November 4, 2010
Yesterday, I was so excited talking about my mellow green smoothie that I overlooked something big. That post was my 365th: that’s a year’s worth of CR.
Back when CR was just an idea, I used to come up with all sorts of reasons why I shouldn’t start a blog: my writing wouldn’t be good enough, no one would care, my friends and colleagues would think I was even more of a wackadoo than they already do, I’d get attacked for my veganism, etc. Most of all, I worried that I would run out of content. How much could I possibly have to say about vegan food?
The past year and a half has proven me dead wrong. If any of you happen to be aspiring bloggers (foodie or otherwise), and you’re thinking that you won’t have enough content to fill a blog, let me put those fears to rest. If you write a blog about things you love—anything you love—you’ll have more content than you know what to do with. Trust me on this. No matter how many posts I write, I find myself constantly struggling to get everything I’d like to say on paper. And as I grow, so too does CR. It’s a fun part of blogging: as you evolve, your blog evolves with you. How could that not be an endless source of material?
In honor of a year’s worth of the mind-numbing sound of my own voice blogging, I thought I’d do an extra special CR giveaway. No, this isn’t raw treats or an appliance. It isn’t even raw food DVDs. It’s a free CR nutritional consultation with yours truly. In other words, if you haven’t yet gotten sick of me, you can talk to me about food and health for an hour on the phone. Free.
An initial CR consult will include:
- Discussion of your history with food, including your feelings about your body and your own self worth
- Discussion of what you eat day in and day out, and whether or not there are gaps in your diet that need filling
- Discussion of any health complaints that might respond well to plant-based nutrition
- How-to for some fundamentals of raw un-cooking
- Recipe ideas based on personal taste and preference
Before we start, I’ll be sending you a questionnaire that will help me get to know you and your goals.
In the last year, I’ve had to scale back my counseling practice dramatically to accommodate other professional projects, but I hope to expand it once again very early in 2011. Until then, nothing could make me happier than to give one of you a chance to sound off a bit about plant based food, body image, and health—and to give you encouraging feedback as you do. The deepest reward of being a blogger is to connect with likeminded men and women via the magic of keystrokes. What could be a more fitting celebration of a year’s worth of posts than the chance to connect with you outside of my blog—and offer some helpful feedback about nutrition while I do it?
There are a bunch of ways to enter. Each of these is worth one entry, so just use a new comment to tell me if you’ve done it:
1) Leave a comment telling me what sort of post you’d like to see more of within the next year of CR. Recipes? Nutrition talk? Body image/ED musings? Vegan rants discussions?
2) Tweet this giveaway, by copying and pasting the following text: @choosingraw is giving away a free plant-based health and diet consultation! https://bit.ly/aRSONk (Or at least include my twitter handle in your tweet.)
3) Like me, please like me, on Facebook.
I’ll announce the winner in exactly ten days: on Sunday, November 14th.
Good luck!!!!
xo
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Hi Gena,
This is Howard again. I just “liked” your FaceBook page.
Howard
Hello Gena,
What an amazing giveaway. If I could guide you around content, I would ask for much more around nutritional guidance. See, I have lost 131 lbs, and I now workout 5x/week in the gym (both cardio and resistance). I would love expert guidance on what I should be eating (types of food and quantity) to support the new healthy me (fyi, I now way 190 lbs). I want guidance on what are the best raw foods choices to keep me lean and strong, to keep my endurance up for the treadmill runs, etc.
Thanks! Howard
I’d like more recipes! Especially onion free ones:)
2.) I’d love to hear more about nutrition and digestive health, since that’s what I’m trying to figure out right now!
1.) I “liked” you on Facebook!
I would love to see more about raw foodism, the stereotypes and myths associated with it that still prevail. I’d like to hear you talk more about your stance on those issues. I very much enjoyed the posts you wrote on this topic.
Hmmmm I’d also love more recipes….can´t get enough recipes in my book 🙂
I’d like to see more of the philosophical type discussions you offer regarding vegan and raw diets! They are thought provoking!
I just tweeted you! (@lachilenguita)
Tweet, check. Like, check. More nutritional info please! i.e. raw diets, but balancing sugar and/or fats or workout recovery tips 🙂
Thanks, Gena 🙂
I would like to see your weekly shopping list and your great recipes!
I love your posts about Healthy Eating and finding balance. I love all of your posts, so you don’t have to change a thing!
I’d like to learn more about transitioning to a healthier lifestyle and taking my family along with me (5yr, 4yr, hubby). We’ve gotten into a huge food rut with very limited fruits, veggies and food likes that converting to a healthier lifestyle seems so daunting.
