in Boston! I can’t wait to come try it out.
I also wanted to write because I have been wanting to tell you how
INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL I am to you for doing what you do and getting the word out there about raw food. I first learned about “raw” this summer, when an e-mailed link from a friend brought me to super-mom.com.
At the time, I was on a summer abroad program in Scotland (the land of meat pies), and I have never felt so gross in my life. I was eating cafeteria and fast food every day, there didn’t seem to be time to exercise, and after too many long days and late nights drinking coffee and beer, I could feel myself gaining weight and losing energy (and this was after a summer filled with yoga and healthy eating – it was really a low point!) Needless to say, I devoured the section on “super-foods.” It was like a hundred light bulbs in my head clicked “on” at once. It seems obvious, but I finally realized that this situation was my choice – only I was in control of what I put into my body. I felt so free!! The next day, I walked into my first vegan restaurant (it turns out they are all over the city – a shifted perspective was all it took to find them!) and ate a delicious, 100% raw lunch. The next morning, I woke up and ran five miles! I was AMAZED at how good I felt. The rest of the trip was INCREDIBLE, and I know it had a lot to do with the new light, clean, happy feeling I had growing inside (that’s the only way I can think of to describe it!).
This fall I started college, and as I watch my friends suffering from depression, eating disorders, acne and various sicknesses, I am even more grateful for my growing knowledge about health, raw food, and how to best take care of my body. I am not saying that I am immune to these problems at all, but it is reassuring to know that I have the answer (my answer, at least), whether or not I choose to use it. More raw (and especially less cooked and packaged) = more energy, happiness, less sickness, better thoughts, mental clarity, etc., etc. And more and more, I choose raw.
While it can sometimes be a challenge, and my friends think I’m crazy (why are you wrapping carrots and peppers and sprouts in lettuce?! Gross! And what the hell is that green sludge you’re drinking??) I would not ever want to eat what they eat everyday (pizza and fries, subs and pies, milkshakes and burgers, I could go on…) I try not to judge but it is so hard to watch them eat the sushi on campus that is made with canned crab and high-fructose corn syrup-soaked rice, thinking its “healthy.” They don’t like to hear my annoying health facts, but it is so frustrating to have this knowledge that could help and not be able to share it! I try to remind myself that when they are ready, they will ask, and until then not to shove anything in anyone’s face. We are all on our own, personal path, and I probably would not have been ready for this information a year ago.
And it is amazing how quickly my body is able to heal itself once I go back to raw.
My own journey has not been “perfect” at all or 100%, and I have problems on the weekends, going out to eat, or when I’m tired and stressed out, etc., but I just feel so happy knowing that I can go back to my raw food any time I want to! This really is a journey, and I always try to remember that and not beat myself up over a bagel and cream cheese every now and then
I really do believe that people (especially girls in college) are ready for a change, but they just don’t have the information. Sometimes I bring an avocado to the dining hall to eat with my salad, and while my friends are initially horrified and call me crazy, after a few minutes, they always ask me for a bite. People have started asking me to make salads for them, commenting on how good the things I make look. I am positive that were more raw options available, people would choose them, they are just nowhere to be found! I’m trying to think of ideas of how to fix this.
I also want to say that I LOVE all of your articles – they help me with everything – living with my roommate, getting along with my sister, caring less about clothes and “stuff,” remembering to act out of love – whenever I feel “down” or need a reminder, I go through the archives
I respect you so much for everything you have been through, the work you do, and the way you choose to live your life. You sound like a really amazing mom!
You have no idea how many people you have helped and how far your words reach.
As I write this, I am enjoying spoonfuls of coconut butter and cacao nibs. Yum!
Thank you!!
Love, Ellie
February 26th, 2009 at 9:36 am

Hi Ellie,
Of course I remember you, Sister!!
Thank you for your heartfelt and beautiful post. It brought tears to my eyes.
Much gratitude.
I read it with both Madison and Sagey, our 11 and 5 year old daughters, and they loved it as well.
I am so proud of you. You are doing great!! And you are a great writer!!
You must know that, but I did say to madison, “She’s a great writer and she’s very wise. I want her to work for Prana.”
You can quote me on that.
It means so much to me that you read Super-mom.com and you enjoy it and it helps you. That is why I created it.
