I have been a fan of Kookie Karma since 2004, I believe. I turned gluten-free that year to manage my fibromyalgia and was always on the lookout for treats that I could eat, but many of them were dry and well, blah. They also had tons and tons of ingredients in them to make up for the lack of wheat flour and I did not like that.
I first saw Kookie Karma kookies at the Ocean Beach Co-op and was delighted to find that the ingredient list was limited to about a dozen and I actually recognized and could pronounce all of the ingredients!?!? This was before the explosion of raw foods hit the west coast, so it was truly the most nutritious and real gluten-free treat that I had ever seen. After trying my first one, I fell in love and had minor freakouts if they were out. I even considered buying cases of them to bring along with me on tour so that I would always have my special treats. These days besides the amazing kookies they also make and sell sprouted raw grawnola raw kookies along with their originals, raw crawckers, and kale chips (you know I love kale chips!). I consider myself an aficionado of raw gluten-free goodies and Juli‘s Kookie Karma products are top of the line and the top of my taste-buds (you know I don’t lie).
Besides, Juli’s amazing products she has a truly great blog, PURE MAMAS. I am inspired by her goodies and her sharings so I chose to ask her a few questions to learn more about her and why she does what she does.
Q) Juli, What inspired you to start making these Kookies and then your other products later?
Oh my goodness this story is a long and complicated one. It wasn’t just one thing that made me move forward with selling my kookie inventions. Similar to your story, I had some health issues (nothing too serious, eczema actually) that was so bad I couldn’t sleep at night, etc. I knew it was environmental and/or internal. I was super healthy {diet wise} and a brilliant chef {just saying – it’s a huge part of who I am} at the time but not into raw foods at all. I came across a raw food cookbook and decided to go raw for a week and try all these new recipes. Just for the ‘culinary’ sake of it. The recipes sounded amazing and looked beautiful. So, after a week, I was not only glowing with health and a few pounds lighter but my eczema had completely disappeared. I then ate like this most of the time. I definitely didn’t eat much starch or gluten. Because, like you Tricia, I couldn’t find anything in stores that suited my ‘diet’ I decided to just make my own recipes up. People loved them and couldn’t believe they were healthy. So…a few months {dollars and sweats} later, I got my first account — Whole Foods Market in Santa Monica.
Q) You now have a great blog PUREMAMAS where you share all sorts of things from recipes, tips, and things that you love. What inspired you to start that?
It was simply a blog with photos for all my friends and family that were dying to see pictures of my son. Then, people kept asking me for more info on pregnancy and my natural home birth, baby foods, cloth diapers, etc. Since most of what I do is not really “traditional” in most households. So, I decided it was easier to post this stuff on the blog with photos, etc. And there you have it. Now, it is still just a fun thing for me.
Q) How do you explain your way of eating and nutrition today?
My way of eating is my favorite way of eating! I try and eat tons of green foods everyday and mostly raw local organic food snacks. A green drink of some sort and one larger (not-always raw) meal – usually dinner but often breakfast or lunch. I like to cook using an oven and use a dehydrator. I LOVE eggs – lightly poached and topped with kale chips {yes, kale chips}! I don’t eat much sweet stuff and SUGAR is never in my diet. Not even agave {unless it’s a special treat like Kookie Karma kookies or raw vegan ice cream}. All of our new products – the krunchies and kids snacks – are made with raw honey! But I do juice fruit and drink coconut water. Which counts as sugar. I experiment a LOT. My kids eat the same way. I am good at balancing – I believe it to be the key to everything dietary. I definitely go out to dinner; I like to enjoy people, conversation, ambiance, a good glass of wine, and different types of food and occasionally it will have dairy. I try my best NOT to stress about food when I am out. It is important for me to enjoy. I LOVE raw fish and eat sashimi from time to time as well. Especially when I was pregnant, which was a problem, for obviously reasons. I love Japanese food. But other than that, no meat for me either. It just doesn’t do well with me and hasn’t since I was 14 years old. I also do my best with my kids but I don’t over do it with them either. If my kids eat animal crackers {to keep them quiet or when we need quick snacks or when they are at their grandmas} then they eat healthy the rest of the day. Sometimes the entire day is HORRIBLE so instead of giving up or getting frustrated, I make a smoothie and pack it with all sorts of stuff like hemp protein, vit d and magnesium drops, spirulina, probiotics or colostrum, almond milk, raw honey, etc. So I feel better about their ‘crappy’ eating day. They drink ONLY raw dairy. Superfoods are a HUGE part of our household. Anybody who doesn’t eat meat or raw dairy should really think about making superfoods daily. 😉
She is pretty rad, right?
