Viva Las Vegan

Jayson was, er, "sick" today, and we celebrated having a lovely, crisp sunny day together by riding our bikes to Las Vegan in Collingwood for lunch. I've been meaning to visit Las Vegan since I moved to Melbourne, but somehow it has never been convenient (they're only open for lunch Tues-Fri). An entirely vegan cafe, featuring an assortment of yummy meals and baked goods - how fantastic! Actually Smith St. in Collingwood is kind of a vegan heaven, because it is also home to Friends of the Earth, Organic Wholefoods, Soulfood Cafe, and a vegan shoe store. Why don't we have all of this in Brunswick (though in all fairness we do have an Organic Wholefoods and the Radical Grocery, but I'm holding out for a vegan cafe)?

The cafe is lovingly decorated and offers an assortment of lunch options, including calzones, soups, salads, and heartier meals. Jayson had the "chili non-carne" on rice with salad, and I had a lentil patty on a beautiful bed of salad. We both had some room left so we took home some muffins (chocolate orange and carrot). Somehow it felt like the ride was uphill both ways. What's up with that?

As I sit here writing this, I am drinking a pot of gorgeous "plum pudding" tea (a lovely Christmas gift from my lovely former housemate Jackie) and eating my vegan carrot muffin. Totally un-raw, I know. But that's part of what I want to talk about today, and where this review of sorts is heading. I mostly write about raw food recipes on this blog, and I LOVE raw foods and how they taste and make me feel, but I do not eat 100% raw food in my life. I have gone through periods when I did, and I probably will be at that place again. But right now, that just doesn't work for me for reasons both practical and emotional.

I've been reading Kevin Gianni's new ebook "High Raw" lately and I have found that his advice is fantastic. His first principle for following a high raw lifestyle is to "think like a raw fooder," which means to build a foundation by which I'm eating approximately 75% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. When I have this foundation, I don't have to stress over an urge to eat, say, a vegan carrot muffin. Because sometimes I do have these urges, and I think stressing out about them is the worst thing I can do! Either eat the muffin and love it, or don't eat and and eat something else instead, but either way don't stress.

By the way, I have tried to make raw muffins but haven't been satisfied with the results. I'm not sure this is the kind of thing that is really going to translate well into a raw form. But I'm open to ideas.

In conclusion, if you love healthy vegan food with lots of raw ingredients and happen to be in Melbourne, visit Las Vegan. And if you're at all interested in optimising your health and feeling great every day without stressing over it, read Kevin Gianni's "High Raw" immediately!