Please spread the word to all of your college friends and have them pass it on to their hometown friends b/c girl, I KNOW that college dorms are rampant with a lot of pain and eating disorders of every variety. My friends and I lived it “back in the day,”
and had I had yoga, raw food, and a site/blog to get support, it would have been so much better.
I still think you should do our teacher training some day…whenever it fits in to your path.
Say hi to your mom, enjoy your cacao nibs n coco butter (super-yum), and have the best day ever!!
Love and Namaste!!
Taylor
February 26th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I would be honored to do the teacher training someday! I really want to do the prana cleanse, but it has not yet worked out with any of my breaks. I’m sure it will someday
As a side note, it is “eating disorder awareness week” here at school, and there is a panel discussion tonight where they will be serving, of all things, pizza. I understand the point they are trying to make, but it just seems so ridiculous to me! I recently discovered Natalia Rose’s website, and she has an amazing post about eating disorders, where she talks about how modern eating is totally disordered and the vast majority of girls suffer with their bodies/diet because of it, and just how the whole issue and how it is approached, treatment, etc is totally backwards. Here is the link in case anybody is interested: http://www.detoxtheworld.com/blog-detail.php?ID=46
So I will definitely do my best to spread the word about yoga/raw food/supermom.com, etc. I try to “plant the seeds with love,” like you say, even if it feels like no one hears me!
March 9th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Hi Ellie,
You would be a great teacher, so keep that in mind. We teach teacher training seven weekends in the Winter, usually during February and March, when there’s not much else to do on weekend in the New England weather–LOL.
That’s just amazing to me that they served pizza at the eating disorder panel discussion. I understand what they were trying to do, but when you read what Natalia Rose and many others have written, you see how truly backwards it all is.
Ahhhh, it always takes awhile for “real facts” to spread to the “mainstream.”
Remember when acupuncture and chiropractic were considered weird?
Keep planting the seeds, sister.
Keep spreading the light!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
March 27th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Please say you’ll be selling yummy Coracao raw chocolates at Prana Raw!!! So far, they are only in CA and it’s just not right! Looking forward to delicious raw treats sooo soon!
March 27th, 2009 at 11:35 am
We’ll definitely sell Raw cacao chocolates–and more–at The Prana Raw Cafe’!!
See you there!!
Namaste!!
Taylor
March 29th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Hi Taylor,
As I told you back in January, I’ve been busy planning a conference on “The Future of Food.” Well, it’s coming together rather beautifully and the schedule is up at http://www.bu.edu/euforyou/EU/future-of-food.com. The conference is free and open to the public, and is a great opportunity for members of the PPY community to find out where our food comes from, why our food costs so much, problems with GMOs, what is climate friendly eating, etc. We’re not about telling people how to eat (though I will do that in private
). Our goal is simply to inspire people to make wiser food choices with the knowledge they gain throughout the day.
Raw foodists may be interested in the fermentation workshop we’re organizing on Friday, May 8, with Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. I’ll probably stick with GT’s at $3.39 a pop, because I’m all about trading money for time, but if anyone is curious about making kombucha and sauerkraut, this is a great opportunity with the coolest of guides.
One of our keynote speakers, Satish Kumar, is the editor of Resurgence magazine and founder of Schumacher College in the UK. He is a guru of mine and his talk should be of interest to practitioners of yoga interested in exploring yoga’s spiritual dimensions.
Congratulations on the success of “Project Dakota.” You inspire me to think bigger.
Lots of love-
Elizabeth
PS: I will definitely be biking out to Prana Raw once the weather warms up. Though I’m imagining the day when there’s a Prana Raw around the corner too.
March 29th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Yikes, Taylor, I got that link wrong! It’s http://www.bu.edu/euforyou/EU/future-of-food.html. Maybe you can fix it in the post? Thanks! Elizabeth
March 30th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Hi Elizabeth,
The new link is above but I also asked Mandy to fix the other link.
Your Conference sounds great!!
Thanks for the congrats.
Thinking big=living big, which is a lot of fun.
And that’s what it’s all about.
xoxoxo
T
March 31st, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Hi Taylor and Elizabeth!
Sorry Elizabeth, but I can’t edit your original post aside from deleting it entirely! There is lots of important info in there, so let’s leave it up and readers will see your following post with the correct link.
