1           Banana, large, cut into 1″ pieces and frozen
1.5 C   Blueberries, frozen
.5 C      gRAWnola nuggets
.5 C      Baby spinach (packed tightly)
1 C      Spring water

2 T       Honey or agave (optional, to taste)

Blend to perfection!

JULY 30, 2010

Joel Warner

…

Gadgets and additives.
Along with purchasing ready-made raw-food products, consumers are searching for ways to “cook” their own foods without using heat. That means they’ll be on the lookout for affordable dehydrators and high-speed blenders.

They’ll also be shopping for raw-food ingredients like coconut oil and vinegar. Used like condiments, these ingredients add both taste and nutrition to raw-food meals. “It’s not necessarily about eating everything that’s raw,” says Charleston, S.C.-based holistic chef Ken Immer, who founded the raw-food company gRAWnola. “You can put some condiments in your stew that add a lot of the benefits of raw foods to cooked products.”

Yes, most of these raw-food products and ingredients don’t come cheap, says Phyo. But she encourages merchandisers to use this as selling point. “Retailers need to get across that this is not a factory-made item,” she says. “It’s handcrafted and specially made.”

Click here for the entire article

Entrepreneurs get start at area farmers markets

By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published July 19, 2010

Jason Houser set up shop at the Charleston Farmers Market this year, making his first official go of selling bacon, artisanal sausages and other pork products he makes by hand from South Carolina-raised pigs.

Houser, a former local restaurant chef, is hoping the Saturday market in Marion Square will help him build a customer base and launch the once-weekly booth, called Meat House, into a full-time retail operation.

The farmers market has had that effect in the past.

The city of Charleston’s downtown farmers market and others in the area provide low-cost startup space and a captive audience, allowing budding restaurateurs and retailers to test the business waters..

Click here to read the whole article

Upcoming Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking Classes with Ken Immer

Charleston Vegetarian Examiner, Sherly Thompson

Vegetarian and vegan foodies have two upcoming cooking classes to choose from, and Ken Immer of gRAWnola and OM Cooking will be the instructor.

On Tuesday, July 13, The Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College will host a class as part of its Continuing Education program.  From 6 -10 pm, participants will get hands-on instruction while preparing international and American vegetarian and vegan cuisine.  Course tuition is $69 and participants are required to wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toe shoes.  Registration is required and can be completed online or by phone. 

On the following Tuesday, July 20, In Good Taste will host a Raw Power uncooking 
class.  Starting at 6 pm, Immer will recreate recipes featured in  the April 2010 issue ofCharleston 
Magazine. Guests will enjoy dishes such as the Massaged Kale Slaw that Immer recently
prepared on WCIV’s Lowcountry Live.  The two hour event costs $45 and includes dinner and wine.  Call Jacki at (843) 763-5597 to make a reservation.

By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published June 21, 2010

A few years ago, as Ken Immer was delving into the raw food movement, he came across a recipe for raw granola and used it as a template to whip up a batch of his own.

Raw granola is dehydrated, not baked as it’s traditionally prepared. Once it was ready, Immer says he took a bite, closed his eyes and saw it.

The “it” that Immer saw was a marketable snack that’s tasty and healthy and has the potential to catch on widely.

The granola would be a good nutritional choice because raw food is easier for the body to digest, he said. It would be portable and nearly nonperishable, a valuable asset to people who want to eat healthfully but find it logistically difficult to prepare and transport fresh food.

Click here for the entire article

Vegetarians more than welcome

by Cameron Jones

Local vegans and vegetarians have another restaurant to check out, if only for one night: Oak Steakhouse. Yeah, that’s right, Oak — normally, the home of prime, wood-fired beef — is hosting a vegetarian and vegan dinner featuring a six-course meal from executive chef Brett McKee and gRAWnola’s Ken Immer.

The event is set for Monday, June 14th, and the menu will showcase local produce from the Lowcountry Local First partnership. All of the wine pairings will be organic as well.

