What do people want in a raw food vacation?

[Eva]

I'm in the process of designing a website (almost done!) for a business that will very soon offer raw food-based vacations. I know what I would want in a vacation. But what would YOU want in a vacation? This will mostly be for people who are interested in learning more uncooking info in a really relaxed, low-pressure, fun environment.

I should note that this is just going to be a side business, not some big empire -- the goal is really to cover the expenses, offer a worthwhile service, have fun and help someone on their journey in the process. And of course my one naughty addiction that I will forever refuse to release... is... travel. So this is a great biz for me... SO I don't intend to advertise based on affordability, but I will be able to offer a range of vacations that can be very, very affordable.

Anyways, please share your input with me if you don't mind. It's easy to only "sell" what I would personally want... but that's not what I want to do. I want to fill a need for others. :)

[Veganforlife]

Variety of food choices.
Variety of exercise choices.
Variety of music choices.
Variety of eco-friendly bed linens (I'm assuming guests will stay overnight), towels, etc.
Variety of natural beauty products.

[Eva]

Thanks for the input, Lucy! :)

[rawstrength]

I would want someone to make me lots of green juice. I like to relax on my vacations, not clean juicers.
Also, everything Lucy said.
I would want to do sight-seeing by foot/by bike/by sailboat as much as possible, rather than being stuck in a bus.

[freshlight]

a possibility to fast.

a bike

sleeping outdoors

spiritual books

massage

a chlorinefree sw.pool

forest nearby

[Eva]

Hmmmm interesting, I was thinking more along the lines of a sort of mix of vacation + delving more deeply into raw foods and prep. But perhaps there is a good amount of room for more than one type of option. :)

If anyone else has any thoughts, I would be incredibly appreciative of you sharing!

Thank you in advance. :) And of course, thank you Eva and RawStrength for your input!

[Nayeli_Raw]

Spa/Cabin like retreat, with plenty of information on transitioning back to the real world!!

[michigan roman]

follow the seasons / harvest , so that upon arrival guests are greeted by massive amounts of fresh produce !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and accomodations are individual units such as cabins / cottages in the wild or by the sea , so can have a nature experience / fires at night / hiking / swimming / scenic / away from crowds / blowing off steam .

banf alberta canada rockie mountains in the spring when berrie crops are in = OMG :D

yellow stone park wyoming = OMG :D

wait let me bring a link back so you get the picture / pictures ;)

[michigan roman]

ok heres the link , and someone owes me a buck for this AWESOME site link ;)

http://www.terragalleria.com/north-america/canada/banff/banff.html ..

[Nayeli_Raw]

follow the seasons / harvest , so that upon arrival guests are greeted by massive amounts of fresh produce !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yea yea yea!! Totally seasonal, that would be really awesome!

[michigan roman]

Oh yea yea yea!! Totally seasonal, that would be really awesome!

like here in michigan there a place up by tip of baby finger called travis city , near fall theyve a big ' travis city cherry festival ' . and its a beautiful / scenic region on lake michigan where many cherry trees grow . they grow alot grapes for some type wine there too . itd be a nice vacation .

or say the orange harvest in like the florida everglades , ok wait omg :p
ive a video link i must since brought up everglades . if rev stops in she''l like this one . be right back .

[michigan roman]

link =

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGoBQIhyFFM ..

[Nayeli_Raw]

Kind of like the 100 mile diet. They weren't raw, just vegan, but I think most raw folks tend to eat locally and seasonally by nature. Except us avocado junkies lol!! We don't get a lot of Idaho Grown Avocados.

[michigan roman]

before raw i wouldnt even consider even touching the green goop :eek:
but now im totally addicted to avo , its like replaced my old dry beans / rice / boiled potato heavy foods .

[Nayeli_Raw]

I love it. I could eat it plain or with pretty much anything. Unless it has brown in it.. shutter.... ugh... I would never have considered eating a date before going raw. And after the post about worms, I pretty much have resolved to blend all dates before eating and just live in blissful denial.

