In addition to tons of sweets, companies often send us samples of snacks and meal replacement bars-- "healthy" alternatives to the gooey, fatty, sugary (and easy-to-abuse) pastries my sweet tooth craves. Generally speaking, if I'm not going to eat a cupcake, I'd rather have a tangelo or an apple but in an effort to explore the gray area between total indulgence and health nut, I gave these "treats" a whirl. Here's what I thought of Mareblu Naturals, ProBar, and Raw Revolution.

I was pretty upset when Green Paradise closed a few years back. The tiny tropical-themed raw foods restaurant was one of my favorites. Well, I was thrilled to hear today (via SuperVegan reader eggbeaterzluvssoy) that the Green Paradise folks have opened a new restaurant, not too far from where the old one was. Rawstar is located at 687 Washington Avenue near Prospect Place, in Prospect Heights Brooklyn.

Chef Mawule Jobe-Simon's food food is just as magic as I remembered it being: genuinely exquisite (not a word I toss around lightly), delicate but filling, and absolutely delicious. I tend to eat really fast, but Mawule's food makes me slow down; each bite is like a revelation. I was lucky enough to catch a sampler plate during their preview today. The restaurant opens for business proper on Tuesday, June 3. Go check them out, and don't forget to leave review for your fellow readers!

This Saturday, Give It To Me Raw presents a day of raw goodness in Successfully Raw with Raw Food coach Karen Knowler and friends at Westside Loft from 10:00 am to 3:45 pm. There will be lectures, a live food demo and a gourmet raw lunch. Consider the $130 registration an investment in your health!

The event will provide a wonderful opportunity to learn about successfully living raw, quick and easy raw food recipes, issues related to emotional eating, inner and outer beauty, and spirituality in conjunction with raw food.

Having long-term personal experience with a vegan raw food diet and lifestyle, I must say it requires strong discipline but is immeasurably rewarding on emotional, spiritual and of course physical levels too. Everyone could benefit from incorporating more fresh (preferably organic) foods into their diet, but to subsist entirely upon them is a true job of work, especially when you live in an urban setting with so many fine restaurants (and emotional connections to certain foods). It is an undertaking, but not an impossible one.

If you do attend, you are encouraged to share your thoughts with us here!

Want more info on the mysterious Dr. Cow raw vegan aged artisan cheeses that have popped up around town? Check out the latest blog post on The Discerning Brute for the low down!

My new favorite quirky green lifestyle and uncooking video blog, Freshtopia.net, is doing a three day Christmas special. While their holiday crafts and green stocking stuffer ideas didn't blow me away, I really enjoyed watching wacky host, Tanja Andrews, mix up creative raw holiday desserts.

Day One of the special includes a throw-back episode where Tanja teaches us to make a super simple Analog Nog. Day Two features a new recipe for preparing Vegan White Chocolate Ice Cream with Port-Poached Figs, which seems a bit more complicated, as it requires somewhat exotic ingredients and an ice cream maker (unless you're willing to blend every 30 minutes), though the results appear to be worth it. Yum! I can't wait to see what's in store for Day Three.

At least once a week, PETA cranks out pictures of their protesters wrapped in clingwrap, parading naked, locked in cages, dressed as animals, and various combinations thereof. I've become pretty inured to this stuff, but I'm sure it does its job of drawing attention from the general public. Now they've bumped it to the next level and it's pretty impressive.

In San Diego yesterday, a bunch of PETAneers demonstrated the savagery of line-fishing by sticking massive hooks through their flesh and dangling from a scaffold. I'm not sure any of them actually got hoisted by hook, and they still weren't able to resist the bodypaint and faux fish scales, but still. Yuck, ouch, wow, etc.

A Christian sect led by Rev. George H. Malkmus is redefining "vegangelical," though their motivations are health-related rather than ethical. Today's St. Petersburg Times features a profile of the Back To Eden Health Ministry Lifestyle Center, a vegan Christian health institute in Plant City affiliated with Malkmus's Hallelujah Acres. Hallelujah HQ estimates more than 2 million people worldwide follow the vegan and 85% raw diet Malkmus claims cures "cancer, body odor, hair loss, diabetes and high cholesterol;" one of Eden's owners says it cured his MS. The center attracts about 200 believers a year, who each pay $1,200 for a week of carrot juice, Bible study and gentle exercise.

Of course it can be tough going vegan at first, but if you're looking for a low-cost alternative, you could buy Malkmus's book, a Bible and 20 five-course dinners at Pure Food and Wine for less than a week at Eden.

There's a chocolate party tomorrow night, a benefit for The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

Their mission is to plant billions of organic fruit trees all over the world, with the aim of "enriching the environment, providing nutritious food sources for wild and rescued animals, and improving human health by bringing delicious, fresh, locally grown raw fruits and vegetables of the highest quality into the lives of all people."

The party will feature art, music, and lots of raw chocolate. (Even if you're not particularly into the raw thing, raw chocolate is at least as delicious as the cooked kinds.)

It's at Kush Lounge on on the Lower East Side, Sunday, December 10th at 7:30pm. Here's the details.

CTnow.com just ran an interesting article titled, "A Raw Revolution". The article is sort of a Raw Foods 101, offering positive, enthusiastic answers to questions and concerns I think non-veg folks who have never heard of a raw diet might have. Though it did answer a couple burning questions I had, like where did Bill and Chelsea Clinton spend Father's Day.

The article features Sarma Melngailis, president of raw snack food company One Lucky Duck and co-founder and owner of NYC's exclusive raw restaurant, Pure Food and Wine.

Also profiled is Alchemy Juice Bar Cafe, a popular Hartford, CT organic vegetarian restuarant that is making a big transition to an all raw menu. To prepare its following, the restaurant is hosting $20 raw food tasting workshops; the next one is this Friday.

Just wanted to let you NYC rawsters know that Organic Avenue moved to a new location on Sunday. The live food and organic fashion boutique is now in the SuperFabulous LES at 101 Stanton Street (between Ludlow & Orchard). Store hours are Noon-8pm daily.

As for those of you who don't live in NYC but just can't get enough of hemp skivvies and bamboo houseware, please rest assured that you can purchase these things and more at Organic Avenue's website.