Come Visit me at Santa Monica Mall this Saturday May 21st!!! Demo and free give away!

Oh my, my, my lovely life!! I’ve been on the road spreading love through raw food creations for more than a month and in two different countries and I feel absolutely blessed to be home in Venice, California. I’m super excited to jump back into life and to promote raw vibrant living foods! I mean, could I ask for a better life? I get to introduce people to something healthy and delicious, to open eyes, to awaken the soul and to help people heal!!!

My beautiful flow continues with the opportunity to reach people locally here in Santa Monica this weekend at the Market at Santa Monica Place. Please come visit me at 2:30pm. I’ll be doing a demo and showing how to make a quick, simple kale salad.. and a lovely raw cacao mousse!! I’m also giving away a free personal raw food class for those in attendance!!! Please check the flyer for more information!!! This Saturday at Santa Monica Place. The demo is in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the Gourmandise School of Savory and Sweets!!!! My how times are changing… you can come take raw food classes from me.. and do a little shop therapy!!!

Love, love, LOVE this life!! Click below for the details of my demo & directions!!!

CookingSchoolDemo

Time for the tubes

I laugh a lot at myself when I think about the amount of change in the past 5 years. The Kirsten then might not want to hang out with Kirsten age 39. Or maybe I, me… in the present.. was exactly what I needed to find in a friend, mentor or could she have been the spark for transformation. I ponder on a rainy Monday.
I’ve just decided it has been way too long since a colonic.. and I feel very ready for a good series. Is it the coming new year that is sparking this, or a jump start.. or a heavy feeling. It’s not deep or internal as I am now acutely aware of.. but rather just excess-ive-ness-es. On the external vessel, physical part. Yoga sure has reminded my body of how it needs to work together to obtain great fitness. Wow does it feel good to be back into “Vinnie mode”. He’s our witty, soft-spoken New Yorker who teaches us type A personalties to rocking beats most mornings and evenings in Santa Monica. Yes, we refer to each other as Vinnie-ites! His class is something special.. the exact mix of intensity, calmness, humor, sweat, power and togetherness. No one else can teach what he offers in the most realistic way. Not for beginners, this is a “get up and put up and give it all you’ve got” kind of class. People come to do the work, they are after the work, chipping away at both physical and mental processing in the form of endurance and slight pain.. be in it, thrive in it!!!
Ok, so there are so many reasons it feels good to be back to home, friends, cats and familiarity. It’s time for Kirsten to do another HUGE stretch of growing.. wonder in what areas its going to be this time? So blessed to be able and open to grow and change. So nice to feel comfortable in my body, holding my space on this earth. The calmness which controls the flame internally now is strong and stable. I love this life.

Raw Food in Peru

Loving the colorul life of Peru

I’m not sure how many of you realize but I now live in Cuzco, Peru for a couple months.  still have my community in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, don’t you worry.. but felt a calling to Cuzco as soon as I arrived in Ecuador, so I packed my Vitamix and dehydrator and hopped a bus!

Vegetarians Rock!

The food here has impressed me many times over. For one, there are at least a dozen vegetarian restaurants and because most cater to toursits, most have at least one or two vegetarian options. I consider it completely progressive for South America… and the food is good vegetarian, or at least the handful of restaurants I tried. It’s been tough for a foodie like me. On one hand I want to save money and create recipes at the hostel I’m staying at.. BUT I also need inspiration so going out for a meal is important in the

San Pedro Market, Cuzco

whole scheme of things. Right now I’m really focusing on sauces and experimenting with ingredients I’ve never even heard of – but suddenly fell in love with. One of the biggest eye openers is the herb huaycatay. It looks like a pot plant with pot leaves but has this

Lots of Corn in Peruvian Dishes

sweet, mellow perfumy taste distinct on its own. It’s safe to say I got the Sisho cursh. When I went to Japan two flavors stood out to me, shiso.. which is a green or purple herb, most closely related to mint but sooooo not. The other was Yuzu.. which is a citrus taste, somewhere between a lemon and a grapefruit… but super distinct. I almost tried to smuggle in fresh Yuzu back into the country.. until a friend promised to send me some dried – love it!!

