By Kris Carr on January 26, 2011
I am blown away, humbled and stoked! Guess what? We find out whether we made the New York Times Bestseller list TONIGHT. Am I nervous? No. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb, against all my superstitious judgment, and say that I think we did it! I think YOU did it. But you know what’s bigger than the acknowledgments? The movement we’ve created. I see it firsthand. I see it in the bookstores, auditoriums, hallways, private gatherings (I even in see it in the ladies’ rooms!). It/we cannot be stopped. And you know what else? If we didn’t make the list, there would be only one reason: There weren’t enough books to meet the outrageous demand that none of us (my team, the pubs) bargained for. Now THAT’S Crazy Sexy! The book is sold out everywhere! Our rankings have dropped because, um, the books sold out. WOWZA! But have no fear, we’re restocking as I type, and all back orders will be filled ASAP. You won’t have to wait long, I promise.
Mama Carr & Kris Carr
Every event is standing room only. Folks are hugging, dancing, crying, cheering (loudly!), raising the roof and stoking the fires of revolution. I am finding energy inside myself that I didn’t even know I possessed. And rest assured, if I’m coming to your town, I will unleash a kick-ass supply of love thunder! It gives me shivers to see how the Crazy Sexy movement has become so much bigger than me. WE are a force to be reckoned with, and we’re not going to wait for change from the top down. We’re unifying to create massive change from the bottom up!
Sooo … are you with me? Will you join the Crazy Sexy health revolution today? Will you change your life and stack the odds in your health, spiritual wealth and happiness favor? I sure hope so.
We’re a love battalion, and I want you on board hot stuff! I never use war terminology to describe my adventure with cancer, but I have long been using protest terminology to describe my mission and passion for prevention. Why? Because as I’ve said before: Prevention IS the cure. So while it ain’t a battle, it is a peaceful protest, a “juice-in” so to speak, and the more of us who get on board, the more lives we save. It’s that simple. Sheesh, I hope John Lennon is looking down on us sweetly singing “all we are saying, is give juice a chance.”
Glen Colello
Judging by your response to “Crazy Sexy Diet,” you really want CHANGE. So make it today, tomorrow and the day after that. Your hands aren’t tied my friend. I promise you, and “Crazy Sexy Diet” will give you a thousand and one ways to upgrade your diet and lifestyle. Once you learn, pay it forward. Recruit!
Kris Carr and Vanessa Barg
Hope you enjoy the tour pix I’ve sprinkled in this post! I want to give a big shout-out to Glen Colello and the Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe. I had a blast with my Connecticut posse at that event! Also, don’t miss Rawtographer Jeff Skeirik who captured the evening so beautifully and Vanessa Barg, raw chocolate sorceress at Gnosis! I hope to see you really soon. Don’t forget to talk to me over at my Facebook fan page (I try to respond to each and EVERY person), and join our cleanse group in the Crazy Sexy Diet Club. It’s totally ok to start “late” because there’s no such thing as late. As soon as you arrive, the party will get started!
Peace and juice-ins,
Kris
PS. Special thanks to all the folks who have given me love-filled cards and green drinks along the way! You really know how to keep this girl shiny.
Photo Credit: Jeff Skeirik (Rawtographer)
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By Kris Carr on October 27, 2010
Calling all armchair chefs!
I could fill a dang library with the number of raw and cooked recipe books I’ve picked up over the years, and there are certainly some chefs who have knocked my socks off more than others. It’s not easy to choose only five in each category, but here are some of the most accessible (and delicious) books I use on a regular basis. And remember, get crazy sexy free and gutsy in the kitchen, don’t feel chained to the ingredient list or instructions. Add your own jazz to the recipes. Your taste buds are uniquely yours. Listen to them. When you do, creating healthy meals will be fun and nourishing for your body and soul. Oh and, let us know about your favorite raw and cooked recipe books in the comments!
Raw
1. I Am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude by Terces Engelhart
Terces and Matthew Engelhart have created six righteous raw food restaurants in California. As an extension of their Café Gratitude restaurants, the Engleharts started the Be Love Farm, where they live in community and practice a sustainable lifestyle while growing food using the biodynamic method. This rockin’ philosophy on life and food has been infused into Terces’ amazing raw food book, which is packed with easy-to-follow recipes that have names like “I Am Luscious” raw chocolate smoothie and “I Am Bountiful” bruschetta!
2. RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine by Matt Amsden
Matt Amsden switched to a raw food lifestyle overnight after hearing an interview with David Wolfe. Since then, he has opened Euphoria loves RAWvolution, a groovy live food café, which also features lots of raw food and raw living goodies. Matt’s book, RAWvolution, caters to all levels of experience and gives readers an inside look at his own raw food transition. His tips will get you on your way to success in the kitchen even if you don’t have fancy tools!
3. Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes by Ani Phyo
Ani Phyo puts mama earth first with her raw food lifestyle. Her dedication to healthy whole foods started early while growing up on an organic farm. Today, Ani is sharing her mouth-watering recipes through her numerous books and live raw demos across the country. She’s even developed living food vegan menus for Carnival Cruise Lines, Adidas headquarters, STOMP and Whole Foods Markets!
4. Living Raw Food: Get the Glow with More Recipes from Pure Food and Wine by Sarma Melngailis
Over the course of her career, Sarma Melngailis jumped from the world of finance to French cuisine to raw food. Currently, she is the owner of raw food mecca, Pure Food and Wine in NYC. In “Living Raw Food,” Sarma takes us inside the Pure kitchen and gives us the key to everything from their smoothies to elegant raw entrees.
5. Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen
Time and time again, I return to Alissa’s book. It’s my raw recipe bible! She’s been eating raw and teaching others about live food goodness since 1986. Alissa took her raw food passion a step further by opening Grezzo restaurant in Boston and creating the Living on Live Food Program for aspiring chefs and educators. Alissa’s new book,”Raw Food for Everyone,” will be on shelves October 28!
Cooked
1. The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York’s Renowned Vegan Restaurant by Joy Pierson, Bart Potenza, Barbara Scott-Goodman
After winning the lottery, my dear friends Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza started Candle Café and later, Candle 79. These vegan NYC gems will delight your palate whether you’re a veggie lover or a steak and potatoes kind of gal. The founders of Candle have loaded their cookbook with to-die-for recipes that will make your kitchen (and belly) sing with delight.
2. The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen
You may know Tal Ronnen best from preparing the menu for Oprah Winfrey’s 21-day vegan cleanse, catering Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s vegan wedding, or making the first vegan dinner at the U.S. Senate. The amazing meals that brought his work to these prestigious tables are at your fingertips in Tal’s cookbook. Find out what the fuss is about by bringing Tal’s recipes to life in your home.
3. The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Colleen founded Compassionate Cooks to debunk myths about vegan/vegetarianism and empower individuals to make informed decisions about the food they eat. Compassionate Cooks provides veggie education through workshops, cooking DVDs, lectures and podcasts. Perhaps one of the most delicious ways Colleen raises awareness is through her cookbooks! The Vegan Table offers recipes perfect for everything from a kid’s party to a holiday feast. Her new book, “Color Me Vegan,” comes out in December 2010!
4. Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero
Isa Chandra Moskowitz created the Post Punk Kitchen show with her pal Terry Hope Romero in Isa’s tiny Brooklyn apartment in 2003. These vegan how-to cooking webisodes caught on like wild fire and led to their kick ass cookbook, “Veganomicon.” There are over 250 recipes inside this treasure including some soy-free, gluten-free, and low-fat options.
5. The Gluten-Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free, Animal-Free Recipes by Susan O’Brien
Look no further if you are facing celiac disease, fibromyalgia or food allergies. Allergy sufferer and gourmet chef, Susan O’Brien, wrote this cookbook to provide tasty alternatives for those facing health challenges or just seeking a healthier lifestyle. Easy breezy recipes that’ll meet your dietary needs and personal tastes are only a book away!
Peace & bon appétit!
Kris Carr
P.S. An oldie but goodie honorable mention is The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant by Leslie Mceachern.
Photo Credits: Yvestown
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By Kris Carr on October 6, 2010
Hi spiritual superstar!
I just got back from an amazing weekend in Ohio speaking at the JD Breast Cancer Foundation’s Young Survivors Symposium and I gotta tell ya, I just love that event!
I met so many beautiful survivors and was reminded just how far a simple act of kindness goes. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, go out of your way to help a lovely lady this month. Whether it’s an ole gal crossing the street or a young mama trying to get her stroller through a snappy door, be extra generous during pumpkin time. October is the month to celebrate women, breasts, nurturing and sisterhood. There are many cancer organizations you can support if you have the financial wiggle room. But you know what else you can do? Send the woman with cancer in your life some nutritional tips, give her a juicer, teach her how to alkalize her body, show her simple yet effective ways to manage stress, encourage her to shake her ass (exercise!), and remind her that sleep is not an optional sport. Taking care of ourselves and teaching others to do the same is the best way to give back in October. As our researchers and brilliant oncologists do their job to find a cure (which by my estimates is taking too long) we’ll do our job and meet our bodies, minds and spirits halfway with kindness and self-respect.
