About
I’m Julie Kalivretenos and I live in the greater Orlando, FL area with my husband, our 3 kids, YiaYia (Greek for grandmother); and Gorilla, the 25-pound beast that’s a black cat.
I started Julie’s Raw Ambition shortly after discovering raw food cuisine in July of 2007. Since that time, it has evolved from a personal, health driven journey to also include a manifestation of my life long love of gastronomy and ever-refining culinary point of view. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2003, and refused to believe I’d be banished to culinary doom, forsaking the art and alchemy of preparing beautiful food. In fact, I credit the condition for the awareness and creativity it has given me.
The recipes featured on this blog are raw, vegan, or vegetarian and always organic and local when possible. But here’s the thing. Just because you eat raw, vegan, or vegetarian does not mean you drive around Berkeley in a VW bus singing koombaya, or that you’re an eco-terrorist, or that you think people who eat meat are evil. Well, it might describe some folks, but personally I’m far from any of those things. Going vegetarian or raw certainly raises awareness and empathy toward other living creatures, but that is a different discussion, really a different blog altogether.
The reality of increasingly widespread epidemics like obesity and cancer that are connected directly to industrialized food and poor lifestyle habits are turning more and more people to alternative forms of diet and taking control of their own health. And so fortunately, this is also taking form within the mainstream culinary world no matter what you do or don’t eat. We are becoming increasingly conscious of the quality and source of the foods we consume. Fundamentally, I have always been a home gourmet. And my goal is to inspire all types of eaters who just want to do it healthier and creatively so. It is an absolute misconception that raw and vegan cuisine is destitute, reduced to celery and carrots and little else.
I have a tremendous passion for travel, which I try to do as often as possible. Naturally, visiting other cities, states, or countries inspires me in the kitchen. And I really get excited at the prospect of getting my hands on anything that isn’t attainable in Central FL (which seems like a lot) whether it’s a type of vegetable or an amazing restaurant.
Julie’s Raw Ambition is my place to share my recipes, travels, restaurant experiences, culinary events, inspirations of any kind, and my amateur photography. Sometimes I’ll feature an interpretation of a recipe from one of my many, many cookbooks (a collection built out of a total obsession).
Photography & Recipes:
I take all of my own food photos with a Nikon P80. It’s a great camera and does a fine job for now, but photography is a medium I’m just tapping into. Being an artist, it’s quickly turning out to be another obsessive hobby that’ll probably take me the distance.
Most of the recipes here are my own. Occasionally, I’ll feature a favorite from one of my many cookbooks or from a favorite chef. I often get all excited by something I ate somewhere, or something I learned from someone. I’m not a professionally trained chef, although I would love to be someday (not to be confused with the desire to enter the food service industry). I’m currently considering some chef’s training programs in New York City and California.
Background:
My early career began in radio in West Palm Beach, FL, interning for syndicated talk show host Todd Schnitt, and shortly thereafter I was a field news reporter for CBS-affiliate, WPEC in West Palm Beach, FL. I parlayed into the world of multimedia, eventually taking a creative role for a TV production company where we produced documentaries on subjects like Marilyn Manson, Korn, alien cults, and technology programs for networks such as CNN and CNBC. Around came the dot.com wagon and I was picked up and fabulously overpaid as an art director at a fast-growing start up which quickly got too big for its britches (and its pockets) and blew up like many of the rest. Flying through the air, I was caught by Hitachi and again landed as an art director to start up their newly formed IT consulting division. But the dot.com volatility really wore me out, so I got my Raja-Hatha Yoga instructor’s certification in 2003 and started teaching yoga and healthy cooking classes.
Contact: You got something to say? E-mail me at julie@juliesrawambition.com. Spammers will get their weenie asses sicked by my specially built cyber bodygaurd, THOR.
Comments:
Comments = love, and they are much appreciated because your feedback is invaluable. It makes it worth all those hours of kitchen slaving and typing until my fingers are blue to know I’m not hollering out into cyber-space oblivion all alone. (Okay, so I actually like kitchen labor and my fingers aren’t really blue.) But I won’t publish hate comments. Instead, I’ll forward the IP addresses to all the spammers that Thor bit.
Legal mumbo-jumbo:
All of my content is protected under a Creative Commons License, particularly Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. This simply means that I don’t mind if you download or use my photos or recipes, just please be a champ and link back to my blog and give me proper credit. In the case of photo usage, please let me know first that you think a particular photo is so scrumptiously awesome that you want to put it on your site, before you do it. It’s so uncool, to say the least, to rip off someone else’s stuff and then publish it as yours.
Hi julie,
I just moved to the Orlando area, actually near the airport and was given your website by a GITMR member living in Italy. I’m so glad she did. would love to connect and meet you. am on my own raw journey to becoming completely raw.
Hi Julie. My name is Jaime, and I found your blog through my friend Rawleen. I’ve just started my own blog (well, I haven’t gotten past a brief intro paragraph) to try to encourage me to up the ante on my raw food journey. I’ve really enjoyed reading your super fun narrative and you’ve created some great-looking recipes. I live in Satellite Beach, so I really should make a trek into Orlando to some of the great places you’ve spotlighted. Thanks for all the great info. J’aime cru!