The conference does sound great! I just might have to check it out
Happy Spring!
Mandy
April 4th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Good morning, Taylor:
Whenever I read what you have written, I feel inspired that I will find a way to my own healthier path, I just need to have patience with myself. Thank you for sharing all of yourself and your life and your family life so openly. Listening to you is like receiving a healthy feeding; I feel more open to the possibilites of my own life. Thank you for that ongoing gift you offer.
Have a beautiful Sunday.
April 4th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Hi Tracy,
You are so welcome. It’s my pleasure and my honor and that is what Super-mom.com is all about: support, community, and inspiration from each other.
You will find a way to your own healthier path.
Trust the process and be gentle with yourself.
Namaste!!
Taylor
April 15th, 2009 at 7:03 am
Hi Taylor,
And my response was “hey, it’s just vegan, I’m not raw!” He thought that was a pretty good answer. 
I just wanted to take a minute to tell you how much I love super-mom.com, and how right you are about so many things! I’ve been vegetarian, almost vegan for over 3 years, and I remember when I first started down this path my ‘meat and potatos’ husband was joking with me. He was worried about how the transition from vegetarian to vegan lifestyle I was taking on would impact his own culinary experience at home (ie: what would I cook now?
BUT, as much as I enjoy a plethora of foods being vegan, I am starting to experiment with more raw food recipes. I attended your/Adrienne’s Abundand Prana conference last week and was totally blown away by the 2.5 hours of talk in the studio. I absorbed everything that was said, by everyone, and left there KNOWING that I would complete 2 healthy lifestyle ventures that I have been considering for quite a while (becoming certified to teach kids yoga and starting a local running club), AND that I would start trying raw recipes at home. I’ve never felt more balanced, and I have to give credit to yoga and to the inspiration I received from the conrference. Wow!
So, THANK YOU for putting yourself out there for us. You truly are a super mom, and an inspirational woman.
Best!
Terri
Oh, and as for my husband – he likes everything I make, despite himself.
April 19th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Thanks Terri for your kind words.
I’m writing you from my blackberry on Miami beach with Phoenix snuggling in my lap as we look out at the crystal blue water. We have a beach bag full of toys, pataben free sunscreen, spiritual books, and raw snacks next to us.
Just this morning, Philippe and I were remarking how much easier it is to be raw on vacation now vs when we first went raw.
I remember having feelings of scarcity on our first raw vacation…would I have enough? Would we be able to pull it off?
We did, of course, but not with the feelings of abundance that now follow us everywhere-and are reflected in our surroundings.
On this vacation, we actually needed to ask for a 2nd larger fridge bc we have such delicious abundance in our corner suite (that we got for free), and at the complimentary hotel breakfast and dinner, the abundance of native fruit is astounding.
So stay on your path. I totally understand your husbands fear about scarcity but as you and The Universe show him otherwise, his scarcity mentality will be replaced with one of fearless abundance.
Namaste!
Taylor
May 16th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Hello!
I have to share with you an interesting experience I had today…
I went to your studio this morning, I’m just a beginner and really have been enjoying it. After I came to your website and blog to poke around, read this post and thought “This sounds interesting, I’ll have to look into that more.”
I headed to Whole Foods later (not the one I usually go to either!). I even gave my Mom a call before heading in and talked to her a bit about raw diet, if she knew much about it. As I’m walking in, guess who walks out? Philippe. He was talking to someone about eating raw too!
Like your post says above “A coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences.”
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:41 am
Hi! I never heard about the raw food lifestyle until I read your site recently! You really got me thinking and I’ve been constantly searching the internet for more information ever since. I can’t seem to find any information about feeding babies though. I have a 10 month-old and have a lot of questions about how to feed him. Any advice? Do you know any good resources? When can he have green smoothies? How can he eat things like squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc if they aren’t cooked till soft so he can chew it? Shouldn’t I avoid everything being a liquid so he can learn to chew? If I don’t give him cow’s milk like the rest of the world after I stop nursing, what should I give him? I’m so confused! Thank you so much for your inspiration!!
June 5th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Hi Super-mom Julia,
The best advice I can give you on all of this is to follow your intuition. You know it all, sister. Just listen from within.
We have all been programmed to think we have to ask “the experts” what, how, and when to feed our children and what to teach them, etc. but we have all that wisdom inside.
