Raw Food & Healthy Eating Scotland

Rawfood, vegan, vegetarian, plant based & healthy eating in Scotland

Raw food in Cape Town

By Leave a Comment 0

Cape Town Raw and Vegan Food

I recently found myself far from the chilly Scottish shores, over in the South African sunshine, sampling the raw food delights of Cape Town.

Glasgow to Cape Town

After a 11.5 hour flight connecting at Heathrow (if you go, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to connect – our flight from Glasgow to London was delayed so we had a mad dash and just made it by the skin of our teeth – which is more than can be said for our luggage!) we made it to our cute little Airbnb beach apartment at the beautiful seaside resort of Camps Bay.

Camps Bay – Cape Town beach

Camps Bay was a great base for us as it had plenty of cafes, a supermarket, fabulous sandy beaches, and a great healthy fast food place just around the corner!

Kauai healthy fast food

Kauai has salads, superfood smoothies, juices, and plenty of healthy meals. A lot of their dishes include meat; however you can ask them to veganise it for you, which transforms it into a tasty plant-based salad.  It was by far my favourite place to eat (or in my case, drink, as I became addicted to their smoothies) as it was quick, easy, and just a stone’s throw from the beach.

There was also a juice bar out on the street with lovely friendly owners. They weren’t there everyday, but when they were they brightened up the place with their cheerful banter and lovely fresh juices.

Mango Heaven

The Camps Bay supermarket (and indeed the most common one around the Cape Town area it seems) is Pick n Pay. It has all the essentials you might expect, including boxes of 6 mangos for 400 Rand – that’s about £2.50 – WELL HELLO THERE – yep I lived off mangos while I was there.

Vegans take note – you’ll be glad to know that the Pick n Pay also stocks Violife vegan cheese. Another handy thing for vegans to bear in mind is that almond milk is offered as a dairy substitute in most of the coffee shops and restaurants.

Windy weather

In terms of weather – be warned! Camps Bay can get mighty windy (even by Scottish standards!) so if you want a more chilled beach experience head on down to the more sheltered, and very beautiful, Clifton Beaches, just down the road.

Sea Point

Further on down the road is the affluent area of Sea Point. You’re gonna love Sea Point! It has a fantastic big supermarket (The Spar, Regent St) with loads of fresh produce and plenty of other healthy options including gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian. It even has flax crackers and kale chips – hurrah!

Scheckters Raw Cafe

Keep going down Regent St and you’ll come to Scheckters Raw Cafe.

This gorgeous little place is crammed with raw goodies, including fresh cold-pressed juices, smoothies and smoothie bowls.

In the morning it has a varied breakfast menu with raw and vegan options.

After 12 it switches to a fab varied menu of healthy vegan meals such as falafels, wraps, and smashed avo on sprouted toast.

Don’t forget to leave room for desert though – how about raw vegan versions of snickers or twix? #yesplease

I had a snickers bar and a snickers shake. Overkill? Perhaps. But I was on my holidays.  The snickers bar was the best one I’ve ever tasted.  In fact I’m almost tempted to jump on another 11.5 hour flight just to get another one…

Regent St in Sea Point leads onto Main St, and more juice bars (you’ll never go thirsty at Sea Point), including One Juice and the Daily Press, which has lovely super-friendly staff.

Vegan & Veggies Sea Point

But my favourite raw vegan juice bar in Sea Point has to be Vegan & Veggies, a little juice bar and cafe on Main St run by the lovely Raphael Stone.

Raphael will happily chat to you for hours about natural health; it’s clear that he’s passionate about the healing properties of food, and he has big dreams about creating something really special in Cape Town. He’s on a quest to find the healing elixir of youth! So if you know it – stop by and share it with him 😉

V&A Waterfront

Cape Town Raw and Vegan Food

Heading along the coast to the V&A centre at the waterfront, you’ll find Dr Juice in the Food Court, with a wide array of raw juices and smoothies, plus some delicious raw vegan deserts and cheesecake.

There are also plenty of other juice bars around the V&A, and also a great place for Middle Eastern style vegan food and healthy salads (called Cooked, ironically). So grab a takeaway and eat it down at the harbour while you chill with the seals.

Boulder Bay – and Penguins!

You wouldn’t expect penguins to be hanging around the sunny shores of South Africa, but there they are!  Loads of them!  If you head off on an excursion to visit Cape Point and see the penguins at Boulders Beach you can re-hydrate at a cool little café along the way, in between the car park and the beach. I had a fresh watermelon juice that really hit the spot after a bit of penguin watching.

Cape Town – healthy quality food

I have to say, I was mega-impressed by the general standard of food around Cape Town.  Everywhere was really excellent quality, at incredible value for money.

There are so many healthy cafes and restaurants around Cape Town, and I didn’t get to visit them all, sadly. But this website is a great resource for checking out some more raw and vegan-friendly places:

https://insideguide.co.za/cape-town/best-vegetarian-vegan-restaurants-cape-town/

Want to bag your free Rawfood Travel Survival Kit?  Sign up to our newsletter for tips, updates and inspiration. 

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required



*Please note – cafes and juice bars open up and close down at a rapid rate, so please check directly with websites or Facebook pages before visiting, in order to avoid disappointment. And please comment below with any updates or additions you’d like to make.

