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!

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Ricki wrote on May 30, 2010

Hi Susan,

I just left a message on a very old post not realizing it was so old–just found your blog and I love it. Thanks so much for these great recipes and your story! 🙂

Cari wrote on April 26, 2010

Wow! Wow! What a lovely website! My wonderful babysitter just told me about your website! She’s so excited about your apple pie. =) She’s working on balancing her candida so will have to wait. But its the first thing she wants to make =). Also she wants to make it for her family for the holidays to show them how amazing raw can be!
Me, I’ve been suffering from chronic fatigue for the past 3 years after the birth of my second child. I didn’t know what it was, what was happening to me. I spent much of 2009 going to and paying a naturopath without my relief. I took out gluten (no big relief for me but a lot for my 5 yo).
Then I kept hearing RAW everywhere I turned. I’d never met anyone and then met 4 people, it was everywhere I turned. I’ve been eating high raw with a few 100% days in there for 3 weeks.
I have more energy than I have in years. There are way more ‘good’ days, I don’t have to spend so much time recovering from a busy day. I feel more alert. I can feel myself detoxing – headaches, tired, cravings. But it all still feels better somehow than I have felt the past few years. I have to admit, I’m scared I’m not getting enough protein or calcium or just balance. But I remind myself that I’m giving my poor body more ‘good stuff’ than I have in years. So even if I’m not getting enough balance right now, its still better and that I’ll get there.
Thank you for your amazing website! I will share it with all my friends and keep coming back. I love your photography too! Beautiful! And that one photo with the pugs little tongue sticking out just a bit – tooooo cute!
Truly, thank you for the inspiration! Off to droll over your recipes =)
Blessings,
Cari

Susan wrote on April 27, 2010
Cari, There are a couple of good articles here on protein: http://www.rawmazing.com/articles/raw-food-and-the-protein-myth/ and Calcium: http://www.rawmazing.com/articles/raw-food-diets-calcium-and-osteoporosis/

Shelly wrote on April 20, 2010

Hi Susan. I am grateful for your website. I am a middle ager trying to make the leap. It would be nice if you made a new recipe section called “transitional” it would help me in cooking for my husband and for the times we I just need something. Thanks again.

chanda wrote on April 9, 2010

stunningly beautiful on all counts. delicious to boot! so far I’ve tried the onion flax crackers and the three cheese spread(s). oh my! I have buckwheat sprouting to try
in the zuch/carrot bread and wheatberries sprouting to make rejuvelac for the raw
vegan cheese. congratulations on your dessert book tho I must say I do hope
you have a savory cookbook in the works. I’ll be first in line!!

many heartfelt thanks for sharing your brilliantly creative spirit. you are a star!
-chanda

Terry Robertson-Baker wrote on April 1, 2010

Thank you for this site!!! 🙂

James wrote on March 26, 2010

Good morning…I’m encouraged to find your site….saw it on Raw Cafe ! I just started the raw disipline after reading Paul Nisons’ book The Daylight Diet ! Learning and Learning……EVERYDAY ! It’s a GREAT journey ! I’m a little anxious about what to tell friends and family when confronted about cooked foods & mainly grains ! Could you shed some light on the omission of grains such as oats, barley, corn, and wheat with all it’s parts ! I’d love to have an answer for them. Thank you so very much.

Susan wrote on March 26, 2010
James, I don’t omit grains. I love grains. I think they have wonderful properties and nutrients. On the other hand, if your body doesn’t like them, then you should omit. I really believe in finding out what your body wants and needs…EVERYONE is different. If omitting grains resonates with you, try it and see what the results are…

Mandy wrote on March 8, 2010

Hi Susan,
I love your site. It is very motivational in staying on track. I am just wondering what you were eating that was not raw when you were 80%-90%. I ask this because it seems to have made a world of difference when you went 100%. Thanks for the info.

Cheers,
Mandy

Susan wrote on March 8, 2010
All kinds of things. I do not eat meat in any form, but did indulge in dairy, sweets, etc. For me, especially at my age, food adjustments, even small ones make a huge difference.

Carmelita Taylor wrote on February 17, 2010

Hi Susan: I just wanted to tell you that your website is big, bright and beautiful! I was just browsing the other day looking for a raw vegan quiche recipe and I came upon your website and found what I was looking for. The photography is excellent and you make the dishes look so mouthwatering and the directions and recipes you give are so thorough and right on point! You make raw food preparation easy (even if it isn’t!).

Susan wrote on February 17, 2010
Thanks so much…it is easy!!! Glad you like the site!!

Becky wrote on February 17, 2010

Hi Susan,
What a great site and some of the recipes look great and I can’t wait to try them! I totally agree with you about how awesome you feel eating a high raw diet. I myself am not 100% but not far off and feel the best I have in ages.
Becky

Your whole food, plant-based life.