A woman transformed!
As you know, I am currently in San Francisco working on some interesting projects and finding out what is new and exciting in the vegan world. I covered the 2013 Vegan Iron Chef and was so inspired by the winning menu. It consisted of some very innovative and enticing looking raw food (food not heated above degrees to ensure optimum nutrition and vitality) dishes.
Lisa Books-Williams was the chef behind the raw menu. Her humble and sweet nature had me thinking how great it would be to meet her. Well, wishes certainly do come true! Lisa saw my blog post of the event and contacted me, to invite me to a special presentation dinner of her winning menu. I was pinching myself at my good luck and fortune!
A week later I went along to meet Lisa in Alameda, a pretty island town, just a nub of a place really, spitting distance from mainland Oakland. The sun was shining and warming my bones as I rode my bike to an awesome location. A house sitting by the waterside.
Happily, I found Lisa just as warm and magnetic in real life. She was a hive of activity in the kitchen, letting us in on her cooking secrets and enthusing about plant-based living. She is a living testament to a high raw diet. Currently, her diet is based about 40-50% raw, on average. However, her diet tends to change a little with the seasons. When it is cold she eats more cooked, and when it is hot she tends towards a higher raw diet.
Lisa used adopted a plant-based diet in 2005 in a effort to regain control over her health. The vegan diet help her drop a whopping 100 lbs. She is still loosing lbs and reaching her optimum weight goal, not through dramatic dieting but buy a change in attitude and lifestyle. Her vitality is evident to all. The results she was getting in reaching her ideal weight, gaining control over her life, and the new and exciting foods she was eating, spurred Lisa on to share her love of this lifestyle with others. She gained her chef certification with Greenivore and her passion helped her win Best of Raw in NYC in 2010
When she is not winning Vegan Iron Chef, Lisa runs a successful event and private catering business Thrive Holistic. In addition she regularly runs plant-based nutrition classes for Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City. Her therapeutic vegan cooking classes are also taught in local hospitals and to persons with disabilities in institutionalised care facilities. As well as a some local classes in Pleasanton. When does this girl stop for breath!
It is her desire to show, not just women how want to get fit, be happier, have more clarity and energy but everyone, to see how a plant-based diet is sustainable and joyful in every way.
Since winning Vegan Iron Chef SF she has been inundated with offers, and she has lots of projects in the proverbial pipeline. She has even been asked to go to China to present at the World Congress on Health and Nutrition in October 2013. She is also hoping to take her expertise to Europe and offer her classes on a special tour.
If you want the chance to sample her award winning menu she is hosting her Vegan Iron Chef Dinner in Alameda on 4/28. Contact [email protected] and book your place. Spaces are limited.
Lisa is also presenting at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day this weekend. - 4/20
Below is a snippet of the day. I hope you enjoy the video.
Below is a snippet of the day. I hope you enjoy the video.
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