Have you visited Cape Town?  What did you think?  Let me know in the comments below.

Green Superfoods Juice for the ultimate raw morning

By Leave a Comment 0

green smoothie

Ever wish there was a way you could supercharge your diet and banish junkfood cravings, before you even have breakfast?

Sometimes it’s a good idea to look at success strategies for other aspects of life and apply them to your eating behaviours.

Motivational coach Brian Tracy has a strategy for success in business that he calls ‘Eat that frog’. The basic premise behind this is very simple: that thing that you need to do today – that important, but difficult thing – is often the thing that you put off the most in favour of the other easier tasks.

So in terms of business/career, an example of this might be that you put off writing another chapter in your book in favour of scrolling through social media or checking your emails for the 17th time.

The book writing just doesn’t seem as fun as checking Facebook.  But the book writing can bring you much more gain, in the long run.

Brian Tracy recommends that you start off with the most difficult task and just get it done. In other words, ‘Eat That Frog’.  Simple, yet highly effective.

I was thinking about this the other day as I made my morning juice and I realised how useful it is to apply that same concept to your dietary routine. I’d recently seen a very insightful Instagram post by Patrick Queen from Euphonic Health, who mentioned the importance of getting your important micronutrients in first, before you move onto macronutrients (eg carbs, fats etc).

It really resonated with me, as I noticed how I’ve fallen into a pattern of doing this quite naturally, by making what I call my ‘superjuice’ every morning. This consists of a green juice which I then blend with various superfoods. I feel it really sets me up for the day.

Now, this green superfoods juice wouldn’t win any fans, taste-wise. It’s not sexy, it’s not sweet, and I’m sure a lot of people would hate it. I personally think it tastes ok, but I’ve got used to it over time. After all, tastebuds get used to whatever you ply them with, pretty much.

But I’m not drinking it for taste. I’m certainly not going to be taking it around to a pot luck any time soon to win people over to the joys of the raw food diet. I simply see it as my morning fuel.

Believe me, I’d be very happy to have a raw chocolate bar for breakfast instead. It’d be tasty and sweet and give me a bit of a buzz. But in the long-term, it just doesn’t feel anywhere near as good as that boring green juice does. With my green superfoods juice fuelling me as I go through my morning I feel centred, calm, and satiated.

So, to apply Brian Tracy’s ‘Eat That Frog’ concept to your eating habits, start off your day with the most nutritionally dense food you can. For me it’s that green juice. For you it might be something completely different. Hopefully you’re not taking me literally and actually eating a frog for breakfast.  But whatever it is, start with it, and you’ll reap the benefits over the day, and over a lifetime.

So how do you make a green superfoods juice? I won’t give you any specific recipes, because everyone has different nutritional needs, and when it comes to superfoods there are so many different types out there that the best idea is to research what you think is best for you.

For me personally, I’m naturally a very ‘up’ type of person whose mind is always on overdrive, so I find it’s really helpful for me to stay away from anything stimulating.  So even though things like coffee, raw chocolate, green tea etc are often thought of as superfoods, they just don’t work for me.

Perhaps this is why the greens suit me so well, as they give me a nice calming magnesium boost.

But to give you a general pointer, I usually start with something like a head of celery, a cucumber, an apple, a handful of sprouts or microgreens, some leafy greens like spinach or lettuce, and a small piece of ginger.

I juice all these then add them to the blender with a big spoonful of green superfood powders such as chlorella, kelp, tulsi, etc. I also add in some (pre-soaked) Irish moss and a good quality wholefood supplement. I might also add a spoon of pre-soaked/sprouted seeds such as chia, flax, sesame etc.

I tend to go through phases with my superfoods, using different ones depending on whatever takes my fancy.  Here’s a picture of one of my typical green superfood juices, from my Instagram page (feel free to follow me for more raw recipe inspiration):

Green smoothie

Green Superfood Juice

So – what’s your favourite raw super-breakfast? Let me know below!

Buckwheat bread raw vegan recipe

By Leave a Comment 0

salad with buckwheat crackers

Buckwheat bread is a great raw vegan staple food.  It’s one of those things you can make in bulk then keep for whenever you need a quick tasty snack.  Buckwheat is very high in nutrients and very low in price, so it’s a real store cupboard essential for when you’re on a budget.

Not quite a cereal, buckwheat is a sort of wanna-be grain that’s related to rhubarb and sorrel.  Gluten-free and a good source of high quality plant-based protein, it’s an excellent grain substitute for people who want to avoid gluten.

Quite bland in flavour, once soaked and sprouted it lends itself just as well to sweet dishes as it does to savoury, so there’s no end of combinations you can try with it: porridge, pancakes, crackers, or just throw some into your smoothie.

Buckwheat side-effects and how to minimise them

Even though buckwheat is not a grain, it does have the same protective mechanisms that all up and coming baby seeds have – ie antinutrients such as leptin and phytates (it basically isn’t all that keen on being eaten).

Buckwheat in particular also contains fagopyrins which can cause allergic reactions when consumed in large quantites.  So it’s a good idea not to go over the top in your consumption of them.  However, there are some good workarounds when it comes to minimising antinutrients, such as sprouting them, and also adding in a fermentation element.

