I went raw because I saw how great my mom was doing on the living foods diet.

How do you like being raw?

I love it now. At first, I couldn't stand it because I was still so addicted to cooked foods. Raw food tasted terrible to me. I wanted all my favorite cooked foods every day! I would drive my mom crazy telling her I had to have a bag of chips or spaghetti. My mom would make me lots of green drinks because she said it was good for cravings and good for building muscle. YUCK! I drank it anyway. It took about four weeks for me to get over foods like cookies, cake, soy milk, soy foods, etc. Now I am crazy about nut milks, living pizza that my mom makes, cashew ice cream, salads, avocados, and much, much more!

How do you feel now that you are 100 percent raw?

I feel great, and everyone is always telling me I look great too. :) On cooked foods, I used to always get headaches and colds. It is so awesome to be free of that stuff now.

What's your favorite recipe?

My favorite recipe is my mom's Strawberry Banana Smoothie! It is so good, I will share it with you.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
2 cups almond or hemp milk
1 banana
3 1/2 cups frozen organic strawberries
1 cup of ice
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavor by Frontier

Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.

How do you deal with social situations?

The same way I always have. I've been a vegan all my life, so have had to deal with people thinking my lifestyle is weird. I just show them what I eat and usually my mom is happy to make stuff for all my friends. They really like her food now, so no one dares give me a hard time. I even took my meat-eating friend to a raw event with Victoria Boutenko, and [her husband] Igor put both of us to work making and serving raw food. My friend had an awesome time. He always asks me, "When's the next event?" or "What's your mom making for dinner?"

What's your advice for kids out there who want to go raw?

Well, I did this raw thing overnight, and although I wasn't crazy about doing it that way, it's probably the only way to successfully go 100 percent raw. I mean, why drag it on? After a while, you really start to like the raw stuff better than the cooked. I eat a lot of raw ice cream! That's what has made going raw fun in the end! You really just have to choose what's right for you. What's right for me isn't necessarily right for you. We're all different. Definitely eat lots of greens. Yeah, your mom was right! Greens make you healthy and strong. Raw food is exciting nowadays! There's so much to choose from, I mean, it isn't boring at all.

What do you do for exercise?

I do Choy Li Fut Kung Fu with my dad. It is intense! My dad and I practice every day to get stronger and better at it. We're almost at our yellow belt and excited about it! Our teacher practically kills us with the workouts, but the results are great. I also walk the dogs with my mom up the mountain every day.

Thanks, Ian!

You're welcome. :)

--Angela Elliott is the owner of Celestial Raw Goddess® & Nut Free Cuisine®. For more information on the Living Food Lifestyle, please visit www.celestialrawgoddess.com.

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