Why Florida is Raw-Phenomenal! Viktoras Kulvinskas Speaks, M.A.K.E. Restaurant opens in Santa Monica, Blissology University To Certify 1st Blissogists in Santa Cruz, CA this Saturday! Plus, More Salubrious Happenings Ahead.

Mar 25

In This Issue of the Raw Spirit Community News:
1. Why Florida Is A Phenomenal Place To Winter
2. Video With Legendary Viktoras Kulvinskas, the “Godfather of Living Foods”
3. Phenomenal Raw Restaurant Review of M.A.K.E. Chef Matthew Kenney’s New Culinary Coup
4. Southern California Highlights for Health & Happiness

Scroll Down to the Bottom for these Upcoming Events:
1. Become a Certified Blissologist at a Profound Playshop in Bliss Conscious Communication. DiviniTree Yoga Studio, 1043 B Water St. in Santa Cruz, CA. This Sat Mar March 30, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.
2. Blissologists Convene at San Franciso’s New Living Expo, April 26 – 28.  featuring its 1st Budding Blissologist Certificate course brought to you by www.BlissologyUniversity.com
3. Cleanse For Peace with Suzy Kasarik, Heather Salmon and Joy Taylor.
4. Check out and check into Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, FL.

GMO-free Health Tip: Fruits whose labels start with a # 3 are genetically-modified imports. Though they may, look tasty, stick with foods whose labels start with # 9 for organic.

Dear Tens of Thousands of Resplendent Friends Who Read These News Blasts,

We appreciate your many inquiries! We are hereby responding to your requests to share more of what we do and discover as we slowly and succulently tour this raw vegan-friendly planet.

Florida is a phenomenally refreshing place to live. Optimism is in the very air. Most of the hundreds of people we encountered were born elsewhere. They seemed to be especially grateful, glad and excited to live here.  A combination of prolific winter produce, gourmet raw vegan-friendly farmers’ markets, more than a dozen vegan/raw vegan restaurants, balmy March temperatures in the 70s and 80s, light breezes, gentle waves, a buoyant economy, the clearest swimmable ocean water in the USA, including Hawaii, plus exceptionally-clean skies, minimal air pollution, the placid Intercoastal Waterway sporting a ridiculous number of yachts, proximity to the Carribean, and a friendly cosmopolitan melange… all together could help explain why South Florida is considered by many to be the USA’s leading raw vegan paradise.

The hundreds of upright, inter-cultural, clear-minded, raw-vegan-friendly Floridians we met wherever we went, are bursting with vim and vigor. Health-radiant entrepreneurs are contributing meaningfully to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami’s vibrant economy. International guests ‘packed the house’ at all seven of our events with very little notice. Countless South Americans, Carribbeans, Central Americans, Russians, New Yorkers, Scandinavians and Europeans are today calling Southeast Florida home, with exuberant appreciation.

At Florida’s NewLife Expo in Ft. Lauderdale it was an inspirational honor it was to participate on stage for seven heartfelt hours. I enjoyed moderating the Raw Vegan Panel featuring living legend Viktoras Kulvinskas, co-founder of Hippocrates Health Institute, longevity researcher and author of “Survival Into The 21st Century”. Apparently the book worked! Here we are still alive – at least most of us reading this – in the 21st Century.

Other notable raw vegan panelists included Gissela Torella, Columbian author of “Tu Real Naturaleza” Florida’s 1st raw vegan book in Spanish, as well as Dr. Etti, Brenda Cobb & Living Foods Institute, Gideon and Jackie Graff, founders of the esteemed GraffAcademy.com.

Florida’s high quality of life surpassed my previous understanding. I give thanks to our gracious Ft. Lauderdale raw event host, a friend from the Raw Spirit Festival, who also offered his magnificent home to us for a week, Norm Adams. He introduced us to Ft. Lauderdale’s hip, happening community of vibrant vegan professionals one evening, then to luxuriant car-free, bicycle-bliss, lending us his bikes so that we could cycle for a week along beauteous, tropically-lush, interconnecting canal waterways, sweet bustling street sidewalks in excellent repair, and the one long, never-ending white sand beach that stretches for hundreds of miles along the entirety of coastal Florida gracing us all with with warm, clear, calm, blue-green, aquamarine Atlantean waters.