[michigan roman]

i just saw your pregnancy blog and how awesome !!!
have you ever confered with rawlove whoms raising baby alex raw ,
if not she's very cool and's a neat blog and be a good buddy .

[Nayeli_Raw]

No i haven't but I will shoot her a message. I am really confused on how to do this right. I am actually doing research right now on how to go raw while pregnant without putting the baby through a detox.

[Eva]

Thanks for the ideas!!! And Nayeli_Raw -- I had a shudder just thinking about the brown in avocado. I have to agree! LOL -- my mom HATED avocados before she got into raw, and I tricked her into having them a couple times. She can't get enough of them now!

If anyone else has ideas -- please do share! :)

[michigan roman]

No i haven't but I will shoot her a message. I am really confused on how to do this right. I am actually doing research right now on how to go raw while pregnant without putting the baby through a detox.

hey i didnt realize rawlove changed to another name heres a link to her blog

http://rawtoddleralex.blogspot.com/ ..

[michigan roman]

rawloves now raisingalex , link to another of her sites

http://rawmom.blogspot.com/ ..

[Aleesha Sattva]

ya melissa is GREAT (rawlove)

i hope to, one day open a retreat centre myself. it'll be a place to come and do yoga, meditation and raw foods. there will, of course, be fasting offered as well.

i get the idea, from your posts tht what you are talking about is:

get a group together to travel to greece. while there, you would provide all raw cuisine for the participants and offer lessons during the day to learn about raw food.

if this is at all what you meant, i think it's a great idea. a healthy vacation!!!

[Eva]

Yes, Aleesha, you have the idea -- except there would be more pampering like massage etc. and likely not Greece for now! I DO LOVE GREECE. LOL, sorry didn't mean to "yell" there! I went to Greece about hmmm... 7 years ago? It was a great experience and I would love to go back. But for now it will mostly be in the Southeast US -- like the keys, Amelia Island, Hilton Head, Cumberland Island, NC mountains, ... and Brazil! LOL. My husband and I own a house in Brazil that has beautiful gardens, a pool, a clubhouse, mango tree, etc. on the property. :) It's already a retreat of sorts. So, that would be affordable enough, but for Greece, it would cost enough for me to travel there that I don't think I could make that happen at a fair price. A very lovely, healthy vacation. :)

I looked for different options about 8 months after I went raw. I had learned so much but sort of got to a plateau. I really want to offer something worthwhile. :)

That would be SO COOL if you opened a retreat center with fasting as a piece of it! You have so much experience with fasting, you could really guide people through the process. You have so much experience with releasing a lot of weight too.... Hmmm.... thoughts for you?? I saw your thread that you are already on your way with guiding people. Very cool.

Anyways, didn't mean to get so excited and ramble on this much! I actually just popped in right after composing an email to the graphic designer who is almost done with my logo. :)

All right, now that I'm all excited, it's past my bedtime.

[Nayeli_Raw]

Thanks for the ideas!!! And Nayeli_Raw -- I had a shudder just thinking about the brown in avocado. I have to agree! LOL -- my mom HATED avocados before she got into raw, and I tricked her into having them a couple times. She can't get enough of them now!

If anyone else has ideas -- please do share! :)

They are addicting little beasts!

[Aleesha Sattva]

eva, having massage, aromatherapy... perhaps some infrared sauna experiences as well... totally lusious.

oh i have a question... have you thought of having special evenings of raw chocolates!!! i would definitely want that while on vacation!!!

[Lady Green Jeans]

Totally agree with Aleesha about the infrared sauna. Regular sauna would also be nice, too.

When I went to OHI, they had three meals a day; varied, each day of the week. They offered free yoga classes early a.m.; other specialized classes were at different times. Food prep classes were very well attended. Who doesn't like learning how to preprare the recipes to continue the path to great health!

Optional massages and colonics were also offered there for an additional fee.

Walking tours were basically of the campus, but sightseeing or hiking an area would definately hold appeal.

Saw many individuals who had literally cured their medical challenge while staying there and doing the program. It was definately not gourmet raw--more of a basic healing basic diet with juice in the a.m.--lots of wheat grass and a couple types of rejuvalac. Reverse osmosis water was available at all times.

