College towns are not always known for their inspired cuisine, but in recent years, Oberlin, Ohio, has become a Mecca for anyone in search of gourmet natural, local food that is healthy for the body – and the planet. The town has long eschewed most chain restaurants, and is home to The Feve, a campus favorite known for its famous tater tots and sweet and savory brunches; and Black River Café, which features local, organic food and the best vegan pancakes in the area.
The latest addition to the burgeoning Oberlin culinary scene is Café Sprouts, which opened in the new East College Street Project (a sustainably designed, mixed-use building with condominiums, offices and retail space), in late September. Café Sprouts is one of only a handful of mostly raw, entirely vegan restaurants in Ohio.
Owner (and frequent OhioAuthority contributor) Kristen Ashenbach, who grew up in Lorain, Ohio, says she was first introduced to the raw food movement when she moved to Los Angeles, California, following her graduation from Ohio University in 2004. The psychology major went west with the goal of pursuing an acting career, and while there, was impressed by the selection of healthy eating options.
“There are so many raw food places in L.A.,” says Ashenbach. “People are so health-conscious, and I’m sure that had a big impact on me. Especially with the whole acting thing, where you are taught your body is your tool and you have to stay fit.”
A raw food diet consists of unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds, whole grains, nuts, beans and seaweed. It is almost always vegan (although vegan does not always mean raw). In addition, “the general consensus is that a (raw) food is not cooked more than 115 degrees,” says Ashenbach, because research indicates that cooking anything longer than that destroys the enzymes in food that are important for proper digestion.
“People don’t realize how much energy it takes to digest food – especially processed food,” she says.
Ashenbach lived in L.A. for two years, and then moved back home to Lorain after her father passed away unexpectedly from diabetes-related complications. Around this time, Ashenbach suffered from her own autoimmune issues and painful migraines, and when traditional medicine didn’t have answers, she turned to alternative medicine and healing through diet therapy to ease her symptoms.
“When I moved back here, and I was trying to eat some of the foods I was eating (in L.A.), it was completely impossible,” says Ashenbach. “At the time, there were no raw food places in the entire state … I started looking into cooking and veganism, and different dietary theories.”
