Meet Susan

Rawmazing.com

There is a beauty and grace in simplicity.

Whether it’s how you live, how you eat, or how you move through this world, simplicity creates peace, joy, and health.

After years of complicating my life with the endless search to be “filled”, I have come to a place of grace and have a true joy for life. I move with an open heart and a desire to share what I have learned — and am still learning — along the way.

It is my truest desire to help you to be inspired. To bring health, joy, peace, and beauty into your life.

Seven years ago, when I started Rawmazing, I had found a way of eating that helped heal my past digressions with food. At that time, all I knew was that I loved raw food and the way it made me feel. I read everything I could, bought every book I could find (they were few and far between at that time) and started on a journey that not only brought me better health, but also started a love affair with the creation of recipes made from whole, plant-based, raw food.

Driven to Learn

As my life evolved, I was driven to learn more about the food I was preparing and how it affects our bodies and our health. I enrolled in T. Collin Campbell’s Plant Based Nutrition Course through Cornell’s E-school. What I learned not only supported the daily experience I was having from eating plant based food, but also gave me knowledge to support a whole food, plant-based way of life.

It also helped relieve some of the “raw food guilt” that I had when eating cooked food as I learned that, properly prepared, some cooked food can have great health benefits. It helped me to strengthen my desire to have a diet including both the raw food I love and healthy cooked food. Learn more about why I’ve chosen to embrace cooked food as well as raw.

It wasn’t a big departure as I have never promoted a 100% raw diet long term. And I have found a wonderful balance by eating raw and whole food, plant-based cooked food.

The Beginning of My Journey

Changing my diet wasn’t the end of the journey, it was the beginning of a journey into a whole food, plant-based life! I completed my Rouxbe Plant Based Professional Cooking Certification and developed a deep desire to start incorporating more cooked recipes into the site.

But it didn’t stop there. I have learned so much in my many trips around the sun. So much about living with grace, about simplifying but not depriving. About the beauty and grace you can create in your life not by constantly adding, but by finding out what brings you joy. I want to share what I have learned and also introduce you to people who have great gifts and wonderful ideas to offer to you.

It is with deep gratitude that I invite you to my site. I am so glad you are on this journey with me. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.

A Few Fun Facts

I recently married the love of my life, Peter, on September 24, 2015. Never think that love has passed you by! Meeting an amazing life partner can happen at any age and I am so grateful for my husband, who, by the way, became vegan while I was studying the T. Collin Campbell course.
I was born and raised in Minnesota but now live in the San Francisco East Bay Area. I love it here but miss fall and winter and the snow! And especially my mother, Cora. Frequent trips are necessary.
I have two grown daughters, Mia and Kaia, who now live in California and Utah. If you were to ask me what my greatest life achievement has been, I would say giving birth to these two beautiful human beings and being lucky enough to be on their journey with them. They are beyond amazing and I love seeing the incredible women they have become.
I have also recently been blessed with two outstanding stepsons, Alex and Chris. They bring such a fun and interesting dimension to all of our lives. They are intelligent, caring human beings and I love that we are all a family.
We have two wonderful dogs, Atlas, our Kuvasz, and Sadie, our little Pug. Animals are a huge part of my life and I adore all four-legged friends. They bring such peace and unconditional love into our lives, daily.
I am an award winning professional food photographer. You can see my work here: www.ShootingtheKitchen.com and www.Susanpowersphotography.com. I plan on expanding this part of my life into the blog!
I am vegan and strive to have a vegan lifestyle but I am not perfect. I will not judge people for where they are in their journey. I would prefer to extend my hand and help you learn about this lifestyle rather than condemn you. I believe in love and acceptance for wherever you are in your journey.

>As far as the rest of it? I recharge in nature, love to learn, love sewing, knitting, painting, playing the harp and piano, and just about any type of creating that I can do.

I have successfully grown my first limes and lemons and have an amazing herb garden growing in pots. For a Minnesota girl, this is a big deal.

I love that you are here.

Disclaimer:

This website is intended to give you information about healthy eating based on research and personal experience. I am not a doctor and information on this website should not be considered medical advice. Please consult your physician for health treatment and diagnosis.

Also, we are an Amazon, Vitamix and Excalibur Affiliate. We make a small commission on any sales completed through our links. We greatly appreciate your support!

We are also now a Rouxbe Affiliate and proud to be one. We do make a commission when you sign up.

Thank You for Visiting!

Share Via

elizabeth wrote on May 16, 2014

Have just discovered your website – at 83 can you guide me how to start – I have read about raw foodism – and would like to begin – nut do not know how

Michelle wrote on April 11, 2014

Hi Susan, can I ask, do you drink wine at all? I am about 80% raw but have a cooked vegan meal in the evening. I live in the UK so it’s nice to have something hot in the cold, damp winter. I do like a glass or two of wine on the odd evening and just wondered what your thoughts were on that. Thank you.

Lucy wrote on March 17, 2014

Seriously, I’ve been looking at your website for hours! You have some amazing recipes and I can hardly wait to try them.

Susan wrote on March 17, 2014
Thank you, Lucy!

Islem wrote on January 16, 2014

Oh Susan, you have to stop making food look so darn amazing. I can’t help myself. I wanted it all. I will order your book bundle today. I’ve been contemplating on moving into a high-raw diet, and not fully vegan. I enjoy pastured dairy and eggs on an occasional basis. But I am thrilled to find inspiration here on your site, which I found almost 2 years ago and have been a subscriber since.

Thank you for all you do!

Susan wrote on January 16, 2014
Thank you so much for the kind words!

Melinda wrote on January 5, 2014

I am just starting this raw food eating for health and weight loss. The transition has not been easy but I’m trying! I am feeling the increased energy and know that the weight loss will follow in time. I am just really missing “hot” food. I’m so conditioned to thinking that dinner should be “cooked”………I haven’t had the chance yet to try any of your recipes but I’m hoping that there are still ways to eat “hot” food. I’m thinking that I should follow this raw food eating but allow for some “hot” options here and there, would that make this diet less effective? I’m so so so so new to this but really want to do this to reap the full benefit!!!
Thanks for all of your help!!

Susan wrote on January 5, 2014
I would include some cooked food. But keep it vegan, and whole food. Meaning, no junk food. We don’t push 100% raw here…add in what you can.

Susan wrote on December 28, 2013

I tried a raw diet about 10 years ago and felt great. I ended up faltering because of the social challenge and then went went to work in a social services area that exposed me to lots of sugar and poor food. Sugar is so addicting, it was like asking an alcoholic to sit in a bar and not drink. My diet went down the tubes as well as my health. In November I attended the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta for 10 days and that helped me get on track. I came home feeling “clean” and prepared to make the change. I found your blog and love your recipes. I am a foodie! It is important to me that my food look good and taste great. I didn’t want to feel deprived. So glad I found you. Keep up the great work.

Kimberly Nguyen wrote on December 2, 2013

Thank you very much for all good information. Kimmy

Your whole food, plant-based life.