“I smoked four to five blunts a day from the time I woke up. I wanted an escape from my life.”

~ Michelle Pierson

By Stacy Lipson  |  Send to Friend

Hard drugs to green smoothies. Not many people go through that sort of transformation, but 26-year old Michelle Pierson found an escape through raw food. Life wasn’t easy for Pierson. As a teenager, she suffered from an assortment of health and personal problems.

“I suffered from sinusitis, depression, and anxiety,” she says now in describing her struggle to keep up her energy, and live normally.
   
“I felt depleted," she continues, “I didn’t know what to do.”  

On her own, Pierson began to smoke marijuana. After marijuana, she graduated to harder drugs; by the age of 18 she started PCP, a drug known as a dangerous hallucinogen. Of that experience, she says, “I became very paranoid. I couldn’t think straight, and I started losing all the things that mattered."

In an unfortunate turn of events, Pierson was kicked out of her art school, resulting in the loss of her job. Her need for PCP controlled the way she lived her life. “I started traveling to North Philadelphia for my PCP,” she says. “I’d be on the street, taking so many risks.”

One of Pierson’s most frightening moments trying to score was being held at gunpoint and robbed. “I lost my car. The police never got it back.”

Pierson’s battle with PCP continued until she was 21. When she finally broke free from the drug, she returned to marijuana as a tool to cope with the world around her. “I smoked four to five blunts a day from the time I woke up,” she says. “I wanted an escape from my life.”

By chance, Pierson stumbled upon an article in the Philadelphia City Paper, referencing Arnold’s Way, a café up in Lansdale that catered to the vegan and raw food lifestyle. For the struggling young Pierson, it was as if something had just gone off inside of her. “I have to do this," she remembers saying at the time.

She took on a job as a delivery driver near the cafe. While on her route, Pierson would venture into Arnold’s Way. “I kept wanting to go back,” she says. “I would tell my boss I was stuck in traffic just so that I could go inside.”

For Pierson, Arnold’s Way was exactly the inspiration for which she had been searching.  She started to eat raw. “I found my happiness,” she says. 

At 24, Pierson stopped smoking marijuana. She took on a job at Raw Life Line, preparing raw food in the kitchen that was sent out all across the country. “I loved what I was doing,” she says. “I wanted to help people transform their lives."

For the past year, she has been teaching others about raw food. Typically, a raw food diet consists of uncooked or dehydrated foods that haven't been heated above 115 degrees. The idea is to consume food in as close to its natural state as possible. At her Introductory Raw Food cooking class, Pierson is upbeat and excited about the menu for the evening.

“Raw Lasagna made with zucchini and Stuffed Portobello Caps with guacamole,” she tells the class of eight. “And almond cookies for dessert.”

In the 90-minute class, Pierson zealously extols the virtues of the diet, and also about the philosophy behind the movement. “Some people become obsessive and neurotic about what they eat,” she explains. “It can be simple and fun.”

As Pierson whips together ingredients for the stuffed Portobello caps, she also speaks about the importance of a positive mindset with the worldly zeal of a survivor.

“Raw food is not your savior of the world,” she says. “It’s a tool to help you live your life at a higher consciousness.”

 

Snacks: Sweet, savory tidbits of food news.

1. Germ Anihilation

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Scientists have developed a new anti-bacterial wash that may kill bacteria more effectively than chlorine and other products used to prevent bacterial infections.

 

2. Mexi-grubbin'

 

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- In July, Jose Garces, the chef who brought tapas to Philadelphia with his acclaimed restaurants Amada and Tinto, will debut Distrito (3945 Chestnut Street). Inspired by the spirited culture and cuisine of Mexico City, Distrito menu will feature fresh interpretations of classic Mexican fare.

3. Hidden Valley Deluge

 

COLUMBUS,OH -- An Ohio EPA official says creamy ranch dressing mixed with sewage and storm runoff in the flooded basements of at least 10 Columbus homes.