We stepped into cottage village life in the heart of charming little Lake Worth, FL, with eternal thanks to conscious community leaders who were also our home hosts, David and Gissela Torella. They hosted their new center’s first event ever, where a full house of rambunctious Budding Blissologists were certified by BlissologyUniversity.com, including cleansing pioneer Dr. Richard Anderson.

 then enjoyed trying on a city lifestyle in a beachfront skyscraper of Miami Beach, thanks to hostess Lisa Samson who generously opened up her glorious ocean sunrise view condo for three days of quiet bliss.

Lastly, we glimpsed at life in Hollywood, FL, with special thanks to the fascinating NewLife Expo producer Mark Becker, as well as inspirational hosts, Jared Krupnick with Will I Am.

Glaser’s Farmers Market in Miami on Saturdays is a gourmet raw vegan’s dream, while Josh’s Organic Market in Hollywood, FL, on Sundays, is a papillae-pleaser with some of the freshest juices and most vital organic produce available in Florida.

Florida’s Newest Raw Restaurant, the Green Bar & Kitchen, is well-located at the edge of Ft. Lauderdale’s canal district at 1075 SE 17th St. This light, bright restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining options, features fun menu items such as Green Chai Snickerdoodle Smoothies with equally satisfying flavors. The friendly owners and staff called us by name by the first visit, then hosted a sold-out raw vegan event in our honor the next evening.

We could recommend hosting an event at the Green Bar, which catered dinner for our group of 42. Keep in mind that it takes time to serve everyone all at once, so allow for extra time for your meeting with consideration for the acoustics.

The Carrot Curry Coconut Soup is a tasty opener. Green Bar’s house lasagna is a slight, delicate work of art that will make you smile. Swirly dollops of of basil pesto and macadamia ricotta added extra flair and flavor.

The alluring Firecracker Kale Salad ($12), true to it’s name, is satisfyingly spicy. It features freshly-harvested kale, with shiitake mushrooms, scallions and cilantro. The Superfood Salad ($13) is also recommended as an unusual, scrumptious, sweet-and-savory mix of inviting greens, artfully sprinkled with goji berries, cacao nibs and hemp seeds, featuring a phenomenal salad dressing.

The zucchini cashew “Mac and Cheese” ($4) is a perfect, simple side to accompany the lasagna or for raw-friendly kids. The Mint Spirulina Smoothie was a favorite as were the assortment of desserts, bliss balls and raw confections. At the Green Bar, fine wines and beers are also available, a rarity at raw vegan cafes. We invite you to frequent the Green Bar in support of this establishment whose vegan / raw vegan menu is still delightfully in progress as they try out new dishes with lucky customers.

Hippocrates Health Institute

Our vibrant vegan adventure in Florida featured a highly-recommended 3-day visit to Hippocrates Health Institute, founded by Ann Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas more than 50 years ago, surrounded by serene forests of West Palm Beach, FL. After walking along a gorgeously-landscaped foot trail to the Wheatgrass Juicing Hut, beside a placid pond, Brother Viktoras charmed our camera with humor and zany wisdom.

We met with Hippocrates’ noble co-directors Dr. Brian Clement and Dr. Anna Maria Clement, who are sponsors of the Raw Spirit Community news. We highly recommend feasting with a fascinating mix of folks at Hippocrates’ all-one-can-eat wholesome, surprisingly-scrumptious raw vegan lunch buffet ($20), open daily, except for Wednesdays which they reserve for fasting. Tours of Hippocrates are a highly educational and available upon request.

Hippocrates Health Institute impresses with a courageous, grand and comprehensive, solutions-oriented agenda of health-education with 50+ years of continuous guests, likely 100 at any given time, many of whom experience what at first appear to be healing miracles due the balanced organic, sproutarian raw vegan Hippocrates diet enhanced by readily-available, daily green juice and wheatgrass juice, mixed with exercise, sunshine, nature, compassion, funlovingkindness, live music, sage counsel, as well as the most cutting-edge, alternative medical modalities, including hyperbaric-oxygenation chambers, in addition to genuinely-caring, state-of-the art, alternative medical attention if required.

Back in the City of Angels

The next day, in Los Angeles, CA, what a tantalizing treat it was to befriend renowned, raw-inspiring, soul sister, Toni Toney, author of the new “Eco-Diet”, and founder of the budding Ecoterrian movement, over our tantalizing plates of Thai kelp noodles at Cafe Gratitude in Santa Monica, CA.

Next, we gratefully-convened at Euphoria Loves Rawvolution with Michael Shields of Earth & the Next Society, the humble, competent man quietly behind the scenes whose skillful hotel negotiations, magnanimous sponsorship and administrative consultations brought Sedona’s recent Raw Living Expo into being.