This recipe includes both sprouting and fermentation, so it’s one of my favourite ways to eat buckwheat.

How to sprout buckwheat

Buckwheat will sprout really easily as long as you have a good quality supply of seeds.  Just soak the seeds in a jar of water over night then drain them the next day (they will be quite slimy… this is due to the formation of mucilage during the soaking and sprouting process – yes, not the most appetising-sounding thing in the world, but it’s quite good really).

Rinse and drain twice daily for about three or four days; until you see some little tails poking out, then it’s ready to be transformed into… well, whatever you want really!  You can use sprouting trays to make the process a little less fuss.

This buckwheat bread recipe is transformed into pretty pink deliciousness by the addition of fermented beetroot.  It also really pumps up the nutrition factor with lovely live probiotics, so it’s all good.

How to ferment beetroot

My basic guide to fermenting any kind of veggies: chop them up, chuck them in a glass jar, fill the jar with salty water, put the lid on, and ignore them for a bit.  It’s pretty slap-dash, but that’s really all there is to it.

Ok – there’s LOADS more to it.  There’s whole books written about the subject, including this excellent one:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Fermentation-depth-Exploration-Essential/dp/160358286X

Funny enough, one of my next blogs was going to be all about fermentation, but then my esteemed pal Patrick Queen beat me to it.  He’s done a much better job than I would have done, so I’ll take the lazy option and just link to his one instead.  See the master at work:  https://www.euphonichealth.com/recipes/2018/3/4/saerkreut  

So here’s my recipe for buckwheat bread.  You can substitute different seeds and add different veggies etc.  Just play around with it because there’s really no limit to what you can do with buckwheat.  Ok there probably is quite a limit.  It can’t make you invisible, for instance.

Pink Buckwheat Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups sprouted buckwheat

1 cup flax seeds (soaked overnight)

1 cup sunflower sprouts (sprout the sunflower seeds for two or three days, in the same way as you would the buckwheat)

1 cup fermented beetroot

1 onion

Method:

Process all ingredients using a food processor (add a little lemon juice or water if necessary), then spread the mixture on dehydrating trays.  Dehydrate for a few hours until the ‘bread’ starts to look a little firm.  Score some lines across it (for ease of breaking into shapes later), then turn over and dehydrate for another hour or so.  If you don’t have a dehydrator you can use a cool oven with the door a little ajar.

I want to experiment this year with planting buckwheat out and see if I can grow some buckwheat flowers, as they are much-loved by bees.  And I’m all about keeping the bees happy.

Have you had any success with growing buckwheat plants?  Let me know in the comments below, I’d be happy to get some tips!

Raw Vegan Emergency Supplies

By Leave a Comment 2

raw vegan foods snowed in

10 Emergency Raw Vegan foods for when you’re snowed in

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed there’s been a bit of snow outside. I must admit, I’m one of those people who scoffs when they see panic buying going on in supermarkets, but my devil-may-care approach left me somewhat unprepared when the country ground to a halt this week.

My usual vegbox delivery didn’t turn up (understandably!) and I found myself scrabbling about in the cupboards wondering what I was going to eat for the next few days.

I soon realised that I was – quite by accident – fairly well-prepared for any eventuality, so I thought it would be a good topic to write about.

So, here are my top ten tips for staying stocked up in the snow!

1. Sprouts

I’m not talking Brussels sprouts here (although they would be pretty handy in an emergency too) – I mean those groovy little seeds and pulses that will sit in the cupboard for ages, just waiting for you to add a little water so they can grow into superfresh, supercharged superfoods whenever you need them.

salad with buckwheat crackers

Supercharged sprouts

Surely they must be the all-time number one emergency go-to food?

I like to maximise storage space by filling the cupboards with jars of sproutable seeds, rather than tins of dead pasteurised food.  That way each jar has the potential to triple or quadruple itself in quantity, giving you an abundant supply of fresh vibrant living foods.  You don’t get that with a tin of mushy peas, do you?

2. Seaweed

I always keep a huge bag of sea spaghetti that I get from Funky Raw – I call it my Apocalypse Spaghetti because I’m sure it would see me through the darkest of days! I get a 1 kg bag and it seems to last forever.

I take out a handful whenever I need it, soak it in water then marinate it to soften and add flavour (it’s pretty bland on its own). It’s a fantastic source of minerals, which is handy if you’re running low in green veg.

seaweed salad

Sea spaghetti with spicy fermented beetroot

That pic has just reminded me of another surefire winner when it comes to emergency food – fermentation.  I always have a big jar of fermented veggies on the go (eg sauerkraut or kimchi) – it’s amazing for adding flavour and substance to even the more boring of salads.  Not to mention all those lovely live probiotics to boost your immune system while you’re stuck indoors.

Other handy types of seaweed I like to keep in the cupboards are: wakame, nori, Irish moss, kelp and dulse.

3. Fresh fruit

Some types of fruit, such as apples and melons, will store well for fairly long periods of time. It’s also handy to keep a good supply of bananas in, in varying degrees of ripeness.