Hi Julie
Olive Mackey sent me a link to the Orlando message board the other day - I noticed that some people were wondering about our opening date - It will likely be at the end of June or just after the July 4th holiday. We want to have everything fine tuned when we open. I’ll be sending out a link to our revised website and an exact date once we finalize everything. Also, your website is fantastic.
All the best
Matthew Kenney
Hi Matthew,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and taking the time to update me on the opening. I’ll be traveling the Med throughout the month of June into the 1st week of July, so it sounds like I may be back just in time. I look forward to it, and hope to meet you as well!
Take care!
Julie
Hello Julie,
Found your blog via We LIke It Raw. I am a recent raw food convert having become Raw Food Coach in Switzerland where this lifestyle is practically unknown. If your travels via Europe take you to Switzerland, do come and see me. I am thinking of running a raw bed and breakfast on Lake Geneva!
My family and I are traveling to your part of the world this July, staying in Miami Beach, Orlando and then Fort Lauderdale so am looking for raw food tips while there. I am so looking forward to finding wonderful food there. Many thanks ahead, and keep well, Amy
You have a really great blog! I haven’t spent too much time looking around at the content yet, but I really like the layout. Very appealing to the reader.
Hi Julie,
We noticed that you are following “No Reservations” on Twitter and like your blog, so we wanted to get in touch with you regarding Anthony Bourdain’s season premiere of “No Reservations” which airs Monday, July 7th. We thought you and Julie’s Raw Ambition readers would love the inside information.
We have access to an exclusive video about the new season and chose just a few bloggers to send it to:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/TravelChannel/videos/2/
We are also giving a few lucky bloggers some Bourdain swag (hat, signed posters, DVDs) to keep, give to a neighbor or use to run a giveaway contest to your loyal readers. You make that call. Let us know if you are interested in any of the promotional items – we have a very limited number.
In the premiere, Bourdain finds himself in picturesque Laos, with exotic cuisines and mysteriously haunting history. Anthony visits a completely different world that experiences the benefits of being non-Wessternized, a place that doesn’t need another Starbucks or KFC. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser and unlike any of his other travels.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you would like to receive an email before each show airs with a special preview to keep your blog updated, just let me know.
On another note, as we are putting more online community platforms in place we would love your feedback. Join in on the conversation on Anthony’s blog, or follow him on Twitter to receive the latest updates. Tell your readers about them, too!
On a more personal note, I hope this email is not offensive to you. I maintain my own personal blog, and am familiar with the annoyance of spammy messaging. If you have ideas on how Travel Channel or Anthony Bourdain might be able to promote your blog or better contribute to your interests – please be sure to let me know.
With Appreciation,
Emma Sefton
Room 214, Inc. on behalf of the Travel Channel
http://www.room214.com
http://www.travelchannel.com
Hey! I found your blog via Ethos Vegan Kitchen’s website!
I also live in the Orlando area, and have a blog as well: http://www.FLVegan.wordpress.com.
I hope you’ll check it out!
~Erin @ “Vegan & the City”
I just revisited your blog after quite some time! What a gem…especially for folks living in the Central Florida area!
I’m now following you on Twitter (my handle is Social_Citizen). Also, I work for a company called IZEA, here in Orlando. We’re hosting a social media/blog conference next month at the Grand Bohemian, and I thought you and your audience might be interested in learning about it. It’s called IZEAFest — http://izeafest.com.
Looking forward to reading more of your blog!
Erin & Akeorlando - Hi there! Thanks for stopping by and I have bookmarked both of your blogs. It’s always great to meet new people here locally!
Hi Julie
I love your blog. When I first downloaded your recipes, I assumed you were from California. When I looked at your blog today and realized you were from Orlando, I was so excited. It’s so refreshing to find more people are interested in healthy food in this area. I love learning about others in this area that are into health and good quality food. I love your recipes. They are so creative, beautifully presented, and so healthy.
Thank you,
Sheri
Hi Sheri! Thank you so much for your kind comments. It feels great to be able to share my passion for healthy, beautiful foods and even more exciting to hear from another foodie in the Central FL area!
Hi Julie,
Just stopping by to say hi and to tell you again (it has been a bit) that I really like your new site’s layout….very appealing. You are one fabulous girlfriend! I am adding your link to my blog now…should’ve done it sooner!
Green hugs, Tina
ps…next time I get back to Orlando to visit the family, I will send you a line. We were just there in June so it will be a bit. Are there any raw places on O’town yet?
T
[...] November 2008 by akeorlando Like it raw? Put the brakes on: I’m talking about food here! Well-being enthusiast blogger Julie Kalivretenos recently published a post reviewing and interviewing the owner of the new Café 118° in Winter [...]
Hi Julie,
I love your review on Cafe 118, as well as your website. I work at the cafe and may have served you and your husband once or twice. I really appreciate your comments and insitefullness about raw food. Raw food is as you said an “art” . It is creative in how the meals are put together and vibrant in color because they are not cooked off. You don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian, anyone that loves food will enjoy this food.
Again a big thanks for your support and I am sure we will see you soon at the cafe!
PS Great recipes…can’t wait to try some!
Christine
[...] when I can, came across this website, Julie’s Raw Ambition, and told me about it. It is run by Julie Kalivretenos and she lives in the greater Orlando area. She shares on her website her journey on the way to [...]
Nice blog! Just discovered it via blip.fm, where you’re a favorite. I’m going to forward your blog to my vegetarian daughter who lives in San Francisco.