Hello and welcome to The Raw Food Project!
My name is Sonja Bannon and I am a certified chef specialized in raw and living foods. I am originally from Switzerland and relocated to the United States about 14 years ago to study at a university in California.
In 2000, I got sick with anxiety attacks and candida. I chose a natural approach to healing. I knew that the road to health included changing my diet. At the time, the elimination of sugar, meat and dairy products from my diet was crucial. I became vegan for most of the time and collected some books on my way. I came across Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. I loved the pictures and was very intrigued by this lifestyle but also surprised by the technical jargon and strange raw food preparation.
It took a visit to Pure Food and Wine restaurant in New York in 2007 to fall in love with raw food. But was not quite ready to do it.
I returned to New York in 2009 and promised myself to visit the juice bar and take away meals from One Lucky Duck®. I bought a dessert so delicious that I had to stop on Washington Square to take a moment and savor every bite. I could not believe it! That’s when I realized that I was finally ready to adopt this new way of eating!
I finally took the path of raw food in May 2009. For health reasons, I went to a 10 days detox at the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. The detox program consists of raw food meals, classes on the preparation of raw foods and also treatments to ease and facilitate the detox process. This experience has really changed my life! I lost 5 pounds during the 10-days program and I continued to lose weight during the following weeks. That’s when I adopted the lifestyle of raw food.
I decided that I wanted to know more about it and learn to prepare raw foods that are so delicious that even cooked food eaters would dare to try! I enrolled and graduated from the full training at 105Degrees Academy.
I am eating mostly raw foods because that’s when I feel the best. Adding raw foods to any diet will provide a better nutrition on your road to regain or maintain health. I would like to show you through sharing my knowledge and experience that you can create great raw dishes for your family and friends to enjoy.
You can contact me if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.
Bon appétit!