I would like to see some more ‘nutrition talk.’ I’m recovering from a loooong battle with an ED and knowing the benefits of food is so helpful for me!
I’d love to see more recipes…especially ones that are user friendly (i.e., non-specialty items). Personally, I’m also interested in learning about how you came to be a nutrition counselor, but maybe that is something we can discuss if I win! 🙂
I like the idea of more nutritional talk! And congrats on your bloggiversary 🙂
I would love reading more from you about nutrition. You have a gift for explaining in terms everyone can understand. Your kindness definitely comes through well in your writing!
I also RT’d and liked on Facebook!
I tweeted the giveaway 🙂
Gena I love your posts full stop but I’d love to see more thoughts on ED/body image, perhaps guest posts and of course more recipes!
Congratulations and happy blogging and thank you! 🙂
Hi Gena,
I love (and am inspired by) your raw recipes. Please keep it up for the next 365 posts. This week I saw Martha Stewart has a “cookie app” for the iPad. Like Betty Crocker, gone modern, Well, I bring your raw recipes into my kitchen on my laptop all the time…so how about a recipe app? A bit ambitious, but that should keep you busy 🙂
Cheers,
Kate
I enjoy your blog so much just as it is! But would love to see more raw recipes, especially using fall/winter produce. Thank you for such a generous give-away!
Happy 365th post!! I love the idea of more body image posts/discussions. Being vegan and family issues have intriged me as well. Thanks for the giveaway!
Hi Gena –
I’d love another post on cleansing / colonics and maybe something on food choices. If you are in a less than idea food situation and dont have your go-to vegan snacks what are the most important things to consider when deciding what to eat?
Happy 365 posts! LOVE the blog.
And I like it on Facebook! 🙂
Hi Gena-
Long time reader, first time commenter! I love your simple and quick recipes (just made the fig balsamic vinaigrette the other day- incredible). I really love cooking as well and I appreciate the simplicity of your flavors because they’re a nice starting point and lend themselves well to customization and modification.
Congratulations! Your blog is wonderful and amazingly helpful.
And…I just twitted!
Hey Gena!!! Congratulations!! 🙂 I love your blog and anythingyou post is fine. Recently, I specially loved the “easy vegan tortilla dinner” you posted, so I guess I would love to see more “mexican” recipes. Perhaps raw and/or vegan recreations of classic mexican dishes like enchiladas, pozole, chiles rellenos, tostadas?
Anything like that would be awesome!
Keep up the awesome work.
xoxo
Lola
what an awesome giveaway! i would love to see more posts on nutrition such as what foods provide what nutrition and how does one extract the maximum benefits from certain foods (e.g. soaking nuts. Also just love hearing your musings on topics or themes that pop up in the vegan, raw, food world.
And finally, I really love your blog and thanks for being encouraging for us newbie bloggers…it’s so great to hear support when you’re staring at your computer screen thinking you’ll never have anything to write.
I would love to see more vegan discussion/rants 🙂 and nutrition talk!
Tweet tweet tweet! I tweeted the giveaway.
I always love your recipes that you share – they are so fresh and pretty. More about nutrition would be fun too.
Like you on FB! 🙂
I would love to see more on nutrition and getting good balance throughout the day. Maybe even a general analysis of meal plans if that’s not too detailed?
This might be an interesting article for you read to
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_46/b4203103862097.htm
Would love to see more recipes that don’t require fancy gadgets (since I don’t own a Vitamix :))
I’m always excited for more recipes!! Please keep ’em coming!
I’d love to see more posts regarding nutrition. And in particular, highlighting eating seasonal produce (along with recipes!).
this giveaway is awesome! i was just thinking about how i wish i could afford your counselling services!
i really enjoy the ed discussions, simple recipes and when you write about issues you’re thinking about that day.
Congrats on 1 year! I have personally taken away so much valuable information from your blog, so thank you for taking the plunge to start it! I also appreciate that it is the most eloquently written blog I read. I’d love for you to continue writing about recipes (especially the ones that don’t require fancy equipment), and discussions about veganism.
Liked ya on Facebook. Why had I not done that before???
Congratulations on a year’s worth of posts! Amazing!
I love your vegan rants. I love hearing the compassionate Gena voice with just the right amount of fire underneath it. The combination is so effective in reaching those who may be turned off by typical preaching. Those posts make me think about why I do what I do. When I’m struggling, they help me to refine my stance. I’ve loved being a witness to your evolutoin with veganism and I’m excited to see where it takes you! Of course, I love all the other stuff too. Congrats again!
Heart you, my dear.
Congratuations Gena! I’d like to see more nutrition discussions, particuarly on any current debates in the nutrition field. Thanks so much for a year of wonderful recipes and thought-provoking discussions!
