About
Meet the Young and Raw Team!
- Caleb Jennings & Sheleana Breakell – Co-Visionaries and Founders
Sheleana & Caleb Co-Visionaries & Founders
Sheleana & Caleb are passionate about health, happiness and personal growth. Sheleana is Canadian and Caleb is American, so together they travel the world and embrace the challenge to stay healthy no matter where they reside. They have created the Young and Raw community together as an outlet to express their gratitude for all nature has provided, and to allow others an opportunity to get back in touch with the food they eat. Their mission is to reunite people with real food, thus their mission statement is an invitation to you to Join The Real Food Movement!
Young and Raw is a place for people to learn about the healing and cleansing benefits of raw foods and whole foods. We provide 21 day and 90 day cleanses, raw food meal plans & ebooks on healthy living. Our team of Nutritionists, Naturopaths, Herbalists and other qualified individuals assist in the creation of our programs.
“Our mission is to inspire millions around the world to Join in The Real Food Movement! Thank you for being here.” ~ Sheleana & Caleb, YoungandRaw.com
- Ali Washington – Resident Holistic Nutritionist
Ali Washington Resident Holistic Nutritionist & Community Support
Ali is the Resident Holistic Nutritionist for YoungandRaw.com She came to the natural health field when she was 14, as a way of healing chronic stomach aches, skin issues, weight problems and hormonal imbalances. Years of doctors visits, specialist appointments and conventional medicine had never yielded results, so she tried looking for a natural solution. Going totally plant based in 2007, and 100% raw shortly after that, she was able to heal her body, and was inspired to share what had helped her so much with others. Ali completed her first diploma in Holistic Nutrition in 2008, Graduating from the Alive Academy. She completed her Hatha Yoga Teacher Training with YogaWorks in 2010, and is currently upgrading her studies at the Institute Of Holistic Nutrition, where she will soon graduate with her Ortho-Molecular Practitioner Designation. She believes that the body is fully capable of healing itself, so long as it is given all the tools to do so. You can ask Ali questions on the Young and Raw Facebook page. Contact us to arrange a consultation with Ali or ask about our online programs and cleanses monitored by Ali.
Dr. Francesca Quinn Resident Naturopathic Doctor
Dr. Quinn is the Resident N.D for YoungandRaw.com She plays a role in advising and reviewing all of the Young and Raw meal plans and cleanse programs.
Dr. Francesca Quinn received her doctorate of naturopathic medicine from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ. Prior to that she studied massage therapy in Lake Tahoe, CA, and Biology and Nutrition at the University of Vermont. She is extremely passionate about her work in holistic health. She treats a broad range of both acute and chronic health concerns with a combination of therapies, including whole food nutrition, herbal and nutraceutical supplementation and detoxification, hydrotherapy, and more. She is thrilled to call Boulder, CO her home, where she practices and lectures throughout Denver, CO. Contact us to arrange a consultation with Dr. Quinn or ask about our online programs.
Chelsea Goodrich -Customer Support Rawkstar
Chelsea Goodrich Customer Support Rawkstar
Chelsea is the Customer Support Rawkstar for YoungandRaw.com. She interfaces with our tech ninja and our resident holistic nutritionist to serve the people who come through our virtual doors on a daily basis.
Chelsea grew up near Boise, Idaho, and then made the transition into a high raw, plant based diet about five years ago. She transitioned at the time to support a close family member as they made this lifestyle change after a diagnosis with breast cancer. In the process, she not only saw remarkable results in the health of her loved one, but experienced amazing benefits herself as well. On a mostly raw and plant based diet she gained relief of periodic chronic migraines, fatigue, and sleep problems. Her overall energy and mood was elevated, and her long-term acne-prone skin cleared and healed up beautifully. This experience deepened her life-long fascination with natural health and she decided to attend the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She graduated from IIN in 2011, and has also completed a health program through The Hippocrates Health Institute, a Raw Food Chef certification through SRF, and a Hot Yoga Teacher Training with Hot Yoga Doctor in 2012. She plans to continue her studies in health this year though pursuing a second bachelors degree and eventually a graduate degree in Nutritional Psychology. Chelsea enjoys working as a health coach in both Idaho and Utah right now. She is most passionate about helping and supporting people in their change to a healthier, real food lifestyle.
