contributors

Sheree Clark
A graduate of Living Light Culinary Institute, author, presenter, teacher,
motivator… Sheree is a vegan raw foodist, and presents a convincing – and tasty –
case for not cooking your food through her consulting business “Living Raw.”
The author of three books and numerous feature articles, in her “other” life
Sheree co-owns Sayles Graphic Design. Sheree holds an undergraduate
degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and a Masters
degree from the University of Vermont.

Lisa Testa
Is a holistic nutritional consultant with a flourishing practice in New Jersey. Her
business, “Healthier You,” is centered on helping others discover healthier ways of
life. She has personally followed a raw food lifestyle for over three years and
enjoys writing and teaching. Lisa is enrolled with Clayton College of natural Health
and is in the process of earning her PhD in Holistic Nutrition.

Matt Monarch
Matt Monarch, raw food educator, speaker and author has been on a 100% raw
food diet for 10 years now. You can learn more about him at RawSuccess.org and
you can visit his raw food super store at TheRawFoodWorld.com.

Chad Sarno | saf

Executive chef, Chad Sarno is known worldwide as ‘The Raw Chef’ and described
by GQ magazine as “the king of uncooked and vegan cuisine,” Chad Sarno has a
flair with raw food that has gained him loyal celebrity clients including Charlize
Theron, Jane Fonda and Helen Hunt. He is one of the world’s leading vegan chefs
and has been a pioneering force in the growing world of raw cuisine for over 10
years. Chad has worked across the gobe and is now excited to be bringing his
skills and raw creations to London. RawChef.com.

Publisher/Managing Editor
Cindy Kelly, RHN Rebecca Carlson
Cindy is a Registered Nutritionist from Toronto, Canada. Her favorite topics
of interest are mental health and pediatric nutrition. She operates a private Contributors
consulting practice as well as a nutrition based social networking website Sheree Clark
at FoodSpark.com. Lisa Testa
Matt Monarch
Sabina Nicholson
Elissa Quist
Chad Sarno
Cindy Kelly, RHN
Scott Brown, BS, CSCS
Scott Brown BS,CSCS Tera Warner
Scott is a certified strength and conditioning specialist who currently resides in
Palm Beach, Florida. He works with athletes and individuals of all levels teaching Art Direction
them the benefits of exercise, a mind-full diet, and a balanced lifestyle. He can be Rebecca Carlson
reached at scott.fitness3@gmail.com. Special Photography
Corey McFarlane

Account Services & Ad Sales

Madelon Ziska
Elissa Quist

Corey McFarlane Printing

Corey is an accomplished lifestyle and still photographer based in South Florida. Printing Corporation Of The Americas, Inc.
Corey has managed to capture pure emotion and a timeless beauty in the style of
his images for over 13 years. A graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, he Special Thanks
may be reached at CMphotoINC@mac.com. Anna Tipps
Rahsaan Stampes
Kika Nixon
Robert Makovicka
Kappy Carlson
KO Bisson
Tera Warner
Is a writer, mother, entrepreneur, and co-creator of TheRawDivas.com, a resource
especially for women which provides inspiration, recipes, and support by women
who are passionate about health.

Purely Delicious® is printed using vegetable based inks

and post consumable recycled paper.

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The holidays have always been a time of reflection and the close of each year
offers us yet another opportunity to tweak our goals and intentions. We examine,
evaluate, plan for the future and frankly change what’s not working. It’s a time to
refocus, soothe our aching feet and resolve to undo the excess of the holidays.

My resolution will be the same as what I’ve been working on this past year and
that is making steady progress. In the past, my tendency towards perfectionism
has kept me swinging uncomfortably between polar opposites… couch potato to
fitness warrior… and letter perfect dieter to anything goes. I’ve tasted what it is
like to find balance and to be at peace with my choices, and I like it.

That being said, part of the journey has been about being open and excited for
the changes ahead. One of those changes is beginning work on this magazine.
The opportunity came as a total surprise and blessing. It was just a little over a
year ago that I told a group of people about my vision of one day starting a raw
food magazine. And now, it has simply unfolded before me. It is a humbling
responsibility to step into the shoes of Anna Tipps, a remarkable, spirit-filled and
gifted woman. Thank you Anna for beginning the work and believing in me. We
are praying for your complete recovery and healing.

