Question #1: What are some rawfood staples in your current diet? B) Are you 100% raw? C) How did you start?

I had the ideal transition experience because I didn’t regard “raw” as the holy grail but rather focused on facilitating elimination of poisons from my cells by eating in a way that maximized digestive rest so that the body could do it’s job of healing. In this way, I knew it was often preferable to eat certain cooked foods rather than certain raw foods. Raw food that are too dense or combined poorly do not exit the body any more quickly than many cooked foods and are not what I refer to in my book, The Raw Food Detox Diet, as “Quick Exit” foods. Quick Exit foods and Quick Exit meals were my measuring stick as I transitioned. For example fish and steamed vegetables are a much quicker exit choice than a raw nut burger. The fish and veggies will be much lighter in the body than the nut burger. The bottom line: the less your body expends on digestion the more it can eliminate. Elimination is the key which is lost in most of the raw food circles! So my key tools were 1) being fastidious about proper combinations per the rules in the book to ensure ease of digestion and 2) eating “light to heavy” as I describe in the book — meaning eating the lightest foods early in the day (and first in each meal) and the heavier foods later in the day. (Eating “raw till dinner” is a great way for transitioners to get the hang of this process in an enjoyable way.) Once these habits were established it was easy to eventually kick the cooked foods out almost all-together. I say “almost” because I still eat about 2-3 cooked meals/month. But my version of a cooked meal is steamed veggies over Kombu noodles topped with a high quality marinara sauce and grated raw Alta Dena goat cheese (I melt this together in the oven — it’s amazing and a real “Quick Exit” dish! ) I no longer eat any other animal product other than the raw goat cheese. But I didn’t give up fish until I realized it actually made me feel nauseous after eating it. I waited until my body said, “ok, no more of this, please!”

In terms of staples, I eat young coconuts (and use them in my raw ice creams) daily. In summer I typically only take in green juice and fruit in the daylight hours. Dinner is usually a blended soup (my favorite is the Raw Sweet Potato Soup below) and a giant guacamole salad. I almost always enjoy 1-2 cups of the chocolate ice cream for dessert! I do not eat grains or nuts any longer — again simply because my body rejects them and they lower my vibrations. But they are very useful for transitioning.

Avocados, young coconuts, all vegetables, sea vegetables, fruits and dates are the foundation of my diet.

Question #2: What is your new book, “The Raw Food Detox Diet ” about?

I like to think of The Raw Food Detox Diet as RAW DONE RIGHT. It sets the record straight about why transition and elimination of waste is SO critical to perfect health and weight. It dispells the myths about raw food and in this way makes it much more attractive to people who think this way of eating is out of their reach. I also aimed to penetrate the mainstream diet seekers and meet them at their point of need — which is weight loss. Once you get people excited about the weight loss component, it’s easy to get them psyched about the health aspects. I wanted it to be be a home base for veteran raw-fooders and newbies alike. The book is also choc-full of real life scenarios and over 80 fabulous recipes as well as menus for every transition level (1-5).

Question #3: What is the best way to detox?

Calculate your Raw Food Transition number from the test in the book to determine how “raw” you should go at your stage. This will ensure that the detoxification process is not too aggressive or uncomfortable. Then find the easiest ways for you to 1) increase your consumption of raw fruits and veggies at mealtimes and 2) create Quick Exit meals. This is all you need to do to get Natural Law releasing the poisons from your cells and tissues. The second element is ensuring removal of these poisons via sweat, lymph drainage and bowel movements. My methods of choice are infrared saunas, body brushing and gravity method colonics respectively.

Question #4: How do you come up with a recipe?

I think about what I would really like to eat — whatever that is and I think about how I can use the Quick Exit paradigm to mix ingredients to create that experience. For example, I simply do not eat grains at all but I still love italian food. So I use the kombo noodles instead of pasta or a cabbage leaf instead of pizza crust and pile high the sauce, raw cheese, basil and oregano for a sumptuous Italian meal. I never feel deprived because I truly believe that I eat tastier, more satisfying food than anyone else on this planet. I eat a gourmet meal every night — no kidding!

Question #5: Can you share a favorite raw food recipe?

Here are two of my favorites that are new since the book was released!

