It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten a meal that I could honestly call motivational. But after a mind-bending lunch of macrobiotic soup, ancient grains and agave-sweetened smoothies on the garden patio at the O2 Live Food Café, I vowed to start eating more thoughtfully.

Affiliated with O2 Living, a holistic spa and wellness center in the charming cluster of rustic-chic buildings that is the Yellow Monkey Village, the cafe offers an array of dishes to eat in or take out that are colorful, inventive and mostly raw. The chef, Tom Donnelly, who previously worked in more conventional restaurants, has lost 45 pounds since taking on the challenge of feeding vegans and vegetarians.

“I hunt, I fish — I’m not a vegetarian myself,” said Mr. Donnelly, who seems to revel in the adventure of preparing food without flames, but sympathizes with eaters who stray. “Who doesn’t love French fries? But I make better choices now.”

From a tasting menu, I especially liked the smoothie made with almonds, coconut and blackberries ($4.95); a salad of Chinese black (or “forbidden”) rice, tumbled with mango, bell peppers and cilantro ($5.95); “pizza” made with Ezekiel bread, hummus, tomato paste, pesto and avocado ($7.95); and a pretty pink strawberry ice cream ($2.50).

A best seller is the cafe’s “rainbow juice cleansing protocol,” followed for three to five days. The assortment of daily juices — an antidote to the French fry lifestyle — can be picked up at the cafe or delivered to your doorstep by 8 a.m.

ALICE GABRIEL O2 Live Food Café, 6 Yellow Monkey Village, Route 35, Cross River. (914) 763-6320; O2living.me. Open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Flood Creative Receives American Graphic Design Award for its Work with o2living

Cross River, New York: Flood Creative was selected from over 9,000 entries as a recipient of a 2014 American Graphic Design Awards for the re-branding package design project put together for o2living earlier this year. Other winners of the 2014 American Graphic Design Awards include notable brands such as Amazon, General Motors, Starbucks, and Walmart.

The 51st Annual American Graphic Design Awards were presented by Graphic Design USA (GDUSA), the business-to-business magazine for creative professionals. According to the GDUSA website, the awards program honours the power of design to shape commerce, culture and communications across all media.

o2living is thrilled to be featured alongside such a talented pool of companies as an American Graphic Design Award winner and to work alongside Flood Creative in the creation of a brand that promotes health and wellness, from the inside out. “We are building a community for healthy living. The state of wellness has always been a matter of importance if one wants to enjoy the human experience with passion and desire.”- Rosemary Devlin, o2living Founder.

o2living is the producer of cold-pressed juices and kids juices, and operates a holistic spa and wellness community based in Cross River, NY. o2living juices are certified organic and gluten-free, and are available throughout greater New York. For further information about o2living products and services, please visit the o2living website at www.o2living.com.

 From BevNet: http://www.bevnet.com/news/2015/flood-creative-receives-american-graphic-design-award-for-its-work-for-o2living

Editors’ Picks 2013: The Best Health & Beauty Options in Westchester

Westchester Magazine’s editorial staff picks the county’s best salons, fitness classes, spa treatments, and more.

Green Drinks (North)
O2 Living 
Yellow Monkey Village, Cross River
(914) 763-6320; o2living.me
Have a hard time getting your minimum five servings a day of fruits and vegetables? Just one o2living green drink—made with organic kale, parsley, cucumber, fennel, salt, and lemon—delivers nearly eight of them in one delicious 16-ounce bottle. O2 also makes Lemon Twist, Red Radiance, Carrot Kick, and Almond Envy juice drinks, all just as healthy—and tasty. Bottoms up!

Bye Bye Butter

O2’s new chef does a 180, revamping his culinary repertoire from carnivorous to vegan.

Chef Tom Donnelly, a North Salem resident

Chef Tom Donnelly grew up in rural Pawling, New York, fishing and hunting deer and pheasant with his dad and two brothers. After graduating from the CIA in Hyde Park, he worked at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill, Pratt Mansion (on 5th Avenue across from MoMA), and Manhattan’s famed One If By Land, Two If By Sea, where he honed his classic French style. To broaden his scope, he moved to Northern California and worked for two of Alice Waters’s protégées, and it was at this time that he first became interested in the locavore fresh-food movement. He now heads up O2 Living Café, a raw-food eatery in Yellow Monkey Village (Rte 35, Cross River 914-763-6320). Over a cup of passionfruit tea, we asked him some questions.

It’s quite a shift moving from classic French with all the butter and cream to a vegan, macrobiotic, and gluten-free menu. How has your style of cooking changed?
I feel as if I’m learning to cook all over again. I have to be more creative today than in the past twenty years of my career. One thing I’ve learned is to use tempeh instead of meat. It’s an underutilized food.

Do you use different tools, techniques?
A serious blender is key for vinaigrettes, soups, and smoothies—a tool all vegetarians need. We use the Vita-Mix blender here; it’s the best on the market. And foams can make an ordinary dish sing! Sprouting is tremendous, and we do that in the café. Mung beans have an earthy, mushroom-like flavor while sunflower seeds taste like spring. You can feel the heat, the energy, as they sprout—it’s as if they’re saying, ‘We’re alive!’ You can’t be afraid to go out on a limb. After working in Japan for the Pan-Pacific Group, it seemed like heresy to suggest vegetarian sushi rolls—but they are among our most popular dishes. I’m working on a fruit sashimi for spring, using mango and melons.

Do you still eat meat and dairy?
I believe in eating everything in moderation. We have canine teeth for a reason—we were meant to eat meat. But since I started working here in June 2009, I’ve had my breakfast and lunches here every day and usually have a greens drink, a kind of a liquid salad with celery, fennel, kale, and other good things. For dinner, I eat whatever I want.

How has this diet affected you personally?
I was thirty pounds overweight and my cholesterol numbers were through the roof. My doctor told me my blood pressure was so high that I was ready to have a stroke. I even used to get kidney stones from all the butter and cream I consumed. In just six months, I lost the weight, am completely off my blood-pressure medication, and my cholesterol levels are back to nearly normal. I feel better now than I have in my whole life.

What do you do to make dishes taste good, if you can’t use butter, cream, or meat juices?
I use lots of extra-virgin olive oil, for starters. And avocado is a vegan’s best friend; I steep it with a little tea water and mulch it into a purée for a creamy texture and great taste. Plus, I’ve found that pink Himalayan salt is the cleanest and purest salt.

What is your favorite grain?
Red quinoa—we make a salad here of red quinoa with almonds, scallions, and flax that I love.

So, what do you eat when you eat out?
Last night at Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua, I had the beef carpaccio, followed by the beef short ribs—one of my favorite meals. I was having a carnivore craving.

Do you take advantage of the yoga classes at O2 Living?
Not yet. I find that being in a kitchen, working with food, is my meditation.