Meet Kimberlie :: Tomberlies Ice Cream

Kimberlie is amazing, let me tell you. She's very very into raw foods and eats a close to 100% raw diet. I love her too because she's also not following a "trend" or trying conform to be anything! She is just a die-hard fully-aware woman who believes that her health is a direct reflection of her diet {mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health that is}. She goes through the honest ebbs and flows of life and allows her body to feel what is right for her. She wasn't totally raw through pregnancy but was vegan and did a lot of raw during her second. She had two natural births, one at home. She gave me a lot of strength through both my pregnancies. She knows a lot and has a lot to say ... so I recommend you listen up! 

1. why do you eat raw and when/how did you get started on it?

I started eating raw 7.5 years ago when we met our nutritional  
counselor who wanted to help Tom with his Parkinson's.  Our daughter  
(who was 6 months at the time and totally breastfed) had a lot of  
digestive problems and food allergies and was just recovering  from  
whooping cough.  Within 2 days of switching to an all raw/vegan diet  
Tom was 50% better, and within 1 week of the switch our daughters'  
whooping cough symptoms were completely gone, along with her tummy  
troubles.    After a long transition and the birth of our son, the  
kids and I maintain a 100% raw/vegan lifestyle.  Transitioning was  
hardest for Tom who still eats cooked food.  Our son was intolerant  
of cooked food, which made staying raw necessary.  It was complete  
freedom when we stopped all cooked food.  It became very easy, much  
easier than trying to go back and forth.

2. your kids are raw? tell us more about their diets? what are some of their favorite things?  

The kids are now 5 and 8 and love eating raw.  They see the stuff  
that other people eat and it smells "yuck" and looks "yuck" to them.   
They see that other kids get colds and runny noses and they are  
thankful that they eat raw and are healthy.  They choose mostly fresh  
food and eat very simply.  A typical day is fruit and fresh juice in  
the morning and/or green smoothie.  Carrots, cucumber, lettuce and  
onion/cashew dip  in the afternoon, or collard wraps with anything  
inside.  Tomberlies any time after that, with salad in the evening.   
Occasionally they like crackers, Kookie Karma Krawkers or rosemary  
almond crackers that I make with guacamole or avocado slices.  Apples  
and almond butter or apple slices with basil pesto on occasion.  They  
definitely choose seasonal fruits and veggies and prefer salads and  
veggies in fall/winter while eating more fruit in the spring/summer.   
I love that they can eat whatever they want whenever they want.

3. tell us about your births and pregnancies? did you eat raw? vegan?

My first pregnancy was on the SAD diet.  I thought that I was eating  
really healthy with minimal processed food, but I had a cold that  
lasted 2 weeks every month for the entire pregnancy.  I became really  
sensitive to a lot of foods and had a very difficult birth at a birth  
center with 20 hours of intense labor and 4 hours of pushing.  My  
second pregnancy I juiced every day including wheatgrass and ate  
mostly raw and totally vegan with some cooked food.  I had a very  
uncomfortable pregnancy and wish that I had had eaten completely  
raw.  I did have a very easy, quick, pain free, unassisted home birth.

4. what advice would you give new moms about raw food and kids diets?

The most important thing to remember is to eat a lot of leafy  
greens.  Mix them up.  Put them in your smoothies and get your kids  
to eat them.  Green smoothies every day.   Most kids love collard  
wraps with a few veggies and hummus. They will eat salad with the  
right stuff on it.  Let them pick what they like.  Sliced cucumber,  
cherry tomatoes, shredded carrot, raisins, sunflower seeds, etc....   
Usually they will choose a simple dressing of just olive oil and salt  
or maybe some lemon squeezed on as well.  Kids instinctively know  
what they need as long as you give them access to fresh organic  
food.  See what they are drawn to and trust them.  Let them eat with  
their fingers too.  Touching food is important in getting to know it  
and makes it so much easier than trying to manipulate utensils with  
slippery lettuce. Simple cashew dip is great too:  

2 c. cashews  
juice of one small lemon
1 tsp. salt
1 c. H20
-- blend to smooth.  

You can add ¼c. sweet onion or 1 clove garlic and any combination of herbs.  

This dip is sooo versatile and makes eating fun.  New eaters  
can feed themselves, just put soft fruit in front of them and let  
them have at it.  My daughter loved pears, avocado and bananas.  My  
son loved oranges.  Both my children fed themselves, I didn't spoon  
feed them.   Kids will eat enough when the stress is off.  If my kids  
are hungry they get something to eat or ask for help.  We don't have  
"meal times", and I don't force them to "clean their plate".  They  
are both in the mid range for height and weight for their age, and  
are always healthy.

5. what advice would you give woman about to go into labor?

One quart of green smoothie every day,  breathe......talk to your  
baby.....breathe more.....

6. what advice would you give a pregnant woman about her diet?

I recommend eating 100% raw.  If that isn't as easy as it sounds,  do  
the best you can, and again, one quart of green smoothie every day.   
Read "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko, I feel that this book is  
the most important book on nutrition ever written.  She answers and  
explains any question you can possibly come up with.

7. tell me about tomberlies?

I started making raw/vegan ice cream for myself because life without  
ice cream wasn't possible.  It is my favorite food.  It is also a  
great way to get a meal in.  When I got good at making it, Tom came  
to me with a business card that read "TOMBERLIES
Raw Vegan Ice Cream", and the business was born.  I love that I can  
make a product that is supportive of Life.  I love that I can be  
helping people around the world by providing jobs for  people who  
provide me with the ingredients I need to make Tomberlies.  The kids  
and I talk about the impact of our business and what it means to us.   
My daughter is really impressed by how far reaching one persons  
actions can be, and is very thoughtful about what kind of a world she  
wants to grow up in.  Both the kids love eating Tomberlies.  With all  
the talk of "health care",  I like to think that I am creating health  
care in a cup, one cup at a time.