My recent search of their site shows the prices have increased over the last five years, but is seems still reasonable considering the benefits. Most places are really high end--excludes the regular Joe and Joelinne.

[Aleesha Sattva]

OHI???

not sure what this is

[Eva]

oh i have a question... have you thought of having special evenings of raw chocolates!!! i would definitely want that while on vacation!!!

I have -- desserts will definitely be a part. And I have taught a mini class on chocolate that was a wild success, but I guess the chocolate part would depend on the interest level... :)

The sauna sounds great, but it might not always be possible. I'm not opening my own retreat center -- I'm transforming other places to be perfect for raw food. You can't really bring a sauna with you (right??? haha, that would really be funny)...

[Eva]

Lady Green Jeans -- that sounds great -- I'm wondering how much of that type experience I could incorporate into a vacation though? I'm more interested in offering a vacation that is supremely relaxing and offers tools to stay raw, not necessarily a healing center for people who have progressive diseases. I really don't think I'm qualified to do that well, so it's off the radar.

BUT I like the yoga and juice in the AM, and I'm sure there are plenty of details at one of the non-gourmet healing retreats that I could offer. :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

It's so good to see that you are not trying to be everything or everyone. I believe THAT will be your success. Spread yourself too thin... and nothing is super fantastic. Focus on a few choice things... and people walk away very happy indeed!

[Veganforlife]

OHI???

not sure what this is

Optimum Health Institute?

[Aleesha Sattva]

ahhhhh thanks lucy! (((hugs)))

[solarliving]

The main factors for me are:
The things I look for in a raw retreat are

Affordability
environment
quality of food
activities, classes, and services offered


I've been seriously thinking about doing this as well. I live in a big city and would like to move somewhere where I can have some land to grow food. I'm trying to figure out how I can sustain myself financially while living in an unpopulated area.

I currently work as a massage therapist so hey, if you need one for your retreats : )

[Lady Green Jeans]

Aleesha,

Looks like Lucy already advised you of OHI abbreviation--Optimum Health Indtitute. I went to the Lemon Grove, CA location.

Eva,

It sounds like a great idea. I didn't realize your parameters. There would be quite a bit you could offer in any setting. The sauna and such probably not. Look forward to hearing more as you get closer to finalizing a vacation destination.

[freshlight]

forgot the most important part:

DURIAN
WHITE COCONUTS
MANGOES
PINEAPPLE
PAPAYA
GRAPES
ORANGES
MELONS

all those for breakfast or lunch, please :)

and


AVOCADOS
MANGOES
W.COCONUTS

for supper

:)

AND--> beach, ocean& sun

oh, that would be so great!

[Eva]

Aleesha,

Looks like Lucy already advised you of OHI abbreviation--Optimum Health Indtitute. I went to the Lemon Grove, CA location.

Eva,

It sounds like a great idea. I didn't realize your parameters. There would be quite a bit you could offer in any setting. The sauna and such probably not. Look forward to hearing more as you get closer to finalizing a vacation destination.

No worries! I think you are right -- but one of the locations will be our vacation home in Brazil. I will have to see about getting a sauna as money/time/etc. permits. :) I actually already have been working with some business owners in several places. I'm just working out the details now. It looks like I'll be investing in some eco friendly sheets, robes, things like that because of that mention. -- AM juices and massages in the mix too. If something like this were available last year, I would have jumped on it!

[Eva]

The main factors for me are:
The things I look for in a raw retreat are

Affordability
environment
quality of food
activities, classes, and services offered


I've been seriously thinking about doing this as well. I live in a big city and would like to move somewhere where I can have some land to grow food. I'm trying to figure out how I can sustain myself financially while living in an unpopulated area.

I currently work as a massage therapist so hey, if you need one for your retreats : )

That's really helpful! Thank you! -- And there has got to be some way for you to make that happen if it's a dream for you! I will definitely make note that you're around, especially if I do any retreats in SD. :)

[Eva]

Eva -- I love it! Sounds like the perfect meal plan for a tropical paradise. ;)