Interview with Paul Mamakos from Everything Raw

Monday, September 14, 2009 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: raw foods, health news, Natural News

(NaturalNews) Here's an interview with Paul Mamakos, founder of Everything Raw (www.everythingraw.com). This is the company that makes what I consider to be the very best testing raw food bar on the market today: the Yoga Bar. In this interview, I talk to Paul about his first product, his "Raw Decadence Bar," which has become hugely popular among nutrition and raw foods enthusiasts.

Mike: I would like to introduce Paul Mamakos from Everything Raw, and that's www.everythingraw.com, and what you have here is a new 100% raw food bar. Is that how you describe it, a "food bar?"

Paul: Yeah, it is called the 'Raw Decadence Bar' and all the ingredients are certified organic and they are top-notch quality, and if we do find an ingredient that is not meeting our standards, we will just kind of change out the ingredients.

Mike: So let's talk about the ingredients that are actually in this bar...

Paul: Well, the main ingredient is cacao; it is the whole bitter chocolate pod, and then in addition to that, we have some other nuts such as pecans and raw cashews. We have raw dates, agave, the dark agave, and cinnamon, vanilla and other great stuff, like some cold-pressed coconut oil.

Mike: I can actually taste everything you mentioned. The cinnamon and vanilla are an interesting mix. Now, let's talk about what's not in it, of course: No refined sugars...

Paul: No way!

Mike: No hydrogenated oils, no chemical preservatives. How do you give it any kind of shelf life?

Paul: Well, the moisture content is pretty low. We do dehydrate it a little bit and we vacuum seal the bags, so the low moisture and low air content makes them last longer. And pretty much, they're dry ingredients. Cacao is dry altogether.

Mike: So if you put together the healing properties of all of these things, I mean, in my opinion I think you have an amazing product. The cinnamon helps control blood sugar; the cacao is great for the liver, the brain, the nervous system; and the nuts are excellent brain food. What else is notable in terms of health effects?

Paul: It is a nutrient-dense kind of thing. Like, I love eating cashews; I am more of a yoga kind of person who senses things. I am not a nutritionist, but I can tell you from just eating raw nuts and things like that, I took all these raw ingredients that I liked and over the past year I came up with this recipe. I'm like, "Okay, I really like this stuff, and it's good for me! I know all these different things are good for me, so…"

Mike: You mentioned you are a yoga person. You said before that you spent many years doing yoga and meditation. Can you tell us a little bit about your personal history and your passion for doing this?

Paul: Okay. Around 10 years ago, I started experiencing some meditative states, you could call them. I was going to college at Purdue University in Indiana, West Lafayette, and I had been doing a lot of exercise, running, and then one morning I had like a sleep paralysis experience. You know what that is?

Mike: Yeah, I do know what that is! [laughter] For some people it can be quite terrifying.

Paul: Yeah, it was very terrifying. I was pretty scared. It lasted about a minute, and then I woke up and I didn't know anything about it. After a couple of days I heard on the radio from the Monroe Institute, they were talking on the Arkdale radio program about fluid process and out-of-body experiences, and I got really interested, because it had just happened to me and I wanted to know more!

So, that was my entry into the whole "New Age" or alternative information kind of thing, and I have experienced other states of out-of-body things like that, and I finished with that about 5 years ago. My understanding, my personal belief, is that we are all one in an unmanifest state, but in the "real world" or in the everyday world, we are all unique individuals and we all have something to offer, you know, we have gifts, and the fact that there are differences is what's special.

Mike: Now, how does that relate, then, to this passion with the food?

Paul: My thing for this year is to refine my focus, and I do different things for that. One is to eat as healthy as I can. Another is to do a little meditation in the morning and the evening, like a half hour. So I just keep doing different things that help me to be more present or aware, and kind of function.

Mike: Is this food, then, part of what is your nutritional support for maintaining that awareness?

Paul: Yeah. It is a long-term thing, you know.

Mike: Oh, yes, for sure. And right now you have really one recipe, but it is a good recipe. I just tried it and it is outstanding! And people can purchase this right now?

Paul: Yeah, we retail in boxes of 12, about 1.4 ounces. We vacuum seal it, so now we can deliver that in 10 days around the United States.

Mike: Oh, wonderful!

Paul: So, I am looking forward to it. Right now we are handling it. We have a 1100 square foot facility in Virginia, and in our kitchen we are manufacturing and sending them out.

Mike: So, it's a small operation, but I think a lot of people like that. They don't want the big corporate energy going into their food. Our readers, for sure, are concerned about the energy of their foods and they know that the intention that goes into it is also as important as the nutrition that comes out of it. Is there any special way that you make sure you are producing happy foods?

Paul: Sure. I worked in the kitchen for a whole long time at a yoga center, and the whole thing there was about putting good energy into the food, so I learned what that means, energy and intention and chi and things like that. I know Sai Baba, do you know him?

Mike: No, I don't.

Paul: He is kind of a yoga master in India. In my house, I have a picture of him and I put some important notes around that, so just raising the vibration, if you believe in that stuff. Also, I have a few other pictures of people I look up to, inspiring.

So in our place in Virginia we have some of those in the building, and when I make food, I make it with that good intention into it. I want to make the best food that I can, so I do it in a peaceful manner, as peacefully as I can, and I wish the best for everybody who eats it, you know?

Mike: That's all it takes. Now, what about the ingredients? Are any of them organic?

Paul: All of the ingredients are certified organic.

Mike: Okay, they are all certified organic. So that makes your bar really a lot more expensive to produce than a typical cheap raw foods bar from somewhere else.

Paul: That is true.

Mike: But yet, this bar does not seem super expensive.

Paul: No. It sells comparable with other bars that are not cooked.

Mike: Right. There is a lot of emphasis today on the health benefits of raw food. I am a part-time raw foodist. I go on and off it, and I go visit Dr. Gabriel Cousins, who I really support in terms of his work.

Paul: He is a great guy.

Mike: Yeah, absolutely, outstanding. Do you think that the response to your bar, has there been more awareness about the health benefits of raw versus cooked?

Paul: In what sense?

Mike: Well, I mean, are people saying, "Yeah, I'm looking for raw," or someone from a store is saying, "Our customers keep asking for raw products." Have you heard anything like that?

Paul: We have had people come by and try out the samples and they're like, "Oh, I love this! I want to have this," and we've made some sales that way. And then other people who own stores have said, "We'll be in touch" kind of thing. Then there's the raw foodist who comes by and says, "Oh, I love raw food! Oh, it tastes good, I want it." You know, that kind of thing.

So, readers out there, if you would like to get some products, we do have them, and we can send them out, and ship them in about 2 weeks.

Mike: That's going to be www.everythingraw.com and you have a shopping cart on the site and everything?

Paul: Yes, we do.

Mike: Alright, well Paul, thanks for spending this time with me. I wish you the best with your product line, and as soon as we wrap this up I'm going to place my own order!