1. I love the smiley sticker given to me by a new friend and fellow cancer cowgirl. We laughed and shed tears together and I will always remember her sass and smile.
2. I love my new sock monkey sent by an amazing daughter of an amazing mother. Katarina – sweet gal, thank you for your heartfelt letter, I adore you! P.S. Katarina Thorsen is the coolest visual artist, sock animal mama, and art therapist. I love that! Who knew that you could be all those things? This hot broad works with at-risk youth using sock monkey therapy to support Operation Sock Monkey, which provides laughter, hope and healing to communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Her motto: Sock Monkeys are more than toys- they are healers. A way of life. A philosophy.
3. I love my gals Kimball Johnson MD and Mary Brittain at the Jobri Center in Atlanta. These two crazy sexy health rock stars took my workshop at Kripalu, went on to study at Hippocrates, and then opened an amazing integrative healing center in the heart of one of the unhealthiest places in America. I am so proud of them. They ooze kindness and compassion and I have a hunch that this center is one to watch and one to visit. They’re next program starts soon so check it out. Save a table for me, I need a colonic!
4. I love my new friend Julie Aigner Clark. Julie is the force behind the Baby Einstein series (yeah, she’s not too shabby, huh?) and she is a breast cancer survivor who has written the most wonderful and helpful book about talking to your kids about cancer. I wept when I read it. It’s good and so dang helpful. You’ll be hearing more about Julie here at CSL.com. Until then, check out her book, “You Are the Best Medicine” and share it with a girlfriend who needs a way to have the “c” talk with her little chickens.
5. I love my mom. I really, really love my mom for all that she does for me, all that she’s sacrificed for me, and the great role model she is for me and so many others, including her yoga students. On my last visit she gave me this unicorn hot water bottle holder because sometimes my stomach hurts. I am nearly 40 years old and she still knows how to light me up!
6. I love the 2 cancer cowgirls I met in Ohio who just shaved their heads and reminded me that I have untapped strength that I haven’t accessed.
7. I love this pix! The International Vegetarian Union is so frickin’ clever. Well, veg heads usually are.
8. I love giving things away because I have more than enough. So send me a new juice recipe—something yummy, unique and mostly green please! The winner (the gal/dude who makes the best cocktail) will get a brand new Breville Compact Juicer. Be sure to share this contest on Facebook and Twitter so that your pals have a chance too! Email info@crazysexylife.com with your recipe.
Kindness rocks. Till next week…
Peace & selflessness,
Kris Carr
Photo 8: David ver der Mark
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By Kris Carr on September 29, 2010
Since I mentioned how much I love Bridget Morris’ journals in my last love list, I thought I’d put them to use this week with a little gratitude is the attitude doodling. As I’ve said before, the best way to tackle glass-half-empty thinking is to remind yourself of the things that are working in your life and to take stock of the beauty and special people/experiences that charge you up. Now, I know it’s tough to be grateful when you’re going through a difficult time. But honestly, that’s when you gotta suck it up and turn the energy around. It’s so much easier to put walls up and hunker down in your “woe is me, life sucks” bunker. Sound familiar?
Here’s a little something you may not know about me. I have never participated in a “why me?” pity party when it comes to canser but I have when it comes to vertigo. I get vertigo once every few years, and when it hits me, it hits hard. My “problem” pisses me off. It makes me shut down and get really frustrated. Do you know what I mean? Do you have a problem like that? Something that sucks your energy dry leaving no desire for green juice, yoga, walks, dates or spiritual medicine. It’s so easy to resist being grateful when you’re bound by the perception that life just isn’t going your way. Boo hoo, sniff sniff. Not today my friend. Burn off the haze and get busy counting your crazy sexy blessings! Remember, health isn’t just about what you eat, it’s also about dealing with what’s eating you. Joy has a tangible, physiological effect on the body. You can literally alter your body’s chemistry in a positive way by turning the stress down and the happiness up. Will you join me by commenting on one thing (or more) that you’re grateful for today?
I’ll go first…
1. I’m grateful for my pain-in-the-ass (and other expletives) vertigo. It teaches me to slow down, get focused and find balance.
