My Interview with The Raw Food Sisters!

Hey, everyone! The two lovely ladies, Katrin and Julie over at TheRawFoodSisters.com wanted to interview me to be on their site!!! I had fun answering all their questions. I enjoyed my second interview
(which is this one) as much as enjoyed my first one with Arnold Kauffman. Thank you, sisters for interviewing me! Thanks for this wonderful opportunity. I love connecting with these sisters; we think alike in different subjects. Katrin and Julie are very inspiring woman. Be sure to check out their blog and follow them! They're very positive and loving.

You can read my interview below, or you can read it on their blog, HERE! Enjoy!

Thursday Get Together with Miliany Bonet

Let us introduce you to the youngest raw foodist we know! Our beautiful shining friend Miliany Bonet. She is a 15 year old thriving Raw Vegan girl filled with passion and big plans for the future. In today´s interview Miliany will share with us how her Raw Food journey began and what the lifestyle has done to her. We are excited to introduce you to this young star who already is inspiring people on a daily basis, and we are sure Miliany has a bright future in front of her!

Name: Miliany Bonet
Age: 15
Origin: English/Spanish
Current city: South Jersey
Occupation: Entrepreneur, CEO of a raw juice and raw food business

Websites: RawVeganLiving, 1RawVegan & 0medz0
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Can you describe your lifestyle and food philosophy? My lifestyle consists of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds – all in their raw form! I like all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients to be ALIVE, not dead. I perform my best when I eat a clean, raw, plant-based diet, compared to when I was eating a cooked vegan diet. I have more energy, I feel and look great, and my digestion is even better. I also incorporate raw desserts and gourmet raw foods into my diet. My lifestyle is just divine, I LOVE it! My food philosophy is simple: LISTEN TO YOUR AMAZING BODY, it knows best. I don’t believe in restrictions, calorie counting and rules, but find what works best for you and your body. When you find what works for your body, you are likely to stick to that lifestyle. I find that a low-fat, raw vegan diet works best for me. I look and feel my very best. If you don’t like the way you feel after eating a specific food(s), don’t eat it again! Only eat foods that will make your body feel good afterwards, not want to vomit and get headaches. When you listen to your body and trillions of cells, you will start to make healthier eating choices.

You are a quite young raw foodist, only 15 years old. Is your whole family raw vegan? Have you always been eating this way or what trigged the change? My father and I are the only raw vegans in the family. The rest of my family members are meat-eaters – BIG time! I wasn’t born as a vegan (though, that would have been awesome!); I was a big time meat-eater until the age of 13. I came home from school one day, and my father told me he was going to become a vegan. I was interested in joining him, but I didn’t have the courage because of my mother. She wanted me to continue to eat meat, dairy and fish. What really triggered the change for me to go vegan was, seeing the amazing results my father had experienced on his first week being vegan. He lost weight in a matter of days on his first week going vegan. He even looked and felt much better. At the time, I was fat, so seeing my father lose weight in a few days on his first week vegan, was really inspiring for me. I spoke with my father about his vegan diet and he told me how great he felt. He educated me about veganism and his reasonings on why he transitioned to a vegan diet, and I was willing to listen and take his knowledge. My father suggested that I watched the documentary, Food. Inc. The night I watched it, it really changed the way I viewed food in all aspects. Watching Food, Inc. was a real eye-opener for me, as it made me realize that my Standard American Diet (aka S.A.D) was not really healthy. Immediately after watching it, I told my mom and dad that I wanted to go vegan. Although my mother wasn’t as thrilled with my decision on going vegan as my father was, I went vegan anyway. I never looked back that day ever since in April. My dad introduced me to very amazing, inspiring and motivating raw foodists on YouTube, like Kristina Carillo-Bucaram from Fully Raw & Rawfully Organic (she inspired me to go fully raw!) and Dan McDonald, The LifeRegenerator. They have inspired me even more to transition to a vegan/raw diet.

Do you share the same eating habits and lifestyle as others in your age? If not, how do you cope with that? Luckily for me, I’m homeschooled, so I don’t have to go through criticism or deal with kids who don’t follow my lifestyle. Although when I was transitioning to a vegan diet (I was in 8th grade), I did have to deal with kids who didn’t follow my lifestyle. None of my classmates really
understood my lifestyle choice. However, I do know raw vegan teens who are in the raw food movement. Even if I did go to public school with other kids who don’t follow my lifestyle, they would have to respect me and my decision that I choose not to consume dead animals. I wrote a blog post on how to deal with criticism from others when transitioning/following a raw vegan diet, here.

