Healthy Holiday Survival Crash Course and Guide

Worried about the holidays quickly approaching? What if these festivities could leave you refreshed and healthy, rather than heavy and exhausted!?!

Raw Bay Area has put together a very special event called the Healthy Holiday Survival which will take place in Oakland on November 20th, 10 am - 7 pm.


In this daylong crash course, you will create a game plan for a fun, delicious and sustainable holiday season.  The Bay Area’s top raw chefs will teach you easy raw vegan foods to nourish you through the winter’s festivities. Plus, you’ll get loads of holiday decorating tips, shop for green gifts and enjoy an elegant raw dinner with like-minded enthusiasts.

The Healthy Holiday Survival Crash Course will feature:

• A chat with raw food celebs about surviving the holidays and feeling rawsome in the winter. Featured guests include raw food luminary Cherie Soria, Monday Night Live founder Shea Lynn Baird, author Diana Stobo, Café Gratitude Head Pastry Chef Gregory Manitsas, Chef Melissa Mango, Chef Jason Wrobel and other friends.

• Raw food classes with featured chefs:

Holiday mains with Chef Heather Haxo Phillips

Desserts with best-selling Author and Chef Jennifer Cornbleet

Crackers and appetizers with the Krazy Kracker Lady Abeba Wright

• Tips for Holiday plating and decoration

• An elegant raw holiday meal featuring Full Belly Farm and City Slicker Farms to enjoy with like-minded folks. The dinner menu includes: Butternut Squash Soup, Holiday Nut Pate, Assorted Gourmet Crackers, Winter Greens Salad, Vegetable Croquettes in a Savory Sauce, Wild Rice Pilaf, Almond Stuffing, Mashed Notatoes, Cranberry Relish, Chocolate Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Cheesecake galore.

• An opportunity to start your holiday shopping off right.

Click here to find out more about the Healthy Holiday Survival event!

Healthy Holiday Survival Guide
But that's not all, Raw Bay Area has also created a first of its kind Healthy Holiday Survival Guide for raw and health-conscious foodies seeking to transform their holiday celebrations. This book is packed with helpful articles and 35 delicious recipes to keep your holiday season fresh and healthy. They’ve gathered this special collection of recipes and advice with the help of raw food luminaries like Cherie Soria, Elaina Love, Matt & Angela Monarch and Russell James. Plus, they’ve included a section by hot new raw chefs such as Cafe Gratitude's head pastry chef Gregory Manitsas, Melissa Mango, Diana Stobo and many others, including yours truly! *wink*

This beautiful book is full color with lots of gorgeous food pictures and professional design elements. You can buy it as an e-book or printed version. They made it spiral bound, so it’s easy to use in the kitchen and share these luscious raw holiday recipes with your friends and family.

Check out the details here.  You can even download an excerpt of the book!



May you all have the most rawesome and vibrant Holiday Season ever!

Winners of the Delightfully Raw Giveaway

If you remember, I asked for your help a few days ago in order to give the readers of my new book, Delightfully Raw, a sense of who I am and what to expect from my recipes. The response was such a heart-warming surprise! We received so many thoughtful and wonderful entries! As I read through them, my eyes watered more than once and I could feel my heart expanding in my chest from such generosity and genuine kindness.

When I first started this blog, my intention was that if my posts could be of assistance to even a single person, then all the effort and time I'd pour into it would be worth it. I certainly never expected that my readership would one day be in the thousands! Words fail to express the depth of my sense of gratitude for having been presented with a means to do what I love to do… and in the process make a real difference in other people’s lives. Thank you all for your continued (albeit virtual) friendship and for accompanying us along our (many!) raw adventures!

I simply found it impossible to choose only 3 favorites, so I had to turn it over to 'The Mystery' and let a random number generator give me a little hand. ;-)

And the winners are...*drum roll*

Lucie, Longueil, Quebec
"The Sunny Raw Kitchen is the only raw food blog you'll ever need to sign up to. The one word that would accurately describe this site ought to be 'Zen'. You will sense the spiritual aura that emanates from the stories and the pictures so generously shared by Carmella. There are so many various recipes on this blog that you are bound to find everything you seek, right here. The recipes are wholesome and the pictures are wonderful. Carmella's comments are always helpful and the results are delightful. Once you've signed up, you'll inevitably look forward to her next update. Thank you Carmella for sharing these so graciously with us."

Noelle from Iowa
"I'm not all raw, but I love your blog and how lovingly you draw food into the process and exploration of your life. I've recommended your blog to all sorts of people, and everyone finds something to bring away with them.