2. I’m grateful for my favorite yoga DVDs that I can do in the comfort of my own home (“Transform Yourself with Jivamukti Yoga” and “Tias Little’s Freeing the Bird of Prana“)
3. I’m grateful for long drives, motorcycle rides and the brilliant colors of the changing fall leaves.
4. I’m grateful for my favorite hike up Overlook Mountain. It’s hard. It makes my butt throb and my thighs burn. Then voilà! The view at the top literally takes my breath away (and sometimes makes me want to puke because I’m scared of heights!).
5. I’m grateful for our decision to cancel our cable service. Too much noise.
6. I’m grateful for my new friend Sean Stephenson. His story is amazing. He is a sage and a funky prophet. Read his book, “Get Off Your ‘But’,” my friends. I devoured it in one day. His words are soul jumper cables. Check him out here, you’ll be learning a lot more about my friend Sean very soon as I am crazy sexy in love with him.
7. I am so grateful for almond butter in my smoothies! I usually use avocado, but recently I have fallen mad for the nut butter. Kale, cuke, almond butter, almond milk, stevia, pinch of cacao, banana, cinnamon, ice… OMG!
8. I am grateful for friends who honor my boundaries and give me space to grow and heal and love and fall and disappoint and love and be. Folks who demand too much of my energy get phased out. I send them love but don’t return the emails.
9. I am grateful for 8 hours of sleep. I never ever compromise on that and my bedroom supports my desire for yummy deep rejuvenation time.
10. I am so grateful to finally understand the following statement: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Any thoughts?
Peace and gratitude,
Kris
Photo Credit: Thank You, Spinning Top, Broken TV, Almonds, Fence, Owl Nightlight,
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By Kris Carr on September 22, 2010
1. Journals are one of my greatest loves. Each morning I begin my day with some soulful scribbling. This has been a treasured ritual for decades and one of my most powerful tools in pushing through life lemons, working out personal challenges and discovering creative nuggets of joy. In addition, I use journals to get back on track with my diet and lifestyle practices. There’s no better way to see the underbelly of your health and wellness than to fess up and come clean! It’s tough being honest with ourselves, but no one said health, spiritual wealth and happiness was going to be easy! You can imagine my bliss and excitement when I opened up a package to find gorgeous personalized journals by Bridget Morris. You can have one too! Check out what Bridget has to offer and transform your mornings from snoozey to sacred.
2. Buckle your seatbelts folks! Marie Forleo, Danielle LaPorte and yours truly are going to rock the mic at Urban Zen, November 12-14. This Rich Happy & Hot event is an entrepreneur’s dream, whether you’ve always wanted to take the plunge or you’re already in deep water and want to create a whirlpool of success and happiness. I’m just as excited to learn from Marie and Danielle as I am to share my own experiences and lessons learned as someone on a mission to blend the biz and wellness worlds. You’ll leave with tons of juicy knowledge, new and inspiring contacts and a whole lotta solid strategies to take your business the next level! Hope to see you there!
3. Holy taste buds … ready to get your vegan sweet tooth on? Now it’s even easier to treat yourself to Candle Cafe’s all-natural, vegan and kosher desserts made with organic ingredients. They’re in Whole Foods! I had the pleasure of sampling all five of their delectable treats, and I couldn’t pick a favorite if I tried. For your sake, I hope these goodies are available in a Whole Foods near you.
4. This head of broccoli made me giggle from head to toe! Glenda has created these sassy tees and bags to tell cancer to suck it!
5. Remember when I declared my love for Air Stream trailers? Diablo Cody has pimped out her trailer and taken it on the road for some killer interviews with her celeb pals. This is one of the best ways I’ve found to take a ten-minute brain break, enjoy some belly laughs and re-boot. A+ entertainment. Enjoy! (Warning: there are some f-bombs!)
6. Last but certainly not least, Sarma (owner of Pure Food & Wine) recently adopted one of CSL’s featured newsletter pups! I jumped for joy when I read her email explaining how she couldn’t get this little guy’s picture out of her mind after seeing him in our Animal Adoptions section. She has given this puppy a loving home and a chance for a long and happy life! Here’s adorable Quinn having a blast. Adoption rocks!
Peace & adorable adoptable puppies,
Kris Carr
Top Photo Credit: red betty black
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Mama Carr & Kris Carr
Glen Colello
Kris Carr and Vanessa Barg
