Question #1: What are some raw food staples in your current diet? Pretty typical of most raw foodists, almost all fruits and vegetables, nuts & seeds. B) Are you 100% raw? No, I am actually about 80% raw, I still cook my sweet potatoes and beans to increases the energy available from these starchy foods. I also stir-fry some vegetables like broccoli, asparagus & green beans just long enough to barely break down their cell wall. They digest and absorb better for me this way. I also occasionally eat Tempeh (made from whole soybeans) and low-calorie grains like brown rice, quinoa and millet.

C) How did you start? I've been a raw vegetarian for about 2 years now, I'm 28. It changed my life completely. I use to be a typical fitness/bodybuilding meat eater. I was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism about 9 years ago (I now feel was a direct result off all the hormones and steroids in the large amount of meat I ate). The doctors medicated me, but it only made my symptoms worse...I slept 8 hours a night plus another 2-3 hour nap during the day, I was emotional, so they put me on zombie drugs, slept even more, gained weight, like 15-20lbs. I was a fitness model/competitor and personal trainer at the time and I had to keep a lean physique. I did the diet pill mess, drank a pot of coffee a day ?? I needed energy from somewhere to workout and stay awake. The doctors increased my medication every 3 months for 9 years, I just got worse and worse, but they said my thyroid levels were still too low, so they kept increasing my dose. Desperate to feel better, I spend the entire 9 year struggle researching raw foods and experimenting with every diet known to man. I finally came up with a diet that worked incredibly well for me, and later found it worked well for many other people trying to improve their health. After being on my diet for a full year I felt my body could work at optimum performance without the drugs. I finally convinced my doctor to take me off of synthroid (synthetic thyroid medication). One month later I was a new woman, and every day since my health has drastically improved.

You see, I went to school for Cellular Biology and 4 years later I was on my way to medical school until I realized my heart was no longer there. At the time, I was personally training clinically obese women at a woman ??s center and changing there lives through preventative measures, so obviously I didn't want to "push pills for a living". Now my husband and I are working to make this amazing raw lifestyle more convenient for everyone with our Raw Crunch bars, easy transition diet, and workout DVDs.

Question #2: How did you come up with your Raw Crunch ? bars and which one is your favorite?

My husband and I were determined to make the change to a raw food diet; however, no matter how many fruits and veggies we ate throughout the day, we just couldn ??t keep our cravings at bay. You ??ve got to understand, my husband trains in Muay Thai Kickboxing and weighs 220lbs. It takes a lot to feed that boy, especially when his previous diet consisted of meat and potatoes. We began experimenting with making a raw food bar in our little one bedroom apartment as a healthy raw snack between meals. After about 6 months the bar taste and texture gradually improved and our friends and family began begging for the bars. Due to the positive feedback, we decided to rent a small commercial kitchen, without any windows, to manufacture our bars on a small scale. Considering the time it took to hand make and hand package each and every bar, we sure were happy when we relocated into a larger kitchen with 8 huge windows 1 year later. The new kitchen is almost 5 times the size of the original with 80 quart mixers and commercial dehydrators. Finally, 2 years later, after the batch was perfected and finalized, the bars were ready to launch in the marketplace, with custom printed packages, display boxes and organic certification. To this day, my husband and I hand-make and hand-package every single bar. Sure helps with quality control. It turns out that our Raw Crunch bars were the perfect snack to satisfy our cravings and stabilize our blood sugar throughout the day. Now eating raw is easy for us, and thank goodness we don ??t have to rely on willpower. Oh yeah, I ??d have to say my favorite Raw Crunch bar is the Organic Wild Blueberry.

Question #3: What is The Raw Crunch Diet all about?

The Raw Crunch Diet works well for someone trying to make a healthy and gradual transition into the raw lifestyle. It is not too extreme and allows some of your favorite foods in moderation, while still experiencing healthy fat loss. Your blood sugar is stabilized so well on the diet that you can ??t really overeat and you don't have to rely on willpower! That's my favorite part. As a fitness competitor and model, I was use to a very strict regimented lifestyle, however all of the diets I ever tried were too extreme and I couldn't adhere to them for more than a few weeks. Besides, even if the diet promoted weight loss, it was usually achieved at the expense of long-term nutritional health. I needed a diet that would fully nourish my body at the cellular level, not just induce weight/water loss. I've been on The Raw Crunch Diet now for 2 years and I can easily continue this regimen for the rest of my life with very little effort. I'm leaner and my body is so much cleaner now, I've retained all my hard earned muscle, and my energy is out the roof without any stimulants from coffee, etc. My low thyroid levels have even returned to normal without synthetic thyroid drugs.