For those of you in the know, it appears that Chef CEO Matt Amsden has raised sufficient funds to keep the doors open at Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, a longtime Santa Monica raw vegan meeting place.

Meanwhile, we interviewed innovative raw vegan chef pioneer and culinary artist, Juliano of Raw Planet, on the night that he closed his elegant 609 Broadway Street Restaurant. He has plans to open another restaurant in Santa Monica soon.

Galaxies of gladitude to Dr. Elizabeth for sharing your beautiful friendship and quiet waterfront sanctuary with us as long as we like in Marina Del Rey, CA.

Introducing Santa Monica’s New Phenomenon: M.A.K.E.

425The most mouth-watering highlight of our 2-day stay in L.A. happened while reviewing Chef Matthew Kenney’s newest restaurant and raw academy creation. Last night, in the heart of Santa Monica, for four euphoric hours of penultimate deliciousness, I reviewed M.A.K.E. Restaurant’s gourmet menu with an illustrious review team: raw vegan diva Dr. Elizabeth, celebrity actor Vincent Spano, and my beloved John Light.

Raw Restaurant Review

Renowned Chef & Restauranteur, Matthew Kenney, has outdone himself. This co-founder of the famed Pure Food & Wine Restaurant, considered by many to be “the supreme haute cuisine” of New York City, has moved to Los Angeles, more precisely, Santa Monica, California, to open M.A.K.E. Restaurant. It’s serenely situated in Santa Monica Place, an elegant indoor-outdoor mall at the end of the Promenade at 395 Santa Monica Place, Suite 333, Santa Monica, CA.

As a graduate of a premier French culinary academy, Matthew Kenney is one of the only raw vegan restaurant owners and raw vegan chef trainers on Earth, who has trained as a classical chef at university-levels for many years. This difference became evident as soon as the first flamboyant juice arrived at our table. We realized we were in for a raw vegan culinary odyssey!

The Clean Green Juice ($9) featuring fennel, celery, cucumber, mint and lemon is pure liquid sophistication. Meanwhile, for those who prefer a spicy punch, an outstanding blend of orange, pineapple, cilantro and fresh jalapeno called Spice-C is a gloriously subtropical elixir. In contrast, we at first imagined that the Grapefruit Sunrise might be too unusual of a combination: grapefruit, beet, ginger and pear. Boy, were we wrong. It’s a pink, subtle, smooth sensation. Four smoothies ($11 each) comprised our next culinary adventure: Shamrocked, Blue Bee, Malted Chai and Thai Green.

We were exceedingly fond of the Shamrocked Shake, with rave reviews from all. Caveat emptor, be forewarned: one glass of this sumptuous smoothie shared among four persons could create an outbreak of war among those who are less generous of spirit than we. All concurred that the Shamrocked surpasses any mint ice cream shake that any of us have otherwise encountered. Keep in mind that every dish served is mostly organic and totally raw vegan.

The Malted Chai was a tasty favorite that children would also enjoy due to it’s mellow mix of bananas, dates, coconut meat, coconut water, cinnamon and maca. We adults savored the Malted Chai to the last drop too. However, this first recipe does not yet contain all of the spices, such as nutmeg and cardamom, that one would expect in a chai. The Blue Bee Smoothie is a superfood extravaganza featuring fresh blueberries, banana, coconut water, bee pollen, hemp and spirulina; whereas, mango, coconut meat, kale, spirulina, lime juice and Thai green chili comprise the enjoyable Thai Green Smoothie.

Cheese lovers will be blown away by the artistic Share Plate called “Tree Nut Cheeses, Market Fruit, Sweet & Spicy Mustard Seeds, & Fennel Crisp. ($16) Though it is amazing that none of these cheeses contain any dairy products whatsoever, these first class macadamia and cashew-based cheeses would outperform most any of the finest cheeses in France.

Bravo to Matthew Kenney for demonstrating that enthusiasts of gourmet European cheeses need not participate in today’s dairy industry in order to satisfy their desires.

The only Market Starter we sampled is the “Kimchi Dumpling with Ginger Foam and Coriander.” At $13, the inspiration felt from merely gazing at this visual masterpiece would be worth the price. However, the symphony of flavors and opulent textures momentarily silenced our convivial expression with contemplative exultation.

The astonishment continued with the Classic Mains. Reviewer Dr. Elizabeth observed that , “Overall, we had to constantly hold ourselves back from licking the plates.” Reviewer John Light noted that “This food is euphoric”. All concurred that indeed something seemed to be making us high, likely we suggested the blending of this extremely exquisite cuisine, outstanding personal service, good vibes, lovely ambience and fun-loving company might have something to do with it.

