Wow, where do I begin… This month’s Sexy Bad Ass Vegan is one of the most influential people in the world of Raw Food and she is gracing the Bad Ass Vegan community by sharing more about herself to us. Looking at this beauty you would not guess that just 10 years ago she was living as a type 2 diabetic. But instead of giving up on life she decided to take life into her own hands. Not only did she change her own life by changing to an all plant based lifestyle she has encouraged and influenced so many others to look inside themselves to find the strength to do just the same. Say hello to @fullyrawkristina, Miss September!
Name: FullyRaw Kristina (Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram)
Where do you live and where are you from? Currently living in U.S. Houston, Texas. Have lived in 3 different countries. Half Ecuadorean and Half Lebanese. J
Age? 27 (Pisces!)
What do you do for a living/profession? FullyRaw Vegan Inspiration at www.fullyraw.com and Chief Co-operating Goddess at www.rawfullyorganic.com. I run the nation’s largest organic produce co-operative, located in Texas called Rawfully Organic. It’s a beautiful community focused on providing the local community with organic, fresh, and affordable produce while providing raw food education and supporting our local farmers. I also make YouTube videos, teach raw food classes, travel and speak, and more!
What do you like to do for fun? Random Facts about Me!
- I’m an artist. I studied ceramics and photography, and growing up I wanted to be a potter.
- I run the nation’s largest non-profit raw and organic food co-operative called @rawfullyorganic. 7 years and growing strong feeding 800+ families a week.
- I’m a bookworm! I love to read!
- I love water! I feel at home by the water. (I’m a Pisces)
- I went #FullyRaw 9 years ago to reverse my hyperglycemia. I haven’t been back to the doctor since. 100% HEALED!
- I hug trees when no one is watching.
- I LOVE my family.
- I’m loyal to my friends. I would rather have 10 close friends that I can love and trust unconditionally rather than 100K haters.
- My favorite fruit is chico sapote
- I salsa and belly dance!
- My favorite colors are deep coral orange and ocean turquoise
- I love Houston Texans football!
- My goal is to REACH PEOPLE. I do what I do because I love you all and genuinely want to make this world a better place!
Why did you become vegan? I was a pre-type 2 diabetic with hyperglycemia. I was diagnosed when I was 16, and I became extremely sick and emaciated by the time I was 18. A stranger tapped me on the shoulder in a Whole Foods and started telling me about eating raw and going vegan. I went FullyRaw in one night and never went back. Nearly a decade later, I am 100% healed and happy!
How was your transition? Because I came from a place of being very till, starting to eat raw vegan only made me feel better. I was so focused on being pure and healthy, and I was feeling SO good from eating nutritionally dense foods that the transition was exciting and easy. I had fun and took it one day at a time.
What is the funniest misconception(s) that you have heard about vegans? That we all sit around the fire and sing Kumbayah.
What is your Favorite thing(s) about being a vegan? Living kindly and compassionately on this earth has allowed me to come into my skin. Finding health allowed me to have confidence. I am privileged to be able to share this gift with my loved ones and friends to help make this world a better place.
What do you think makes a Sexy Bad Ass Vegan? A pioneer. Someone who isn’t afraid to stand out of the crowd for what they believe in….and who does it with style. 😉 Live as an example, and when necessary, use words. 🙂
What is the best vegan dish that you make in your kitchen? The best FullyRaw (vegan dish) that I am loving at this moment is my FullyRaw Cherry Cheesecake.
Raw Vegan Cherry Cheesecake! Low-fat, dairy free, chemical free, and delicious! Made with nature’s sweetness, this healthy dessert is delectable and divine! Ready for a slice?! Let’s put the cherry…on top! 😛
There are 5 main steps (or layers) to making this recipe:
STEP 1: THE CRUST
Ingredients for the crust:
- 2 cups of dried mulberries
- 2 cups of dried figs
- 1.5 cups of pitted dates
Place all ingredients into your food processor and pulse until it reaches a crumbly consistency. When ready, place your ingredients into your pie pan and push in the crust.