4. Frozen fruit

I have a shelf in the freezer dedicated to bags of frozen berries. They’re becoming very widely available in the supermarkets these days (you’ll probably find them near the frozen desert section), although sadly there never seems to be any organic options. I’ve even seen bags of frozen coconut pieces in Sainsbury’s, which are very useful for blending into smoothies and soups.

5. Frozen veg

Don’t forget you can freeze leafy green veg and chopped up root veg like carrots and ginger – you can even store them in handy smoothie-sized bags ready to blend up for a refreshing drink. Whenever I have a surplus I fill a few containers up and keep them for those times when the cupboards aren’t so flush.

6. Dried fruit

Dates and figs are great dried fruits to have on hand for a speedy sugar supply. I prefer these over fruits like raisins and sultanas, as the latter tend to have sulphites and oil added to them. If you’re careful with your suppliers of dates and figs then you can avoid these additives.

Soak them in a jar of water to rehydrate them, and keep them in the fridge for an emergency fast carb supply.

7. Coconut

Dried coconut flakes, coconut sugar and coconut oil are great store-cupboard stand-bys. Coconut flakes can be used to thicken smoothies, or blended into tea/coffee as a milk substitute, and coconut sugar is a nice light healthy sweetener.

I always have big tubs of coconut oil in, as it’s so versatile – I use it for my teeth (oil pulling/swishing) and on my skin as a cleanser/moisturizer. Oh and I also eat it of course 😉 You can spread it on crackers as a butter substitute, or if you cook any of your food it’s a good stable saturated fat.

8. Dried herbs

I love my herbal teas, especially in the winter when I’m feeling the chill, so I always have cupboards full of various herbs. I usually stockpile in the Spring and they seem to last me all year round. Nettles, dandelions and radish greens are among my favourite freely-foraged foods. They can be added to smoothies or you can make some warming tea with them.

I also have a seemingly endless supply of wild garlic (both frozen and dried) that I foraged from some local woods last year, which is ideal to add to salads and soups.

9. Wheatgrass

Another sure-fire Apocalypse food, you can buy huge big bags of wheatgrains at a very low cost, and as long as you have access to soil and water you can grow trays of lovely fresh microgreens no matter what kind of weather’s out there.

10. Green powders

If you decide not to go the fresh wheatgrass route, an easy substitute (albeit a lot more expensive) is to buy green superfood powders for adding an easy mineral boost to smoothies. You can get mixtures such as Vitamineral Green or Pure Synergy, or individual greens like wheatgrass and barleygrass etc. I also like algaes such as chlorella and spirulina.

Beware some of the new fancy superfood blends that are finding their way onto supermarket shelves lately – close inspection of their ingredient list often reveals quite a few cheap fillers! Always got to keep one step ahead 😉

So there you have it – my guide to the best emergency rawfood supplies for when the next snowstorm hits!

Did I miss any out? What are your favourite stand-bys in times of shortage?  Let me know in the comments!

Are you losing TOO MUCH weight on a raw food diet?

By Leave a Comment 4

too skinny on raw food

Most people are quite happy to lose weight on a raw food diet, but for some people it goes too far and they just get skinnier and skinnier.

I was one of those people. When I began eating a raw food diet back in 2003, I was already at a healthy weight.  I was doing it for health reasons rather than weight-loss, but as I continued to eat a raw food diet the pounds kept falling off and I soon became quite concerned that I wouldn’t be able to maintain a healthy weight.

It was a difficult and confusing situation, because although my health was improving in every way and I felt amazing eating raw food, I started to look pretty skinny and unhealthy by most people’s standards.

I was working away during the time I began eating raw, and when I returned home friends and family who saw me for the first time were genuinely shocked and concerned by the change in my appearance. I look back at pictures from that time and I don’t blame them – at one point my weight dropped to 80 lbs (I’m 5’ 1”).  I looked anorexic, my periods stopped, and I was so small I had to start buying children’s clothes.  It was like everything was being stripped away from me and I was getting scared it would never stop and I’d just fade away…

I remember having to go for a medical for work, and being worried that I wouldn’t pass due to my weight. I went along with pockets full of change to sneak in a few extra pounds!  Luckily I passed – in fact he told me I was in excellent health, ironically!

I would look at myself in the mirror and burst out crying in frustration at it all. Here I was, feeling the best I’d ever felt in my life, with so much energy, but looking like a skeleton!  I knew I didn’t want to go back to my ‘old’ style of eating because I’d healed so many health issues and I didn’t want them to come back.

If you are in this position now (or you know somebody who is), the good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I eventually managed to gain the weight back and am now at what I feel is an ideal weight for me.

Here are five strategies I implemented to gain my weight back:

1: I got help

I contacted a nutritionist who specialised in raw foods, and together we decided on some changes I should make to my diet and lifestyle. She operated from a Natural Hygiene perspective, and recommended I eat more fruit (especially high-energy foods like bananas) and less fat.

For example, I had been in the habit of drinking a green juice then going for a run every morning. She suggested I should ease back on the cardio, adopt a more gentle exercise routine, and swap my green juice for something with more calorific value.

I actually don’t follow this type of high-fruit raw diet these days, and I think if I could go back in time I’d do things a little differently, but at the time it helped me to gain weight.