The “Black Pepper Kelp Noodles with Chanterelles, Snap Peas, Olive Crumb & Pea Vines” ($17) were declared, “Extraordinario! Fantastico!” by Italian Reviewer Vincent Spano. Reviewer John Light esteemed the fresh basil, macadamia, pistachio and farmers market-tomato rich lasagna as “exquisitely delicious”. We were all in awe of the glowing, lifted presentation of its translucent watermelon radishes.

When the “Wild Mushroom Taco with Mole, Almond Crema and Red Chile Avocado” arrived at the table, everyone gasped. It is flamboyance visually defined. Moreover, it’s presentation was matched with a succulent rainbow of flavors. We enjoyed a marvelous medley of other subtle delicacies including the beautifully-presented yet, due to it’s sparse portion, not for the overtly-hungry, King Oyster (a variety of mushroom) with Asparagus, Sea Beans, Juniper Mustard and a surprising sprinkling of delicate, yellow, edible marigold petals. The desserts commenced to grace our table.

Reviewer Vincent Spano led a round of exhultations about the “White Chocolate with Grapefruit Glass, Ginger Crumble and Tarragon” ($11) dessert, calling it “A creamy, blissful delight which surprises with a delicate mix of white mousse magic and epicurean dreams”. It being Reviewer Dr. Elizabeth’s birthday, we invited all present in the restaurant to sing her a hearty birthday song, above the “Chocolate Walnut Cake with Licorice Pear, Fennel and Sassafras (ice cream)”.

Dr. Elizabeth was astounded by the flavor of the “accompanying ice cream”. For me the cake was like diving into pure decadence. This dessert inspired more than one of us to remember flashes of our most delicious brownies we had ever tasted many decades ago. We applauded out loud when we saw the approach of the next two desserts.

The build up of appreciation for the entire experience, including the continuous onslaught of visual beauty, was just too much. Reviewer John Light raved about the “Apple Pie with Rosemary, Cranberry, Cashew Cream Cheese Sorbet” stating that it was “Just like the gourmet, homemade, organic apple pie that your mother never made.” “Likely leap years better,” I added. Meanwhile, all agreed that the closing creme de la creme was the “Passion Fruit with Honey, Melon Sorbet, White Chocolate, Berries and Lemon Balm.”

In summation, this dinner was for us an extraordinary experience, exhilarating to the core, eliciting what we could only awkwardly and perhaps incompletely describe as “the impression of euphoria” for us on one special evening at M.A.K.E. Restaurant in Santa Monica, CA.

Though California is arguably home to many of the world’s finest raw vegan restaurants, to we believe that M.A.K.E. has potentially raised the bar.

Best of all, this morning, my stomach felt fine.

~ Review by Happy Oasis

Additional Reviewers include John Light of SoCalSourceCenter.com, Dr. Elizabeth and Vincent Spano.

P.S. Those who taste the menu’s offering may be compelled to learn how to create them. Fortunately the state-of-the-art Matthew Kenney Culinary Academy is next door. It offers weekday courses and weekend intensives from foundational to advanced raw cuisine techniques.

Venturing Onward to Ojai, SoCal’s Shangri La

Our humble little “creational vehicle” (rv) glided out of the City of Angels to Ojai, purported “Shangri La of Southern California”. At this time of year we especially agree. Our host farm in Ojai is floribundant with joyful riots of singing birds, blossoming trees, shrubs, and flowers which continuously fragrance the air. We are grateful guests an organic CSA called “Mano Farm”, also home of Southern California’s premier organic seed-growing company All Good Things Organic Seeds, both thanks to Organic Farmer, Quin Shakra, son of beloved John Light.

At dawn and dusk, we are surrounded by rabbits hopping between trees and rows of greens betwixt organic tangerine orchards beneath mountainous wilderness, yet just a short stroll to Ojai. The wild grasses are now knee high and green. Extensive networks of trails jut off just beyond the farm, gently guiding hikers quickly upward into spectacular gorges and formidable mountains.

The Ojai Sunday mostly-organic Farmers Market is one of the finest in the USA. Local organics are displayed such as creamy cherimoyas, sublime strawberries, six kinds of fresh-picked ripe avocados, twenty sorts of sprouts, half a dozen varieties of oranges and tangerines, plus vibrant bouquets of fresh-picked greens, vegetables and flowers from mizunas to variegated tulips, including a plethora of Asian varieties of greens far beyond your standard bokchoy.