Question #4: Why are exercise on the raw diet important and what types of exercises are the best to get fit?

Now that I eat raw, I exercise to stay healthy and sculpt my body, rather than over-exercising to lose weight. I ??ve found yoga is a wonderful way to get oxygen and other powerful nutrients into my system, while accelerating sweating and removal of waste products. Yoga is amazing for stretching and lengthening my body, rather than tightening and shortening the body like conventional body-sculpting workouts. This type of focused training and deep breathing boosts my ability to feel what ??s going on inside my body. This body awareness not only detects whether my hamstrings or hips are tight, but also whether my stomach is already full. I practice yoga 5 days a week, preferably Power Vinyasa as well as some stability ball training.

Question #5: How do you come up with a recipe?

My diet is fairly simple and I eat a lot of the same foods. Since I eat a salad everyday for lunch, I like to experiment with different vegetable mixes. I always start off with a big handful of mixed salad leaves, throw in a small avocado, maybe toss in some carrots, cucumber, tomato slices, fresh alfalfa sprouts (easy to grow at home year round). On the days I workout, I ??ll even throw in a small baked potato or sweet potato. I top it with an olive oil based dressing. I keep all my meals pretty simple. There is no end to all the exciting vegetables you can toss in a salad ??play with it.

Question #6: Can you share a favorite raw food recipe with us?

My favorite breakfast is a simple raw fruit smoothie.

In a blender add:
- 1 banana
- Either 1 orange, 1 peach, 1 mango, 1 grapefruit, or 6 strawberries
- 1 heaping tablespoon of a raw organic superfood powder (I use Vitamineral Green ??)
- 4-6 ice cubes
- 1/2 cup water

Blend until smooth (about 30 seconds).

My body craves this smoothie just about every morning for breakfast and it only takes me about 3 minutes to make. It ??s nice and filling as well.

Question #7: What are some quick tips or hints for raw newbies?

I would suggest start by replacing your typical breakfast of coffee and cream cheese bagel with a hot cup of Green Tea (a great alternative to coffee, yes it contains caffeine, however, it also contains the amino acid, theanine, which is a caffeine antagonist and actually helps to balance the effects of the caffeine). Then try my raw fruit smoothie (above). It ??s important to kick the coffee habit first, so you can experience the incredible benefits of a raw food diet. It doesn ??t happen overnight with everyone, it took me a month to completely kick the coffee habit. Soon you will wake up with new found energy. A couple hours after your smoothie eat a light raw snack containing healthy fats to further stabilize your blood sugar and reduce cravings. Be sure and drink plenty of water throughout the day. Replace your typical concentrated lunch option with a nutrient dense raw salad and later another light raw snack containing healthy fats before dinner. Your dinner choice should be smaller than usual, considering your body is finally nutritionally satisfied, and your blood sugar has remained balanced throughout the day. Give yourself a bit more flexibility at dinner, especially in the early transition stages. Think baby steps. For instance, if you ??re craving spaghetti, maybe replace the processed noodles with baked spaghetti squash (after the yellow oblong squash has been baked, slice it in half and rake the pulp of the squash out with a fork creating stands of noodles). As you consume more raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds as a staple part of your diet, your body is finally nutritionally satisfied, properly hydrated and progressively it requires less food. This lifestyle is not about what you can ??t have, it ??s about developing a healthy attitude toward food slowly.

Question #8: Do you have any dental problems on the raw diet?

No, my teeth and gum health has actually improved in the last two years.

Question #9: Do you take any raw supplements or super foods?

Only Vitamineral Green ?? in my smoothie every morning.

Question #10: Where do you see the raw food movement heading?

More and more people are beginning to realize that the environment, as well as the nutritional environment that they provide for their bodies has a direct effect on their health. Thanks to websites like rawguru.com people are being properly educated to embark on this incredible life changing experience. Spread the word!

Question #11: Can you please tell us about some of your current projects you're working on and/or developing?

Man ??If only I had the time. My husband and I are busy hand making Raw Crunch bars all day long! We are, however, coming out with 3 new varieties of bars by the end of the year, and hopefully I ??ll get a chance to make a ??Raw Crunch Personal Training Session ?? DVD Lesson 2 in the next few months.

Check out www.kathyfelman.com for more great info!