Going Raw and Vegan Gets Sexy and Easy

The raw food movement has been around for years -- remember the episode in Sex and the City, in which the girls suffer through a meal of wheatgrass shots because Samantha has a crush on the waiter? -- but recently, it has morphed into something much more accessible, refined and sophisticated. Restaurateur, chef and entrepreneur Sarma Melngailis has been at the forefront of this shift. At Pure Food & Wine, her raw vegan restaurant in Manhattan's Gramercy district, the menu abounds with innovative dishes that are as delicious as they are beautifully prepared and the crowd mingling in the chic deep red dining room is a hip mix. "It's true that more and more people defy the stereotyped look formerly associated with being vegan," says Melngailis, who began her career in finance but shifted into the culinary world in the late 1990s, by studying at the French Culinary Institute, and has never looked back. "For instance, I know a lot of men who eat raw who are hardly the unshaven, crunchy vegan-looking type, but rather guys in suits."

To make the kinds of healthy, well-balanced food available to a greater market, Melngailis launched One Lucky Duck (www.oneluckyduck.com), an online source for the raw and organic snacks and ingredients, like fresh bee pollen and flax seeds, as well as organic beauty products. (These days many models don't just eat raw; they use all-natural beauty products and make-up.) The site also includes Melngailis' blog, with recipes and loads of tips on how to lead a more balanced lifestyle. "I think if people begin to look at food more as nourishment and fuel, rather than something to alleviate a growling stomach, and learn about the environmental impacts of our food system, then a shift will come naturally," says Melngailis when asked about how to arrive at a more balanced diet. "With all of the knowledge of where food comes from and what it does to your body, our indulgences naturally are becoming healthier."

Read an Indagare Q&A with Melngailis on how regular people can go raw in a sensible manner (not a "turn-your-life-upside-down and join-a-cult kind of way,") about what she always stocks in her fridge, which places in New York City and beyond inspire her and her favorite organic beauty products.

Comments

[singermuse]

A Raw vegan diet may not be for everyone, but for those who practice it, it provides a multitude of benefits.
Can't argue with success. People have even cured (that's right, CURED, not "maintained") their type 2 and in a very few cases even Type 1 diabetes utilizing a raw, vegan, low glycemic diet. This is not hearsay. It's evidence. Even enjoying a "mostly" raw vegan or in some cases a "paleo" style diet utilizing small amounts of cooked animal protein and mostly raw fruits and veggies can take a person a long way towards good health and longevity.

[Calinative]

I guess anyone can masquerade as a health guru on Huffpost and sell their weird diet as a lifestyle. Of course, they'll never mention the possible health consequences of such an extreme diet. That would be bad for business.

[RMankovitz]

Personally, I am a grassitarian because I believe it is the most ethical, sustainable, and healthiest diet on the planet. This diet was designed by nature and tested on 100,000 generations of our ancestors over about 2.5 million years.

The beauty of a grassitarian diet is that it does not require the use of artificial fertilizers or pesticides (both derived from fossil fuel); or diesel fuel to run agricultural machinery to plow, cultivate and harvest; or artificial irrigation (fossil fuel powered pumps); or GM seeds.

It is completely independent of farms and all of the agricultural machinery that destroys topsoil and kills millions of ground-living animals. It eliminates the need for any of the products produced by the pesticide, fertilizer, and GM AgriGiants, or the need for feed-lots, egg-breeders, or dairy farms.

It does not use anything made by Deere, Caterpillar, Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, Syngenta, Dean Foods, Heinz, Nestle, Kraft, General Mills, Betty Crocker, Kellogg, Nabisco, Stonyfield, Yoplait, ConAgra, Cargill, etc.

The ecological footprint of this diet is estimated to be much smaller than either a vegan, vegetarian, or Standard American Diet. The grassitarian diet arguably has the lowest profile of natural toxins, and respects the ethical treatment of both animals and plants - something unavailable in any other diet.

A description of the grassitarian diet (an experiment based on nature), along with supporting references, can be found in "The Wellness Project", or "The Original Diet - The Omnivore's Solution".

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[odyssey58]

Thanks for spreading the word.

[ScottWynn]

dr. doug graham is the leader of the raw food movement.

[MikeyMike]

Wouldn't the farmer's market be a better "source for the raw and organic snacks and ingredients"? Mine has bee pollen & etc. And as far as advice, I thought Gwyneth already had that covered. (ha)

[iamjoneskeepupwithme]

i have eaten a primarily vegetarian diet for over 20 years, but i've gotta say i cannot imagine life without making my own freshly-baked, artisan bread. i go through long stints of vegan eating, but eventually i realize that i cannot live without the occasional dose of delectable parmesan or yummy chevré and don't forget the brie!