The winner of this giveaway will win a bag of goji lime krunchies (granola), a bag of kale krackers (essentially kale chips), and one of each of their top-selling kookies (cherry cashew, choco lot and chocolate chip). Yum. Yum. Triple Yum.
This giveaway starts February 1st and ends February 4th at midnight PST. The winner will be announced February 5th.
Contest is over. The winner is Laurie!
I am so grateful to Juli for sharing with us here and for being a part of my Celebration of birth month giveaways of my favorite things. There are a lot more to come in the month of February!
You have talked so much about kale chips I am dying to try them, but I can’t find any locally and am really scared to try making them myself. The kookies I would probably send to my friend whose family is GF due to one of her children having allergies.
P.S. I love that you love giveaways…because I learn about so many new things!
i would love to try these because i am vegan and gluten free! i am always on the look out to try something new and yummy!
Hi Tricia:) I just liked Pure Mamas and Kookie Karma(already liked Your Joyologist before) on fb.As far as entry 1, YUM-I would love to try those Kookies b/c it inspires me to keep learning how I can feed my sweet tooth and my body at the same time:) Thanks for the give-aways!
The Twitter parts have been done. I’ve also liked Pure Mamas and Kookie Karma on facebook. I’ve liked Your Joyologist on fb for a while, but I’ll be sharing the giveaway on there as well.
Hello. I would love to try the cookies due to health issues. Last fall I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease– ever since I have been on the lookout for foods I can ACTUALLY eat. Sometimes this proves to be exhausting, so many impure ingrediants that are truly damaging to the body. Management with medicine is not the sole way I wish to treat the disease, I believe it takes a complete lifestyle change. It truly is exhausting being at get togethers, events, etc and never being able to eat the yummy deserts!
I would love to try these products because of their ingredient lists! They all look amazing!
Happy Birthday Tricia!! I shared on facebook & Twitter. I also liked pure mamas& kookie karma. I have been following you & your amazing knowledge & happiness for a while . : ) I would be so grateful to win since I have lupus & I’m in the middle of a flare I could use some super Yummy treats to cheer me up. I am Gluten free & soy free so these sound perfect. There are not a lot of raw, organic,vegan, or gluten free food here in south Florida, so I have to mail order a lot. Looks like kookie karma will be new on my monthly orders. Thanks for this opportunity. Happy day!!
Jule is one of my closest friends and I have been so lucky to eat her AMAZING and HEALTHY creations since she began making them! She truly is an awesome female business owner, dedicated not only to offering tasty healthy food options BUT also educating people on how to eat in a nourishing, healthy way that fits YOUR individual lifestyle. Really she has influenced me incredibly on how to choose healthy products that work for me, what my body craves and needs…or just likes! 🙂 I love KookieKarma’s products because they are all so tasty, easy to carry with you on the go (which i find is when i crave healthy snacks the most!) and SUPER healthy!
These look sooo amazing! I have been so changed through reading your blogs and have completely changed how I eat. It has been a great transformation! I want to try these because they look so great and if you like them, they probably are!
I’m always looking for a new raw treat (that tastes good and gives a pep up) that I can pop in the camelbak for hikes and mountain bike rides. Your blog has been my respite since the beginning. You’re full of wisdom and ideas that I’d never been able to put into words. Thanks for all you do Tricia. You inspire.
Well, I am a cookie-holic so I would have to try the cookies first;) They all sound delicious!
I would love this giveaway because I live in Notheast Pennsylvania and I’m pretty sure I’m the only vegan in a 30 mile radius haha. Although I am very lucky to live around many great farms and farmers, so I can buy an abundance of great local fruits and veggies, there is nowhere that I could get desserts. The supermarkets dont sell any and I need to travel to either Philadelphia or New York City for a Whole Foods or decent vegan restaurants and treat places. There is only one shop around me, Vegan Treats in Bethlehem, but they are kind of pricey and also still quite far.
I’d love to try because I can enjoy sweets without feeling guilty!
I just mentioned it on twitter too!
I would LOVE to win this giveaway and sample Kookie Karma’s vegan goodies (especially the kale krackers…YUM! I have seen their products at Whole Foods, but haven’t tried them yet and am very excited to do so. Thank you, Tricia, and thank you Kookie Karma for being dedicated to vegan treats!