2: I simplified my diet

Taking heed of my nutritionist’s advice, I began to eat much simpler food combinations. Instead of preparing complicated dishes (especially high-fat ‘gourmet’style ones), I would choose 2 or 3 ingredients and make a meal from them.

I learned about food combining and how to make it easy for the body to digest and assimilate foods. It made sense to me that if I was going to put on weight, I needed to help my body efficiently digest and assimilate the nutrients from  the food I was eating.  And one of the best ways to do that is to combine foods wisely and keep meals simple.

3: I began sun-gazing

I learned about sun-gazing and realised that food is not the only way the body gains energy.   I went through this process over a period of several months and witnessed dramatic changes in my mind and body.

Disclaimer!  This practice is very much frowned upon by the mainstream medical model, so it’s not something I’m recommending that you do – I’m simply sharing what worked for me.  If you are interested in sungazing, bear in mind you do so at your own risk.  You can find out more details here: protocol.

4: I used the power of my mind

I came across a book called ‘Science and Health’ by Mary Baker-Eddy. Quite a peculiar old book; it was written in a very old-fashioned biblical style; but it taught me so much about the power of positive thoughts.  I had been into the power of positive thinking / law of attraction / manifestation for many years already, but this gave me an additional perspective and was hugely inspirational.

Funnily enough, the book continually stressed how diet is not instrumental in ones’ health – but that didn’t sway me away from the rawfood diet (also, bearing in mind this book was written in the 1800s, when food was a different ballgame altogether – not like a lot of today’s chemically laden fare!).

I did however gain great inspiration from the overall message of the book, that your mind is capable of great things and can influence your body in many ways – something I now witness on a daily basis as a clinical hypnotherapist.

5: I gave it TIME

Like they say, time heals all, and when the time was right I gradually began to gain back my weight (and by the way my periods also returned, good as new, minus PMT and any pain, and regular as clockwork!).

What would I do differently if I could go back in time?

If I could go back to the first day I went raw and give myself some advice, I would tell myself to take everything much more slowly, and ease myself into my new way of eating. I really feel that any changes we make to our diet should be made gradually, so the microbiome has time to acclimatise to the different foods it is processing.

Of course, I’m not sure whether I would have taken that advice, even if I’d been given it! I was so eager to jump head-first onto the raw bandwagon that I probably wouldn’t have listened to anyone who told me to do otherwise.

I would also focus on a lot more cleansing: for example colonics and internal herbal cleanse protocols etc.  I believe that when we clear our system it becomes a lot easier to assimilate the nutrients from food.  It’s not about how much food you eat – it’s about how much nutrition you absorb.

I would also make sure I was getting plenty of nutrient-dense green foods into my diet.  I see time and again that this is one of the most common mistakes that rawfoodists make.  It’s so easy to underestimate just how much green food we need on a rawfood diet.

9 ways to eat more greens

If you’d like some inspiration on how to get more greens in, here’s a couple of blogs I wrote on the subject:

Green Superfoods Juice for the ultimate raw morning

How are you doing on a rawfood diet?  Have you gained weight?  Lost weight?  Let me know in the comments!

And if you’d like to work with me on improving the health of your mind and body, I offer coaching face-to-face in the Glasgow area, or via Skype/telephone if you’re further afield.  You can make a booking by clicking HERE.

 

How to eat raw nettles

By Leave a Comment 0

Nettles are an incredibly useful food source, especially at this time of year in Scotland when they are popping up everywhere. It is best to eat the young plants that appear in the Spring, as the more mature leaves can cause digestive upsets.

It’s pretty easy to recognise them of course (and if you miss them, they’ll let you know they’re there, believe me). They grow all over the place in woodland areas, and your garden, if you let them!  I gave up one of my raised beds to nettles – I figure, they’re more nutritious than a lot of other foods I grow, and they look after themselves, so why not? They’re the ultimate crop for a lazy gardener (that’s me).

It’s so convenient to have them right there whenever I need them, and they provide a welcome safe haven for many wee beasties that are beneficial for your garden (including my favourite – lovely ladybirds).  Their stinging leaves cause grazing animals to leave a wide berth, which means that important pollinators like butterflies can lay their eggs there in safety.  Bless them!

Once I’ve picked my nettles (I just take the top few leaves off) I give them a good wash, then dry them in the dehydrator overnight.

When they are completely dry I crunch them up into small pieces by rolling them with a big wooden rolling pin.  Then I store them in airtight jars, packing them tight to keep for a year-round nutritious addition to smoothies and teas.

Tip: save the water you have washed your nettles with to give to your plants – that way you won’t waste any valuable nutrients that may have leached into the water.

You might think that nettles would be difficult to eat raw, but actually they are fine. You can pop them into smoothies, juice them, or ferment them (I’m planning on making a lovely non-alcoholic water kefir nettle beer with my next batch).

Just be sure to wear a thick pair of marigolds while handling them or they may take their revenge 😉

Nettles add a lovely mild flavour to any dish. Don’t worry, they won’t sting your mouth – they lose all their punch once they’ve been blended or juiced.  Even just leaving them out for a day or two means they lose their sting.

So why are nettles so great for you?

Nettles are highly nutritious and are particularly rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium and protein – in fact they must be the cheapest superfood around!