That said, you can blend all the veggies you listed in a high speed blender (we like the KTECH), and add in some avocado to make it creamy and super-yummy for his little belly (and a pinch of Himalayan Crystal salt and some filtered water).
In time you can also soak and sprout sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds to add to the mix and some dried fruit for sweetness. Just play around and taste the stuff–make what tastes good to you! And you can have a bowl too.
He can learn how to chew small pieces of fruit, raw crackers and breads, etc.
I would avoid cow’s milk and all dairy. There is a lot written about why on the internet so do your research. I also talk about it on this site.
There is a lot to say about all of this–way more than I can cover in a blog post, so if you want to go deeper, I’m available for consulting and would love to help.
If you’re interested, please email michael@pranapoweryoga.com and he’ll set up a consult for us. I consult about many things–very holistically. We can cover all of this in detail, as well as how you can create and live the best life ever, Super-mom.
In a nutshell (pun intended), after you stop nursing, you can make him nut milks and/or seed milks, which have a lot more nutrients and minerals than cow’s milk and are easy to digest. It’s all good!
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:32 am
Hi Taylor-
3 things!
1) I went to your Saturday 11:00 class (last spring) for my first class ever….I was the girl who was chewing gum. You said something like “Wow I can’t believe you can do yoga and breathe while chewing gum.” I played it cool then. Now, I could not imagine chewing gum during class!
2) What do you think of the Synergy Kombucha drinks? I tried one in the midst of a headache and after two sips, my headache melted away. I was amazed.
3) I do individual therapy with a teenage girl who has autism. She is on a GFCF and organic food diet. I am thinking Prana Cafe might be a place where there are many options for her. What do you think? I sent her mother the menu to see if it would be okay. If so, I’m taking her on a field trip to the Cafe! Along with potentially great options for her, it’s good practice for her to order what she wants, do the money exchange, and having to converse with me while sitting and eating, etc.
THANK YOU! NAMASTE!
-Adrien
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hi Adrien,
1. I remember you.
2. I love Dave’s kombucha. And Dave is a nice guy. I drink them a lot. I like the green one. I recommend max of one a day to my Consulting Clients. At one point I was drinking more than that and I read some stuff online and cut back. Ideally, I’d drink 1 every two days.
3. I don’t know what GFCF means. Please let me know. I don’t feel I can answer this question without knowing all the facts. Of course, I feel that we serve the best food ever at our Cafe’ (we just ate it for dinner at the Pink House) and so I feel that it can only be a positive for anyone. But I’d like to know what that acronym means.
Thanks and Namaste!
Taylor
October 26th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Hi Taylor-
I should not have assumed that people know what GFCF means. I apologize. It means gluten-free and casein-free. This kind of diet is thought to have positive effects on children with autism. Do you have ingredient lists for your dishes at the Cafe? I know you have some gluten-free options (and everything is already dairy free!)…what are they? I tried the cafe on Saturday with my husband. I had the chocolate torte. It was unbelievable and most definitely the richest dessert ever. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the coconut sauce drizzled on top. There is something about those coconuts I tell ya!!
-Adrien
January 10th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
We had a birthday in my family tonight and I make this raw cake, it was TO DIE FOR and I wanted to share it!
Raspberry Chocolate Rhapsody Cake
Chocolate Brownie Layer:
2 cups walnuts
2 cups pecans
1 cup pitted dates
1/3 cup cacao
1/3 cup carob
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbs water
Place walnuts and pecans in a food processor and process until ground.Add dates, cacao, carob and vanilla extract. Process until well mixed.Add the water and process briefly.
White Chocolate-Raspberry Layer:
(Adapted from Vanessa Sherwood’s wonderful White Chocolate-strawberry Cheesecake)
1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 cup cashews and/or macadamia nuts
3 Tbs melted coconut butter
1 Tbs melted cacao butter
2 Tbs honey or agave1 tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Blend in Vita-mix or high speed blender until smooth.
Coconut Chocolate Creme Topping:
1 cup young coconut meat
1/4 cup coconut or regular water
1/2 cup cashews, soaked
1 Tbs cacao powder
2 Tbs coconut butter, melted
1 Tbs honey or agave
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean
Pinch of salt
Blend in Vita-mix or high speed blender until smooth. Put it fridge or freezer to thicken up.
