They say it takes a village to raise a child.
Meet your new neighbors.

Tera Warner, Founder

Tera Warner started this community as a place for moms to come together to share wisdom and tips for healthy living. Raising children on fresh food isn't easy when we're surrounded by French fries and milk is subsidized in schools.

We're not here to tell you what not to eat, or tell you who's wrong and who's right when it comes to nutritional information and advice. The one thing that all doctors and nutritionists and health gurus can agree upon is that we should all be eating more fruits and vegetables for better health.

So around here, we take that pretty seriously. Around here we eat A LOT of fruits and vegetables.

So rev up your blenders, pack a few apples in your purse and see what happens when you leave grapes, pears and celery sticks on your counter for the kids instead of corn chips.

There are easy tips, tools and tricks that help make "healthy" living a fun thing to do and while you don't need to send your stacks of nutritional books into the recycling bin just yet, we do encourage you to embrace a simple, playful, guilt-free approach to healthy living.

Sign up for our Wisdom Nuggets and we'll help get you started.

Fiona Hollis, Director

Fiona Hollis joins the Raw Mom team to help grow this wonderfully green community. She lives in Surrey, UK, with her soul mate and 3 children. Luca was four when Fiona started on her raw path. He loves drinking green juices and is quite the fruit bat. Her step children, Tom, and Phoebe are early teens and a little less enthused about the world of raw! Her soul mate, Mike, took to raw really easily – so she is lucky to have the support that many health conscious moms don’t have! This household sure loves to juice.

Fiona’s raw journey started as an urgent quest to self-heal.

Diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, Fiona refused surgery and discovered the natural healing power of greens and emotional release. During this period she found herself part of an incredible raw community. The support she felt overwhelmed her, and she channelled her desire for truth, nutrition and colour into her own site, www.iloveraw.co.uk - a free resource for people interested in the benefits of raw food.

We are all on our own separate paths, but through our law of attraction, our soul's desires lead us to find one another. When we are honest about how we feel; humble in taking responsibility for what we have created; and truthful to those around us - we can truly feel all of our passions and desires. It is then that we are able to co create such wonderful things – such as this site!

Being a woman is no better than being a man – we are equal. But to be a woman is to be celebrated and worn with pride. We have vital responsibilities to our children to help grow them in the most beautiful way possible. We can only make choices based on the information we have. That’s why it is so important to provide information in ways which excite and engage us!

Karen Ranzi

Author and lecturer, Karen Ranzi has recently authored and published her much anticipated new book, Creating Healthy Children: Through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods.

Karen has been interviewed on TV and radio on the topics of vegetarian and raw food parenting. For the past eleven years, she has presented her class “Creating Healthy Children” at numerous seminars, festivals and health institutes throughout the United States - an empowering, transformational workshop that can revolutionize the way your kids eat! Karen recently presented “Creating Healthy Children” during 10 talks in 8 days on a Florida book tour, including a class she taught for the health educator students at Hippocrates Health Institute. She has presented at Raw Spirit Festival 2007 and 2008 in Sedona, 2009 in Maryland, and will be a presenter in 2010 in Prescott, AZ.

Karen is the Co-Founder of the non-profit organization, Health Liberties Network, which was organized to protect the freedoms of individuals and families in their health care choices. Karen has been the Coordinator of the New Jersey Raw Food Support Network from 2006 until present, and she led the Accent on Wellness raw lifestyle support group in Manhattan from 1996 to 2006. Karen found the natural path that enabled her son to heal from asthma, chronic ear infections and allergies.  She has maintained a 100% raw vegan diet since 1994.

In addition to her work in vegan nutrition, Karen holds a Masters degree in speech pathology from New York University, and is a speech therapist working with children of all ages for over 30 years, specializing with autistic children for the past 8 years. She has found that switching to raw plant foods has the ability to heal children of learning disability, attention deficit disorder and autism. By means of her education, life-changing personal experiences, and sincere desire to share her message, Karen has been able to guide thousands toward developing excellent health.

