Emily von Euw is the creator of the award-winning food blog This Rawsome Vegan Life, where she makes, photographs and shares drool-worthy raw vegan recipes with the world. She lives near Vancouver, British Columbia and attends university while constantly working to improve her blog and recipes. Her new cookbook Rawsome Vegan Baking was released last week, and she is currently working on her second book.
When she’s not thinking up how to rawify foods like tiramisu and pizza, Emily can be found slurping green smoothies, chomping raw chocolate, studying philosophy and history, flailing passionately in night clubs, and hugging anything from trees to people to her record player.
I was lucky enough to be able to chat with Emily recently, and we talked about what most vegans talk about when they get together – food!
Chic Vegan – What motivated you to become vegan? Was it an overnight switch or more gradual shift?
Emily von Euw –– It was more of an overnight switch, as I am an all-or-nothing kinda person. I was motivated by logic, mostly. When you look at what eating animal products is doing to our planet, our fellow animals and our own bodies; you realize it’s the intelligent choice to eat a plant-based, whole foods diet. Simple as that!
CV – How long were vegan when you decided to transition to a raw diet?
EvE– I can’t really remember but I’d say I was vegan for several months before getting into raw food. I tried being 100% raw for quite some time but learned that eating a mostly raw diet is best for me.
CV – Congratulations on your new cookbook Rawsome Vegan Baking! What inspired you to write it?
EvE– Thank you! I’m so excited about it and for everyone to get it in their hands! Well, frankly my publisher getting in touch with me was the main factor; but of course I’d been dreaming of writing a cookbook for some time. Family, friends and readers had been suggesting it for ages, and I liked the idea of turning what I do on my blog – raw vegan recipe creating, food photography and quirky musings about my style of veganism – into a physical thing people could grab and have in the kitchen and on their bookshelves.
CV – Do you have any favorite recipes from your cookbook?
EvE– Hmm the Rawified Reeses Ice Cream Cake is flippin’ craaaazy. I also love the Maple Pecan Pie and the Strawberry, Agave & Mint Sorbet. Honestly though… I think every recipe is a winner.
CV – Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in trying a vegan diet but thinks it might be too difficult or expensive?
EvE– Yeah! I say this to everyone: buy in bulk; especially foods like rice and beans. Cook them in large quantities and then store them in single servings in the freezer. Keep chopped veggies, tofu, greens, sauces and soups in the fridge and then all you have to do to make one amazing meal is throw all that in a stir fry. Bam. Cheap, delicious, easy, healthy. Also, try to find out if your city has a CSA system; you can organic local produce for really low prices sometimes. If money is really tight, don’t worry about buying organic (although it is the better choice). Buy fruit on sale when it’s extra ripe and keep it in the freezer for smoothies. Grow your own food! It makes you appreciate it more, it tastes better, it’s the best quality available, and it’s super inexpensive.
CV – What recommendations would you give to someone who is interested in a raw diet but doesn’t know where to start?
EvE– Read the books Becoming Raw and Raw and Beyond. Check out raw food blogs (like mine *cough cough*) for inspiration and information about the food and lifestyle. Start by incorporating more and more fruit into your diet. Have a smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast, add huge salads to lunch and dinner, along with steamed veggies, beans, whole grains and yummy homemade sauces (just google “healthy vegan sauces” for ideas). Eventually you’ll naturally swap out your old diet with all these new whole foods and feel amazing! And eat ENOUGH! I eat SO MUCH food and I’m a perfectly healthy weight because the foods I am eating are whole foods and are great for me. There’s no such thing as a bad fruit or vegetable. Eat tons of dark leafy greens (they’re great in juice or smoothies) Eat stuff like coconut oil, nuts and cacao powder in moderation because they are more concentrated.
CV – What do you typically eat in the span of a day? Are you a snacker?
EvE– I will have juice or a smoothie after my morning exercise and only after I begin to feel hungry. This will generally be about 4-6 cups of liquid and 5-10 servings of fruits and/or veggies. I get hungry again about an hour or two later, and then I will eat a ton more fruit until I don’t feel hungry anymore. In the evening I will eat an enormous bowl salad, steamed veggies and whole grains, or more fruit (often in the form of another smoothie). I tend to go to sleep at about 11 pm and so I will have my last meal around 5 or 6 pm because I want my food to be digested by time I hit the bed, and I don’t like going to bed with a full stomach.
CV – What is your favorite vegan indulgence?
EvE– Raw chocolate. Forever.
CV – What vegan product could you not live without?
EvE– Coconut oil. Raw, unrefined, virgin, cold-pressed. I use it in all aspects of my life: in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the bedroom…
CV – In your wildest dreams what will your life look like in 5 years?
EvE– I’ll be living somewhere tropical and isolated in a “tiny house” powered by the sun that I built on a trailer bed, with a bunch of rescued animals, a garden and my soul mate. I’ll be able to live comfortably off my blog and books and also totally sustainably with the earth (of which I am a part of). I really just dream of simplicity and symbiosis. Siiigh.
