Feeling fresh

Calling STUFF from her home in Kittery, Maine, Cohen is fresh off celebrating her 43rd birthday, and she just bid adieu to her out-of-towner parents after hosting them for the week. ("They're 80 and 86 - and they run me ragged!" laughs the enviably energetic Cohen.) But for the first time in a while, her schedule has her feeling healed, not harried. As New England's resident pioneer of the raw-food diet (she authored 2004's seminal cookbook Living on Live Food and, until recently, owned two raw-food restaurants), Cohen has spent years building awareness of the health benefits and culinary potential of uncooked fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds. But her writing, teaching, and entrepreneurial adventures were ironically leaving this proponent of energy-imbuing eating physically and mentally drained. So in May, she closed her busy, beloved Grezzo locations in the North End and Newburyport to focus on greater work/life balance.

But fear not, raw foodies: Cohen still has plenty on her plate. Her second cookbook, Raw Food for Everyone, drops this fall (pre-orders are available now) and features all of Grezzo's dishes. We chatted with the trailblazer about a transitional time that has her feeling more like her diet: fresh and alive.

How does Raw Food for Everyone differ from your first cookbook? My first book was pretty much just recipes. This has a huge glossary of every fruit, vegetable, nut, and seed: what it is, how to use it, how to store it, and nutritional information.... Then there are 300 recipes that are a bit more "gourmet." ... This is new, cutting-edge stuff. I don't want the recipes to be hard or tedious: that's what I'm so against. But they're for people interested in, say, building the fire for cold-smoked papaya. My first book is very basic; this is maybe for people interested in preparing more high-end [plates].

Is that a response to the growing sophistication of raw-food diners? Exactly! When my first book came out, it [awareness of raw diets] was really just starting. I was just trying to get people interested in it, and showing them it didn't take hours to prepare the food. A lot of these recipes are still quick and easy, but people are more into raw food [and] want to try more exotic things.

Are today's diners more conscious of what they're eating? Absolutely: everything now is green-conscious. When I was 16, I went veggie, and people then thought vegetarians were weird. Raw food? Even 10 years ago, nobody knew what it was. The global consciousness, I think, is changing.

Ever raise an eyebrow at some of the bandwagon-hoppers? For me the raised eyebrow comes when things are based on such common sense: I've been doing this for 20 years, and now you're saying carrots are good for you? With raw food, people think it's so bizarre, so different. You're eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds: if you think about it, that's common sense. To me, it's really weird to slit open a cow and start eating it, or buy packaged foods with chemicals where you can't read the ingredients.

Why'd you close Grezzo? I was burning myself out. I kept trying to make this raw-food empire, and opportunities were falling into my lap. Once you're on that rollercoaster, it's hard to get off. Business was doing really well, [but] ... when you're dealing with [employees], stuff comes up. It got tedious.... I was teaching people how to live a healthy life, have a balanced life, eat raw food, be aware of what it is you want, and take care of your body - and I was doing none of that myself. I was spending 20 hours a day in front of a computer, or driving to the Boston restaurant at 11 on a Friday night. It was a very difficult decision.... With my first book, I said, "I'm going to travel, have fun, and have my freedom." I've always really worked for myself, from the time I was 24 [and] opened a health-food store. Suddenly, I'm like, "How did this happen? I'm in the rat race!"

Are you finding balance now? After a few weeks of yoga, I've found myself saying, "Okay, what's the next new project?" That's part of my personality! I just need to stop and say, "I don't have to take every opportunity." I've been connecting more with friends and family. That's really what brings me joy. It's been an awakening.