While many raw food chefs have some good recipes, I know that anything that is Carmella (and Don) approved is going to taste lovely and never have any hesitation to make an investment in making (or eating) anything. Your focus, good humor, and creativity somehow come through the food and when I sit down to eat, it feels like sharing a meal with a friend. I've struggled a lot to find food that is not only good for me, but good to me, and, in spite of owning just about every raw (and other) cookbook out there, I consistently choose your recipes. It's wonderful to choose to raw food not because I "should," but because it's fun and tastes better than anything else."

Like Mercury
"The Sunny Raw Kitchen has been such a delightful blessing for me in these past couple years since I became a raw foodist. I keep coming back to the recipes thanks to the variety, strong visuals, and doable instructions. Always natural, warm, and bright, you are the perfect guide on raw cuisine adventures! I love your wise expertise and moxie to explore- which enables me to achieve delectable raw creations. What an amazing gift!"

Congratulations you three! You will be receiving a free copy of Delightfully Raw in electronic format. If you have sent your entry via the comment section, please make sure to drop me an email at sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com so that I can forward you the book.

Once again, I want to say a big resounding "THANK YOU!" to everyone who has participated in the giveaway! I've tried to fit as many of your comments as I could in the first 2 pages of the book. Please note that I have taken the liberty to modify some of them so that they speak of me in the third person. It will make for more uniformity and ease of reading; I figured you wouldn't mind! ;-)

By the way, it's looking like Delightfully Raw in electronic format will be coming out within the next two or three days. The hard copy version will be available hopefully just in time for Christmas.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! (It's miserable and rainy here, but then again, it's the perfect excuse to put the final touches to the book.) ;-)

The Sunny Raw Kitchen Gets Back On The Road!

If you've been hanging around this blog a while, then you probably know that last fall, I, Don and our furry critter friends, Kylo and DaPuss, found ourselves embarking on an incredible adventure in which the virtual and real worlds merged. We took ‘The Sunny Raw Kitchen’ on the road, driving nearly 13,000 miles through 6 Canadian provinces and 18 states, visiting over 20 different homes along the way.

Invited by readers of my blog and members of Raw Freedom Community, we had the privilege to become part of their lives for a short time and do some serious ‘uncooking’ together.  It was a truly amazing journey; at times challenging but filled with so much beauty and magic! (You can read about our rawesome adventures here.)

Upon our return, we've spent several months of much needed R&R in British Columbia's beautiful wilderness. Surrounded by Nature and its peacefulness gave us a wonderful opportunity to heal and recharge. There was a time when it felt like I would never get my creative juices flowing again, but thankfully that wasn't to be. In fact, as you probably know, for the past couple of months I've been working on a new recipe book that, unlike my previous two, will be available in both ebook format and soft cover. It's kept me creatively very busy: recipe development, testing, food photo shoots, writing, and book designing (which I'm doing all myself), not to mention the necessary daily round. Phfew! The new book, Delightfully Raw, will be ready to be launched within the next few days, which I'm super excited about! Yay!


Delightfully Raw Tour
Now that this project has come to fruition and that the weather is rapidly cooling off up here in Canada, we once again find ourselves in a similar situation as we were in last year on the east coast. We must soon be on our way somewhere warm for the winter months. In that light, this time, The Mystery willing, our plan is to head south along the west coast, traveling most likely as far as Arizona.

We intend to approach this new chapter of our travels much like we have in the past; that is staying as open and fluid as possible, letting the itinerary take shape according to the responses we get from you guys. Our general idea would be to visit those of you who express an interest in our dropping by or hooking up if we're in your area. There are so many possibilities we can play with; from uncooking blitzes and sharing insanely delicious raw foods, to things like feasting at raw restaurants, food prep demos, potlucks or book signing events.

In case you might be interested in hosting us for a few days, just note that, if it's more convenient for you, we'll be able to use our van as sleeping area.

We would tentatively be leaving British Columbia for WA State in about 2 weeks. So far our only definite stops are Portland and Medford, OR in December, the rest is up for grabs. lol.  


A Little Bit About Us
Between this blog and our forum, Raw Freedom Community, I'm sure you can get a pretty good sense of what we're about, but just for the sake of making things easier for those of you who aren't yet familiar with us...

Our names are Carmella and Don, and we've been dedicated to living a healthier, ever growing and more fulfilling life together for the past 10 years. This has included eating mostly raw and living foods. Besides being the author of this blog, I have released two raw recipe ebooks: The Best Of The Sunny Raw Kitchen and The Best of Raw Freedom Community.