Sheleana’s Weight Loss Story
- Sheleana on the Beach in Sayulita Mexico
I want to share a little bit about why I chose to go raw and plant-based. I’ll tell you how it transformed my body, helped me shed 45lbs of unwanted weight and changed my life forever.
I’ve had so many women contact me after resonating with my experiences here, so I’d like to share my story with all of my Young and Raw friends, and let you know that no matter where you at in your journey to becoming healthy & pure, you are always in the perfect place at the perfect time. All of our experiences and journeys will be different, and that’s what I’m going to talk about today.
I’ve had a lot of men and women ask me how long I’ve been raw for. They say things like “isn’t it so hard” and “don’t you crave meat”, or my favourite “how do you get your protein”. The answer is No; it wasn’t hard for me at all. And to my surprise, I kicked the protein myth to the curb! Did you know that celery and cucumber combined, is a complete protein? I am so grateful I chose to accept that knowledge into my life in order to heal myself, rather than continuing on the path of destructive eating habits that were so deeply engrained in me by society.
My story
For starters, I made a lot of changes in my life starting out with breaking old patterns of destructive relationships. I made commitments to myself to become more aware of my choices, and started exploring healthy ways of eating. At this point, I was in it on my own. I didn’t have a network of healthy people around me to show the way, so I did what I thought was best for me at the time based on what I’d seen and heard from other people. I switched from dairy (which I was allergic to and didn’t consume often any ways) to soy milk, I ate lean meats and cut out the fatty ones, and ate more veggies. I also loaded up on the “healthiest” cereals I could find and snacked on yogurts.
Note: If you want to know what I was eating even before this, it was a pretty standard diet of whole wheat pasta, with marina sauce and chicken. I also took a powdered supplement called N.O Explode, and worked out like a crazy person for 2 hours a day. Needless to say, I looked great but wasn’t getting very much nutrition, and definitely under exceeding my caloric needs.
How my food choices impacted my health
One morning, after a week of uncomfortable pain in my stomach, it got a lot worse. I went on with my afternoon for a while, before collapsing to the ground and rushing myself to the hospital. By the time I got there, I was inconsolable. They immediately brought me in and pumped me full of morphine, oxycontin, Demerol and gravol. I had kidney stones. The doctors that came to see me were quite baffled why I had kidney stones in the first place; after all, I don’t drink alcohol or do recreational drugs, and I ate “quite healthy”. However, this wasn’t going to be the last visit. Months later, I again awoke with an even worse case of stones, which landed me an 8 day stay in the hospital and surgery to remove the stones.
When I was released from the hospital, I came out about 10lbs heavier. Over the next few weeks, while I withdrew from all of the medications, I gained about another 20 lbs. For those of you who don’t know me personally, I’m just less than 5 feet, about 4’10 so that is a lot on my little frame. I also come from a dance background, so I was very used to being fit. For the next year, I would struggle to lose the weight. I had never felt worse about my body image, none of my clothes fit me and I had lost my self-esteem. To top it off, my adrenals were shot so I also had super low energy, which caused me to crash constantly, leaving little energy left for exercise. I remember walking down the street feeling so ashamed of how I looked, men didn’t check me out anymore like they used to. I honestly felt invisible, and times when I didn’t feel invisible I wished I was.
Trial & Error
Almost a year after my weight gain, I met Caleb and he moved to Vancouver from Las Vegas in November. (He’s American, I’m Canadian). He was so supportive. For those of you who don’t know him personally, people call him a walking encyclopaedia. He’s a genius, for real lol. Caleb was on the Paleo diet when I met him, which aligns with the hunter/gatherer philosophy. You eat only lean meats, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds. So I decided to give it a shot as well. I ate more red meat in 3 months than I probably ever ate in my entire life as an omnivore and achieved little results. Being overweight, not having my menstrual cycle and struggling with a hormonal imbalance and fatigue meant my body needed to spend energy on healing itself, not breaking down animal flesh. I still had terrible energy crashes in the middle of the day that disrupted any plans I’d have made, and tasks I needed to accomplish. Sometimes I would be out in public and all of a sudden be so exhausted, I would actually consider for a split second crawling under the table just so I could pass out, it was really bad. If I was at home though, I actually would pass out and sometimes for 6 hours straight.
