Interview with Cynthia Beavers
Question
#1: What are some rawfood staples in your current diet? B) Are
you 100% raw? C) How did you start?
I eat a lot of raw soups... Soups are my favorite meal. Cantaloupe
Soup, Zen soup, coconut thai soup, cilantro lime soup...and so
many more. I eat avocados, lychees, mangos, durian, persimmons,
cherries, pears, cherry tomatoes, lots of watermelon and watermelon
juice, young coconut smoothies, many green salads, my raw sun
burger and mini pizzas are good when you want something heavier.
I like mexican raw dishes too. I eat a lot of different things
as a raw chef but, choose to eat more simple foods like soups,
smoothies, and salads.
B.
I am not 100% raw, I used to be 100% raw...I think it was too
strict.
I am a very social person and it works better for me to be about
95% raw. I eat all raw most of the time, but occasionally have
some healthy cooked items. This makes me feel BEST. I think it
is really important to have a balance of raw foods- greens, veggies,
fruits, and some soaked and sprouted nuts.
C. I started eating raw in 1997.
I had become vegetarian at 13 yrs. old when I was growing up in
Las Vegas after reading a book called "If man made it dont
eat it". Isn't that the truth.:) In 1997, I was at a juice
bar getting a pressed juice and a man was drinking wheatgrass
in a shot glass which I didn't know about at the time. I asked
him what it was because it looked so healthy, he said "Oh
this is wheatgrass, it is awesome. He told me to get the Wheatgrass
book by Ann Wigmore. I went right to the book section at the health
food store and bought the book. I read it in 2 hours and it kept
referring to the "hippocrates diet" which was another
book by Ann Wigmore. I bought it and read it the next day in one
sitting. It was the only book I had ever read about health and
healing that made so much sense! It was all about raw foods. I
went raw that day and it has changed my life in so many incredible
ways! My skin is super smooth and clear, my eyes are brighter,
my digestion problems are gone,
my food cravings have disappeared, and so many more incredible
results. The greatest thing about going raw is that after you
do it even just a few days you notice big results!
Question #2: How did you become a raw food chef? Who trained you?
I
trained myself over many years by trial and error. I read every
raw book ever written and I experimented with raw recipes since
1997 in all my spare time. I wanted to meet other people whom
ate this way. So, I started the very first raw foods potluck in
Dallas in early 2000. People started lining up at my potlucks
every month and the food would disappear in about 10 minutes and
I made ALOT! People started asking me to make their meals. I quit
my job and began creating raw dishes full time. I started a raw
food meal service every week with over 300 clients which grew
into catering large events, teaching classes, counseling others,
and now has grown into a gourmet raw food restaurant. www.purerawcafe.com
Question
#3: How is your raw food restaurant, juice bar and yoga bar?
It is currently a gourmet upscale raw restaurant and juice bar,
we will expand later to add a raw foods super store and yoga studio.
Question
#4: How do you come up with a recipe?
I have been experimenting with raw recipes since 1997. It is a
long process to come up with the final recipe, but it is my passion
making food that tastes so incredible, looks so beautiful, and
is the most nutritious food on the planet! That is the best part
about it knowing that I am helping others to become healthy by
eating food that is so pure! As far as recipe development, I look
at a recipe for example and if it is creamy from dairy, I substitute
a nut cream or coconut cream, if it calls for oil I use raw olive
oil and infuse it with fresh herbs, if it is sweet, I make my
own syrup from dates or use agave, if it has a meaty texture I
use various nuts to achieve the same consistency. That is how
I do it and the final result is usually very good! It is all about
texture and taste.
Question
#5: Can you share a favorite raw food recipe?
One of my favorite very simple recipes is the Banana Whip we serve
at the cafe.
1
banana frozen
meat of 1 young coconut
water
of 1 young coconut
1 T. agave,
or date syrup
(optional)
Blend until smooth and creamy. You may pour back into coconut
shell like we do at the restaurant and serve with a straw or pour
into a tall glass and enjoy. This is so GOOD! Add an edible flower
for decoration.
Here are a few more recipes from my older web site rawheaven.com.
Enjoy!
Angel Cake Smoothie
When I make recipes I don't measure, its just about creating as
you go. So, just use your own judgment about the measurements....I
had this while I was in Kauai, Hawaii
Ingredients
Meat from Young Coconut
Water
from Young Coconut
Papaya chunks
frozen Banana
Dates or agave
Carrot Juice -a
small amount
Small piece of
ginger pressed to get juice- use garlic press
few Macadamia
Nuts -soaked
Blend until smooth, add more dates if you like it really sweet!