Assembly:
In a springform pan or large plastic margarine tub lined with saran wrap, layer 1/2 of the chocolate mixture, followed by 1/2 of the raspberry mixture. Put in freezer to set. Then repeat. Again, let set in the freezer.When the last raspberry layer has firmed up, gently transfer the cake onto a serving plate. Cover with the Coconut Vanilla Cream topping. If desired, decorate with chocolate sauce (just mix 1 part melted coconut oil with 1 part agave or maple syrup and 1 part cacao powder) and/or fresh raspberries
Source: http://rawgoddessheathy.blogspot.com/2008/10/chocolate-raspberry-rhapsody-cake.html
January 29th, 2010 at 3:51 am
Great information thanks for getting this out there for people like me to read.
February 14th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Nice to read about your nursing and staying a raw food eater . Thanks for all the information.
March 7th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Helo, super mom Taylor! First off, I love what you are doing! Thank you for putting such an abundance of beautiful, positive energy out there. I have been inspired by your websites (prana cafe site, too!) and prana yoga. I really want to go raw! I have my fears and reservations so I decided to try a week raw…just to feel it out. I am about to go to sleep at the end of day 2. So far, so great….I made my first trip to Prana Cafe yesterday (loved the burrito and gave my self a clean slate with Montana’s juice). I am trying to come up with ideas of things to eat. The #1 thing that I find myself wanting is carbs in the form of bread, crackers, pretzels, etc. I bought the flax cracks and enjoy them, but am wondering if you know of any other products or something I could make? I made some great guacamole and salsa but need some sort of chip or tortilla substitute. It is really important to me to be successful this week in being 100% raw. Any ideas for this carb junkie??? Thank you!!! (for everything…)
March 8th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Hi Suzy!
Thanks for your post.
It’s my honor and pleasure to put out my energy in any way possible, to help others remember who they are and discover their pure potential and joy.
That’s what my book: The Adventures of Super-mom: How to Create the Best Life Ever is about.
There are TONS Of raw carby choices from which you can choose–both at our cafe and at pranaraw.com–our brand new ecommerce website.
Here is just an idea…we have more than this but it’s a start!
In addition to the flax crackers you got, we have:
1. Sun Flax Bread in 3 flavors: original, foccacia, and cinnamon raisin
2. Sweet Apricot Almond Bread
3. Carrot Cake Loaf
4. Gingerbread
5. Oatmeal Apple Cookies
6. Breakfast Crusts (thick delicious crackers made with flax)
7. Mineral Rich Crusts (similar but slightly different).
8. Thumbprint Cookies
9. Lemon Cookies
10. Chocolate Fudge Cookies with Candied Walnuts
11. Vanilla/Chocolate Contrast Cookies
12. Prana Cafe’s famous granola
14. Prana Cafe’s Kale Chips
15. Prana Cafe’s Nacho Kale Chips
16. Prana Cafe’s Tamari Almonds
17. Prana Cafe’s Spicy n Sweet Cashews
18. Prana Cafe’s Sweet Cinnamon Pecans
19. Prana Cafe’s creamy ice cream in the following flavors: Cinnamon Pecan, Chocolate, Vanilla, Coffee, and Mint Chip!
20. Power Wraps–Texas BBQ
21. Power Wraps–Vegan Curry
22. Blue-Green Coconut Crisps
23. Orginal Coconut Crisps
24. Assorted insanely good chocolate bars (the samples they sent us were so good that Supermom ate em all! LOL).
25. Prana Cafe’s Chocolate Torte
26. Prana Cafe’s Lemon Meringue Pie
27. Prana Cafe’s Coconut Cream Pie
28. Prana Cafe’s Mocha Cheesecake
29. Prana Cafe’s Blueberry Cheesecake
30. Prana Cafe’s Original Cheesecake
31. Prana Cafe’s Lemon Cheesecake
32. Prana Cafe’s Ice Cream Sundae
33. Prana Cafe’s creamy Chocolate Pudding
34. Prana Cafe’s Fruit Parfait with Mango Creme
35. Vanilla and Chocoalte Macaroons
36. Chocolate Chip Scones
37. Donut Holes
38. Chocolate Truffles
39. Pizza of the day
40. Spagetti and Meatballs
41. Crepes!
42. Mashed Potatoes
and more!
