Saturday, 13 July 2013

The raw benefits two weeks on...

I’m not really sure where to start because I have so much whizzing through my head and I am really excited. This time two weeks ago my hayfever was about to peak and I felt absolutely shocking. Today I feel amazing! I am full of energy, my hayfever symptoms are nowhere to be seen and I am in an amazing mood.
I think the 5 day course of steroids have had a part to play in dampening down the allergy symptoms  but I can’t ignore that I have consumed more fresh fruit and veg in the last two weeks than I probably did during the whole month of June. I am now firmly in a breakfast routine which is a big deal for me. I am now waking up hungry in the morning and I am making sure I eat at least three healthy meals per day.  The majority of my meals in the last 2 weeks have consisted of fresh, raw food. I have been keeping a food diary to send to my personal trainer. Knowing that I have to write down what I’m eating and sending to a third party has made me look closer at my diet.
This is a snapshot of the food I’ve eaten in the last few weeks. It is far from perfect and there are definitely changes to be made but seeing some it together shows how much colour there is in natural foods.  I have to say I feel more energetic than I have done in a long time. I’m waking up every morning before 5:00 most days and I am bouncing out of bed and full of energy.I haven’t been a saint and haven’t given up booze. In fact at a second glance I realise I have  completely forgotten to put a couple of G&T’s and several glasses of prosecco from Tuesday night. Ed, if you’re reading this, I am not being a secret squirrel, just completely forgot to put it down.


If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Instagram, you will have seen me getting over excited about a raw food workshop that I attended today in Bristol. I feel so excited and inspired. The workshop was run by Anna Middleton and she was assisted by Fliss who runs http://www.insideouthealing.co.uk/. It was a fantastic workshop and I learnt so much from Anna and Fliss who were extremely passionate about what they do. It was a world I knew very little about before today, but I got the chance to learn about new ingredients and techniques, and tasted lots of new foods. There were six other people in the group and it was great as I picked up lots of new information from other group members too.
I absolutely love learning, especially about topics that I have little knowledge of. Although I like to think of myself as a bit of a foodie, today was very humbling as so much was like a foreign language to me. This was in no way negative but instead a very positive and exciting experience. 

I am going to do some detailed separate posts about the workshop and the new foods and ingredients I was introduced to. I am no expert but I think my beginner’s perspective may be useful to some people. From the little research I have done so far, most raw foodies seems to be pretty hardcore and experienced and it can be overwhelming for people like me. As Anna said today, you don’t have to go 100% raw; it’s about introducing some beneficial raw foods into your diet in ways that suit you. I can honestly say that I have benefited greatly after only two weeks.  I will be sure to update you regularly on my progress. 

Here is a selection of the foods I was lucky enough to try today. Anna prepared a huge amount of recipes from Thai curry, to chocolate brownies, green smoothies, chocolate sauce, nut milks, salads and salad dressings. Believe it or not, all of the foods below were made using fresh, natural ingredients that are good for you and there was no cooking at all. I was astounded by just how delicious everything was that I tasted today including the almond milk which I have always been reluctant to use. The avocado chocolate mousse was outstanding, as were the chocolate brownies, and the raw Thai curry was so tasty and filling and it wasn't strange that it was cold. I will be sure to share some of the recipes as I start trying experimenting. I had so many ideas when watching Anna at work today. 
























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