Based in Los Angeles, Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen cookbook is extremely popular due to Ani’s sensational recipes coupled with her easy-going and assessable personality – it’s a winning team! We spoke with her recently about all things vegan, raw and healthy.

Abolitionist: What advise can you offer for the best insight into going raw?

Ani: Notice that we already enjoy eating fresh fruits, salads, guacamole, salsas, gazpacho, and trail mixes containing nuts and seeds. So incorporating more of those fresh foods into any diet isn’t that huge of a change. The insight I'd like to share is to have fun, be forgiving, and don't strive for perfection. I don't encourage a 100% raw diet overnight. Just do the best you can everyday. Each day, as you incorporate more and more fresh organics into your diet, notice that you feel lighter, more energized, happier. Then it only makes sense we want to feel this good each day, if not better. Take it all one step at a time. Health is a lifelong pursuit. All or nothing extremist attitudes can cause stress that's less than healthy.

The most often asked question about raw eco cuisine is: How do I get started? So let me ask you Ani: How do you get started on raw?

The easiest way to get started is by including a large green salad and / or a smoothie or shake with your meals. Enjoy your shake or salad first. This will fill you up with fiber and water, and will give your body nutrients your body needs to function, fight disease, and will make you look and feel your best. The nutrient rich fresh salad and / or shake will satisfy your body, and you'll find yourself eating much less of the cooked portion of your meal. You can see how eating more fresh raw foods helps to keep our body at its ideal weight.

Your own experience has devised a technique that doesn’t insist on the 100% ‘raw or nothing approach.

I believe in moderation. Extremes and striving for perfection causes stress that's less than healthy. Not everyone is ready to go 100% raw overnight. Many factors come into play like family history, climate where we live, what we have been eating our entire lives.

I encourage everyone to strive for better and better health. This is a continuum. One day the meat eater may decide to become vegetarian, then vegan. Eating processed tofu fake meats is still better than eating hormone infused beef. At some point, one may decide to cut down on the junk food vegan treats, and swap them out for whole fresh organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, decreasing intake of white sugar and white flour. Both sugar and flour cause inflammation in our body, so you'll notice yourself shrinking when you eliminate them from your diet.

Can everybody benefit from raw foods?

Yes, everyone will benefit from including more fresh whole organic foods into any diet. The fiber acts as the broom sweeping through our system, while the water washes us clean from the inside out. We are taught at a young age to wash our clothes, clean our rooms, even clean our cars, but never are we taught personal hygiene. The cleaner our insides are, the healthier we are. Raw whole fresh foods are naturally detoxifying and cleansing, strengthen our immune system, and keep us at our ideal weight.

Ani, talk about your recipes because they are obviously original yet
assessable and truly are the mark of an original chef.

My recipes used to be complex, requiring a long list of ingredients and hours or days of preparation. Today, my recipes use only a few ingredients processed together quickly. I've found the less ingredients, the simpler the recipe, the more each ingredient's flavor shines through. With my busy schedule, I just don't have the time to make myself elaborate meals each day. So the recipes I share reflects the way I eat everyday. Fast, easy, nutritious and delicious. Mother nature is perfect.

Name your favourite recipes for us.

Hard to name favorite recipes. Hum, let's see... I just made Save the Salmon Patties from my book last night. They are sooo good. I doubled the batch so I could share with friends and family, and eat them for a few days (see end of the interview for the recipe). My favorite is raw food desserts. I guess that's what inspired my next book: "Ani's Raw Food Desserts", Available early May 09. Last night I made up some crumble crust, from my Mango Cobbler recipe in my book, and sliced up apples onto a plate. Then sprinkled on the crumble on top. See, laziness...but delicious and easy!

How much did your relationship with animals play in becoming a raw food chef and fabulous author?

I was raised on mostly raw foods and Korean food, which is heavily vegan anyways. When I made the decision in college to cutout red meat, it was simply because I didn't prefer the flavor or texture. Over the years, I've made the connection with animals. Looking into the eyes of my dog, I see her soul. And it's not any different from a human soul. A soul is a soul, period. I watch my pooch dream, feel joy and excitement, even feel occasional fear. I also realised at one point that if I was cooking up a meat dish, and cut my finger off, and it fell into the food, it would blend right in. Okay, that's gross, but true.

What are your views on meat eating and climate change?

The biggest impact we have on our planet is through our food choices. We can choose to leave behind a path of destruction, or a path of life. Place whole fresh organic food into the earth and you'll grow a plant. All that I have left after preparing a meal is organic compost, which turns into rich soil to grow more food.