So this gives you just an idea.
If you’d like to make stuff at home, we sell my favorite recipe books at the Cafe’, the ones I have used daily for a long time (that is, until we opene the Cafe’–LOL), and you can save on shipping.
I hope this is helpful Suzy.
Have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor
March 10th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Hello Taylor,
Thank you SO MUCH for such a long list of suggestions! I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly. I went to Prana cafe yesterday, so excited, forgetting Wednesdays are the one day you’re closed! Oh well, I will be back soon to “carbo-load”!
A couple more questions for you: The first couple raw days I felt great, but now I am feeling a major cold coming on. My good friend who eats mostly raw says that sometimes this can happen since a raw food diet is detoxifying and brings up a lot of toxins in the body. Of course it could just be possible that I caught a cold, but I was wondering if you know people that have experienced this when transitioning to a raw diet? When I was in college I remember feeling super sick after I took a double wheat grass shot the morning after consuming too much alcohol….and my wheat grass man said it was my body’s way of pulling out the toxins I had ingested the night before. Do you think there is truth to that?
Question number two: do you find that eating raw is very costly? I have spent so much money on organic produce and raw products that I am worried a raw diet won’t be sustainable. Any tips for saving money on a raw diet? Or is that just the cost of supreme health?
Thank you again, Taylor, for being so open, honest, and accessible. Your websites have offered me a ton of encouragement and inspiration. Keep on keepin on as your super self!!!!
Thank you,
Suzy
March 12th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Hi Suzy!
The Prana Cafe’ is closed on TUESDAYS, Sister, not Wednesdays!
LOL!
Go girl with your RAW VEGAN CARBO-LOADING!
Have fun with it and ENJOY.
And no worries about feeling a major cold coming on after eating raw for a few days.
Can you say DETOX?!
That’s all it is, so stay with it Sister.
Answer to Question Number 2: No, I don’t find that eating raw vegan is very costly.
Once you know what you’re doing, it’s not more expensive than eating cooked food–unless, of course, you eat $1 burger meals at McDonalds 3x/day. (LOL)
As far as organic vs. conventional…here’s the scoop: you pay NOW or you pay LATER.
Period!
I like to think of Organic as “without poison” and conventional as “with poison.”
That made it easier for me to “take” the higher cost of Organic produce when I first started eating all organic.
In addition, when you eat organic, you are getting so many more nutrients than when you eat conventional,
For example, one study showed that organic spinach contains 70% more nutrients than conventional!
Helloooowww!
So you actually need to eat less of it to get the same number of nutrients.
My tips for saving money when maintaing a raw lifestyle would be to just walk the path and live and learn.
When I was first raw, I spent a lot of money ordering raw cookies, crackers, breads, brownies, etc. from California.
I paid a lot for shipping and also bought stuff that I didn’t like because I had never tried the stuff.
Now I’ve done all that research for you so you don’t have to waste money on a package of raw cookies that aren’t the best ever…everything we sell at the Cafe’ in our retail section are our favorite products and you’ll love them all–and save $ on shipping!
And if you order from pranaraw.com (if you can’t get to the Cafe’), again, every product is the best ever…you won’t waste money on stuff that tastes like cardboard.
In addition, grains like millet are very inexpensive, as is chia seed and flax seed. And these are all packed with nutrients and go a long way!
Make things in small portions, too, so you don’t waste/throw anything out.
It’s amazing how much food people waste.
A piece of fruit is a lot less $$ than a croissant from Au Bon Pain, by the way.
LOL!
Ok off to get some ZZZZZZs before we teach Teacher Training tomorrow morning…
Namaste!
Taylor
March 15th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Hi Taylor – I was wondering which of the recommended books you think is the best for me…. I have been ordering some of the Prana cafe food for lunch at teacher training, and love it! I am not ready to go 100% raw but would like to try making some things at home. So I’m looking for a book with basic concepts and basic recipes (puddings, smoothies, juices, snacks). Thoughts?
Thank you so much for all of the education – inside and outside the yoga studio!
March 16th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Hi Jen!
I recommend EVERYDAY RAY by Mathew Kenney and LIFE FORCE ENERGY by Natalia Rose.