Congrats on your 365th post! Your blog is such a great source of nutritional information. Thanks to you I eat more kale especially this time of year!
I would like to see more day to day food tips. Such as meal planning and menu ideas. A free one hour consultation would be a dream come true!
Oh, and I liked you on Facebook on your second day of existence – does that count?? 🙂
Congrats on 365 posts! I always love your recipes, and would enjoy a few more of the easy ones for lunch or dinner in a pinch. And I would also like to hear a little more about the nutritional side of things, about which I am still learning a great deal.
I liked you on facebook
I tweeted it my name is @always_joy
I would love to see more ED musing on CR!
This is seriously the best giveaway EVER
My suggestion for future posts is a few recipes for someone dealing with Candida.
Me again – just tweeted about you!
Hi Gena! I like you on FB 🙂
wau! This post really made it work! Its so great to see how well received you are Gena and how many people wish for your advice! I just went to see a nutritionist yesterday and she told me there was nothing i could do to loose weight. I had damaged my body with such a long consecutive colorie restriction that even now trying to eat healthy and ” normal” i am gaining weight..and she wasn´t giving me any hopes…to be honest. I love ur post abot body image and ed mainly because it is rare to find a woman ( i don´t want o exclude the gents here..)who doesnt have a disturbed body image or broken relationship. Maybe featuring one of those rare woman might be inspiring… Thank you for that year of Genaism , haha 😉
Hey Gena! I have been a long time fan of your blog (I check it every morning along with the NY Times) and have enjoyed following your journey throughout the year. I feel like you are one of the only food bloggers who discusses the importance of balance in diet. Everyone else seems to be attached to a label-raw, vegan, foodie, etc. Everyone really is welcome at CR and I can feel it. So thank you for providing such a welcoming place to discuss all topics free of judgement.
As far as topics I would like to see-how about more on how to incorporate raw/vegan foods with a loved one (i.e. your new bf). I recently started dating someone and would love some insight into how to integrate our different eating habits. Plus the holidays are coming up and I am the only health conscious one in my family and I’m sure I’m not alone here.
I could really use a session with you. I feel a little lost in my diet. I started my journey into raw foods a year and a half ago and felt great until this summer. Everything seemed to fall apart and i was put on a parasite cleanse that only let me feeling worse. Then I was told to incorporate animal foods into my diet (I am a vegetarian) and that helped a little, but I know there has to be a vegan alternative.
Anyway, you are one of my food heros and at the very least I got a chance to come out of blog hiding and thank you.
PS
I facebook liked you 🙂
I just started researching raw and trying to incorporate more raw into my diet this week. So, more recipes would be greatly appreciated…..especially ones that do not require a dehydrator. 🙂 I haven’t found a raw option other than smoothies that I’d actually want to eat for breakfast just yet.
I also “liked” you on facebook!
I would love to see more vegan restaurant reviews, smoothie recipes and “meal-sized” salads. Yum!
Hi Gena, congratulations! I would love to see more recipes for the food you make every day– as you mentioned recently, you might not think to post something as simple as a salad recipe, but I would love some inspiration in this department and yours always look fabulous.
Oh, and Tweeted! (mmhoneycutt)
Liked you on FB! (Mimi Honeycutt)
Maybe I’m greedy, but I’d like to see all of those kinds of posts! But for more specifics…I always find your “digestive remedies” posts fascinating.
And I already liked you on Facebook!
I would love to see more recipes! I can’t get enough!
Gena, I appreciate your candid posts and all your health related advice. I especially like reading your recipes that are minimal equipment (i.e. no dehydrator!) and easy to make after work, or when short on time.
I would love to be entered into your health counseling giveaway.
I wuold love more raw food recipes for cold weather!!!
And tweeted! Can you tell how much I would love to win this? 🙂
Don’t change a thing!!! You provide a great balance of all subjects. Your site provides a wealth of knowledge in my journey to becoming vegan.
Thanks and keep it coming.
I just liked you on facebook!
I’d love to see more smoothie recipes and some nutrition talk! By the way you are an excellent writer who expresses her thoughts so eloquently – I’m not sure how you could have doubted your writing ability for a blog!
I won’t take up space in your giveaway, but I just wanted to congratulate you on a year’s worth of seriously worthy content – despite the fact that you say your material is endless, I still think it’s no simple feat to make everything you say worthwhile, but you pull it off right classy-like. You’re totally my hero.
Love you!
I’d love to see more nutrition talk. I have so much to learn there!
1. I love reading your vegan discussions/musings that deal with ‘how can or how should vegans ideally deal with everyday non-vegan situations/people’. I think there’s always been amazing and very interesting feedback on those topics on here!
