Eat Dance Live

FINALLY! A place to get some raw eats in Ottawa! On Saturday, Natasha Kyssa's Simply Raw Express opened its doors in the Hintonburg neighbourhood (989 Wellington West to be exact). It's a welcome change from the pubs and meat joints lining up the rest of the street, except the Table Vegetarian Restaurant which was our Hintonburg haunt until now. Whenever I check out a new place making the "healthy" claim, I'm always curious to see how far they take their ethic and Simply Raw Express definitely goes the whole mile. Aside from offering fresh and organic raw vegan foods to go, the restaurant really lives up to its claim: reclaimed wood tables and service counter, compostable to-go containers, cork lamps, eco-friendly washroom products, and more. If you're not a raw vegan, don't be frightened! To bring health and veggies to the Ottawa area, Simply Raw also offers some cooked vegan options including a daily soup or a quinoa bowl. If you have any question...

Does the phrase, "I'll have the salad dressing on the side please" ever get a little tiring for you? Ever feel like your social life has become slightly more difficult because you've chosen to stop eating unhealthy or cooked foods, but don't know anyone else who has made those changes too? Look no further! If you're in the Ottawa area, and whether you are a die-hard 100% raw foodie or just at the beginning of your raw journey, check out the monthly SimplyRaw Potluck , hosted by Raw Food Coach, Natasha Kyssa , on the last friday evening of every month. This friday, we ended our first month of 2011 by making it to SimplyRaw's January potluck, and did we ever come out with our bellies full! It was amazing to be able to go out for a night and actually know that if you wanted to, you could eat every dish laid out on the table. Our contribution? A 100% organic and raw apple crumble (yes, these will all be less than fantastic phone photos): filling: dehydrated ap...

Though this is coming slightly belated: Happy Halloween/Day of the Dead/ Samhain to all! Hope you all had an amazing weekend, I certainly did! It's funny how during certain times of the year, we are compelled to make changes in our lives. For some it's at the turn of the calendar year, on their birthday, or before bikini season starts, I have always tended to want to make resolutions in the Fall, and that time has come yet again. I don't know if it's because I've now been a perennial student for the past 20 years (holy crap! I just realized that when I wrote it... scary...) or just because I love Fall, but there's something about the leaves turning and the way the air smells that strikes me as a call to action. More than that, it's the time when I've made resolutions that I've actually stuck to more than during any other time of the year. So for the Celtic New Year, as market stalls are closing down for the winter here in Ottawa, and as I can feel th...