STEP 2: CASHEW MYLK (OPTIONAL)
Ingredients for the cashew mylk:
- Approximately 4 cups of cashews, soaked in coconut water or Evamor water for added sweetness.
Run ingredients through your juicer, and voila! You have cashew mylk! Place your mylk over to the side, and we will use it in a moment.
STEP 3: THE “CHEESECAKE” FILLING
Ingredients for the “cheesecake” filling:
- 7-10 frozen ripe bananas
- 2 cups of cashew mylk
- 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
- 1 vanilla bean
Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender like a Vitamix until it reaches an ice cream consistency. When ready, pour the ice cream into a mixing bowl, place in freezer, and let it set while we get ready to make our cherry swirl filling!
STEP 4: THE CHERRY GLAZE
In order to finish making the cheesecake filling, we need to make our cherry glaze! We will mix the cherry glaze with the cheesecake filling to make a cherry swirl!
Ingredients for the cherry glaze:
- Approximately 3 lbs of pitted cherries (If you don’t want to take the time to pit the cherries, you can also use frozen, organic cherries).
- 1 lb of pitted dates
Blend these ingredients together in a Vitamix blender or any other high speed blender of your choice. When ready, take the cheesecake filling out of the freezer and pour in the cherry glaze. Mix the 2 colored fillings together using a spatula and create a red and white SWIRL! After you have swirled the two together, go ahead and add the filling into the pie pan on top of the crust. If you have extra cherry glaze, go ahead and pour that on top of the middle layer filling.
STEP 5: PUT THE CHERRIES…ON TOP!
Last but not least, use your left over cherries and decorate them beautifully on top of your cheesecake! When you are finished, slide your cheesecake into the freezer for approximtately 4-6 hours. When ready, take it out, pull off the pie pan, and cut yourself a beautiful slice to eat! YUM!
What is the best Vegan Restaurant you have ever had the pleasure of eating at? Café Gratitude or Pure Food and Wine in NYC
What advice do you have for those that are thinking of transitioning to a vegan lifestyle? Take it one day at a time. Find the foods that you love to eat, and indulge in those. Find your inspirations and keep them with you. Surround yourself with people who support and uplift you. Believe in yourself. Remember that the WHY is more important than the HOW. Where there is a will, there is a way.
10 Comments
Congratulations Kristina! 🙂
Yes, you have inspired me! At a time in my life that I didn’t think it was possible anymore. I was a train wreck. I am 56 years old and weigh over 380 pounds. Have diabetes, high blood pressure arthritis just to name a few. I say WAS a train wreck because I have hope now of changing all that. I started watching your videos on YouTube and I think they just started working their magic on me 🙂 Sort of like the fast food TV commercials only in reverse 🙂
God Bless you and all you do Honey <3
You deserve all the accolades you can get!
Very cool to see Kristina featured! I’ve been following her for some time.
Jah love Christina. I love your work with the rawfully coop and on youtube and other social media. You are such a wonderful teacher, artist and an inspiration to so many. Your smile is contagious and you are so genuine. I envy how you were able to go fully raw vegan 80/10/10 right away. I have been vegan for over a 2 decades now and a raw vegan for 4 years. I started eating high raw a year ago and I am praying that I can get back on my path to fully rawganic vegan by next year. Thanks for everything. And you are a badassfully raw vegan goddess/guru. Blessed love.
So inspiring. Great recipes too. I have tried several. I am now about 85 percent vegan. I am so glad I found Kristina’s videos. I never would have thought I could become vegan. I thought the food would be too boring, but Kristina makes it look delicious! I hope to try that cherry cheese cake!
Kristina is amazing! An inspiration and role model for us all!
I’ve been watching Kristina for a little while now, and I’ve only been vegan for about 6 months, but she is inspiring me to make the switch to “raw”. It just takes some time. But I will get there. You are an inspiration for so many, keep up the good work. God bless.
Love Kristina….thanks for all the work you do in creating such yummy healthy recipes….yea!
BRAVA ! Love it ! Vegan lifestyle
So want that cheesecake!
This really demonstrates that you can still find individuals that care about the things they submit on the internet. I truly loved reading through the comments.
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