The first course is pickled daikon ravioli with preserved carrot and will be paired Domain Carneros Brut Champagne. Next is grilled vegetable ratatouille with King Estate Pinot Gris, followed by a third course consisting of Asian root noodles with marinated Shiitake mushrooms and Davis Bynom Chardonnay.

The fourth and fifth courses feature signature items from each of the chefs: Ken’s special Taco Tango, paired with Voltre Santi Pinot Noir and Brett’s Eggplant Parmigiana with Francis Coppola “Directors” Cabernet.

The meal will conclude with a symphony of raw desserts and Nivoli. gRAWnola is the raw food version of granola that Immer creates via a process of soaking and dehydration. Immer is also the founder of OM Cooking, a sort of amalgamation of healthy eating, healthy living, and healthy thinking. Tickets are available through Oak Steakhouse and are $60 each. Reserve them by calling, (843) 722-4220.

Brings national spotlight to area’s small businesses

by Greg Hambrick

Bobby Hendricks spent last week traveling through the South, from Alabama to Atlanta, learning from other businesses and sharing his own product, gRAWnola, a raw cereal and breakfast bar without gluten, dairy, soy, and peanuts produced in Hanahan.

Hendricks has been preaching the good word about community gardens and healthy, locally grown products. And he’s always happy to share what he’s learned.

“I’ve always been connecting people and pushing people in the right direction,” he says.

This weekend, other small community business owners from across the country will come to Charleston to exchange their best ideas for a thriving local economy at the annual conference of the Businesses Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), May 21-23, mostly on the College of Charleston campus.

The conference is expected to help show entrepreneurs how to thrive by partnering with their neighbors, says Michelle Long, BALLE’s executive director.

“It’s building the long-term health and wealth of a community by thinking local first,” she says.

It’s also an opportunity to show off Lowcountry Local First (LLF), Charleston’s nonprofit advocate for supporting small community businesses. The group has grown in the past three years to include more than 300 small business owners, like Hendricks, who are anxious to share their experience.

“I’m looking forward to finding ways I can help,” he says.

LLF Executive Director Jamee Halee says the conference is an opportunity to share successes.

“It’s been really inspiring,” she says. “You get to look at how we can take some of those examples and implement them here.”

LLF’s “10 Percent Shift” campaign (highlighting the value of keeping money in the community) was inspired by a BALLE conference, as well as the organization’s successful local independent business directory.

And the conference is also a chance to share what Charleston has done to support local business. Halee says LLF successes are due to excited members like Hendricks.

“It’s not that I’m out there introducing people,” she says. “There’s just a great sense among these businesses. They say, ‘We’re in this together. Let’s help each other.’

Click here to read the whole article

our featured chef:   Ken Immer of gRAWnola

check this link       http://grawnola.com/

This is not only a bad ass dinner but a top notch networking event, so come ready to mingle. Don’t forget to check in on the event and invite more people. We want everyone to come and experience this.

5:30 pm at an undisclosed private  location. Join us for a delicious seven-course seasonal menu

we are charlestons first and only underground supper club.

this is your chance to eat great food, listen to fun music,and see rich charleston art!!!

check this short movie link to see us in action!!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/bobbycomfort#play/all/uploads-all/2/4nRObyMtveI

tickets are $70.00+BYOB+gratuity! per person, so if your into eating well and not afraid to try something totally new then get your tails to the party!

only 35tickets will be sold for this dinner!!! food will be on the table @ 6pm i suggest you sign in no later than 5:30pm

don’t just look, buy your ticket right now………………..

PLEASE REMEMBER TO CHECK YOUR JUNK MAIL FOLDER IF YOU BUY TICKETS.

WE SEND INFO WITH EVENTBRITE

“Happy, Healthy and… Happy… Love it! It has pumpkin seeds, almonds,apples, pecans, dates, walnuts, raisins, buckwheat, agave, lemon, lime, vanilla, orange, cinnamon, Celtic sea salt. All dehydrated into a wonderfully healthy raw treat. YUM!”

Go read the entire article here and find out how to enter to win some free gRAWnola:

http://yogaddiction.blogspot.com/2009/09/100win-some-grawnola.html

Update: the giveaway contest is now over