Have you noticed any changes since changing your eating philosophy? Oh, YES! I have noticed great changes after changing my diet. When I was a meat-eater, I was fat, insecure about myself, lacked in confidence, had poor eyesight, I had pimples, my stamina and energy was low, crankiness and moodiness at times (especially in the mornings when I woke up!), and I would get chest pains. I was born with a heart defect, which caused me to have open-heart surgery as a baby. Every time I exercised or did anything that was active, my chest would hurt. After changing my diet, I lost weight (when I was a vegan, I weighed 120 pounds. After going raw, I weighed 100 pounds; I lost 20 pounds!), my energy and stamina has increased, I gained confidence, my face cleared up, my eyesight has definitely improved (I got my vision back!), my morning crankiness and moodiness went away (I wake up happy!), my sleep has improved, my digestion has definitely improved, my hair and nails have gotten stronger and grows longer quicker now than before on the SAD, and my chest pains are gone. Whenever I’m active, my chest no longer bothers me, which is great for me. I used to think as a meat-eater that exercise would trigger my chest pains, not realizing and knowing that exercise only did my heart well. Ooh, another change I’ve noticed were my eyes changing color! I have brown eyes now (they’re a light brown color; hazel in the sun) but when I was a baby, I was born with blue eyes. My diet back then was not healthy – it was very processed – so, my eyes got darker with the junk, highly processed foods. After being raw for a few months, I began to notice my eye color change. My blue eyes that’s hiding behind my brown eyes started to show. Changing my diet has transformed my life for the better, and it’s the best decision that I’ve ever made in my life, regardless of my mother not agreeing with my diet change. I am happy with the decision I made. Thank goodness I was enlightened at such a young age!

What ingredients are must-haves for your fridge/pantry? For me, these are all definitely must-haves in my kitchen;

FRUITS: BANANAS! They’re absolutely my number one must-have in the kitchen! I love bananas. They’re one of my favorite fruits, and definitely my number one staple food. I ALWAYS make sure my kitchen has bunches and bunches of bananas. I like to have both fresh and frozen bananas on hand, as I use them a LOT in smoothies and banana whips. And if you ask me, they’re a survival food!  I also like to have berries, dates, dried figs, apples, citrus fruits (lemons & oranges), tomatoes, and avocados. I use them a LOT in smoothies, juices, desserts, salads, and gourmet raw foods. 

VEGETABLES: Kale, spinach, spring mix salad, romaine lettuce, carrots, celery, mushrooms, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, and red bell peppers. I use them in my smoothies, juices, salads, and gourmet raw foods. 

NUTS & SEEDS: Walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, and sunflower seeds. I use them in desserts, mylk, nut butters, salads (sometimes, but very rarely though), and gourmet raw foods. 

SUPER FOODS: Cacao powder (my number one must-have at all times! I love cacao:)), hemp seeds, chia seeds, coconut oil, and flax seed meal. I use them in smoothies, juices, salads, desserts, and gourmet raw foods. I like to use coconut oil on my skin and nails, because it makes my skin soft and moisturized. 

HERBS & SPICES: Cinnamon, garlic, ginger, paprika, and turmeric. I use them in smoothies, juices, salads, desserts, and gourmet raw foods. 

How do you like to start off the day? I wake up and drink 32 ounces of water, then jump on my rebounder and exercise. I check and respond to emails, and journal about my previous day. I then make my daily morning smoothie, that consists of greens, bananas, fruits and super foods. I LOVE starting my day off with a 32 ounce smoothie in my mason jar. Every morning, I look forward to enjoying an epically delicious smoothie or juice. I think it’s an excellent way to start your day off right.

What´s your favorite snack? RAW CHOCOLATE! I have a few snacks that are my favorite, but raw chocolate wins! I was always a big chocolate lover as a meat-eater, so I still carry around love for chocolate in my heart now being a raw vegan. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with raw chocolate, especially when it’s SO healthy, delicious and nutritious for you. You can make so much desserts/snacks/drinks with chocolate; Chocolate covered dates, chocolate covered bananas, (the majority of the fruits pair lovely with chocolate), chocolate chip cookies, chocolate nut butter cups, chocolate ice cream, chocolate smoothies… the list goes on! Anything with raw chocolate (and I approve of the ingredients; raw vegan of course), I am in love!

