On Saturday, April 19, 2008 Cherie will be a presenter at one of the most respected health conferences in North America. She'll focus on her latest book, The Raw Revolution Diet, Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger! Focal points of the health convention, besides the slow food movement, will include disease prevention, nutrition, energy medicine, natural homes, organic gardening, and renewable energy. Stay tuned to this spot for more information about Cherie's schedule in April!

Talk: The Raw Food Revolution
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Would you like to lose weight, or just gain more energy and feel younger, but don't want to give up your favorite comfort foods? You are not alone! People everywhere are quietly rebelling against the SAD American diet, and are actively seeking alternatives. Join the Raw Food Revolution and see how easy it is to regain your health and recapture your youthful vitality! Cherie Soria will inspire and motivate you to add more whole raw foods to your diet, without spending all day in the kitchen, or giving up the flavor and satisfaction of the cooked foods you love!

Lecture and Demo 6-9 pm
The Raw Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger! Find out why the raw vegan diet is one of the top diets for weight loss and improved health in the world today—and the only one you will want to stay on for the rest of your life! Cherie will share with you 12 Raw Rules for a healthier new you, making it easy for you to add more raw food to your diet with simple-to-prepare recipes that are both delicious and healthful. You will learn how to prepare scrumptious soups, salads, appetizers, and sweet treats without the use of white sugar, gluten, or animal products.

Living Light International and The Institute for Vibrant Living are producing the "best ever" Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase August 22-24 on the beautiful Mendocino coast of Northern California. Keynote speaker Dr. Gabriel Cousens will be joining Living Light directors Cherie Soria and Dan Ladermann this year, as well as Nomi Shannon, Victoria Boutenko, Dr. Fred Bisci, Happy Oasis, Rhio, master herbalist and raw food chef and author Brigitte Mars, Dr. Ruza Bogdanovich, Jameth Sheridan of HealthForce Nutritionals, John Kohler, Mathew and Chef Terci Englehart of Café Gratitude in San Francisco, Chef Elaina Love, Chef Vinnette Thompson, Chef Felix Schoener, Ronnie and Chef Minh, and others TBA. We are expecting several other very special guests, and will keep you updated with all the latest Expo news in future bulletins! Pre and Post-Expo classes and workshops are slated with top experts in raw food nutrition, including Dr. Douglas Graham, Drs. Rick and Karen Dina, and raw food guru Viktoras Kulvinskas, promising that this year's Expo will be an event to savor! There will be an opportunity to take Living Light's one-day FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods Intensive (the first step in the Living Light certification process) on August 26. Those of you who have already attended know how incredible this event is, and for those who have not yet attended, SAVE THE DATE!

February 23-March 14

This all-inclusive series of courses takes students to the next level of confidence and expertise: exploring world cuisines, developing and writing recipes, transforming traditional cooked dishes into health-promoting gourmet raw cuisine, organizing large events, and learning about the science of raw food nutrition. You'll go home empowered and confident in your ability to produce incredible new dishes at any time—without the need for recipes. You will also learn to write recipes suitable for publishing.

Once the three-part Associate Chef and Instructor Training course is completed, the following subsequent courses may be taken in any order, as long as they are completed within two years:

Ethnic Flavors in Recipe Development is an exceptional 5-day creative course that teaches how to create the flavors and textures of the most popular world cuisines. Travel around the world to exotic places like Italy, China, Thailand, Mexico, France, and India. Each day, students explore two different world cuisines, reaching for new levels of creativity, as they learn to develop exciting new recipes. The grand finale is a dessert extravaganza.

RawFusion Gourmet Spa Cuisine is a 5-day creative course that explores the light and luscious fare we serve at our exclusive retreats in exotic locations. Every day an entire feast is created using a small number of ingredients with various textures and flavors to produce an unlimited assortment of dishes. High in fruits and greens, this deliciously light yet satisfying cuisine is a favorite of the Living Light staff.

Raw Event Catering and Elegant Entertaining is a 5-day course that teaches how to plan and organize events from intimate appetizer parties for ten to elegant weddings for one hundred or more. Learn to create stunning buffets and elegant sit-down meals as you gain invaluable hands-on experience catering actual raw events. Menu planning, organizing, budgeting, pricing, negotiating contracts, and managing your catering team are a few of the topics you will explore. Discover secrets of plating and presentation that you can use for beautiful everyday meals or elegant dinner parties!

The Science of Raw Food Nutrition is a 2-day course with The Raw Food Doctors™ Rick and Karin Dina covers topics in raw food nutrition including raw vegan sources of protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, as well as blood sugar regulation, pH balance, how cooking affects foods, anti-inflammatory nutrition, and weight management. This is a great course for chefs, health educators, or anyone else who wants to achieve optimum health.

Compared to an upscale Williams Sonoma store by the San Francisco Chronicle, Living Light Marketplace is an incredible local resource for chef supplies, gourmet food products, and all things sustainable. At Living Light Marketplace, we carry only products that are in alignment with a vibrant, healthy lifestyle. We don't carry any animal products, or products that are tested on animals, and we support a variety of small sustainable businesses which produce many of the products we sell. Check out our selection of sustainable wooden bowls, platters, and bamboo wear, recycled glassware, kitchen gadgets and utensils, and equipment needed for the raw food kitchen, including dehydrators, sprouters, high speed blenders, food processors, chef knives, and more. Peruse our extensive collection of recipe books, books on organic gardening, permaculture, and sustainable food choices, and our well-rounded selection of DVD's about important topics that affect our planet daily.

