About to ask me a question that I probably hear every day? Welcome to the FAQ section of the site. I will be adding to this frequently!

Help! I can’t find my way back to the main/home page!

No sweat…hell, its my blog and it took me a second or two to figure it out. Just click The Coconut Chronicles Header on the top of the page to be taken back to the main page.

Hey I remember you from a year ago… why did you stop updating?!

A detailed explanation can be found in THIS ENTRY.

How do you get your protein and minerals? Aren’t you worried about a B12 deficiency?

This may come as a surprise but fruits and vegetables do contain protein! Ditto to minerals! Spinach is an excellent source of iron for instance. Here is a great article on B12 in the raw vegan diet: Click Here!

Do you take any supplements?

Yes I do…more out of habit than any sense of impending nutritional doom. I take a whole foods prenatal supplement, an omega 3 supplement and a pomegranate supplement.

Is this a raw food blog or not? I see a bunch of other crap in here

Well… to put it indelicately, this is my little corner of cyber space Sparky. This is a blog about me… my interests… my dreams all of which are generally hodgepodge (e.g. raw foods, knitting, books). So if the thought of eating fruits and/ or vegetables in their natural state of glory turns your stomach, the mention of knitting brings back bad memories of your Grandma Mabel, and you just don’t dig on the written word (yes, I’m talking to all you aliterates out there) I bid you safe journey…

Do you wear makeup? What do you use for shampoo/conditioner? What lotion do you use? Etc…

Yes I do wear makeup. I don’t go overboard with it but I love enhancing my features with it. Is it natural? Well while I believe the answer to this is debatable (ancient tribes adorned their bodies with dyes made from fruits and plants etc) the most common response is NO it’s not “natural”… then again neither is getting on a plane and I have no intentions of halting all my travel plans. My preferred brands of makeup are Bare Minerals, Chanel and Lancome.

My hair is dry and curly (a deadly combination for frizz) and thus needs serious conditioning that wouldn’t be achieved through a more “natural” approach. I typically switch back and forth between the following brands; Kiss My Face (no animal testing!), Beauty Without Cruelty (another company that does not test on animals) and the two more secular brands; Kérastase Nutritive and Alterna Ten.

I always wear an SPF (by Kiss My Face) on my face but outside of that the only other moisturizing agents I use are pure aloe and unrefined shea butter (comes in a tub with no fancy packaging straight from Africa).

Hey! You eat/prepare/wear greens/honey/leather/silk therefore you’re not a fruitarian/vegan/raw foodist!

I intensely loathe labels. None of us are the same person we were yesterday… a week ago… a year ago. We are always evolving, changing, bettering ourselves… and yes making mistakes along the way. I am not 100% of anything right now but my way of eating works well for me TODAY. Tomorrow I might modify. This does not make me a fraud. It makes me human and real. Right now this way of eating is an experiment of sorts. I have not signed my name in blood to a raw vegan contract and I will not burn in a fiery vegan hell because my husband happens to own a leather jacket. If these things are important to you in your journey, I applaud and admire your efforts as I fully understand that the burden is not a light one.

I recall vividly the day I found out that camera film was not vegan friendly and it was at that point I realized that the stress of filtering out all the animal products in my life was having the same adverse effects on my health as eating junk. It is just not worth it to me. Plus call me shallow but I really don’t want to part with all my expensive silk clothing. If I err along the way I make a point not to berate myself. I pick myself up, brush myself off and continue on. Stress is INCREDIBLY damaging to the body and the mind.

Besides, honey is extremely good for you.

Why do you post pictures of non vegan food?

The reason for this is simple; because my loved ones are not vegan or raw and I still enjoy cooking for them. I will however acknowledge the raw vegans who do read this blog and in an attempt to minimize any “trigger” reactions that may occur upon seeing these shots the entries in question will always be boldly marked as non vegan and easily skipped over. I am not in the business of judging. We are all on different journeys. My path might be different than yours but it is not for me to tell you what to eat or wear or think. These are “truths” you decide for yourself. You might disagree with me… and I might disagree with you but I sincerely wish you all the best on your journey.

What percentage of raw are you?

Usually somewhere between 85% and 95% meaning that I only eat one or two cooked foods a week (for example one serving of very lightly steamed broccoli or one serving of beans without rice)

What non-raw foods do you eat?

Mainly a glass of soy milk here and there, tempeh, certain spices (smoked paprika for instance), beans, steamed or baked sweet potatoes and occasionally I will eat steamed cruciferous vegetables. I also eat nuts and for the most part I am fairly sure that they are raw but these days you can never tell absolutely. I try not to sweat the small stuff.

Can you recommend come raw food books to me?

Sure can! Visit our book reviews section!