Is there anything you are completely strict about when it comes to your diet and lifestyle? Eating processed foods, refined sugars, cooked foods, soy, non-organic and genetically modified (GMO) foods. I like my foods to be raw, organic and GMO-free. I do not believe in indulging in highly processed foods that you know you shouldn’t be eating, because it’s not healthy. Plus, you’ll be regretting it later and feel guilty afterwards. I don’t think it’s okay to poison your body once in a while. Your body is your temple; it’s where you live. Of course, I am also strict on not consuming dead animals and dairy.

What would your advice be to someone who is interested in starting to incorporate more raw vegan food to their diet but don´t know where to begin?My advice to them would be: Like my great dear friend, Arnold N. Kauffman says;

“Every moment is a moment of love. Once you understand that, you understand how raw food works.”

I love this quote because every moment in your raw food journey is a moment of love. Raw food IS loving foods. Our bodies have over 90 trillions of cells, and they love being fed raw living foods! You love the food, and your body loves it back just the same, if not, even more! You gotta Love yourself, starting NOW. It doesn’t matter how you look, just Love yourself. Also, be patient with yourself and with your body. Be willing to learn. Watch educational documentaries about veganism, watch videos on YouTube of other gurus who follow this lifestyle and read books about veganism. Learn everything you need to know about this lifestyle. Take it day by day, step by step. Eat lots of fresh raw fruits (make sure your produce are organic and GMO-free) and vegetables. Keep nuts and seeds in moderation. Incorporate smoothies and juices daily, as both are very important for optimal health. Have fun in the kitchen, too. This lifestyle is so awesome to not enjoy every moment of it. Set out specific goals for yourself to help motivate and inspire you to achieve them. At night time, have a big bowl of delicious salad! Make sure you eat enough fruits during the day, so at night time you’re aren’t hungry. Don’t eat 3-4 hours before you go to bed. Don’t worry about calorie counting and calorie restrictions. Eat as much low-fat fruits and vegetables. Those who are transitioning to a vegan, raw foods diet, the first food you want to eliminate is dairy. Dairy is worse than meat and fish is the dirtiest meat! It’s also important to stay positive and surround yourself with positive and loving people.

What are your life goals and plans for the future? I have a beautiful future ahead of me, and I’m so excited about it! I have SO many life goals and plans for myself. I’m an entrepreneur; I am currently running my own raw foods business and a juice company with my father, who is also a raw vegan like me. We are opening up the first Raw Vegan Smoothie & Juice Bar here in South Jersey offering smoothies, juices, wraps, salads, pizza, brownies, and nut/seed mylks. Our ultimate goal is to open up franchises in different states/locations. We have multiple goals for our business, that’s just one of them. Another goal of mine is to publish my second e-book, along with many more in the future. I am such a busy girl!

Your favorite quote? Oh, wow! I love soooooo many quotes! But one of my favorites is by Saint Francis de Sales. This quote is beautiful! It’s one of my favorite quotes because it means to love unconditionally.

“The measure of love is to love without measure.”

REAL RAW BROWNIES

Brownies are my all-time favorite raw dessert. Go figure, chocolate being my favorite snack. Although I have SO many recipes that I love, brownies is top on the list. You can make these using carob powder, various different nuts, super food powders like lucuma,

maca, cacao, etc., and top it off with cacao nibs, coconut shreds and/or mulberries! I get creative with my brownies, so should you! These brownies are SO ridiculously delicious, good luck trying to keep them around longer than 24 hours, especially in a house with brownie lovers! Indulge, guilt-free!

INGREDIENTS 
(makes a 8×8 baking pan)- 1 cup brazil nuts- 1 1/2 cup dried figs (if too hard, soak them in water for a few minutes until soft)- 1 cup fresh soft pitted dates (if dry, soak them in water for a few minutes until soft)- 1/2 cup cacao powder- 1/3 cup non-dairy mylk (or filtered water)

How to?1. 

DIRECTIONS:
Place the brazil nuts in your blender or food processor, and process (or blend) until it’s crumbs into flour. For chunky brownies, leave some nut chunks.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients, blending (or processing) until it comes to a sticky, rough dough. Mines came out perfect in texture, (firm) but if it comes out too rough and dry, add more mylk or water.
3. At the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish, spread the dough and form brownies. You don’t need to place these brownies in the fridge to harden; cover and let them sit on your kitchen counter.
4. Cut and serve with a glass of your favorite nut or seed mylk. Enjoy! 

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