In addition to our central passion for self-knowledge/personal growth, some of our specific interests and expertise include:

• Vipassana meditation
• the Five Tibetan Rites
• freeing/purifying our body/minds
• building harmonious relationships and community
• simple living in harmony with Nature
• raw food prep, from simple everyday meals to gourmet feasts
• fermented foods and beverages, such as sauerkraut, nut cheezes
  and kombucha tea
• sprouting
• organic gardening
• alternative building

How Do We Propose To Go About The Whole Thing?
In light of all this, for those of you who might be interested in participating in the next phase of our rawdventures, simply send us an email with the subject line “Delightfully Raw Tour” at:

sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com

Please remember that while you probably know heaps about us, we, on the other hand, haven't had a chance to 'meet' most of you (other than in a virtual way) so if you could include a few words about yourself it would be helpful and greatly appreciated. Also, you might want to let us know such details as your location and perhaps something about what you have in mind.

We'll then be contacting you in order to further explore the possibilities together. Once it starts shaping up, we will announce a tentative itinerary here and on RFC.

Looking forward to spending time with some of you and maybe even sharing a few of my recent recipe creations!

Delightfully Raw Giveaway

We've been receiving so many wonderful entries for my Delightfully Raw Giveaway! The generosity and openness of the contributors has had me on the verge of tears a number of times. Deciding on a few winners will be a major challenge... I think I might have to 'leave it to The Mystery' and let a random number generator do the work for me.  

If you would like to participate it's still not too late! I've decided to extend the deadline until noon tomorrow, Sunday. All you have to do is write a few lines about me, my blog and/or my recipes and either leave them in this blog's comments section or send them to my inbox at sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com. Also please leave your name (it could be an alias if you feel more comfortable) and general location for me to add to the quote. For example: "Linda, Washington" or "Michael, New York".  I will announce my 3 favorite comments on Sunday afternoon. These contributors will receive a complimentary e-copy of Delightfully Raw.

The idea behind this is to include a few words/comments about me and my recipes in the new book so as to give people that aren't already familiar with what goes on in my Sunny Raw Kitchen a better sense of what they might expect.

Be back tomorrow with the winners!

Raw Beauty Calendar and New Book Giveaway

Howdy everyone! I'm back! That wasn't too long this time, was it?

Oh my, what a welcomed change of weather; it's absolutely gorgeous and sunny where we are right now! Makes me wanna drop all the computer stuff and run outside! 

First I want to tell you about a couple of things before I do just that...

Raw Beauty Calendar 2011

Tanya Wood, a Montreal based artist, has put together a very unique and original calendar featuring 13 Real People Gone Raw. Tanya writes, "My goal with this project was to create something beautiful and honest that could help inspire greater health and well-being this coming year."

She asked her friend, photographer Nick Rudnicki, to help her make an eco-friendly calendar that would feature real raw foodies in the “raw”. The diverse group of participants, men and women aged between 18 and 62, represented in Raw Beauty 2011 showcases the idea that it's always the right time to begin gaining health and wellness. It also promotes to non-rawbies that anyone can add a little more raw to their lives.

Additionally, Raw Beauty 2011 features seasonal easy to prepare recipes that anyone can make. They call only for simple pure ingredients available in markets everywhere and use the most basic kitchen utensils (an ordinary blender or food processor are all you need).

I recommend you hop over to Raw Beauty 2011's website to find out more about it!

Delightfully Raw Giveaway
I'm happy to report that I'm making very good progress on my upcoming recipe book, Delightfully Raw: Recipes from Carmella's Sunny Raw Kitchen. I finished the front cover this morning and now just need to finalize the back cover and a few details like the index and page references. If all goes well, it should be available in electronic format any day. Hee hah!

I woke up in the middle of the night with my mind buzzing with ideas. (Gotta let all that creative flow come through when it's happening! hehe) It occurred to me that it would be good to include a few words/comments about me and my recipes in the new book. You know, to give people that aren't already familiar with what goes on in my Sunny Raw Kitchen a better sense of what they might expect.

Enters you, dear reader!

And what better way to do this than to have a giveaway?

All you have to do is write a few lines about me, my blog and/or my recipes and leave them either in this blog's comments section or in my inbox at sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com. Also please leave your name (it could be an alias if you feel more comfortable) and general location for me to add to the quote. For example: "Linda, Washington" or "Michael, New York".

I will pick my 3 favorite comments on Saturday morning. These contributors will receive a complimentary e-copy of Delightfully Raw.

I realize that it's a bit short notice; I should have thunk of that before, but hey. Hopefully it will still give you enough time to enter the giveaway! The winners will be announced here and on Raw Freedom Community on Sunday afternoon.

By the way, if any of you would be interested in reviewing Delightfully Raw on your blog, drop me a line at sunnyrawkitchen(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thanks guys for your help with this!