The Discovery
We had started going to a raw cafe in Vancouver once in a while to get a Superfood smoothie. Somewhere during the conversation with the owner there named Preet, my health issues came up. After asking what I was doing now, Preet asked me if I was open to trying something completely different. Desperate for change, I said yes. He said “ok, stop eating everything you’re eating right now, no more animal products, no eggs, no dairy, no meat. Do green drinks in the morning; eat raw food, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. Organic, Raw, foods from the earth.” So that’s what I did.
By Day 2 I was transformed
I had so much energy; I hadn’t felt like this in a year. Words can’t describe how exhilarated I was. Simple as that! Over night, I had my life back. I started dropping a few pounds every week. The very first week I was raw, I lost 5 pounds. By month one, my clothes were starting to fit. By month 2, I started to feel like me again. Finally by the beginning of month 3, I was the healthiest I’d ever been. Now, All of the weight is gone, my skin is so clear and alive, I have energy to work out, (now sometimes even twice a day) my business started to grow faster (I was a social media marketer at the time), and my mindset improved immensely. I want to clarify something though, I didn’t go raw to lose weight, I did it to get my life back. My journey didn’t consist on hoping for weight loss, or weighing myself every day. Caleb and I were just talking about this the other day, and it really wasn’t about the weight, it was about having energy to live life again!
What I learned
I used to wonder how anyone could “let themselves” get so overweight, why they didn’t do anything about it. It was through this experience that I gained compassion for myself, and for others. Realizing that being overweight is so painful, it’s hard, sometimes you feel helpless. It’s not that people don’t want to lose the weight; it’s that they simply don’t know how. I wasn’t aware that the very foods I was eating to make me healthy were the ones that were hurting me the most.
I’ve also found my passion and purpose in life through changing my eating habits, which is helping others heal themselves, lose weight, and integrate raw foods into their lives. My purpose came through a painful experience that I am so grateful for, and I feel we have hardships so we can use our growth to inspire others in the future. If you’re struggling now, you can heal yourself, you’re meant to be a shining example for others to follow.
Now Caleb and I run Young and Raw, our relationship is getting better everyday, and we’re learning so much. You’ll be amazed at the positive changes that occur when you re-build your relationship with food. Everything is so inter-connected!
Here’s a list of foods and rituals I follow now:
1. BrainOn or Wheatgrass
Benefits: Increased Energy, alertness, enhanced focus, feeling happy… you can learn more by clicking the links below:
2. Coconut Water
Benefits: so much energy, hydrating, its superfood, my body repairs much faster after the gym.
3. Almond Milk (or hemp, rice, coconut milk)
Benefits: Low fat, delicious, Easy for my body to process, No negative side effects like you get with soy
4. Superfoods & Smoothies: Maca, Mesquite, Lucuma, Goji, Brazil nut protein powder, Spirulina + more. Check those out online and learn more about the benefits. *See recipes on the home page for more superfood smoothie ideas. Keep in mind that some of these super foods and super herbs (like maca) should be used carefully and can cause harm if you over use them. I recommend doing your research before you get on the superfood train – Cacao is not a superfood in my opinion, it is more of a recreational food that should only be used for fun or enjoyment, not as a health food.
Benefits I’m finding: hormonal balance, increased energy, increased happiness, healthy skin (our biggest organ), and very clean digestive system.
5. Green Drinks: Celery, cucumber, cilantro, parsley, lemon & ginger. Full recipe click here:
Benefits: ENERGY, focus, happiness, lean body, weight control, healthy digestive system, glowing skin, I could go on forever about this one. I LOVE my green drinks 
More posts to come. Please share your experience with us on the Young and Raw Facebook Page at Facebook.com/YoungandRaw. If you are on a journey to lose weight, have done so in the past, or want to lend your support to our friends here, you are so welcome. Thank you for all that you do.
Love Sheleana
Before and After
To learn more about how you can become a Student Tester and get a 50% discount on our 3 month course called “How To Go Raw, Not Crazy!” and integrate more raw foods into your life, send us an email with the subject line “how to go raw”.