Their rich silica and sulphur content make them excellent for your hair and skin. I love to use nettle tea in my hair washing routine.  I wet my hair with plain water, then use a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (diluted in water) to get rid of any grease or grime, rinse that off, then give a good soak with nettle tea.  After that I rinse with a teaspoon of kombucha diluted in water, then a final rinse with plain water.  It leaves my hair feeling so good – and it’s way less expensive than regular shampoo and conditioner.

When picking nettles I make sure I wear some strong rubber gloves to avoid getting stung. Although I was reliably informed by one of the lovely followers of my Facebook page that the sting is actually a medicine which is good for arthritis and gout (I still play it safe and wear the gloves though – I’m not that brave!).

It’s also important to make sure the area you’re foraging in has not been treated with pesticides etc. And please forage responsibly – remember to leave plenty of nettles for the wildlife.

 

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

By Leave a Comment 0

I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’. But have you ever given it much thought?  It doesn’t really make much sense, does it?

I mean, what does being clean have to do with God? I’m sure He doesn’t care if we’re a bit grubby.  Surely that must mean that He doesn’t like all those kids playing around in the park?  And that doesn’t make sense.  Who couldn’t love a grubby kid jumping in a puddle with mud on his face?

Either this phrase is a right load of nonsense, or we’re misinterpreting it.

So what else could they be referring to when it comes to cleanliness? (And who are ‘they’ anyway?  The dudes who wrote the Bible?  Your gran, who probably said it to you as a kid to try and get you to have a wash?)  Whoever ‘they’ are, these old phrases usually have some kind of hidden wisdom, if we dig deep enough.

I think they might mean internal cleanliness. The kind of cleanliness you get when you eliminate unnatural processed foods and toxic products from your lifestyle.

I realise this might be a bit of a leap for some, so let me try to explain.

Since I began eating ‘real’ foods, drinking pure water, and using natural products on my skin, I’ve noticed that I am, in fact, more clean! No BO; no bad breath – my body seems to have the ability to keep itself smelling fine without any need for harsh chemicals.

While most people feel the need for deodorants, body sprays, minty toothpastes and mouthwash, many people following a rawfood diet report that they simply use a few natural products such as lemon juice and essential oils.

Now, if you haven’t ever experienced what it feels like to live a natural lifestyle, none of this might not make any sense to you. What difference does it make to our bodies what food we eat and what products we put on our skin and hair?

Well, here’s another old phrase to consider that might mean a lot more than you give it credit for – ‘you are what you eat’. And we don’t just eat what we put in our mouths.  Our bodies absorb whatever we put on our skin too.

So, whatever we eat, or apply to our bodies, is taken in, assimilated, and utilised in the functions of the body. If you’re eating and drinking things like sweets, crisps and soda, then go and have a read of the ingredients and make up your own mind how efficiently you think they are going to make your body work.

So, there’s the cleanliness taken care of – now onto the Godliness bit.

Speaking from a purely experiential perspective, before I changed my lifestyle I often used to be consumed by negativity; feeling angry, pessimistic, and generally just not loving life very much.

I notice that I now, emotionally speaking, I usually feel extremely good in many ways – contented, calm, and just plain happy. Ok, sure, I don’t feel that way 100% of the time, because I’m human after all and Stuff Happens.  Sometimes my computer won’t work and I want to throw it out the window.  And anyway, floating about all peaceful all the time would be a bit boring.

But speaking in general, emotionally I typically experience a feeling of peace, optimism, gratitude and all-round love for life.

I wonder – could this be described as a feeling of Godliness? (I bet God’s computer never breaks.  And even if it does I bet he has a brilliant IT team on hand).

Now, I realise that Godliness is a bit of a hard one to quantify. I’m pretty sure there aren’t any scientific studies out there that found ‘74% of people felt more Godly while following a rawfood diet’.

And of course, science could explain this away in many ways. It could all be written off as ‘placebo effect’.  Or perhaps I just have allergies to gluten and msg.  However they rationalise it, I don’t really care.  Feeling Godly is awesome, whatever the explanation 😉

The Raw of Attraction

By Leave a Comment 4

You’ve probably heard about The Law of Attraction. Since the film ‘The Secret’, the idea of being able to manifest things into your life using the power of the mind is quite a mainstream concept.

But you may not have come across the phrase ‘The Raw of Attraction’.

That’s because I just made it up 😉

It’s an idea that I’ve been pondering for several years now: it appears to me that the more fresh/raw/simple your diet is, the greater your ability to attract good stuff into your life.

Now, I’m conscious that you, dear reader, may either be shouting ‘YES, OF COURSE, THIS MAKES PERFECT SENSE!’ at your computer right now, or you may be rolling your eyes and preparing to leave this website forever.

If you’re still here, hi there 🙂

According to Law of Attraction principles, ‘like attracts like’. So doesn’t it make sense that vibrant, healthy food would attract a vibrant world around you too?

How it actually works is a mystery to me.

But I have a few theories…

Maybe those lovely beneficial bacteria that thrive in a healthy body become more magical when fed fresh living foods.

Maybe a fresh diet free of any nasty junk food leads to a more positive emotional state of mind, meaning that we are more grateful for what we have and more likely to see the cup as ‘half-full’.

