If you don’t take care of your body - the most magnificent machine you’ll ever be given - where will you live?

That’s the signature signoff line by Karyn Calabrese, a raw food advocate and owner of two restaurants and a specialty grocery store on Chicago’s near north side. The 63-year-old touts her svelte body, high energy, and model-good looks as living proof that a life with raw foods leads to a vibrant healthy life. She’s also an ace marketer with branded products, healthy eating programs and freshly prepared raw foods.

What It Is and Isn't

The raw food diet consists mostly of raw fruits, vegetables and nuts – no animal products. Foods are shredded, soaked and dehydrated to maintain healthful enzymes which are destroyed when cooking over 120-degrees. Therefore, a trip to you favorite sushi bar would not be considered a raw food experience nor would that beef Carpaccio. But if you think raw foods are bland and boring, a trip to Karyn’s Raw will likely change your mind.

At her bi-monthly seminars, Karyn presents her journey and personal success with raw foods. As you listen to her impassioned presentation, you’ll sample some of her foods. We enjoyed a smoothie made of almond nut milk with vanilla, dates and bananas; an “egg salad” made with coconut meat, onion, celery, pine nuts and other ingredients on dehydrated barley white bread; and sweet treats including a lemon cake. All raw, all tasty.

While it’s certainly debatable that a raw food diet will cure all that ails you, it is clear that upping your fruit and vegetable intake will go a long way toward a healthier you. She and other raw food proponents are quick to say you needn’t go raw overnight. In fact, you shouldn’t.

“If you pull everything out right away, you’re going to walk around with cravings and be uncomfortable,” explained Kayrn Calabrese. “My main quest is for people to be joyful through any transitions that they are making.”

You might start by eliminating dairy for a week or two, or simply by adding some raw foods to your existing diet.

Karyn's Raw Restaurant

The modestly adorned restaurant adjacent to the grocery store has comfy high banquettes, linen tablecloths and seats about 40 people. The menu can be a bit confusing with items listed as Pad Thai, a cheese plate and pasta primavera. Remember, this is raw food – no cooked noodles, no dairy. So how is this culinary trickery achieved? Through careful blending of spices, herbs and raw foods ingenuity.

The Pad Thai was made with sliced coconut “noodles” in a peanut sauce with marinated shiitake mushrooms, julienned peppers, and shredded carrots – drizzled with cilantro oil. The flavor blended well and rivals conventional Pad Thai. The pasta primavera was a bit disappointing in that the “noodles” (slivers of zucchini), were rather slimy and the macadamiapine nut sauce was a bit bland. Karyn’s Famous House Salad deserves praise and is an ideal starter to share or as a meal. Her Caesar dressing is perfect atop the freshly-shredded cabbage, hearts of romaine, shiitake mushrooms, sprouts and asparagus.

Yes, You Can

The foods at Karyn’s are a bit expensive. In the restaurant, starters average $8; salads $10 and entrees $13. The grocery items will also give you pause in these economic times. But the foods are also quite good and good for you. For example, the kale chips will set you back $15, but the crisp sweet and salty treat won’t make you feel guilty nor will they make you fat. It’s also important to note that the food at Kayrn’s is organic when available, which according to Calabrese is approximately 95 percent of the time.

Incorporating raw foods into your life needn’t be expensive, though. Think fresh fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. You can blend, soak and sprout your own fairly easily. A good starter recipe book would be by the grandmother of living foods movement, Dr. Ann Wigmore, Recipes for Longer Life. First printed in 1982, it’s a legendary, albeit dated, standard in the world of raw and living food proponents.

So whether you start by adding a few extra veggies to your plate or by simply making a trip to Karyn’s, know that you are taking healthful steps that can bring you more energy and better health for life. If that doesn’t work, take a look at 63-year-old Karyn Calabrese and you just might want to give raw foods a try.

Raw Food Beginnings

Dr. Ann Wigmore is credited as the first to spread the gospel of raw foods. Back in the 1960s, she pioneered the use of wheatgrass juice and living foods for detoxifying and healing the body, mind, and spirit. Her institute in Rincon Puerto Rico, features retreats and educational programs dedicated to the Living Foods Lifestyle. For more information visit www.annwigmore.org.

Karyn’s Fresh Corner Café

The café uses whole fresh foods and organic whenever possible. The meals are generally high in fiber and low in fat. To learn how to prepare healthy foods, check out her classes which are given throughout the year.

Karyn’s Vegan Raw Restaurant and Café/Grocery
1901 N Halsted Street; 312.255.1590
Restaurant:
Open daily: 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sunday Brunch: 11:30 a.m. to 3:330 p.m.
Café/Grocery:
Open daily: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

To check out all things about Karyn, go to www.karynraw.com.