Raw Food Meet Up @ Thrive Juice Bar

One of the simplest pleasures in life is to go out for a meal with some great people and spend time eating and talking. Last night our Kitchener-Waterloo Raw Meet-Up selected Thrive Juice Bar for an evening of fun.



When I started the raw food meet up, I really just wanted an avenue to help people learn about raw food. I also wanted to have the opportunity to meet with like minded people in our community. To get together and create a feeling of community for people who want to eat healthy, but also go out and have fun too.




Our evening out was a huge success. Thrive Juice Bar provided us with the best service and the food tasted amazing. I want to send a big shout out to Jonnie the owner and thank him for his great hospitality. I must say this about Jonnie, he is passionate about food and health and this reflects in the food that he provides to his customers. The food is full of flavour, highly creative and the best part of all, it is highly nutritious. You will leave feeling energized, happy and just plain good about yourself and yes the prices are really affordable.

We started off with some drinks. We all got different things but one of the popular choices was the Coconut Cashew Medjoal Date Smoothie. Others tried the Thai Avocado Smoothie that incorporated the flavours of lemongrass, avocado and coconut water.

I opted for the Big Green Smoothie. (Yes I love my Greens) This is full of nutrients and flavour. It is jam packed with all things green including E3 Live, Wheat grass and fresh greens.




Then we proceeded to the BEST Raw Soup ever. A melody or carrot, curry & coconut blended to perfection.



For the main meal I choose a fantastic raw Pad Thai dish filled with vegetables such as cabbage, bok choy, carrots, snap peas & daikon to name a few. The veggies are mixed in a creamy cashew sauce and flavoured with chili, cilantro and mint. For all of you health seekers out there, this dish is a nutritional home run. I can't say more about a dish filled with my favourite daikon and cabbage.



And last but most definitely not least.... the desserts.

Here is a rich raw chocolate brownie plate that I enjoyed.




Other's went for a fresh mango marinated carpaccio with coconut ice cream.



So if you have not been to Thrive Juice Bar, go check it out.

Big thank you to all of the meet up members that came out to this event and to those also who helped promote it. I want to give a shout out to Mary, a fellow blogger from This is Vegan, who came out to this event and posted about our night as well. Stay tuned for our upcoming raw meet up events.....

For those of you that don't live in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, do you have local support or raw groups in your community?

Raw Food At It's Easiest!

Raw food can be a lot of things. It can be complex, detailed, tasty and delicious. It can also be easy. Easy works for me this week, as many of you busy moms know, time is limited some days. Other days I have lots of time to play and experiment in the kitchen and make detailed creations. Don't get me wrong, I love those days and I have quite a few of them. However there are days well.... you know? Days were the clock goes faster than you thought possible.

But please don't grab for the undesirables on these days. You can actually still eat really well on these hectic days. They may just be in the form of a blended juice or a quick salads like this one.




I have been making a ton of salads and veggie plates this week because I have been multi tasking a little more than I normally do. Who would have thought that was possible. Anyways, I have been so inspired and in love with making "crazy salads" this week. They have been filling, messy and quick, but oh so yummy.

As long as you have a plentiful supply of vegetables and some staples on hand, you can make a super charged salad in a few minutes. Here are a couple of mine from the weekend. Be warned I am on a zucchini kick this week.


Veggie Plate # 1:



Chopped Spinach
Sliced Beets
Sauerkraut (Bubbies)
Sliced Zucchini
Chopped Tomatoes
Sprinkle of Kelp Powder
Sprinkle with a little Sea Salt or Himalayan salt

Process the beets and zucchini in a food processor. Do a large quantity so you will have lots for the week. Decorate you plate to make it visually appealing. Add bunches of veggies. You can use carrots, parsnip, broccoli or kale. I don't put any dressing on my salads lately. However you could always mix a little oil, apple cider vinegar, sweetener and spices for your own creation.

Salad Plate # 2 Or Nacho Plate:





Sliced Zucchini
Guacamole (avocado, lime and sea salt)
Sunflower Seed Cheese (sunflower seeds,lemon juice, tamari, garlic)
Sliced Red Pepper
Cilantro (chopped and sprinkled on top)
Nutritional Yeast

I used this plate while I was watching one of my season finale's last week. (Sorry just could not give up my shows). I added some salsa and it was so yummy and actually very filling. Love guilt free eating. The sky is the limit with what you want to add to this plate.

Then of course who could forget the green juice. This little glass of green liquid can help give you a good energy punch. This is always a staple in my home. I added arugula to my regular mixture of kale, lemon and apples. Not bad at all. Arugula is a good source of sulfur, so it is great for your skin, hair and nails. A powerhouse veggie that you will want to pick up or even start to grown.




What are your favourite salads? Do you have any ingredients that you always turn to when you are pressed for time? Love to hear from you.

Please be sure to join "Blyssful Health" on Facebook. I would love to see you there!

Yummy Kale Chips and Green Smoothies

You will be glad to know I have some yummy options for all of you out there who want to eat healthier. Yummy kale chips, a loaded salad and kick --- Green Juice. I promise you that if you are busy and don't think you have time...you do. I thought I didn't but guess what, I did. Plus the energy you get from all this good food will help you with the clean up.(especially the juice)

First I stared with some easy to make kale chips. I have never tried them before and I am not quite sure why. If you have not used kale before you can find it in the produce section and it looks like this. It may look intimidating but it is not.



I often used kale in green juices, salads and vegetarian dishes. To make Kale chips you can do the prep in about 10 minutes and they will probably be eaten up faster than that. Wash your kale and pat dry. Cut into medium size pieces. Keep in mind that they will shrink. Add your seasoning of choice and some olive oil.

For the raw version
dehydrate for about 4-6 hours until they are crisp.

For non non raw version put them on a tray and pop them into the oven on the lowest lowest setting and keep in until dry.

They will look like this.






They taste even better than they look. I put a little olive oil, some sea salt and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is not raw but is often used by vegans, vegetarians for it's b vitamins and cheesy flavor.

Next I moved onto a salad with parsley, celery, red peppers and some kale chips.


This morning I made some green juice. Green juice is amazing for you and probably one of the best things that you can incorporate into your routines. It is packed with nutrients and is easily absorbed by your body. The fiber is removed in the juicing process making it like liquid gold for your body.

Juice of 3 green organic apples, 1/2 a celery bunch, handful of parsley and 1/4 of a lemon. It tastes amazingly light and fresh. Sip on an empty stomach.

Mmmmmm Enjoy!


Eat The Green. Juice The Green. Love The Green