Raw Blended Sweet Potato Soup
32 oz carrot juice (fresh)
1 medium sweet potato (cubed, peeled)
4 dates, pitted
1 avocado (scooped out)
several dashes of pumkin pie spice

Blend until smooth. enjoy as much as you like!
Makes 4-5 cups.

Blended Creamy Tomato Soup
5 ripe Holland tomatoes (halved)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 T agave nectar
1/2 an avocado
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
garlic (opt)

Blend until smooth. You can add some chopped apple and fresh corn to make it more interesting…

Question #6: What are some quick tips or hints for raw newbies?

If you are feeling bloated or you’re not moving your bowels well, you’ve got to slow down the raw foods. Don’t over look the importance of food combining. Don’t look at other people and compare yourself. You need to honor your own process. For that matter don’t believe everything everyone tells you. You have to experiment on yourself to a certain degree. Lots of raw foodist are anti colonics but they are essential to removing deeply impacted matter and the old “demons” you draw up when you eat this way. But the right method is essential. Only use the Woods Gravity Method trained therapist which use a stainless steel speculum. Do not use the pressurized machines. These can back you up further. Raw foods alone would have left me with only partial benefits.

Also, be sure to transition at your correct level. Don’t be egotistical about this. If you take the test and you are a level 5 then follow the foods recommended at that level. You will still enjoy all the results but you will avoid bloating and other discomforts. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by what might seem a complicated approach to eating. It can be SO simple!. You can eat as simply as a raw salad for lunch with a handful of raw nuts and raisins and steamed veggies and baked sweet potatoes every night and be doing very deep cleansing work. Have fun with it. Remember this is meant to liberate you — not be another diet that holds you prisoner. If you do it right you should consistently move into a more uplifting space and find your body consistently improves in every way.

Question #7: Do you have any dental problems on the raw diet?

I never have. But then I have always had regular colonics since embarking on this lifestyle so the poisons would leave my system. My teeth are better than ever before, in fact — even though I eat 6-10 dates every day! My children also have beautiful teeth whilst all their contemporaries are getting cavities (and they even take their fresh apple juice to bed with them!).

Question #8: Where do you see the raw food movement heading?

I am certain that if mainstream Americans get this message the right way — as I believe it is laid out in The Raw Food Detox Diet it can become a widely accepted lifestyle. It is my hope that the message to these mainstreamers is one of gentleness and appreciation of their food-addictions and the necessity of gradual transition. These small steps can turn into giant leaps and save so many people from illness, overweight and begin to transform their lives in bigger ways that go beyond food but that right eating sets in motion. This movement could be the catalyst for very big changes in thought that effect policies, child-rearing and relationships across the board. If this happens there’s no limit to where our consciousness could go!

Question #9: Can you please tell us about some of your current projects you’re working on and/or developing?

My first point of focus is creating a Q&A section on my website: therawfooddetoxdiet.com to address the many inquiries about the lifestyle I receive every day. Next, I will be developing a follow up book to take enthusiasts to the next level and offer even more inspiration with recipes, testimonials and much more…

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Make no mistake, this approach (raw foods and quick exit foods) is the truth about the way we should be eating as humans. There is a lot of mis-information about health and diet and a lot of fear-breeding about protein, calorie counting, carbs, etc. Just listen to your intuition and know that instinctually you know what you should be eating and what is truly worthy nourishment for your magnificently designed body. And remember that health is not about what vitamins and minerals you put into your body but about removing the debris/waste matter that keeps your body from it’s inherent perfection.

The following interview with Natalia can also be found on Ladies Who Launch

Who Is She?

28 year-old Natalia Rose is a Clinical Nutritionist and founder of The Rose Program, a one-of-a-kind nutrition program that focuses on using natural foods to cleanse the body of toxicity, trigger weight loss and improve overall health. Different from other nutrition programs, Natalia is known for her educational trips to the health food store, one-on-one cooking lessons, and other customization methods that cater to the client’s personal tastes, health needs and lifestyle. The Rose Program also offers group sessions where members can partake in group intensive sessions and cleansing fasts in conjunction with shopping trips to Barney’s to provide motivation and distraction. Natalia runs her business out of her home office and also offers her program through phone consultations, and the Frederick Fekkai Salon and Spa. Natalia resides in New York City.