Anna and I shared many long talks about her vision and the future direction of
Purely Delicious and found that we agreed that our mission was (and is) to meet
people right where they are. From people who are curious, new to raw or in
transition as well as keeping it interesting and relevant for those who are 100%,
we want to present the raw food lifestyle in an easy, fun and informative way.

Hand in hand with that mission, we also want to address the natural progression
of thought, spiritual awareness and clarity that sometimes accompanies “cleaning
up your diet,” an unexpected perk. Ask anyone who enjoys a high-raw diet and
they will tell you what a profound difference it has made in their attitudes,
emotions, moods and spiritual energy. As for me, after only a short while of eating
raw I began questioning everything from our choice of cleaning and beauty
products to over-the-counter medications organic farming and pet food. Fitness
again became a part of my life as I began to shed excess weight and gain
newfound energy and vitality. It is an inside out lifestyle change.

But like many people, I yearned for ways to show my friends and loved ones that
this wasn’t some extreme or radical diet but a natural and wonderful way of life.
Our hope is that this magazine will become just such a tool for you. Enjoy.

Thank you for your warm and gracious welcome.

Happy New Year.

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 In the past, I dreaded the holidays.
As the season approached I felt my
depression grow darker, yet the
world around me appeared to
become brighter. While everyone
else seemed happy, I felt
vulnerable, sad and alone.
When holiday foods were passed
around, I ate them frantically to fill a
void and soothe myself. My sorrow
separated me, making me feel like
a stranger.
Depression was my identity, and in
many ways, it consumed me. I lived
in stark contrast to all the good that
Everyone else seemed happy,
I felt vulnerable, sad and alone
purelydelicious.net
surrounded me and the holidays
were just another reminder of my
inability to find peace. The season
would end and I would look toward
the New Year full of regret
and remorse.
Since going raw, my demeanor has
become something very different.
I still feel the familiar emotions and
sensations. However, instead of
spiraling downward, I feel a sense
of calm.
When I eat raw foods, my
melancholy is not all consuming,
I can let it pass under me. I am able
to go through my day without
feeling overwhelmed.
I have moved from fighting and
fearing my emotions to accepting
them. Raw has given me a strength
and clarity to welcome all that I am
and recognize what my mind and
body truly need. Raw has allowed
me to live my life fully, feeling
delight and finding contentment.
Now, I look forward to those times
where joy, love and wonder are
expressed, knowing that I can
embrace it all.
~ Elissa Quist, 2008
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 With the New Year’s celebrations behind us, many of us are facing the future with
hope, renewed focus and enthusiasm. But not everyone. For some, these cold gray
post-holiday weeks represent some of the darkest and bleakest times of desperation
and loneliness of the year. Why is this particular season difficult for so many?
By Cindy Kelly, RHN
Could it be that the ritualistic over indulgence
of rich foods, late nights and coffee are
wreaking havoc not only on our bodies but our
minds? Raw foodists may indeed have an
advantage when it comes to beating the
holiday blues. Their mantra of “Treat the body
well and in turn it will be well with you” seems
to hold true in this instance.
Many people view depression as purely a
psychological, chemical or spiritual issue.
While it is true that depression can be rooted
within these realms, we may only be
acknowledging part of the problem. If the body
is not given the essential materials (read:
nutrients) that it needs to maintain good health,
we are robbing the brain of it’s full potential.
The body and mind are inextricably
connected. Enter raw foods.
This is not to say that raw food is the answer
to depression, nor to accuse cooked food of
being the cause. But it may be that nutrition is
an important piece of the depression puzzle
that has been overlooked.
When one embarks on a raw food diet, some
of the first foods that are given up are refined
sugars and carbohydrates, caffeine, and
alcohol. These substances are anti-nutrients;
they fail to provide the body with anything
necessary. In addition, following a raw, organic
vegan diet provides the most healthful,
nutrient-dense foods available. Raw vegetables
and fruits, seeds and sprouted nuts are all
highly digestible (your body can only make
use of what it can digest) and extremely
nutritious. There is much evidence to support
the notion that deficiencies in zinc, magnesium,
calcium, selenium, B vitamins, vitamin C and
essential fatty acids can cause depression,
anxiety and other mental health and learning
disorders. Although raw foods alone don’t
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provide all of the nutrients suggested by the
RDA standards, conscientious raw foodists
nonetheless seem to enjoy abundant health.
This is likely due to their higher levels of
enzyme intake and better digestion and
absorption. An additional factor may be that
the nutrients aren’t countered by the
consumption of products such as sugar, wheat
and alcohol, allowing the body (and mind) to
function optimally.
Another factor contributing to depression is
blood sugar imbalance, which is an unfortunate
side effect of the Standard American Diet
(SAD). Symptoms may include depression,
irritability, forgetfulness, inability to concentrate
and temper outbursts. The consumption of
refined sugars and carbohydrates (breads,
cereals, white pastas, cakes etc.) leads to a
“spiking” of the blood sugar, inevitably
followed by a crash in which the individual
suffers from one or all of the above symptoms,
and usually feels desperately hungry. This is
often remedied by eating more of these same
foods as a quick fix. Thus, a vicious cycle
ensues which can leave its victims on the
doorstep of diabetes and obesity. The
consumption of a plant-based raw food diet
helps promote normalized blood sugar levels,
and while there are natural sugars in fruit the
absorption is slowed by the presence of fiber.
When one begins on a raw food diet, dried
fruits, fruit juices and natural sweeteners like
raw honey should be used in moderation – and
ideally taken along with a plant protein – to slow
the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream.
Another benefit of going raw is that most
allergenic foods are taken out of the diet. Foods
like wheat, pasteurized dairy, eggs, sugar,
shellfish, food additives and other such
allergens are simply not on the raw menu. Food

