Ariel Policano is a doctor of natural medicine (naturopathic physician). Her introduction to live foods took place in a small health food store in one of the great neighborhoods of Manhattan. The store was called Healthy Chelsea. In the store, she was introduced to wheatgrass juice and a tiny but compelling book called, “Be Your Own Doctor” by Ann Wigmore . Ariel consumed the works of Norman Walker, Bernard Jensen, Paavo Airola and others who wrote about the wisdom behind cleansing the body and enjoying living foods.
In 1993, Ariel traveled to Puerto Rico to meet Dr. Ann Wigmore at her institute. After 2 intense weeks of cleansing, live foods, wheatgrass, and the teachings of Dr. Ann her life was never the same. She went on to study at the National College of Natural Medicine, a 4 year medical institution. Her focus has been treating women’s health conditions through cleansing the body and encouraging her patients to consume live vegan foods and superfoods. With her understanding of women’s health, natural medicine and raw foods, she develops programs that address specific women’s health challenges. These include menopause, PMS, infertility, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, uterine fibroids, breast cysts and many others.
Andrea Livingston is a gifted, creative, and knowledgeable raw food chef. She graduated from Living Light Institute, the only culinary institute in the country that exclusively teaches the art of preparing live, vegan foods. She is particularly talented in creating dishes that are as delicious as they are nutritionally balanced. This comes from her studies in human nutrition and organic gardening.
Andrea has a degree in Environmental Studies with an emphasis on Human Health and Sustainable Agriculture as well as a BA from Prescott College in Arizona. She completed an apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture in Santa Cruz, California, which prepared her for 10 years of organic vegetable and medicinal herb farming.
Her recipe writing skills developed naturally as a result of her success as an organic gardener; there was much food to prepare! From 2000-2004, Andrea worked as the garden manager at Bastyr University, a Naturopathic College in Kenmore, Washington. In 2005 she moved to Portland, Oregon with a wonderful addition to her family, her son, Isaac.
Andrea is the owner of Phytofoods in Portland, Oregon. She offers live food preparation classes, private chef services, personal consultations, and workshops for healthy living and raw food “uncooking.” Her blog (www.phytofoods.blogspot.com) focuses on creating recipes that both adults and children can enjoy. When she is not in the kitchen, Andrea enjoys running, yoga, gardening, and spending time with her family.