Now I’m having a totally crush on huacatay. Today I made a dessert using it and past it around to the 6 Peruvians, or Cuscennas as they call them here in Cuzco, to try. The all loved the dessert. One

Creating raw dishes in Peru

thing I find here in Peru is that they do have spice, they do have flavor and combinations that are good and

Cruda Comida in Peru (raw food in Peru)

Cruising San Pedro Market, Cuzco, Peru

I must say that I’m not sure why I was called here to Cuzco, but these days when my intuition says something, I listen and follow as best I can. I  mean originally I was coming to Cuzco anyhow to

The Raw Crew for David Wolfe's Adventures in Peru

that I can help my friend Matt Samuelson out with raw food for a retreat of Americans coming to Peru over Thanksgiving. The retreat is David Wolfe’s Adventures. I’ve only met David once and it was very brief at the longevity conference in September/October of this year. We’ve got 30 people coming from all over the states. I’m psyched. First off, I get to hang with Matt who is a good friend of mine from raw food school. He was one of our instructors and we hit it off right away. This guy has a palate like no one else I know and can create extraordinary raw food at a moment’s notice. So that will be fun. It’s also fun for me to gain experience since I’ll be leading my own Raw Trips next year and holding weekend retreats all over the US.

So I actually chose my hostel (Apu-Wasi on the way up to Sacsayhuaman ruins) because it has a big kitchen in which to spend some time. To my dismay

A Raw Intro to the South

It’s been a whirlwind week in North Carolina but with amazing experiences and  outcomes. I met so many fabulous like-minded people as I drove the

Teaching an "Experience Raw" class in Cary, NC

state teaching raw food classes – it solidifies my belief that raw food will help us succeed on this planet. I know it sounds so big picture, but that is the way I have to think these days. With some very detrimental months and years approaching where – well life could go any which

Kirsten given Raw in North Carolina

way…. I have to keep the bigger soulful journey as priority number one!

I remember when Jan said she wanted me to come back from Ecuador and that we should tour, North Carolina came jumping to mind. It was my decision to spread the word here. North Carolina will always hold a special place in my heart. I lived in Charlotte for 3 very big years, which brought a lot of change. Big lessons, life lessons. It’s also the place where I first felt I had my community. It’s more of a feeling than an actual location.

I arrived in Charlotte in such style, I couldn’t have dreamed it up myself. Just so happens my really close goddess friend Lori lives in Washington DC and was traveling to Charlotte for the weekend with her family. So from New York City, I caught the Amtrak down to DC and spent a few days hanging out with my gal and her spicy little girl and extremely cool husband. I love those places where I can just melt into someone else’s life, be mommied and I have such great friends who help me balance and slow down, smell the roses, play with their kids, remember what really counts in this world. If you didn’t know it by now, I’m a huge fan of public transportation. Trains are so super smooth, convenient, roomy and quick. I remember being in Japan and riding the bullet train for the first time – wow, that is the way to go. Japan has really paid attention to their public transportation and it is paying off. We on the other hand, at least in the west, haven’t experienced the sheer bliss of

My Soul Sista Kelly and her son

rapid transportation where you can safely multi-task. Europe, wow they have it down too.

It was such a new experience for me traveling with a family on the go. At one time I think both Peter and Lori were on the phone, their daughter was in the back watching a movie on the computer and I had headphones in.  Sure isn’t like they used to do it, playing eye-spy along the road, the ABC game and other made-up time consumers. I was excited to spend time with them all. They are my family and they were taking me to my other family, depositing me at the door of Kelly and Bill and offspring ☺ And two of my favorite sisters were going to meet, kids running all around, a whirlwind of energy as I landed on Willow Oak drive. Lots of hugs and a big sigh – I was back, back to familiar. There’s a different feeling when you return to a place you used to live. I knew the street names and directions. It felt like  nothing had changed.. but everything had changed. It was my first introduction to the newest member of their family – he’s already 3 years old. I couldn’t believe I was meeting him for the first time. I had seen so many pictures of  him, the latest – when he decided he was going to ride his bike – and so he did.  I had the best time hanging with the kids, watching their sleepy rises  every morning, they’re reading time before bed but after bath and the various appointments and practices through the day.  It took know time to get into the swing of things. It’s vital to have friends that allow for you to be fully into it when you are present, but that are ok with weeks of no communication when you are gone. That’s what good friends do for seeking Sagittarius like myself! Then when the reading time was over, Kelly, Bill and I could congregate in the living room with a few cool brewskies and discuss what’s going on in the world and how our opinions have changed the older we get. It felt so familiar like old times, but truly in a new exciting way.

Charlotte was my home base for the raw food classes in North Carolina.. but I spent a good portion

Spreading the Raw Love in the South

of time driving the state. It’s nice for me to drive alone, good time to think. And since I haven’t owned a car for two years and don’t drive in Ecuador, it’s was kind of nice being at the wheel.