Carissa Leventis-Cox

I always wanted to make people happy.  I realized that it was through food that I wanted to accomplish this, so I applied to a culinary school.  I graduated with The Outstanding Achievement Award from The Art Institute and found a job at what was then one of the top 10 best restaurants in the US according to Conde Nast.  I was asked to be the sous-pastry chef in less than a year, but decided I wanted to make people HAPPY AND HEALTHY through food.  I quit the restaurant business and turned to my own personal chef and catering business, which was geared towards people with health issues.  At the same time, I also was certified as an Ayurvedic Nutrition Therapist through the European Vedic Institute, which helped me combine my love for making others happy and healthy through cooking.  I created recipes for Yoga For Cancer: Esoteric, Yogic and Dietary Remedies.  Writing the book was an eye opener.  If 46% of people in the USA have cancer, how could I prevent my family from the disease?  The answer is clear: through a high raw vegetable diet.

I have become passionate about sharing and writing on my blog The Cardinal Foods about my trials in transitioning my family into the raw diet and about the foods I have created that my husband and son actually enjoy eating. My husband doesn’t really like to eat and my son has had multiple allergies and a health scare, which all have helped me focus on the health and palatability of our food at home.

I do have my dream job now: making sure I have healthy food for the people I love the most.  My wish is to also share what I have learned with people who are willing to hear it as I continue to seek information that better our lives.  I am very happy and grateful to be part of the Raw Mom Team. Salute!

Joanne Newell

Once upon a time, two little angels called Arabella and Evangeline held hands, looked down over the earth, pointed, looked at each other, giggled, and said, “She’s the one!”. They chose Joanne Newell to be their mum – and she’s so glad they did!

Joanne is a 38-year-old mum to 7-year-olds Evie and Bella; she’s in love with a handsome boy called Darren; she lives in one of the most blessed countries on earth; and she works as a recipe-book writer and freelance book editor. With the help of her daughters, she authored the first-ever raw food recipe book written exclusively for children; Monkey Mike's Raw Food Kitchen: An Uncookbook for Kids. She lives in Melbourne, Australia, and loves sharing the gift of raw foods with anyone who’ll listen.

She works hard at being a good mum, and knows that being able to do this relies on looking after herself – taking quiet, solitary time, exercising, and eating well. She wants to be not just a good example to her children, but an absolute inspiration! Oh, and having fun is a big part of the equation. After all, apart from growing and learning, isn’t having fun the main reason why we chose to take a ride on this beautiful planet we call earth?

She’s honoured to be a member of the Raw Mom team, to be able to beam out messages of love, compassion, kindness, and inspiration – all while never truly knowing how these messages positively affect people’s lives. She also loves being a part of this supportive community of absolutely amazing mums from around the globe!

Joanna L. Steven

Joanna was born in France, where she lived for many years before moving to Iowa after marrying her American born husband Matthew. She is a Law graduate from the Rene Descartes Law School of Paris (France), and holds a BS in Psychology from Iowa State University. She is currently working on her Masters in Psychology as well as her Clinical Nutrition degree.

After becoming a vegetarian in 2003, she discovered the raw diet after reading an interview by Tonya Kay on bodybuilding.com. She now eats a high raw diet with a big emphasis on leafy greens and chlorophyll rich foods – often having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! She is also happily addicted to raw kale chips.

Aside from writing for the Raw Divas and Raw Mom blogs, she has published several eBooks (the Raw Nutritional Analysis serie) (http://kayosmarket.com/#2) with Tonya Kay, and regularly blogs (joannasteven.blogspot.com) about raw foodism. She was also published in the Spring 09 edition of Get Fresh! magazine.

Joanna is the co-owner of the online store Sirova, where she sells affordable raw, organic food and more.

In her free time, she enjoys growing organic veggies in her backyard, and endlessly spoiling her cats and husband. She also loves feeding green smoothies, creamy raw cakes and other raw delights to her friends, and watch them enjoy every last bite!

Marie-Claude

I am Marie-Claude living in Montréal with my partner and our 3 children!  Élodie is 7, Félix 5 and Siméon 5 months!

I'm an artist who expresses my passion through drawing, painting and creating clothes.  I actually make a living out of being a fashion designer, a small business I created after my 1st son was 2 and had to go back on the job market.  It was a dream I had since I was a little girl!!!  and here I am making clothes for women so they can be beautiful and comfortable! It was right after the birth of my third child that I felt the urge for living foods! I read a lot about the subject but what kept my attention is the simplicity of the green smoothies!!!!  And here I am a certified green smoothie addict since then!!!

After only 4 months my kids eat mountains of veggies, sometimes taste my smoothies even ask to make some but the greatest is that they are interested because they see me going! My spouse is always sneaking on my smoothies and starting to make some himself!

