MELISSA! - I have been dying for this same kind of place too! Not all raw, but all organic and healthy - I am too stuck on beans and rice. I am always thinking of things I could serve there or I'll see a good location. Isn't it annoying to have to get three kids out for a snack? I always forget the dried fruit and nuts so if we need something I have to run in Whole Foods, the health food store or even the gas station for some planters peanuts. Elijah is allergic to gluten so we have had to eliminate wheat, oats and barley.
So yep, we are waiting on some psychic investors to call us too.
Ami

You two have obviously lost your Texas-style way of eating, that is for sure! lol

A Whataburger, a steak finger basket, a frito-pie, and some fried okra and a sweet tea!

Now that some eats! :D

Ahhhh ... my Rickford has gone raw and organic. Life is goooooooood! We are some of the few Texans that push that direction (I took a vegan dish to our church's Wild Game Feast! ha!).

Melissa, outside of our Creator, you are the best thing to happen to this man. He has come so far from the days that I'd come over to the house and whip up fried backstrap (from Chris' deer), mashed potatoes and cream gravy. We were heart attacks waiting to happen!

I agree with the fastfood thing. As we always tend to have a foster child with us ... I usually have four kids in tow, one of which is either a newborn or a child that is not used to routine of any kind. Getting out of the car = disaster!! Geez, getting out of the HOUSE can = disaster! ha!

I sure hope to meet you someday, Melissa!

Christine, thanks for the sweet comments. Rick and I have both changed each other...all for the better. Thank God for His sovereignty. I hope to meet you someday as well.

Ann, as for eating organic, it's great. You can eat "picky eater" food like pasta, as long as you eat the best kind...organic, spelt flour, whole grain. We all feel so much better! The kids are doing great too. The truth is that without the other bad options in the house, they HAVE to eat this food. And they find out they like it. Now, our biggest struggle is vegetables. Yesterday, I made "Veggie People" for dinner (asparagus body, green bean arms and legs, squash hands and feet, and tomato heads). They loved it! That is the only thing they ate for dinner, and they have asked for more today. So, sometimes you have to be creative AND eat them yourself. They'll do much better to eat your healthy food IF you eat it. It is a change well worth it.
Blessings!

Eating organic is only PART of your new "diet." There's so much more involved in changing your lifestyle. Make sure you don't mix the wrong kinds of foods - for example carbohydrates with proteins or even drinking cold water - as these mixtures inhibit digestion. Stay away from coffee, tea, etc. as these are highly acidic (versus alkaline). Also, there's no benefit to eating free range chicken or any other meat for that matter. Meats don't provide any health benefits that you can't get elsewhere AND your body fights against meats, milk, and other acidic foods by forming mucus around these foods (hence why people have allergies - it's not the pollens!). As far as raw milk- it's good because your body uses it's enzymes (versus pasteurized milk and juices which make your body use your own enzymes and therefore work harder) but you're not a cow, so there's no reason why you should be drinking another animal's milk - humans are the only ones that do it! Stick to rice milk (they sell it at Whole Foods and Trader Joes) or if you want, buy chocolate almond milk for the kids (although chocolote is acidic). I don't know if you do this yet or not, but you should be taking psyllium husks every day to clean out your digestive system if you're not going at least 3 times a day... FYI =) This is also at Trader Joes. By the way, one cleanse DOES NOT clean you out - guaranteed; you should also check your pH levels to make sure you are not acidic. Being acidic is what allows cancer and other ailments to grow; if you are alkaline, you will not get cancer (see if a doctor will ever tell you that!). Drink distilled water at room temperature; eat organic fruits and veggies; eat whole grains (NOT to be confused with whole wheat) and sprouted breads; if you use olive oil, do not cook it; cooking changes the chemical make up of foods and therefore your body cannot assimilate such foods; brush your skin every day - your body gets rid of toxins through your skin - do not wear deodorants - you can buy Tom's of Maine natural at TJs. Buy natural make up Melissa as most American make up contains lead. If you want your kids to have an orange juice, buy some oranges and trade your microwave for a juicer. And the bottom line is don't buy anything packaged, canned or preserved...

If you have to eat out and drive through, you can make SMARTER choices - you can go to the drive-through at Presto Pasta in Camarillo and order the minestrone soup, the eggplant (say NO to the white bread and alfredo, instead see if they can give you a dinner salad in their place) and their Greek salad. No it's not organic BUT it's better than a Wendy's burger. Our intestines are long and winding and not made for meat, unlike lions and dogs who have a straight line intestine for quick digestion of meats. Instead, meat rots in our intestines - it's the only way it can pass through. And remember that mucus will build up and trap this waste in our intestines as a defense; over time and poor eating habits these mucus formations start pushing out of the intestinal walls, hence why some people get diverticulitis and leaking gut (these pockets of waste are not only toxic but they stretch out the intestines, making them virtually worthless)and why I suggest that everyone take psyllium husks every day. You can also go to Sharkey's in Ventura as they make veggie burritos with organic beans and brown rice (you have to ask for the brown rice). Stay away from white breads and white rice - they are the worst offenders; as simple carborhydrates they are processed too quickly by our bodies exhausting our liver and other organs (that's why people get diabetes over time after eating so many sugars). Processed white flours and simple sugars attack the myelin sheath in the connections in your brain. If you look at societies that do not eat white breads and white rice, etc. they are not affected by the same brain disorders that we are in the US.

Laura, thanks for the info. Most of your advice we already follow, except the meat/milk rules. We are not eating pork or shellfish, but at this point we still eat others. All you what you had to say is very informative though. We are constantly trying to learn.
Thanks!

WOW! So much to 'digest' if you'll forgive the pun :)
I guess I should get the book and read it, study it, learn from it. My doctor has decided that I am lactose intolerent. I truly enjoy milk. I enjoy the taste. I am NOT crazy about the lactose free milk..so I guess I am a few steps away from giving up milk altogether.
Thanks for allowing me to peek inside your life.