Vivir’s Story

Vivir began as the passion of chef Pamela Gillies. A long-time home cook, Pamela found that she missed her kitchen after adopting a vegan, primarily raw food diet. She enrolled in a raw chef course, which was the first step toward her inspired Vivir creations. Developing her own recipes and unleashing her culinary talents, Pamela discovered the joy of creating beautiful and delicious living foods, and she wanted to share.

“Vivir” means “to live” in Spanish. Living can mean maintaining life, and it can mean finding joy in life. In creating Vivir living foods, Pamela wanted to embrace both definitions, marrying exceptional taste with healthful foods.

Pamela’s Story

Pamela’s transition to a vegetarian and later a raw, vegan diet began in the late 1990’s. Pamela gradually began including less meat in her diet, not in an effort to become vegetarian, but because it was simply becoming less appealing to her. But her decision to become a vegetarian was anything but gradual. One evening out with her family at a barbeque restaurant in Kansas City, Pamela ordered the same meal she’d eaten many times before: pork ribs and smoked sausage. When the waiter placed the platter before her, she felt ill. She sent the food back immediately, knowing she would never eat meat again.

About five years later, Pamela switched to a vegan, living food diet. (Although Pamela’s diet is not 100 percent raw, a generally accepted definition of a “raw food” or “living food” diet is a diet consisting of at least 75 percent raw foods.) As with becoming a vegetarian, her diet changes were led by her body’s response to food. Pamela found that she only felt well following a vegan, living food diet.

In transitioning her diet, Pamela discovered a happy side effect. Although she was in excellent health and didn’t notice lack of energy before her diet change, her energy level has increased by maintaining a raw, vegan diet. At 46, Pamela looks and feels younger than her years, and is enjoying the vibrant benefits of a living food diet. Experiencing these health benefits first-hand, Pamela is excited to help others bring living foods into their lives by sharing her Vivir creations.