Would you love to SHARE YOUR UPLIFTING EVENTS and offerings with 25,000 enthusiastic, intelligent, life-loving, bi-coastal, nation-wide, international, resplendent Raw Spirit readers such as You?! Promoting your event in the Raw Spirit Community News produces widespread results. Let us help you spread the bliss.

Next: We’d love to commune with you along the way as we embrace the living treasures we are about to discover in Northern California’s Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Sacramento, Marin and San Francisco.


Become A Certified Blissologist in Santa Cruz, CA. Guaranteed to raise your conversational kundaline, we will embrace the Blissiplines, uplift conflicts and explore oodles of succulent strategies for making magic out of everyday conversations. DiviniTree Yoga Studio, 1043 B Water St. in Santa Cruz, this Sat Mar March 30, 6:30 – 8:30 pm.




The origins of a new-age, alternative-lifestyle, natural-products “Expo,” can be traced back to the early 1970s and the days of the Whole Earth Catalog, a widely popular alternative mail order catalog. The Whole Earth Company began the first Whole Earth Expo. By 1975, Whole Earth Expo was an established tradition in the counter culture of the time.

Other shows arose concurrently, with the Whole Earth Expo’s success. In 1982, Alan Goldman began producing shows for the National Health Federation in New York. At the same time, Joseph Cotler had founded the Whole Life Times and worked with Alan to produce an Expo in New York for the Whole Life Times – the first Whole Life Expo.

By 1983, Joseph and Alan were doing shows in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In 1986, Joseph sold the Los Angeles market rights to Paul Andrews. He sold the San Francisco market rights to Ken Kaufman in 1986. Both Ken and Paul proceeded to expand Whole Life Expos into cities across the country, bringing Expo’s new-age ideas to a wider public and helping to establish a nationwide community focused on integrative health and cutting edge ideas.

In 1998, Justin Hilton purchased Whole Life Expo’s nationwide rights from Ken Kaufman. These Expos continued under Justin, and at the end of 1999, he sold the entire company to Ayman Sawaf.

Today, having produced successful Expos since his return years ago, Ken and his committed organization once again are creating a whole new standard in the world of Expos. This year, The New Living Expo brings to you ALL workshops, lectures, panels, and exhibits, for one low general admission price of $ 15 for 1 day, $20 for 2 days, or $25 for three days.

In addition to producing the Expo, Ken is increasingly sought after as a consultant for those who are interested in producing events. Today he lives with his wife Corinna, and he is a dedicated parent to his two teenage daughters.

Come be part of our event-making history. Come celebrate and explore with us at the 2013 New Living Expo on April 26th, April 27th and 28th at the Concourse Exhibition Center 8th and Brannan, S.F.


 Suzy Karasik, Heather Salmon and Joy Taylor have created the “Cleanse For Peace”, an innovateive on-line cleanse from May 2 – 16th, based on superb herbs grown from the Amazon rainforest. Amazon Herbs were one of the only herbal companies that passed Raw Spirit Festival’s stringent ecologically-responsible, organic/wildcrafting standards due to the high quality and protection of these South American herbs via environmental programs which are ensuring their survival while protecting the rainforest. Highly-recommended.



Hippocrates Health Institute is the USA’s leading comprehensive vibrant vegan wellness center for those wishing to heal serious diseases through diet and alterntive means as well as for those who already enjoy health and would like to further enhance it in a beautiful environment with inspiring staff, including many educators, chefs and physicians.



“I always entertain great hopes.” ~ Robert Frost

Rawsplendently Yours,

Happy Oasis,
Raw Spirit Community News

928.308.2146
www.RawSpirit.com

www.BlissologyUniversity.com


“Making money is easy. It’s making a difference
that is difficult.”
– Tom Brokaw

Be Among These Luminaries Express Your Spirit Of Abundance!
Thank You Already to for this year’s donations from sponsors and anonymous contributors, Raw Kindred Spirits who have over the years made an important difference by saying YES via a donation to the Raw Spirit Fest, a 501c3 educational Non Profit dedicated to co-creating healthier, happier world through “Education, Inspiration and Celebration”.

Receive Great Gifts for Donating. See fundraising offer here…

The more people donating from your geographical area, the greater the chances of a Raw Spirit event being hosted in your area. Please,

 


* Galaxies of Gratitude to You, 2012 Sponsors & Supporters *