Veggie Stories | Talking with Emily from ThisRawsomeVeganLife

A few days ago, I decided to create a new section on my blog, dedicated to inspiring people who are as passionate about nutrition/healthy eating as I am. I want to do this because my main goal is to create awareness and help people understand what a healthy lifestyle is and how to achieve it.

I know that, when I first started a vegetarian diet, it would have been a lot easier for me if I had someone to teach me the basics and make my transition easier. Hopefully, by sharing with you other people’s stories, you will be inspired to change your lifestyle and diet and become a healthier, happier person!

Emily von Euw is the creator of This Rawsome Vegan Life, a blog dedicated to sharing wholesome, sexy, raw, vegan recipes with the world! Yeah, baby!

She is the author of Rawsome Vegan Baking, a cookbook all about raw vegan desserts (available at Amazon, The Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Indiebound, Books A Million and wherever books are sold.)

She lives near Vancouver, BC with her family and is currently attending Simon Fraser University. Her fave activities are yoga, philosophy, buying records, gender studies, taking hot baths, punch-dancing, hugging trees and kissing papayas (before she devours them mercilessly). 

What inspired you to start a food blog? 

I’ve always been into making and eating healthy food, photography and writing. When I became vegan and got into raw food I started making raw treats all the time and my friends and family whom I shared them with kept telling me to put the recipes on the internet. I didn’t take the suggestions seriously but eventually I made a blog. Since I am a perfectionist I kept working to improve the website aesthetics and my food photography skills, as well as my recipe style. People noticed!

How did you discover your passion for cooking?

I can’t remember. I love food. I love eating food. I love making food! I’ve always loved baking because I love sweet things… so maybe it came from that.

What’s your story? How did you become vegan? 

I can’t really recall that either! But I do very clearly remember reading Fit for Life and realizing how silly it was that we drink the milk of another species well into adulthood; so I decided to go vegan for 30 days and one day into the “challenge” I knew it was meant to be and I’d never go back. That was 4 years ago (I went vegan when I was 16 and now I’m 20).

How easy or difficult has it been for you to make the transition from vegan to raw vegan? Do you have any tips for aspiring raw vegans?

It was a big change. I tried really hard to be 100% raw for almost a year but it just didn’t work. I do best with some steamed veggies, grains and tofu incorporated. Eating a mostly raw diet is perfect for me. I eat fruit all day (a lot in smoothies and juices) and then have a raw or a lightly cooked whole food meal for dinner. For those transitioning: have fresh, ripe fruit around at all times, as well as dried fruit and nuts, raw veggies and spreads, and salad. Raw foods are much lighter and so they go through us quicker, leaving you hungry more often. If you’re always hungry you won’t last long! But remember that health is about what works for you – so be critical of how you feel eating 100% raw compared to mostly raw or partially raw, everyone is different.

What were the most important changes you experienced after becoming raw vegan? 

My nails got really strong and I also lost those little white marks on my nails that usually are a signal of a calcium deficiency. My hair and skin are pretty always great. My body odour is quite pleasant. Bowel movements are FREQUENT. My periods are lighter. I have more energy. I sleep deeply. My teeth are cleaner. Basically everything improves.

          I am whole in myself.

What did your friends and family say when you changed your diet? Did you inspire them to go vegan too? 

My parents didn’t like it at first, especially the whole RAW vegan thing. But once I got my grip on what works for me (it took a while to admit that all raw wasn’t it) they gradually accepted this was an important part of my life and so they respected it. My mom began cooking meals I could eat, and everyone liked it. Fast forward a couple years and my parents proudly tell people they are vegan “99% of the time”! They feel best eating this way, so they eat this way. Makes sense to me.

What do you think we can do in order to help people see the great benefits of a vegan diet?

Check out Vegan Body Building dot com and feel your jaw drop. There are some beautiful bods on there and they are all plant-powered. Also, don’t be a jerk! Militant, judgemental vegans give the lifestyle a bad name. You’re not gonna inspire anyone by being rude. Open your arms to all people and share your delicious food with them. Let them make their own choices in their own time, but let them know you’re always there as a resource. Help them get educated with books and documantaries.

What do you think is the most popular raw vegan diet myth? How would you debunk it? 

That we’re all weak. Again, have you SEEN Vegan Body Building dot com? Nuff said.

What does your daily meal plan look like?

Fruit, fruit, and more fruit until I’m full. I get up, drink a glass of water, do yoga, and then make fruit juice or a fruit smoothie (usually with dark leafy greens). Throughout the day I eat fruit. For dinner I eat a giant salad, a lightly cooked meal of steamed veggies and grains or something, or more fruit. I have a raw dessert almost every day because I always have one in my fridge. Life is good.

What are your top 3 favorite recipes from your blog? 

Oh wow that is the impossible question to answer. But I will do the impossible.

Chocolate Cream Caramel Bars     |     Portobello Mushroom Burgers with Cashew Cheese    |    Vanilla Raspberry Peppermint Cream Cake with Cacao Truffles