Guest Post: Our good friend Averie

Hello friends,

We are honored today to have one of our good friends Averie do a guest post for us! We are thrilled to have her do a post for us since she is such an inspiration to us both As you notice Averie has a very similar story to us in how we become raw and gluten free as well we all share a strong love for raw desserts

If you do not already know Averie and her great blog than you need to go check her out! She is amazing mom and yoga fanatic and we absolutely love her. She has inspired us to do more yoga! Thanks again Averie!

Now onto her great guest post

Hi Pure 2 Raw Readers! When Michelle & Lori asked me to do a guest post on their lovely blog, I was flattered! It was time for me to repay the favor because they were kind enough to do a guest post on my blog when I was in traveling over the Winter Holidays.  They made: One Pot Gluten Free Vegan Mac-N-Cheese!  Thanks again, Lori & Michelle for your recipe!

Since The Twins left the topic for this post wide open, I thought I’d do a Q & A session about things I am frequently asked about my approach to diet, health, and exercise.

Some of you may know me or read my blog already.  I am Averie from Love Veggies and Yoga.  I am a high raw, all vegan, yoga teacher who adores making raw foods, especially raw desserts!  My most important job, however, is taking care my family, comprised of my 3 year old daughter, Skylar, and my husband, Scott.

The following are common questions I am asked:

Why are you raw?

In order to answer this question, I need to give you a little of my history.  After a life of suspected food allergies, when I was in my mid 20s I realized that the GI disturbances, aching joints, headaches, bloating, moodiness, fatigue and sense of overall imbalance I had were not normal. After consulting with a naturopath, acupuncturist, Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor, and massive amounts of trial and error old-school detective work by doing food eliminations & trialing the suspected food allergens back into my diet, I realized that I am allergic to or intolerant to many foods.

My body does not tolerate gluten (wheat, barley, spelt, kamut, etc.), dairy (cow, sheep, goat), or soy.  Once I eliminated these foods from my diet, my health and wellness improved dramatically!! I saw the biggest benefit by eliminating gluten grains & products but was still feeling a little “off” and that’s when the dairy & soy elimination took place.  I do consume minor/trace soy, but I avoid it whenever possible.

So that still brings us to the question of why raw?

Well, after I eliminated gluten, dairy, & soy, I feel that raw chose me, I did not choose it. Meaning, for me, it’s just easier and simpler to eat raw foods, less minimally processed foods and in as close to their natural state as possible.

Green food, and lots of fresh vegetables, are truly what makes me feel optimally!

Here was a Dinner that involved spiralized Zucchini Noodles

For spiralizer info and what I have, where to buy it (the best $29.99 you’ll ever spend!) check out this post)

To the noodles I added the Vegan Soy-Free Peanut Sauce I made Here

Diced & added some other veggies: cukes, red peppers, tomatoes, carrots, sugar snap peas, asparagus..use whatever you have in your veggie drawer.

And voila, an awesome dinner!

I Enjoy Fruit, but I eat far more vegetables than fruit.

Do you ever eat cooked foods?

Yes, of course!  I am not a raw purist, nor do I aspire to be. I like baked squashes, roasted root veggies, I like my veggie soups warm, and I drink coffee.  I go with the spirit of respecting what my body is asking for, and if it’s asking for warm or cooked food, then I cook it. Not rocket science. I just go with the flow.   Check out my Coconut Oil & Ginger Roasted Veggies: Fennel and Potatoes

After an Hour Roasting

Caramelized and perfectly Roasted Fennel!

And the Potatoes

My husband, Scott, Raved about his Ginger Coconut Roasted Potatoes, too!

I tossed the fennel with other veggies: Sugar Snap Peas, Brussels, tomatoes, carrots, and mixed greens. I love the anise flavor of fennel and the coconut oil and ginger went perfectly with it. It was a really interesting flavor combo and I’m glad I tried it.