From your website, great article: Climate Change, Meat Eating and the Environment. Noam Mohr from EarthSave interviewed by Claudette Vaughan --

"A University of Chicago study found that, even without considering the effect of aerosols or additional emission from raising animal feed, switching from the average American diet to a vegan diet would save 50% more greenhouse gas emissions than switching from the average American car to a hybrid Prius. Getting rid of animal agriculture would mean getting rid of the biggest source of observed global warming. It is probably the most powerful thing we can do as individuals to address this crisis."

What are some of the essential tools in the kitchen you’ll need for live food cuisine?

Blender. My favorite everyday blender for just myself is the Personal Blender by Tribest Corp. It's reasonable in price, and great for sauces, drinks, soups, dressings. A larger more powerful blender is nice to have later on. Next tool is the food processor. Not necessary, but will cut down on hand chopping. Makes it super fast to prep food. Many other tools like the dehydrator, zester, juicer are all nice to have, but not critical at first. Over time, as you make more and more food, you'll see having the right tools makes prep time easier and faster.

What’s happening at your Company Smart Monkey Foods?

Smart Monkey Foods started out as an events and catering company in 1999-2000 in Los Angeles area. Over time, it grew into a prepared packed foods company. Then I moved it to Portland,OR for 4 years, where it grew into classes, events, cafe, retreats, catering, fresh prepared foods, and then eventually a line of 4 fruit and nut bars. The SMF offices are now based in San Francisco, CA. And I'm based in Los Angeles.

Any last thoughts?

My next book is a raw vegan desserts book, and will be available everywhere in early May 09. I continue to work on my shows, online and soon to be on TV. My latest videos have been shot for the VCN Hollywood Reporter online, as well as the new VegNewsMagazine website. And recently, I was invited onto Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Travel Channel's flagship show.

You can keep track of my latest videos, recipes, and news on my website:

Last thoughts: love yourself, laugh lots, have fun, and enjoy life.

THE RECIPES

Save-The-Salmon Patties with Hollandaise Sauce
(from "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen", p 193. Courtesy of author, Ani Phyo)
Makes 4 servings

Patties

* Pulp from 5 peeled and juiced carrots
* 1 batch Sunny Dill Cheeze (page 164, and below)
* 2 Tablespoons yellow onion, chopped
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 Tablespoon dulse flakes

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Use your hands or a 2 Tablespoon scooper to
portion onto dehydrator trays. No Teflex necessary. Dehydrate 4-5 hours, to desired
consistency.

Sunny Dill Cheeze

* 2 cups sunflower seeds
* 2 cloves garlic
* juice of 1 lemon
* 1 bunch dill
* 1/2 cup water, as needed

Place sunflower seeds and garlic into food processor, and process into small pieces.
Next, add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Hollandaise Sauce

* juice of 3 lemons, about 6 Tablespoons
* 1/3 cup water
* 2/3 cup almond
* 1/3 teaspoon turmeric
* 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

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Orange Cranberry Acai Sauce

1 x 100g Acai frozen package, thawed
12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinse well
1 teaspoon orange zest, from 1 orange
1 cup medjool dates, pitted

In your food processor, place Sambazon Acai, cranberries, orange zest, and dates. Pulse to mix well. Avoid over processing into a puree, you want to keep the chunks in your sauce.

Will keep for 2-3 days in your fridge.

Variation: For a bit of crunch, add 1/4 cup walnuts, and/or a teaspoon of cinnamon
to your recipe. For a sweeter sauce, add 1-2 Tablespoons agave syrup, to taste.

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Apricot Kream filled Acai Tartlets

Apricot Pudding
makes about 1 cup (about 8-9 servings)

* 2/3 cup dry apricots
* 1/3 cup cashews
* 2/3 cup filtered water
* 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1 Tablespoon pitted Medjool dates

Place everything in high-speed blender, blend smooth.

Acai Tartlets
makes 9 x 2 Tablespoon tartlet cups

* 1 1/2 cups cashews, measure first, then process into fine powder
* 2 Tablespoons Acai powder
* pinch sea salt, to taste
* 1/3 cup pitted and packed Medjool dates
* 2 Tablespoons liquid cacao butter

Process cashews, salt, acai with dates, mix well. Add liquid butter and mix well.

Line small tartlet pans with plastic. Place 2 Tablespoons of mixture into tartlet pan, press firmly, leaving a cavity in center to hold the Apricot Kream. Place in freezer to firm up for at least 20 minutes or more.

To assemble, remove tartlets from freezer. Scoop 2 Tablespoons Apricot Kream into each tartlet cup. Sprinkle with cacao nibs (optional), and serve.

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Ani Phyo
Author of "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy Delectable Living Food Recipes" and"Return on Design: Smarter Web Design That Works"

Watch Ani's uncooking shows at: http://www.AniPhyo.com