I probably should have had breakfast before going to the kookie karma site…
I’m going to have to look into the whole gluten free thing. I also have fibromyalsia- or arthritis, or a Vitamin D deficiency, or it’s all in my head- depending which doctor you ask. If cutting out gluten can help manage that I’m willing to give it a try. Plus, who says no to cookies?!
I’ll prolly wind up giving/sharing them with my friend with celiacs though. Gluten free is a little more important to her.
Hi Tricia! Happy Birth-month to you! :>)
1. I checked out the Kookie Karma site and everything looks so delicious! My stomach is growling for the cheezy kale chips – they look crazy delicious. I love Juli’s outlook, philosophy and approach to her business. As a mom I try to find healthy but tasty options for the kids (unfortunately, I will admit that I far too often tend towards easy and convenient when it comes to my own nutrition…a work in progress). I would love to win this giveaway…but I will definitely order some myself – and maybe we can bring Kookie Karma to some Canadian retailers! I have several friends with kids with Autism Spectrum disorder & experimenting with gluten-free diets. Will definitely share product info!
2. Following you on Twitter already and following Kookie Karma and Juli now too. Tweeted too.
3. Liked Kookie Karma and Pure Mamas on Facebook and shared info on the giveaway. I’d been checking out Pure Mamas blog here and there already and have found some really great info. Love it!
Thanks again for passing along these great products through giveaways – can’t wait to see what else is in store! Hugs to you!
3.
great blog! I have used some of Juli’s recipes and loved them so I know that I would enjoy these treats…. so would my kids 🙂
Juli is such a great inspiration to raising healthy kids!!
following all 3 on twitter 🙂 thanks for a fun contest!
Hi, I’d love to try those delicious -looking products. Thanks..
Oh my goooooodness…the cookies look AMAZING!! I’ve been living in Seoul, South Korea, and I can 110% HONESTLY say that I have not had a SINGLE cookie in almost two years!!! (I’ve been vegan for a looonnnng time. Vegan treats are rare gem…let alone finding something that is soy and gluten free!!!). Hopefully I’ll be getting oven one of these days…
Awesome contest…and FANTASTIC blog! I found you through http://www.herfuture.com. You are such an encouraging and inspiring person! 🙂
I am always on the lookout for something tasty and healthy…these look good!
Heyy Tricia, Long time no tweet :p
1st entry. I checked out the Kookie Karma webpage and was very intrigued with what I read! My Mom has always been very health conscious, and all of her healthy eating choices have finally rubbed off on me. I found out that Kookie Karma would serve me well because of my Gluten (celiac) and dairy (casein) intolerance. This company caters to anyone who takes care of their body (after all, our body is a temple) and this is very important to me. Unfortunately, I can not spend my full paycheck on food.. although I have come close! Having to pay for school, and car insurance, etc..I find the rest of my money going towards Whole Foods. I am impressed that the Kookie Karma website states that their food is cooked at low temperatures..with a little research I have learned that the more something is cooked the more nutrients it looses. With life never slowing down, it can become tough finding yummy food to munch on while on the go. I take organic raw trail mix with me to school, but my taste-buds get tired of the same old thing! Because of my devotion to a healthy diet, I have inspired my Father and Sister to eat healthy as well. When I make green smoothies from the juicer they are always willing to have a glass for themselves, and it is always nice to hear positive feedback from them on boost of energy they get afterwards. Our bodies are alive, we need to supply them with living fuel! If I won this generous gift you are offering, I know they would love to try out some of these snacks as well. And who knows, maybe they will help me fund all of this healthy eating and become inspired to eat and live as if they were gluten/dairy intolerant themselves! I have talked with them multiple times and they always seem interested, just need a little push! I know their bodies will thank them for it haha. Anyways, I hope all is well. You have a wonderful birth month, and I’m sure I will be tweeting you some health related question soon :). THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!
2nd Entry. Done
3rd Entry. And done!
Much love
-Patrick
Hey Tricia!
I checked out the Kookie Karma website and RAW BANANA BREAD?! OH goodnesss!! They seem pretty cool to me because they provide information about their environmental consciousness in business practices and seem to recognize that we can attain greater health by not only being good to our bodies but by being good to our environment, which is really just our larger shared body of love!
Thank you so much for turning me on to them!
All the best,
Kelly