The Rose Program Philosophy:

“I teach people how to use natural foods to cleanse their bodies of the toxicity that keeps them from being as vibrantly healthy and lean as they can be. Anyone can do it — whether they travel and eat out in restaurants or run a busy household. The Rose Program focuses on consuming mostly natural foods and properly combining those foods in a way that does not overly tax the digestive system. In our culture we eat too many foods that waste our precious cleansing energies on digestion when that energy could be going to turning over new cells, healing organs and eliminating old waste matter from the body (note: excess waste matter is at the core of excess weight). This waste matter which comes from unnatural foods and pollution — things that cannot be fully utilized by our bodies is the cause of most modern-day diseases and keeps us from being the lean, vibrant, healthy beings we were born to be.”

One-on-one programs:

“My six week program is the silver bullet of health. After an initial consultation when I review the client’s health history and diet issues, the first thing we do is go to the health food store, which on one’s own can be a very confusing place because among the truly healthy offerings are just as many unhealthy ones. After leading them through the health food store isle by isle, we spend time in the kitchen where I teach them how to prepare healthy, vibrant foods that are customized to their tastes. For my Italian fans we make delicious raw pastas from zucchini. For Asian lovers, we make spring rolls and raw-vegetable sushi with unbelievably delicious dressings and sauces. I focus a lot on flavor. I attribute a lot of the program’s success to the fact that I am a foodie. I believe we should take a lot of pleasure in our food. My clients eat well, and leave the table satisfied. Eating for health and beauty should not leave one feeling deprived.”

Group sessions:

“Working in groups can be extremely motivating. I offer two kinds of group sessions—six women for six weeks and one week intensives for two hours a day. Juice fasting groups are also available to advanced clients who have been on The Rose Program for an extended period. Done as part of The Rose Program, either one-on-one or in a group is ideal and also surprisingly fun. Most fasters are amazed by how much energy they have on the second or third day of fasting on fresh vegetable juices.”

Exercise not a necessity:

“I believe in exercise but you don’t need exercise to see weight loss results on this program and the enzymes in the food help tone your body and skin. Yoga is ideal. But my favorite exercise for energy and toning is mini trampoline rebounding for 5 to 10 minutes each day.”

Background/experience:

“I grew up in Los Angeles, received my bachelors from NYU and studied nutrition at the Natural Healing institute of Naturopathy in San Diego. I used this foundation to take nutrition to the next level of deep tissue cleansing.”

Biggest challenge:

“At first, marketing on a shoestring was hard. Several years ago, nobody knew what raw foods were, but now everyone knows and wants to learn about them, so the timing was right. I believed in what I was doing from the start, which allowed me to stick with it and never give up.”

Future business growth:

“I have written a book called The Raw Food Detox Diet, which is available in bookstores everywhere. While still in a draft stage, the book contains all of my principles and my recipes, and addresses nutritional issues for every stage of life from childbearing to menopause. My goal is to find the right publisher and get it into the mainstream. I have been contemplating creating a cooking show for a cable network like the Food Network, Oxygen or WE. But most of all, I love teaching people how they can look and feel their very best while enjoying their food more than ever before.”

Personal life:

“My husband and I enjoy entertaining at home and spending buckets of playtime with our kids. I try to create boundaries between my personal life and business life—otherwise I would be talking about food 24 – 7. When you work from home it can be difficult to determine what is work time and what is family time. As a mother, your children and home will demand to come first. Gradually, you’ll find your balance. And ultimately, if mother is happy, the whole household benefits.”

Words of advice:

“Don’t invest your time and money until you have done a thorough analysis of the business. Be a pessimistic not optimistic business plan writer. Be careful what you promise people and always over-deliver.”

“Fasting America” audio interview: http://onpoint.wbur.org/2003/08/26/fasting-america

Guests:

Dr. Gabriel Cousens, founder, Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona

Natalia Rose, founder, The Rose Program and author of “Stop the Clock and Turn Back the Scale”

Dr. David Katz, Director of the Yale Prevention Research Center, Yale University, author of “The Way to Eat”

Margo Maine, psychologist and author of “Body Wars: Making Peace with Women’s Bodies”