We sell them both at the cafe so you can save on shipping.
Everyday Raw is more of a basic raw recipe book with less info about the raw lifestyle, but great easy recipes that we make a lot!
Natalia’s book is more about the lifestyle and food combining and making it work no matter how much raw you want to eat.
They are both excellent books–which is why I sell them at the Cafe’.
I’m happy for you!
Keep it up Sister.
Namaste!
Taylor
June 18th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Hi Taylor,
I just had my first mean at Prana Raw and am still thinking about how delicious it was (the sushi, plus a burger to go for dinner). I was enjoying it solo and wondering if you might consider a little lending library shelf of books for reading in the cafe. I was hankering to read some raw recipes as I ate. I know you have favorite book recommendations. Maybe patrons could sample them as well.
Thanks for the fantastic food!
- Cory
June 19th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Hi Cory,
I’m so glad you enjoyed PRANA.
I’ve envisioned a lending library at the restaurant since we opened!
So stay tuned.
Thanks for the great suggestion and hope to see you soon at PRANA.
Try the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream next time.
Mmmmmmmmm!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
July 13th, 2010 at 1:59 am
I love your site.
July 13th, 2010 at 6:02 am
Thanks Lisette!
Namaste!
Taylor
July 25th, 2010 at 8:14 am
Taylor,
First off I am a big fan of your NYC studio. I used to go there 3-4 times a week when it first opened and loved your instructors. I then got pregnant in 2008 with twins, had a high risk pregnancy and stopped practicing. I tried to continue after having the twins but we moved to Westchester and the commute with work and baby twins was too tough to schedule. So I have been practicing largely on my own since.
My question is about transitioning to a more raw based diet. I am struggling with energy issues (largely due to less sleep, the new and usual demands of my life) and often have a cup of coffee (something I had never before been reliant on) or yerba tea to help get me up ,through the day or my exercise regime. This is something I don’t want to do anymore because I know how taxing it is on my system!! I got a juicer for mother’s day so have been trying to have one green juice a day with a meal but not really sure how go just go raw all day? What would a good meal/day look like? I have had digestive issues in the past so worried about only consuming raw foods and would love some tips on how to make the transition or just incorporate more into my diet.
Thanks so much!! I love your blog, you are truly inspirational!!
Sarah
July 26th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Hi Super-mom Sarah!
Thanks so much for your post.
And congratulations on your twins!
I’m so happy for you.
We are so joyful about our twins and feel so very blessed.
I would love to help you transition to a more raw based lifestyle.
It’s (part of) my dharma to talk to people about how to create the best life ever, and one of the components of what I teach them (the master plan–LOL) is to increase the amount of high vibration living foods in their lives. It’s never about labels or perfection or restriction, but about life force and joy.
The ABUNDANCE that is your birthright is amazing and waiting for you!
And as I’ve lived this lifestyle for many years, the abundance that the Universe has provided has been astounding and wonderful.
In so many ways.
Along with/because of this abundance in all aspects of my life and because of my dedication and commitment to raising our children and homeschooling them, I’ve needed to make boundaries regarding my time and energy.
“If I had a nickel for every person who asked the wonderful and important question you’re asking right now…”
LOL, but seriously, I could build another PRANA restaurant right now (and would!).
So I have been offering my students/readers/clients/guests at our restaurant/bloggers my consulting services for about 2 years now. If you are interested in a consult, please contact Michael@pranapoweryoga.com and he’ll give you all of the information.
Thanks so much Sister and have the best day ever!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
October 17th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Thanks so much !
October 19th, 2010 at 2:45 am
Hi Taylor,
I was just wondering if the prana cafe foods were available at the Whole foods across from the Winchester studio yet? I am really looking foward to purchasing the prana cafe foods after my yoga class!
Thanks!
Jenn
October 23rd, 2010 at 5:46 pm
Hi Jenn!
So so soon.
Just working with my kitchen on it so it can all run super smoothly.
Stay tuned and thanks for your patience.
For now, you can get our granola, cinnamon pecans, spicy cashews, tamari almonds, flax crackers, and kale chips right at PRANA POWER YOGA, every single day!
Namaste!
Taylor plus 5
October 28th, 2010 at 8:54 am
i love to feed babies specially when they burp and smile after feeding them _