2. Liked you on facebook, of course! 🙂
I love your recipes and don’t think I will ever grow tired of them! More desserts and entertaining type recipes would be awesome! 🙂
I already like you on FB! 🙂
I always love reading your thoughts on vegan nutrition, body image and finding a balance that suits each individual. Your down to earth, balanced attitude to food and health is so refreshing and positive – more of the same please!!!
I love the recipes. I am not a raw eater by any stretch of the imagination, but I adore experimenting and your recipes have allowed me to do that. Your cashew pizza cheese? I fed it to my whole family and nobody knew it wasn’t really CHEESE!
Hi Gina! I would love to see more recipes. I learn so much from you with your recipes. I also love to read your honest and candid thoughts. Just keep up the great blogging and look forward to new ones all the time. Have a great day!
I friended you on FB too!
I love your food posts, so more of those please! You inspired me to try sweet potatoes on my salad — i would NEVER have thought of that — and they were KILLER!! so the next day i added lentil sprouts too 😀 …re ED’s, anything on binge eating would be helpful, if you have knowledge in that area. In my case, it’s certainly both stress-related and hormonal.
i liked you on facebook.. 🙂
I love your blog and recipes so much. I would like to see a few more “How To” on the recipes, pictures are great. I have been mostly vegan for about a year, and I want to start cooking more, time is just my problem and well sometimes I dont know what is what when I am attempting new recipes. Overall your blog is GREAT!!!!!! Thanks for inspiring me to stay vegan!
I would definitely love to see more recipes – those are my favorite! Particularly sauces and dressings, since they are just so versatile!
I just liked you on Facebook – I didn’t even know you had a Facebook page! (I read using a Reader, so I rarely hit the actual site – sorry!)
Hey Gena,
I need BALANCE. I have such a black and white mentality and I flit here and there. All fruit, then Natalia Rose, and then back to 811 lfrv. I feel crazed half the time.
I’d like to see more recipes! All your recipes look fabulous! Congrats on 365 posts!
Hey Gena-
Congrats on your 365th post! That is incredible.
I would love the content you’ve provided so far. The one thing I would like to see more of is nutritional information. I think it’s hard to find sources that I trust- and I find your opinion very valuable when it comes to these issues!
Thanks for your wonderful writing 🙂
Hey Gena-
Congrats on your 365th post! That is incredible.
I would love the content you’ve provided so far. The one thing I would like to see more of is nutritional information. I think it’s hard to find sources that I trust- and I find your opinion very valuable when it comes to these issues!
Thanks for your wonderful writing 🙂
I’d like to see more vegan rants…just kidding. More recipes please!
I would love to hear more about nutrition. I try to read about it, but I would definitely like to hear your thoughts on many nutrition issues (supplements, food and fitness, trends, etc.). And I love your recipes too! I really love your blog as it is 😉
Also, I’m a Facebook fan 🙂
I would love to see more recipes! Everything I’ve made so far from your archive has been fabulous!
I also “liked” Choosing Raw on Facebook.
I love your recipes, so keep those coming. I’m also interested in nutrition/health discussions, maybe tackling some trends and giving your sensible take on whether there is some nugget of truth to their claims (I’m thinking of the Metabolic Effect Diet, for one).
Thanks for all the great content! I’m looking forward to more in the future!
I would love to see more recipes, but I like your blog just as is!
I liked you on facebook and twitted too!!
Ana
Hey Gena,
Just keeping writing with honesty — I know it takes courage, and I really appreciate that.
On that note, I would love it if there were more posts on how to deal with negative body image. I’m on a downward spiral and want to stop it. I
..oh and I liked you on Facebook!
Hi Gena! I love all your raw recipes and would love to see more of them. They are some of the most delicious and simple recipes out there. I love raw foods and will sometimes spend hours on the weekends buying fancy ingredients, prepping, blending, and dehydrating over and over again to follow the recipes you find in raw food books. But I can whip up a batch of your red pepper marinara and zucchini dressing on a monday night and still have time to relax! It’s been a blessing. Thank you and congratulations on your year of blogging 🙂
Hi, Gena! I’d love to hear guidance on how to include more raw foods during the colder months. I was enjoying a high-to-me raw diet over the summer and then October hit (I’m in New England). I still love smoothies in the am, but I cant say I’m thinking of uncooked foods the rest of the day. Thanks!
PS: I’m a crazylady and entered all 3 ways; if this is too greedy, please let mr know.
how fun! I love your recipes
I’d love to see more thoughts on ED/body image
I would love for you to get more into the nutrition side of things! And more recipes wouldn’t hurt!