First a lovely class in Winston-Salem. Meghan and Noel of New Planet Yoga http://www.newplanetyoga.com/were so lovely. Their studio is very zen with hard wood floors, lots of light and warm colors. They are energetic and present and we could have talked the night away. The group got very active in class – which is how I like it. I truly think they all will follow through with incorporating some of the recipes. I receive one of my biggest compliments. One client called me the food whisperer! She said that she could feel my connection and energy with the food. One of the biggest parts of my class is the re-introduction to food and the wonderful ways to  use natural ingredients for raw creations.

Winston-Salem in the House!

Winston-Salem kicked my raw tour off in North Carolina with a engaging class at New Planet Yoga http://www.newplanetyoga.com/. The owners Meghan and Noel are absolutely lovely

Getting Raw and Personal in Winston-Salem

human beings with big hearts, curious minds and great arms for hugging! As I walked through the door, I felt a big sigh, a letting go to the zen they’ve manifested in their space. Peaceful, clean and welcoming. We originally had decided to hold the class at a nearby barn which can be used for functions – make it a whole day kind of thing with yoga, raw food and kirtan.. but the third party backed out at the last moment, so Meghan and I decided we’d go for it at the studio. The good thing about raw food is that you only need a sink and electricity, no heat necessary!

The impromptu grocery store

So we set up some tables, threw some table cloths on top and started setting up shop. Now, I’m not your regular teacher. I try to always think “how would I want to take class” and most of the time my gut tells me, hands on baby, always hands on. While the set up at first had me standing in front of a table and chairs set up in a semi-circle, I knew it would only take a matter of minutes before getting everyone up and around the table. One table I use for teaching, the other is for them to work on – complete with cutting boards and knifes. I believe “doing” is the only way to learn! This group – I must say trusted me fully and jumped in with both feet. I hand one person chopping, the other was running the food processor, while yet another was measuring out dry ingredients. Everyone had a

A Raw Awakening in New York

All Raw, All Good!

When I moved from New York a couple years ago, I felt like I was escaping the rat race, the concrete jungle felt like it – along with its loud noises – was beating me down. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely LOVE New York.. but you have to understand I’m an outdoorsy gal, who loves to be in nature. True Central Park gave an immediate outlet but you still could hear sirens and such. So my move to California was desperately needed for me to grow and learn more about self-care and my own health. That transformation happened and is still happening in California. Everyone always asks me which I like better NY or CA.. they are apple and

Super Savory and all raw

oranges to me – both beautiful and radiant in their own way.

Being raw and surviving raw is quite easy when you are living in the mecca of health in Santa Monica. Even the Whole foods has one aisle of raw, not to mention whatever pro-biotic drink you’d like. The Coop has “ready to go” raw meals and there are 5 raw restaurants within 5 miles of the beach. Yes, it’s the easy spot. New York however, I knew would be different. New York you can find thousands of tiny restaurants each serving up wonderful specialty items.. and they are all within walking distance. So to get residents of the big apple to stop for just  a second and think about what they are putting in their mouth, well, I knew it would be a challenge.. but you know me, challenge is my middle name!

Promoting Raw at Equinox, New York City

Annie, my wonderful friend who’s been helping get Raw Trips off the ground, had set up demos at Equinox gyms all over manhattan – from early morning until late at night,  I sat behind a table and urged love through smoothies, granola protein bars with goji berries and lovely kale chips. It was a case of human behavior. First the look, the swing wide in their path to the gym, enough to take a gander what was on the table. Then maybe a stop in or a “I’ll come back”. Most always come back. First off, humans in the US never turn down free food. I think everyone works sooo hard, that when they see something for free, whether they want it or not, they jump in as a present. I’m confident enough to know that once they get a taste, they’ll want more. And so it goes. Little by little, questions came, another taste, some more questions – yes – interest is there, especially when you start explaining how raw food gives you raw energy and will take your workouts over the edge! Gyms, I haven’t been in one for years – I’d rather ride bikes, run on the beach, go to yoga studio.. but in NYC I completely believe in them for a good solid workout. There’s way too much traffic and way too many people on the streets to get a good workout in sometimes. Not to mention, New York in August, hot an humid!
The biggest positive reaction came from the Equinox down in SoHo.. I mean they were yearning for information. I have to share this funny story with you. Soooo.. we had a table set up in the lobby… directly across from us was another free sampling of a new Vodka. We couldn’t be more opposites.. almost come to the lights side away from the dark side kind of thing. As soon as I got the table set up – it was swarmed. It did my heart good to look at see so many people at my table and the poor vodka guy was alone. To me, it was another sign from the universe that yes indeed, sharing knowledge about raw food, whole food, natural food in a natural state is part of  my journey. Oh yea, of course I took some yummy raw treats over to the vodka guy.. and he loved them!!!