...Instead of spiraling downward, I feel a sense of calm
sensitivities and intolerances occur when we
can’t properly digest the food we eat. Reactions
can result anywhere from one hour to several
days after ingestion. The tiny undigested
particles enter our blood stream
microscopic holes in our gut, a scenario known
as “leaky gut” syndrome. The immune system
views the food particles in the bloodstream as
foreign invaders and mounts an immune
response, known as an allergic reaction.
Allergic symptoms can be manifested in
many ways, but depression, moodiness,
anxiety and irritability can be some of the most
common. To make matters worse, the foods we
are most sensitive to are usually the exact foods
we crave! When some of these undigested
foods (proteins in particular) enter the
bloodstream, they look similar to – and can be
mistakenly recognized by the body as –
endorphins and enkephalins. These
two chemicals are the body’s
natural pain killing substances, so
when you eat these allergenic
foods, the body may be tricked
into thinking it is receiving
something it needs. When these
foods are taken out of the diet a
person can go through withdrawal
symptoms similar to that caused
by an addictive drug.
Once the offending food is
removed from the diet, and
withdrawal symptoms have passed,
the allergic reactions taper off and
the body can begin to heal itself.
purelydelicious.net
Po s t H o l i d ay B l u e s
With all of the positives of the raw food diet,
there can be a few areas of concern. Certain
nutrients are harder to obtain such as vitamin D,
zinc, iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. Some raw
via foodists may become aware that they are not
getting enough of one or more of these
nutrients. The remedy might be, a good quality
supplement or a review of current diet habits.
In the case of vitamin D – which is essential for
serotonin synthesis – ample time outdoors in
the sunlight is helpful to address a deficiency.
Essential fatty acids are also important
nutrients for the brain and have been shown to
help combat depression. Although there are
many vegetable sources of both Omega 3s and
6s, if one is suffering from depression, food
sources alone may not be enough to correct
the deficiency. Finally, the dreaded “P” word: it
is important to make sure enough protein is
being consumed, especially
sources of tryptophan like nuts,
seeds (or raw dairy products).
Without ample tryptophan the body
cannot manufacture serotonin,
which can be a cause of depression.
Depression is a complicated
matter. There are many causes and
as many treatments. It is important
to understand that although going
raw helps many people combat
depression, it may not be enough
for everyone. Please consult your
doctor or healthcare professional
before making any changes in
your diet or medications.
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