Toronto book tour

This past week has been quite the whirlwind and the action hasn’t stopped since arriving! Until yesterday, I was staying with Patti, creator of Essene bread and organizer of the North York Region raw meetup group. Patti is also my dear, energetic friend and gracious host who not only drove me to my signings but juiced and blended greens for us every day. Being on crutches, I couldn’t have done this tour without her assistance, and I’m very grateful for all her help and company. By the way, Patti (in picture below with Francesco) will be joining us at our July potluck with her famous sprouted bread and other prepared raw snack foods (croutons, kale chips, crackers, banana brittle!) so don’t miss this one.  If you wish to order her hand-crafted Essene loaves, please contact her at rawfood@rogers.com.

The best part of doing a book tour is truly meeting all the wonderful people along the way.  Since being in the Toronto area, I’ve made some lovely new friends including Wendy from Wendy’s Organic Wheatgrass, Connie of SecondNatureNutrition (see pic below), the hipsters from Rawlicious, Master Sprouter Elizabeth (check out her beautiful sprouts at the Saturday Waldorf Market), and the dashing Francesco – raw chef extraordinaire and owner of MakeItRaw. Franceso makes stellar pies, crackers, cookies and a raw burger that comes complete with lettuce and tomato in a dehydrated bun – just like the cooked version – only so much better!

I did a signing at Live Cafe the other night and it was such a treat to share a fabulous meal with new and old friends. As always, the conversation was lively and inspiring, and the food stimulating to the senses. Everything on the menu was incredibly tempting (it’s been so long!) and I had a difficult time deciding what to order, so Patti &  I shared a dish of “spaghetti with neat balls” and “pizza” – both incredibly flavorful.  I also had a green juice (very pricey for such a tiny glass!) and ordered take-out: a  delectable, creamy piece of tiramisu to indulge in later on at my hotel. Wow.  If you haven’t yet tried Live, please do so – the culinary experience is totally worth the drive to Toronto. 

Although it’s nice to indulge once in awhile — my body always feels best when eating a simple diet of oxygen-rich living foods. Sprouts, wheatgrass juice, algaes, fermented foods and greens are my staples and the longer I live this way, the less I am inclined to compromise even if traveling or inconvenienced by crutches.  In fact, since staying at the hotel, I’ve been taking the subway up to Noah’s on Bloor St. for my daily liter of fresh green juice which certainly hasn’t been easy to access while on crutches.  Getting around the big city with a broken leg has been an exhausting, eye-opening experience and my burning palms and throbbing leg can attest to that!

today’s food log:

• 6 ozs E3live
• 1 liter green juice (cucumber, kale, celery)
• chlorella
• 2 TBSP bee pollen
• Bio Superfood Micro Algae, X-cell-R8
• dark cherries
• smoothie (fresh orange juice, banana & Quantum Superfood)
• chicory salad with hijike, alfalfa, sunflower greens, azuki and mung sprouts
• raw coconut banana pie 

yesterday’s log:

• 4 ozs E3live
• 2 TBSP bee pollen
• chlorella tablets
• green smoothie (mango, sunflower greens, bok choi, chia)
• bowl of cherries
• Bio Superfood Micro Algae
• green juice (kale, dandelion, cucumber))
• Live Spaghetti with neat balls/Raw Pizza
• piece of tiramisu

So, tonight was the final part of my tour: a talk and signing at McNally Robinson, the lovely new book store located at Lawrence and Don Mills.  The group was very receptive, with lots of questions and keen interest in detoxification & the living foods lifestyle.  Thanks to Indra for hosting the event, and to Peter who was kind enough to go out of his way – driving me all the way there and back!

Cheers!

(Who needs room service?  )