Or Check out My Squash Fries

Or My Sweet Potato or Curly Fries

So yes, I do eat cooked food, however, I do feel best, most healthful, and full of energy on a high raw diet. I am not big on numbers, but, I would say I am overwhelmingly raw, because again, this is what makes me feel the best, which is why I eat this way.

As Lori & Michelle have mentioned, they have food allergies and intolerances and have experimented with their diet, similarly to what I have done, and I have found a high raw vegan path works very well for me, but everyone’s needs, bodies, path, dietary history, unique body composition, or exercise regime, will dictate that we all do the detective work of finding what works best, For You!  I encourage everyone to experiment with your dietary choices until you find what “clicks” for you!

Why are you a Vegan?

Most of my life, since childhood, I have been a vegetarian, or a pescatarian where I ate a few bites of fish a few times a year, including while pregnant.  Other foods I cannot process or tolerate well are animal products and animal proteins. This includes dairy and eggs, but also animal flesh like beef, chicken, pork. I also have analphalatic reactions to shellfish, meaning I break out in hives and my airway swells shut.  So again, as I said with raw foods; the vegan lifestyle chose me, I did not necessarily set out to choose it.

How Do You Get Your Protein?

I eat dark leafy greens, sprouts, fruits, vegetables, and supplement a few times a week with brown rice protein powders (Sun Warrior is my favorite followed by Jay Robb).  For me, this works and I feel great. If you research vegan protein sources, you’ll find that darky leafies are nutritional powerhouses but everyone has to do what works best for her body to feel optimally! I completely respect anyone’s diet & exercise choices, as long as they are well-researched and the person feels great with those choices!

Try this one on for Protein & MicroNutrient Size.  Kale & Broccoli, two kings in the plant world.

Broccoli, Cauli, & Kale Salad with Homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing

But I am not all about Green Food.  I do love my desserts!  Here’s a link to my High Raw Dessert Recipes.

The following are some Raw or No-bake Recipes I have developed on my own, and which I am especially proud of! They all take 15 minutes or less to make and require no special kitchen equipment other than a food processor.

High Raw Vegan Caramels!

And Nut Butter Filled Caramel Bites

These Vegan Caramels and Stuffed Carmels are sooo easy…3 ingredients, Gluten/Soy/TreeNut-Free, and the the flavor is totally spot-on, authentic, melt-in-your-mouth goodness!

I know that Michelle and Lori’s Bakery, Twin Cakes, sells goodies that are raw vegan, and they are free from gluten, dairy, refined sweeteners, tree nuts, eggs, and more. I hope Lori & Michelle would approve of my caramels!

These Have Been a Huge Hit Among my Readers…and me! For the Cookie Dough Lovers…

High Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

For the Chocolate Lovers….

Raw Vegan Chocolate Donut Holes

For the Nut Butter Lovers…

Raw Vegan Peanut Butter (or Sunflower Seed Butter) Vanilla Balls

And for the Good ‘Ole Apple Pie lovers…

High Raw Vegan Apple Crumble

And a Couple Yoga Shots….

For those of you who read my blog, you know I am a yoga teacher and passionate about yoga! I invite you stop by my blog where I do a new yoga pose daily and give tips about incorporating yoga into your life.  Recently I did a huge Yoga FAQ’s Post and answered everything from Yoga Beginner to What DVD or Podcast to Choose, to How to Save Money on Yoga Classes.

Here are a few Yoga Poses:

Tittibhasana (Firefly Pose).  Core strength first, arm strength second.

This is an Astavakrasana Variation

Thanks everyone for reading my story and thanks to Lori & Michelle for asking me to Guest Post on Their Very Inspirational Blog!!!!

Wow, see we told you she is an amazing person! We are so glad to be friends with her and hopefully one day we will actually get to meet each other

We have been busy here getting ready for Fitbloggin which if you follow us on twitter we have been talking all about it. It is going to be one big party Though we have been in the kitchen getting all our samples ready and other things ready for our table. We have not even thought about packing There is still time though.

Till next time,

The Twins

L&M