PA Eats’s weekly radio show, Eat, Drink and Meet Mary, recently welcomed a local raw superstar to chat about his intriguing foodie lifestyle. With Brad Gruno of Brad’s Raw Chips on the spot, host Mary Bigham dove into the nitty gritty of going “raw,” revealing how easy it can be and why it may be good for your furry friends too – plus, we heard insider tips from the raw king himself!
We’ve dabbled in all types of eating trends and lifestyles here on Eat, Drink and Meet Mary but could you give us your definition of what it means to have a raw diet?
Brad Gruno: It’s a plant based diet. There’s no meat involved. It’s mainly vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts and it’s nothing cooked above 115 degrees, meaning you can dehydrate foods as well. That’s the kind of food I sell.
So this is something you’ve been doing since 2006?
BG: I started to get involved around 2006 and the reason that I believe raw is the best way to go is because you’re eating foods that are alive basically. They have living enzymes in them so there are more nutrients. Most people don’t know but when we cook our food, we kill off a lot of the nutrients. But, I do want to clarify one thing. I did eat raw food for one whole year and it was really difficult. However, on the flip side, I lost 40 pounds and brought my cholesterol down very quickly. Now that I’ve been doing this for years, I realized it’s very hard to do 100% raw but if you look at it like a cleanse, and develop an 80/20 diet after that, you’ll feel amazing.
Can you explain the 80/20 approach to our listeners?
BG: It’s just about being more conscious. What I try to do is get up and drink green smoothies in the morning, like kale and leafy greens. It’s about eating more salads. If I’m out traveling and I want to have a cooked meal, I think about what else I ate that week and decide whether I’m on the right track to consume something non-raw. So as long as you’re making your best effort to eat 80% raw and reserve that 20% for a little cheating, you’ll be fine.
With the holidays among us it’s not always easy to follow a diet, no matter what it entails. What do you suggest?
BG: My biggest thing is, I just kind of go with the flow. If I’m down at my mom and dad’s and they’re not into raw food, I’m not going to demand a little special meal that day. I just go with the flow. I enjoy it but the next day, I’ll just make sure I eat a little bit healthier. At this point, I’ve been through it all and I can maintain my weight just with cleansing and conscious decisions.
Speaking of challenges, did you go through one this year or is this in ongoing thing with your company?
BG: We schedule them periodically – like on Facebook we might have Brad’s 7 Day Raw Challenge. It’s for those people who have never heard about raw and want or need free advice. We might do it starting the first of the month and then you can go to the site and we’ll share recipes or give products away to those who are sharing what they ate. That way if you have questions or if you need a companion, there may be close to 30 people doing it and they’re all trying different things so you can learn from each other. We also started something called The Nourished Community which is a lot of free advice but we have coaches on there as well.
Let’s talk about your products because PA Eats has an ultimate Gift Guide right now, including perfect presents for foodies in your life, and Brad’s Raw Foods’ items are featured in it as a top notch suggestion.
BG: I mainly sell dehydrated products and there are two right now. We have chips made from vegetables and seeds. We grind them up and spread them on a tray and they look just like chips. There are different flavors like yams, beets, kale, etc. Our most popular item, however, is the leafy kale. We take kale and de-stem it, then make a batter from cashews and raw sunflowers seeds to rub on the kale. We dry that and create different flavors like Vampire Killer, which has lots of garlic, or Nasty Hot with jalapenos. We sell everything online at BradsRawFoods.com and you can get the products at most Wegman’s, Whole Foods Markets, and health stores nationwide.
Just out of curiosity, are the products locally sourced?
BG: Well, we started off local and now we’re buying up to 15,000 lbs. of kale a week so we can’t get it all from local farmers. Plus, it’s not just me. If you go into restaurants now they are featuring more and more kale salads so farmers are starting to produce larger quantities but because of the demand and seasonal factors as well, we source from various locations.
Could you explain what’s the best way for people to embrace the raw food diet over other options that are common throughout media today?
BG: Well the first thing they have to do is understand it and realize that there are so many ways to put raw items together to create a fabulous meal. It comes down to education. I’m blessed that there was a local raw food restaurant, Arnold’s Way, near me when I decided to go raw so hey helped me out a lot and I was always asking questions. It just comes down to people learning more and understanding that there are ways to present raw food that make it taste amazing, almost non-raw.
I have two dogs, Waffles and Piper, so canine friends are very important to me and I heard you have products for them as well?
BG: I do. In fact I’m surprised you even heard about that. We’ve been working on this for about 6 months now. It’s not available for purchase yet but will be in the next couple weeks. It’s a raw dehydrated treat for a dog. It’s made up of kale, other vegetables and seeds and it’s people friendly, too.
Having dogs of my own, I wonder is it over the top and insane for me to give them the best diet that I would want to give myself or is that something more and more dog owners are doing?
BG: I notice more and more people are giving their dogs a raw based diet but that doesn’t mean plant based. They’re giving them raw foods with meat and chicken and all that. I’m not here to say what is better, vegan or vegetarian or whatever but I just know, I feel very confident that vegetables are good for dogs. Dogs need meat, I’m not going to argue with that but if it’s just a treat, go for the vegetable. I have some friends who feed their dogs only raw and those pups are in great shape. I can’t officially say that they are healthier than other dogs but it’s just like me – I’m not a doctor but I know that I feel great!
Find more information on Brad’s Raw Chips in PA Eats Holiday Gift Guide or on their website at BradsRawChips.com. Don’t forge to LIKE Brad’s Raw Chips on Facebook for delicious updates as well!
