Day 6 | Meeting up with Kristen
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you will know that I have a soul sister and her name is Kristen.
Kristen Suzanne to be precise.
She runs a very popular and one of the first raw food blogs over here and has quite a few ebooks and books that you might like to check out, as well as an awesome published book called Raw Awakening which if you pre order now, you will also get a FREE copy of her ebook Raw Transitions – perfect for the raw food beginner or trying to introduce more raw food to your family.
So Kristen and I developed an online friendship when I first delved into raw food when I was still a flight attendant out of London.
I bought her ebooks online and we got to know each other through our emails, which developed into a mentoring relationship then friendship, with Kristen being the first person I spoke to when considering going to Raw Culinary school.
Pat affectionately called us soul sisters, as we got to know each other, that we had plenty in common too.
So of course I was elated when Kristen told me she would come to visit us in Long Beach (she lives in Arizona) on our trip to LA. It would be the second time I got to see her in person (the first was here) but the first time I was able to meet her precious daughter Kamea and this time Pat was also able to meet their family.
We lunched at Long Beach’s only known vegetarian cafe, Zephyr’s – Kristen had dined there the night before so we decided to head back there the following morning!
We all ordered the popular MK works burger (black bean patty) and it was quite nice – in between trying to keep Manus entertained, you know a mother of an active child rarely enjoyed a sit down meal in a restaurant. Even this pic was snapped mid way between shoving some in my mouth and trying to pacify Manus.
The food was ok, but the service – 45 mins to get our food when we were the only ones in the cafe. Weird.
It was so lovely to chat (between looking after the kiddos) with my friend whom I wish we lived so much closer to! The food alone we could share would be incredible – she an incredible raw food chef.
After saying our sad goodbyes and sending Kristen and her family off on the last part of their road trip, we headed off on a mini road trip of our own.
The weather was overcast but we were still yet to see the local beach.
Here’s one of the local beaches at Long Beach – you can see the Queen Mary and the port in the background.
Being a Sunday, there were plenty of families playing on the beach (and in the water, which we were advised to stay out of due to the oil refineries spilling oil and possible sewerage – ew!) and also I wish I had of taken a photo of the family that were grilling on a BBQ in the back of their truck. It was pretty cool.
Then we drove further south to Huntington Beach.
After a beach side drive we ended up at, you guessed it, Whole Foods.
Check out this awesome juice bar. They even had a beer and pizza bar in this one too. NICE!
We got our token green juices and watched Manus create a lot of noise.
Before calling it quits and picking up some stuff for dinner.
I picked up the avocado and mango brown rice sushi – GREAT flavour combination!
And a seaweed salad.
Who would you really love to meet?
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Chill Out Day | SoCal Day 5
So I think it was about time we just had an easy day. With Pat heading off for some of his work (well that’s the reason we are here in the first place), Manus and I headed off to the local Whole Foods in search of some more GREEN JUICE!!!
Manus enjoying a Lara bar in the background.
And spent at least an hour in the store, just pouring over their goodies:
KOMBUCHA!!! Every flavour you can think of.
Raw snacks like cakes and cookies and kim chi.
And a whole dry stores section dedicated to RAW FOOD.
This is what I walked out with but not limited to:
Although not raw, this vegan cheese makes awesome pizza topping, which will be making it’s way in my suitcase back to Saudi. Not very nice raw but yummy melted just like Kristen’s mum made for me on my last visit to her in Arizona here (Whole Foods Long Beach even have a pizza bar where you can get made to order vegan pizza – ok it’s not the healthiest but nice to have vegan junk food options when the need arises).
Raw cheesecake
Salad bar complete with kale tangerine salad (YUMMO) and vegan egg salad made with tofu instead.
Organic & dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Reese’s eat your heart out!
Coconut water – great for hydrating and electrolytes however better if you can crack open your own coconut as this packaged stuff is pasteurised 
Seriously. This tart is heavenly. I ordered these for my passengers in private flying days, 2 years ago, on a trip to Houston and they didn’t eat them all, so of course I took them home and shared them with friends – and myself 
They were amazing and remind me of Mint Slices – an Australian chocolate covered cookie/biscuit.
And some dairy free (but not raw nor sugar free) yoghurts to check out. I am determined to make my own version of almond milk yoghurt when I get back to Saudi. I have made my own coconut yoghurt plenty of times before, you can see my recipe here
LET’S CHAT
Even though I am going a little crazy (good crazy) with all the raw packaged foods that are a plenty here, as well as the gourmet raw and vegan restaurants, I just wanted to have a little chat about my style of eating raw.
Most raw foodies will agree, that it is very exciting to be in a location where raw food is recognised and there are plenty of options both for eating out and convenience snacks like lara bars and hail merry macaroons for example, however if I lived here full time, I would be making more of my own foods, and more simple raw foods. I would most definitely be taking advantage of the beautiful and organic produce that is aplenty here in California, and using these packaged and take out foods as treats.
I know that when I feel really loaded up with heavily processed and cooked foods, all I usually crave is a crisp apple or a green juice or smoothie, so as much as it feels that some parts of the world are lacking the amounts of choices I am showing you available in LA, it is nice to make your own food and know EXACTLY what is going into it.
People ask me all the time, where can they buy raw food in their part of the world, and I say, right where you buy your fruits and vegetables. Sure it is nice to have pre made raw cakes and drinks, but raw food at its finest is as nature intended.
I wrote more about being gourmet or simple raw foodie here.
But or course, it is nice to be treated to someone else’s ‘un’ cooking for a change 
Your thoughts?
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Hollywood/Beverly Hills | SoCal Day 4
Day 4 included some mandatory tourist stops
Like the home of the Academy Awards: Kodak Theatre
This was taken 2 days ago of my husband and son.
And this photo was taken of me 7 years ago on my first trip to LA
Outside Grauman’s Chinese theatre: home to footprints and handprints of movie stars from today and days gone by.
Then of course, an obligatory picture with one of the characters on Hollywood Boulevard.
Complete coincidence that it was Jack Sparrow Mum was more impressed than Manus.
Afterwards we saw two more Johnny Depp characters – the Mad Hatter, and Willa Wonka – amazing costumes.
Then it was time to get some afternoon refreshments and some juices after a drive down Sunset Strip
Completely by chance we ended up at Wholefoods, well I am the navigator you see
And Beverly Hills at that!
Was a great 1st trip to Wholefoods for this trip, but it was a smaller one, so I only stocked up on some items to take back to Saudi, but it was Pat’s first time in a Wholefoods, and he bought oodles of supplies as well.
Then it was time to do a drive by Rodeo Drive
And Two Rodeo Drive
As we were in a driving mood, we headed back to Santa Monica where the weather had turned to misty and foggy with the mist from the ocean meeting the heat of the land.
And we went for a stroll down Venice Beach.
Californication Day 3
SPRING ROLLS avocado, kelp noodles, cabbage, and Thai herbs, in a coconut wrapper with a no-peanut sauce
and one of the daily specials – felafel wrap with a goregous crunchy little sandwich thingy on the side.
Manus insisted on paying the bill
I thought I saw Chef Juliano sitting by the kitchen working away but I wasn’t sure. I wish, I’d had the guts to say hello and tell him how MUCH we enjoyed the meal – super tasty and well seasoned!
Then it was time to head off to 3rd street promenade
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