I would like to introduce Andrea Lambert who is Arizona's preeminent raw vegan chef, teacher, instructor, and coach. I had the pleasure of doing an interview with her and I hope you will find it just as interesting as I do.
What made you decide to become a raw vegan chef?
I spent 7 years working with allopathic doctors to heal a painful health issue that only became worse the more the doctors “experimented” on me. In 2007, I could not take the pain, the amount of medicine I had to consume as well as the side effects which left me feeling worse than I started seeing the doctors back in 1999! I learned about raw living food and decided I was willing to try anything to feel better. In less than 30 days I was completely pain free and off all the prescriptions!
Can you please tell us more about the Raw Vegan Food Prep classes?
I offer classes that range from very beginner classes to advanced. I keep most classes at 2 hours to not overwhelm people with information they may forget or feel frustrated that they can’t remember. I think bite sized chunks are easier to manage and allow for a more creative atmosphere. I like to have continuous conversation to ensure we are covering topics the students present are interested in. I have classes that cover each of the main 3 pieces of equipment individually, ones that cover cuisine from other countries, others that cover specific health topics and a 12 class series that will leave you being able to make an entire holiday meal at the end of the year as well as incredible desserts like truffles, pies and cheeze cakes.
What does a typical day of meals look like for you?
I typically enjoy a quick pea protein and Amazing Grasses shake first thing after getting up.
A couple hours later I make some sort of Green Smoothie.
I don’t really eat many standard meals but instead eat small amounts every couple hours. I’ll have a large salad either for lunch or dinner.
I’ll have fruit as a snack at some point in the afternoon. I don’t eat much in the evenings so I’ll just snack on flax crackers and cashew cheeze or a pumpkin/sunflower seed snack.
Other days I may just eat fruit all day to allow a bit of a deeper cleanse than eating raw food
allows.
How do you manage when you have to travel?
I typically bring a cooler with me containing my food or plan by finding Whole Foods and bringing my mini blender (Tribest). I’ve made it in Peru with that blender and all the fresh food you can get in their markets. I also follow some of Ann Wigmores’ tricks with fermenting the tap water in Peru with sprouted rye (google “Rejuvalac”).
It worked! I was one of the few who didn’t get sick in our group. Dr. Ann Wigmore used this technique on her many travels to India.
If we could peek into your fridge, what would we find?
Super stuffed fridge full of fresh fruits, veggies, raw living condiments & dressings (I LOVE dips and dressings and do not skimp on them), some food marinating, some fermenting, some soaking for a recipe. I reuse glass containers and try to keep most of my food in glass. I store my nuts and seeds in the freezer. Right now I have 2 new cheeze cakes that I came up with in the freezer: Black forest and Chocolate caramel. There are pictures on my website. YUM!
What is the go-to food that you are always reaching for?
I love easy finger snacky foods. Right now I have Raw Indian “Naan” bread, raw falafels and savory croquettes I can easily grab a piece to eat while jamming around getting things done. My FAVORITE snack is Coconut Jerky but I’m out of it right now. My clients love it too and keep
buying up my stock! LOL!
What are your must-have tools in the kitchen?
Vitamix blender, Kitchen-aide Food Processor, and Excalibur Food Dehydrator are the 3 most
important but my Green Star juicer helps out quite a bit too.
Are you taking any supplements?
I do take supplements to provide the nutrients we can’t manufacture ourselves or get from our food anymore because of the extreme poor quality soil our food is grown in. We need 90 essential nutrients of which 60 are minerals and our soils are only supplied with 3 in between growing crops so you can imagine how nutrient deficient the food is and this directly translates into our bodies. We are a SUPER nutrient deficient country. There are 3rd world countries with healthier people than us as well as many record breaking ages of living 120+ years.
I take B-12 (methylcobalomin form only), Flax oil and chia seeds for my Omega’s, Pea Protein, Amazing grasses, Spirulina, Chlorella, Calcium/Magnesium (CALM), Colloidal Mineral complex, and Raw Fermented Iron (Vitamin Code).
What are you favorite places to shop for groceries?
Farmers markets are always the best because you can’t get any fresher unless you grow them yourself. The travel most of our food has to endure further depletes them of nutrition.
Are there any foods that you noticed they make a huge difference in terms of your skin?
Absolutely! With in 2 weeks of becoming a raw vegan my skin cleared up! I was a huge meat
and dairy eater. I loved frozen pizza snacks and tortilla chips. I had severe cystic acne and that is completely gone!
What advice do you have for somebody who is thinking to switch to a vegan
lifestyle?
If you are great at project management then read Alisa Cohen’s Living on Live Food, practice
recipes until you come up with about a dozen that you really like, pick a date and go 100% raw for 60 days. Continue making a couple new recipes a week to keep your interest up. Take classes, join meetups, and find support.
If you are not a cold turkey kind of person then take classes, get educated, think about what
healthy choices you can add to your diet today. Do not focus on what you can not have. Do not starve yourself. Eat as much raw fruits and veggies as you like so you feel satisfied all the time.
Take it one day at a time and leave the guilt and shame behind you. Once your body resets
because you are eating enough for the instinctual program of “storing fat during times of famine” to turn off, your metabolism will rise and you will begin to burn fat as energy and lose weight.
Once you work your way up to 100% raw for 60 days, you will begin to release toxins from all your tissues which will allow your body to heal and continue to transform.
Education is THE most important thing because the raw vegan lifestyle does go against the
majority of what we are taught. It takes some time to sink in the concepts of why & how to eat raw.
For more information about Andrea and the Raw Vegan Food Prep classes, please check her websites:
http://www.syncrawnicity.com
and
http://www.rawteacher.com/andeelamby/
Also, you can find her on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/syncRAWnize
{Pictures from Andrea Lambert}