Enjoy, its soooo good
Live
Mexican Margaritaswithout the sugar and tequila by Cynthia
Beavers,
Living Health Nutrition
Ingredients
5 limes juiced
1 whole pineapple juiced
1-2 papayas
1 pint of Rejuvalac
1/2 c. Flax seeds
finely ground
1-2 dates chopped
1 orange
Celtic
Sea Salt
Directions
1) Mix the rejuvalac with juices in blender
2) Add flax and papaya and blend
3) Take wine or Margarita glasses and put lime juice on the rim
then rub rim into salt
4) Add Margarita mix to glass and squeeze a wedge of orange on
top and ENJOY! MARGARITAVILLE........almost
Celestial Cantaloupe Soup
Ingredients
1 whole small
Cantaloupe
Coconut
Water from 1-2 Young Coconuts (make sure it is a sweet one)
you can use purified water if you dont have coconuts
2 Medjool Dates with seeds removed
tsp. Cinnamon
8-10 ice cubes
1) Scoop out flesh of the Cantaloupe and put in blender
2) Open a Young Coconut and taste to see if juice is sweet...if
not, then open another. Pour into Blender
3) Add 2 Medjool Dates without the pits
4) Add Cinnamon and ice
5) Blend until creamy and serve very cold in a chilled bowl. Sprinkle
with Cinnamon serve immediately. Float an edible flower on top
for beauty.
This is one of my favorite soups especially on a hot Summer day.
I sometimes save the Cantaloupe half with the meat scooped out
and use it as a bowl for my soup.
Spicy Green Lime Cilantro Soup (My Favorite,
I eat almost daily!)
Ingredients
2 -3 large handfuls of Spinach
1 large handful of Cilantro
Juice
of 1-2 Young Coconuts
Meat of 1 Young Coconut
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1/4-1/2 cup Living
Olive Oil
Dash of Nama
Shoyu
1/2 tsp. of mellow white miso
1 Poblano Pepper
1/2 jalepeno or habenero depending on how hot you like it!
1 medium to large size dried Ancho Chile with seeds (stem removed)
1-2 cloves of garlic
1) Blend in Vita Mix or Blender until smoothe
2) Taste and adjust to meet your needs
3) The key ingredients are lime and ancho chiles
4) If it doesn't taste right add more of those ingredients
5) Add 1/2 Avocado for a thicker Soup
6) I like it without Avocado and when I want a thicker heavier
soup I add avocado and its also very good!
Heavenly Creamy Coconut Smoothie Ummmmm.....
Ingredients
Juice
of a Young Coconut
Meat of Young Coconut
Ice
1) Blend in Vita Mix until smooth
2) You can add Dates or stevia if you like it really sweet
This is the BEST! ...Drink up, close your eyes, and imagine you
are on a
Tropical Beach!
Paul Nison Durian King Pudding! (I had this when Paul came to
Dallas It includes his favorite fruit...Durian and my favorite...Young
Coconut UMMMMM. You cant beat it, its a match made in Heaven....Rawheaven!)
Ingredients
Fresh
Durian Fruit (You can get at most Asian Markets) (chilled)
1-2 Young Coconuts juice and meat (chilled)
Blend in Vita Mix until smooth and creamy and you have the BEST
pudding I have ever tasted!
Question #6: What are some quick tips or hints for raw
newbies?
Experiment with recipes from raw recipe books. Try dishes you
are used to and favor in cooked food dishes like pizzas, mexican
food, and desserts. That will quench your craving for the normal
cooked foods you are accustom to. I tell many
new clients and friends to try eating 100% raw for at least 1
week - 10 days. It can really motivate you to try this lifestyle
once you see and feel so much better. I get calls from people
that do try it for awhile and cannot believe the results that
they
experience!
Question #7: Do you have any dental problems on the raw
diet?
No, but I make sure to eat many greens by juice or salads so I
get lots of calcium. I heard chewing on kale is really
good for the teeth and gums.
Question #8: Where do you see the raw food movement heading?
It has grown so much. I remember when rawfood.com was one of the
only if not few raw web sites, now there are so many. It is heading
straight up! There are raw potlucks throughout the US. There are
raw restaurants all over. It is such a positive way of life for
people and it is really life changing. I believe it is growing
much faster than the Vegetarian movement did many years ago.
Question
#9: Can you please tell us about some of your current projects
you're working on and/or developing?
I have always wanted to open a health home for sick or even the
elderly that concentrated on raw foods to heal from illness and
disease. That will be my next step, but now I am super busy with
the cafe.
Is
there anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for your web site and the raw information that you share!
I love your web site it is one of the BEST! "One can not
think well, love well, or sleep well if one has not dined well"
Virginia Woolfe Cynthia
Beavers pure organic live cuisine organic
wine exotic drinks and elixirs
214-824-77762720 Greenville Ave.Dallas,
Tx. 75206
www.purerawcafe.com
www.rawheaven.com