Do you love preparing scrumptious desserts, learning new recipes and dessert plating techniques? Explore the world of raw pastry arts with two master raw dessert specialists, Cherie Soria and Vinnette Thompson. Discover the secret of making raw desserts that are better and healthier than their cooked counterparts! In this hands-on course, you will learn to work with various raw sweeteners, thickeners, binders, gelling agents, and emulsifiers to recreate familiar gourmet sweet treats. All desserts are dairy-free and gluten-free and contain no white sugar. Learn to make Lemon Chiffon Pie, Tiramisu, California Mudslide Pie, Lemon Poppyseed Cake, Gelato, Sorbet, Chocolate Fondue, and much more!

Living Light Associate Chef and Instructor Graduates only.

Vee's Raw Food Underground is open for the season Rah, Rah, Raw! The wait is over, and the restaurant is ready for action, with delicious dishes prepared by one of the planet's most extraordinary chefs, Living Light Instructor, Vinnette Thompson. It's just down the street from Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Dinner Friday and Saturday from 5:00-9:00 PM
Lunch and Dinner Sunday from 12:00-9:00 PM
Where: Graziano's Café at the Emporium Shoppes, 4595 Okeechobee Boulevard, just west of Military Trail.

Science of Raw Food Nutrition I
Join Rick and Karin Dina, the Raw Food Doctors™ from Vitality Wellness Center for a comprehensive, enlightening course on the science of raw food nutrition. This 2-day, 12-hour course covers hot topics including raw vegan sources of protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, as well as blood sugar regulation, pH balance, how cooking affects foods, anti-inflammatory nutrition, and weight management. The Raw Food Doctors™ are known for their ability to make complex scientific concepts entertaining and easily understandable for the non-scientific person. This is a great course for chefs, health educators, or anyone else who wants to achieve optimum health.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the experts!
This class is offered 10 times a year. See the 2008 class schedule or phone 707-964-2420 for dates. Next class: Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27. Hours: Saturday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with a 1-hour no-host lunch break on both days.
Tuition: $375

NEW! Two Opportunities to take Science of Raw Food Nutrition II
This comprehensive 5-day Science of Raw Food Nutrition II course covers essential information on raw food, living food, vegan and plant-based diets, and is a prerequisite for the 2-day Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification Course immediately following. It builds on the knowledge base learned in Science of Raw Food Nutrition I and introduces many new topics that are essential to understanding the big picture of raw and living food nutrition.

Prerequisites: Science of Raw Food Nutrition I
When: Friday, August 29 through Tuesday, September 2 (Following the Fourth Annual Vibrant Living Expo and Culinary Showcase, August 22-24, 2008 - see article in this newsletter)

Sunday December 7 through Thursday, December 11
Time: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Tuition: $1075

NEW! Two opportunities to take Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification Course in 2008
This 2-day class follows Science of Raw Food Nutrition Level II and prepares students to present fundamental raw food nutrition information with authority, accuracy and confidence. It is highly recommended for health educators and raw food chefs who plan to teach the benefits of raw and living foods in an articulate and easy to understand manner. In this class, students will learn how to utilize information learned in both Science of Raw Food Nutrition I and II to deliver an interesting and comprehensible presentation that is appropriate for a variety of audiences.

All participants will receive a CD containing two turn-key power point presentations on the benefits of raw and living food nutrition. The first is a 20-minute introductory presentation designed to be a free talk to invite participants to attend the second, more comprehensive two-hour raw food nutrition class. This class is designed to be presented on its own, or in conjunction with culinary demonstrations.

The Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification Course will also cover techniques on searching for and objectively evaluating raw food and vegan nutrition information. This will give students the tools to continue learning in a clear and accurate manner long after this course is over. Class is limited to 12 students, so register early!

Prerequisites: Science of Raw Food Nutrition levels I and II.

When: Following the Vibrant Living Expo: Wednesday, September 3 and Thursday, September 4, 2008, or Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13, 2008
Time: 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Tuition: $575

Call Living Light at 707-964-2420 for further information about these informative and empowering classes with the Raw Food Doctors™ Rick and Karin Dina.

Living Light Café has the perfect meal to keep you healthy, happy, and full of energy, no matter what time of day! For breakfast, how about sprouted oatmeal or buckwheat granola served with fresh almond milk, bananas, and cinnamon? Try a sumptuous smoothie like Island Paradise, or a creamy delight like Cherries Jubilee—a delicious meal in itself. Add a booster or power shot—Wheatgrass, Vitamineral Green, or Spirulina, and you'll start your day feeling like a superhero! Our famous Choco-Nana, made with fresh almond milk, cocoa, bananas, and dates is the best chocolate shake on the planet! YUMMMM! For our friends who want warm foods, we've added a daily cooked vegan soup, and a warming bowl of fragrant cooked grains, changing every day. Or enjoy our delightful menu of smoothies, juices, salads, sandwiches, dips, entrées, and spectacular desserts. In a hurry? Use our Grab 'N Go for meals on the run at Living Light Café, your one-stop destination for healthy, delicious organic meals, every day.