Jamie Abrams

I am a 29-year-old raw-yoga-mom-domestic-guru-ess to a sparkly little fellah called Zenchai (3) as well as being herb-salad-dressing-maker, resident sprouter and wife to a handsome man. We live in the metropolis of London (UK) with great aspirations of escaping the rat race to a raw eco-sustainable community.

My glittery tool bag is full of dazzling gizmos seeped in rich experiences including: Health & Wellness B.A., Business A.A., certification in Integral Yoga, Thai yoga massage practitioner, Health Educator, aromatherapy, plus I studied childbirth education, traditional Chinese medicine along with tuina, qigong and taijiquan.

I am continually growing and branching out, striving to be the most blissful being ever. The near future holds a pregnancy yoga teacher training and more Anusara yoga training, so I can keep helping the women I love. I have also created a website dedicated to raw foods, yoga and mothering.

BLISS is my offering. I can’t wait to sprinkle some in your lives!

-Jamie

Belit Yisrael

Greetings
My name is Belit. I have been around the sun 44 times and currently reside in the Negev Desert in Israel. I am a raw food master of 17 years.

I am the overjoyed, dedicated, enthusiastic mother of three beautiful children, all birthed naturally, Kheftsiyah, 6, Tsahaleeyah, 4 and Shakhariyah, 2. Each represent my testimony of life and living. My passion and love for them is ony heightened by my overall acceptance of the elements which created their beings; spirit, earth, water, air and fire.

Creator/owner of "the One", Wholistic systems for the mind, body and spirit, is my realization of the connection we each have to the divine, sacred energies of the universe and this planet we call Earth.
My dedication is to share my talents with the world so that we may all be healed.

Peace...
Belit

Kemi Nekvapil.

I am English with Nigerian heritage living in Australia with my husband and two children.
I had been a professional chef and baker around the world on and off for 17 years; specialising in multicultural, vegetarian, organic food for the last 8 years of my career.
Since the birth of my children I decided to become a full time domestic goddess and in the last two years a business owner.
Food Traditions , my business aims to inspire families and communities to create traditions with food. I write, run workshops and give talks on the subject.

My introduction to raw foods was from a book my boyfriend(now husband )bought me 7yrs ago, but it was when I did a raw detox diet for 10 days after I weaned my son, that I knew I had discovered something very powerful.

Our family has a high raw diet, and we also enjoy cooked and baked foods. My aim as a mother is to nourish my children with food and sometimes that is grandma’s rice pudding ,sometimes, discovering the flavours of another land and sometimes, asking for seconds of a green smoothie!

Linda Douglas

Linda Douglas, Ph.D., R.D. is a food scientist and registered dietitian and has an extensive professional background in prebiotics, functional foods, and alternative nutrition. After finding raw foods in 2003, Linda began transitioning herself to a high raw, natural living lifestyle and introducing as much raw food as possible into her family’s meals.

Now a full-time wife and mom to 3 homeschooling children, including an autistic son, Linda is finding that playing with raw food is satisfying, rewarding, and delicious!

The Raw Mom Summit was a real turning point for Linda, and allowed her to see that she could easily blend her training and skills with natural living. Since research, writing, and food experimentation is so much a part of her life, Linda looks forward to doing her thing with raw foods!

Ruth Hofer

A 25 year old Libran who lives in tropical northern Australia, Ruth is excited about sharing her voice and snippets from her beautiful life with rawmom.com readers. She is blessed to share her life with a surfing gypsy husband who as well as being a practicing acupuncturist and musician takes the family to some of the more magical spots on the planet in search of waves.

Settled for the time being in an eco-friendly bush house in the hills behind the Gold Coast, Ruth just gave birth to her second daughter. Living by the ocean fills Ruth’s heart with such joy, and she finds much creative inspiration and spiritual solace in the sea.

Super passionate about nourishing her family with more than just food, Ruth is also a certified yoga instructor and professional artist. You can get a glimpse at some of her more crafty activities at artistruth.etsy.com. A homebirthing, babywearing mama Ruth has been traveling a lot with a baby in tow: living in Indonesia, Tahiti and Canada over the last few years and spending time in California and New Zealand too

We promise to keep you posted on the adventures of these Raw Moms. Keep an eye open, because we’ve got some fabulous releases up our sleeves and as you’ve noticed, a powerful team to make it all happen!

From the multitasking masters and health food renegades with love.