Maybe we just have more physical energy to get into action and make these things actually happen.

I don’t know. All I know is, as my diet becomes cleaner, fresher, and more minimalistic, my life just becomes more sparkly in general.

I have a theory that it might work something along the same lines of Feng Shui.

(Oh no… what was that… more eye rolling..? Bear with me)

Feng Shui principles state that if you de-clutter your living space and arrange things accordingly, then good things can flow into your life more easily.

(By the way, if you’re interested in de-cluttering – and who isn’t, at this time of year – keep an eye on my other site, www.cherrytherapies.com, as soon I will be writing about a cool practice I thought up which will get you de-cluttered in no time)

So de-cluttering takes care of your outside space.

But what about taking this principle a little further and clearing out your INSIDE space? Shouldn’t your lovely little bod get a bit of de-cluttering action too?

A simple, unprocessed, healthy diet allows the body to naturally cleanse and provides space for the digestive system to start working its magic so much more efficiently. When you bear in mind the ‘microcosm/macrocosm’ concept, who knows what other functions that digestive system serves?

New research is currently emerging about the ‘abdominal brain’ and the connection of the gut with the emotions. There must be so much more information that we just don’t know about those mysterious micro-organisms that reside inside us.

Ok, enough for now.  Law of Attraction… Feng Shui…better finish this blog quick before I start talking about aliens or something…

If you’re feeling in the mood to Spring clean your life and let in a little more raw goodness, keep an eye out for my next newsletter (and if you’re not signed up, you can do it here), as I am currently putting together a little program to help you upgrade your diet – and it will be completely free!

So watch this (de-cluttered) space 😉

How to grow your own microgreens

By Leave a Comment 0

Would you like to grow your own microgreens but never seem to get around to it because it just feels like it will be too much work?  Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s really easy, doesn’t take much time, and at the end of it you get your very own home-grown baby greens, bursting with flavour and nutrition – what more could you ask for?

What are microgreens?

I’m glad you asked 🙂  Microgreens are young green leafy plants that have not yet grown to maturity.  They are one step up from sprouts.  If you can sprout it, then you can grow it into a microgreen.  Unlike sprouts however, microgreens need soil and light in order to grow.

Microgreens are an ideal addition to any self-respecting raw foodie’s diet, as the young tender leaves are perfect for eating raw (in fact, cooking is not recommended as they are so delicate) and they won’t contain the anti-nutrients that more mature plants can develop over time.  Not only that, research has shown that they contain 4 – 40 times more nutrients than mature plants.

AND they’re so tasty!

How to get started

To begin, you will need a box or tray of some kind.  Any size will do, depending on how much you want to grow, and how much space you have.  Just use anything that you can put compost in.  I usually use these kind of trays, but you could adapt any old crate that you happen to have lying around.

It’s best to use one tray with small holes for drainage, then place it inside another tray without holes to catch the water, especially if you’re planning to grow your microgreens indoors.

Line the tray with a couple of inches of compost, water it lightly (it should be damp, but not too wet), sprinkle the seeds on top, then cover with another thin layer of compost.  You don’t need to space the seeds out like you would when growing mature plants; you can scatter them quite thickly.  You’re aiming for the seeds quite close together, without them getting too crowded and actually touching.

You can cover the trays with a lid in the first few days, as this helps retain moisture and speed up the germination process.  Water them as often as necessary, not too much.  After a couple of weeks your microgreens should be ready.

Where should I grow them?

Find a warm bright place such as a sunny windowsill.  It also helps to have a good source of ventilation, to avoid mould.

What kind of microgreens should I grow?

Some of my favourite microgreens include:

Snow pea greens

Good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and folic acid

Sunflower greens

Another rawfood classic – have a read of this informative website for a list of benefits

Radish and broccoli

I love these because they’re so hardy and grow so easily – not to mention their super-duper nutrition.  They’re a pretty strong and spicy taste.

Fenugreek

Adds a tasty curry flavour to your salad

And not forgetting – the mighty wheatgrass!  This is a fantastic microgreen to grow so you can enjoy all the benefits of fresh wheatgrass juice.

There are plenty more types of seeds you can try, so have a play about and see what suits your taste buds.

Should I soak the seeds beforehand?

If you’re familiar with sprouting, you might be wondering whether you should soak the seeds in water first.  This is optional really; I’ve grown microgreens successfully from soaked and unsoaked seeds.  One nice advantage to soaking them first is that you can enrich the soak water with minerals and enhance the nutrition of your plants.  A simple way to do this is to add a tiny pinch of sea salt and let it dissolve in the water.

Having problems growing your microgreens?

Check out this website, it lists some great solutions for issues such as mould and slow germination.

Good luck with your microgreens!  I hope this article was helpful for you 🙂

Raw food and camping in Orkney and the Outer Hebrides

By Leave a Comment 4

I recently had a camping trip around Orkney and the Outer Hebrides – wow, what an amazing time, there certainly are some incredible places to visit here in Scotland!

So I thought it would be helpful to share a little of my experiences in finding good places to eat raw food along my travels.

Of course, like any sensible raw foodist, I went well-prepared: stocked up with plenty of fruit and veg, and even some raw juices and smoothies which I’d pre-made and frozen before setting off.