Raw Food Classes in Ecuador

I finally – by popular demand – started some raw food classes down here in Vilcabamba. It’s such a sweet and conscious minded community, I

The gang right on task!

am honored to be helping these lovely individuals learn some new skills on their way to optimum health.

Word started getting around town that I was a gourmet raw food chef. Actually I think it was catering the Raw Food World Conference that helped introduce Jan and I to the ex-pat and Ecuadorian community. Once they tasted what we can do, they are ready to listen and learn… one of those idealistic times to teach. I decided a 4-class series would be a good introduction.. and I wanted them to be a celebration, so Friday evening, it was “Raw and Ready” time. Although I have non of my own yet, children are of utmost importance to me. I want to teach them and hopefully change the bad pattern that’s happening all over the world. Children today are a product of the knowledge we grew up on. We thought we were doing right, we thought we could trust that great information was getting past onto us. I now know that wasn’t so.. and still isn’t. If I’ve learned anything on my journey toward optimum health, it’s been think for yourself. Read and investigate all you can, then experiment and settle somewhat on an opinion, with full rights to change at any moment in time. I made sure my clients know that children always come free.  I had many of my friends bring

Casiopia was the best roller in the class

their Ecuadorian friends and employees too. My Spanish is not so good.. but I appreciate the

Fernanda & little bold Amar.. the youngest raw student

challenge and they appreciate my effort. It’s been a couple weeks now worth of classes and I look forward to every one of  them. What a fantastic set of energy that lands in the house every Friday night. All happy, open and loving. Our first week was a quick introduction where I taught my personal favorite breakfast.. a green drink extra-ordinaire. My motto is stick everything and anything you can in your mouth at all times of the day. Seriously, it’s the color of the milenium! It’s the only way to optimum health. I also taught them wonderful nut milk, kale salad and some other goodies.

The next week  I met guests with  challenge of  stuffed mushrooms, wraps and sushi. I honestly only believe in hands-on when it comes to raw food prep. The entire experience is one of texture, feel and balance. Although many people are aware and LOVE wraps, those rice papers and nori sheets can be intimidating and difficult without proper instruction. This is one of the classes I find

Raw for the Bugs!!

Leave my organic food alone!

Don’t worry I’m not trying to help absolutely every little creature out on this planet. It’s true, I really try not to kill spiders and moths and such.. but when it comes to my food.. THEY NEED TO STAY OUT! I do my damndest to stay far away from any chemicals and pesticides, so going organic to take care of the bugs in the garden was the only way to go. Sure sounds is if you are in the United States

The magic ingredients

and every type product is at your fingertips.. but here in Ecuador, it’s a different story. So I asked around and found a good concoction to wage a friendly goodbye party to the bugs in the garden!!

It’s quick, easy and simple.. although mind you I did this all with my mediocre Spanish.. but we got the job done :). You take really hot peppers (aji), some garlic (ajo), tobacco leaves(all over the property) and natural soap.. as well as a couple other plants here in Ecuador… like Chamico.. which I believe has a strong odor that bugs don’t like – hee, hee. The natural soap creates a film on the leaves to protect them from any “fliers” in the area, so when it rains, we will have to re-apply.

Jorge – (our gardner down here) and I mixed a bunch up one morning. I can’t tell you how

Ummm. where I have I been?

Catering for the Raw Food World Conference, Ecuador

All I can say is… fully present, in the moment and practicing a lot of just “be”. Oh yea, and I changed countries. I’ve been here in Ecuador for more or less 6 months and it has been an amazing journey in all sorts of aspects of my life.. mostly the areas I didn’t know existed or certain nooks which needed some cleaning out. This new peace and balance I’ve welcomed into my life has been paying off in a good karma way.. on a daily basis. I’m learning the power of manifestation and how to accutely tune in to my inner-self.. and to be aware of where emotions come from and accepting them as a new lesson.

Sharing a laugh with Jan!

Intention, manifestation and creation.. raw food creations. Ok, this may sounds a tad weird.. but my creations both planned and impulsive have been spot on – like I was somehow told the combination and proportions in the middle of the night. There are dozens of times in the past few weeks that I wake up at 5am and head right to the kitchen to try some random recipe floating in my head. I know in the past,  I usually mull or simmer some things for a couple days before trying them.. but, it’s like I can’t create fast enough!

I think it all started when I decided to get social and meet some others living in the

Eating straight from the garden - everything grows so well here

area. This is the type of place where