It turns out I didn’t need to be quite SO well-prepared though, as even before we’d got our first ferry we found ourselves at The Green Welly in Tyndrum.  This is a smashing stop-off point that you’re sure to come across if you’re travelling around Scotland as it’s situated on the A82 in the middle of Loch Lomond, Fort William, Perth, and of course Oban, which was where we were headed.

It sells fuel, food and gifts, and is always surrounded by swarms of friendly bikers.  Make your way to the back of the shop (avert your eyes from the home-made brownies! Resist, resist!!) to the chilled section and you will see a nice little selection of fresh fruit and juices.  Proper freshly-squeezed orange juice no less – none of that pasteurised nonsense!  I got some Scottish strawberries for my lunch on the ferry.

The journey from Oban to Uist takes around 6 hours, and the café on the ferry isn’t exactly bursting with rawness, so it’s a good idea to bring your own food.  I was glad of my strawberries, they went nicely with my flask of green juice, sat out in the sunshine watching the waves go by.

Once we got to Uist we set up our tent in a lovely little campsite right by a gorgeous white sand beach (the first of many!).  I gathered up some wild edibles and made some tasty warming herbal tea on our little camping stove (I may be a raw foodie but like any typical Brit I’m never giving up my tea, no way!).

Here are a couple of places I’ve heard of that you might like to try if you’re hunting for some quality fresh produce while you’re in Uist:

The Big Garden http://biggarden.scot/the-big-garden/

Beautiful kitchen garden on South Uist, right by the beach, which grows and sells a variety of fresh seasonal produce.

MacLennans Supermarket  http://www.maclennanssupermarket.co.uk/

Family-owned shop in Benbecula selling fresh produce.

Luskentyre Beach Isle of Harris Outer Hebrides

Luskentyre Beach.. simply beautiful

Our next stop was the Isle of Harris, where we visited the stunning Luskentyre beach.  This beach was voted best beach in Britain, and it’s not hard to see why – it’s completely breathtaking.  I happened to stroll by the set of a music video which was being made, so I sat and watched while a girl in a long white dress walked straight into the sea until she was completely immersed in the water, cameras hovering above.  I felt really sorry for her as the wind was really biting despite the bright sunshine – she must have been freezing!

Like I say, the Outer Hebrides aren’t exactly well-equipped for raw foodists, but camping out there was a nice experience for me as it made me really simplify my diet.  I did a lot of mono-eating during this trip (mono-eating = eating one food at a time as opposed to mixing them up in a meal/recipe) as it just seemed to suit the simplicity of it all; sitting on the ground outside our little tent, surrounded by the raw beauty of the islands.

I must say that Uig Sands on the Isle of Lewis was the absolute highlight of the trip for me.  We camped on the beach up in the sand dunes and had a little spot all to ourselves.  We lit a little campfire and sat back and enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the turquoise water – it was pure heaven.

Uig Sands camping

Sunset on the Isle of Lewis

While on Lewis, the Callanish Stones are not to be missed – they are undoubtedly one of the most magical places in Scotland.

Callanish-stones

Callanish Stones – mysterious and brooding

I visited Stornaway Farmer’s Market  to stock up on some lovely fresh produce mid-way through the trip.  I got some lovely yellow courgettes amongst other things.  Their stuff is super-fresh; most of it is picked within 24 hours of it going on sale.  Get there early in the morning before it sells out!

Yellow courgette noodles

Yellow courgette noodles

When we got back on the mainland we stopped by Smoo Cave in Durness – well worth checking out on your way from Ullapool up to the Orkney ferry.

While on the mainland we also squeezed in a quick stop to Thurso and a visit to Carrots health food store to stock up on supplies.

After getting into Orkney on the ferry we headed into Kirkwall, where we stayed at the Pickaquoy Centre campsite.  Compared to our wild camping in Lewis, this felt practically like a 5 star hotel, with its heated shower complex, kitchen and lounge area and wifi.  It was also very handy for the ferry and close to town too.  There was even an option to use the spa and swimming pool at the centre – luxury!

If you’re in Kirkwall at the right time you might catch the farmer’s market in Orkney, it’s held on the last Saturday of each month.  Here is some more info: http://orkneyfarmersmarket.weebly.com/

We popped into the Real food café in Kirkwall for lunch.  In terms of rawfood, it only really provided salads,  but it had such a lovely atmosphere that I thought it was worth a mention.

We travelled around Orkney, staying at the Birsay Outdoor Centre and the gorgeous Wheems Organic Farm, where we had some fantastic hot sunny weather.  The handy thing about staying at Wheems was that they sold their own organic veg on site.

A simple lunch at Wheems Farm

A simple lunch at Wheems Farm

Stromness was a cute little town to visit, and we found a lovely health food store there that sold a great range of goods including raw chocolate, seaweed, and herbs.

While in Orkney we visited some fantastic places, including the spectacular Ring of Brodgar 5000 year old standing stones, the beautiful Italian Chapel, and the fascinating Neolithic settlement of Scara Brae.

Orkney is quite a mission to get to, but once you get there you won’t regret it.

Have you been to Orkney or the Outer Hebrides?  If so, leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked it.  Did you find any great places for raw and healthy food?