Raw Tings

Pineapple and coconut cheezecake

2015-05-10T20:19:00.001+01:00

I've been eating a lot more sweet things since coming back from Thailand, but most of my raw desserts tend to be quite chocolate heavy! As much as I LOVE chocolate I wanted to try to create something a bit different, with more of an exotic fruit vibe, so I invented this cheezecake- raw and vegan but I swear it's MUCH nicer than any dairy based, sugar-laden dessert. This made a really big cheezecake, it filled a 10 inch flan dish. You could double the amount of crust if you wanted a deeper base, but I wanted a deep filling with less crust. It turned out perfectly first time, much to my surprise, so I will make it exactly the same way next time!

Ingredients:

For the filling
3/4 of a ripe pineapple, cut into chunks
1 cup cashews, soaked about 4 hours
I pack pure creamed coconut (the hard block kind that's just coconut, no additives)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

For the crust
1 cup walnuts (soaked overnight- about 8 hours)
1/2 cup dates

Topping
4 fresh passionfruits

Method:

1) Put the walnuts and dates in the food processor until it all comes together, almost into a ball. Press this down in a flan or pie dish, so it forms the crust, along the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Put it in the fridge to chill.

2) Mix the coconut with about 200 ml of warm water until it gets to a thick cream consistency. Then put it in the food processor with the pineapple, cashews, coconut sugar, scraped out vanilla seeds and coconut oil. N.B. Add the coconut sugar a bit at a time and taste as you go... you may want to add less or more than I did, dependent on how sweet your pineapple is and how much of a sweet tooth you have. Process it all until you get a smooth cream.

3) Pour the pineapple coconut cream on top of the base in the flan dish and smooth down the top. Put it in the fridge and leave it to chill and set for an hour.

4) Drizzle the passionfruit all over the top.

5) Slice, eat, enjoy!

Courgette Hummus

2015-04-26T19:40:00.000+01:00

Hello! I haven't written this blog in AGES but I'm on it again now. Just got back from an amazing three week trip to Thailand, and part of that was a 7 day detox in Chiang Mai. Since doing that I've been back on the raw, because it felt right and I didn't want to start putting crap in my body after cleaning it out! Before that I was still vegan but went back to eating a lot of cooked and processed foods. Being back on the raw I just feel SO much better, with tons of energy, so I'm sticking to eating raw for now.

Anyway, I just made this delicious raw version of hummus, based on a recipe from Jennifer Cornbleet's book, Raw Food Made Easy. It is so good, you don't miss the chickpeas at all and the courgette gives it a lovely texture. And it's dead easy, you just stick it all in the food processor for a couple of minutes and you're done. Here's the recipe:

I big courgette- peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons raw tahini
The juice of one lemon
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Big pinch of cumin
Big pinch of paprika
Sea salt to taste

Just blend it up until you get to a hummusy texture and that's it. Enjoy!

I had it with carrot sticks dipped in. I'm so broke right now after my holiday I am limited to what is in my fridge and I only had one carrot but I had all the other ingredients... just! So I ended up eating the rest of it with a spoon! And it was really good :-)
Roll on Tuesday and payday!

Sushi! (not the fish and rice kind, this is much more gorgeous)

2014-05-26T22:36:00.001+01:00

I absolutely adore these little maki rolls, I could happily eat them everyday. The 'rice' is made with parnsips and pine nuts (trust me, it works), and the nori is the raw untoasted kind. Really quick to make, healthy and delicious. Better than the 'real' alternative in my opinion. Seriously, you should try this.

Ingredients

For the rice:
2 big parsnips
Third of a cup of pine nuts
1 dessert spoon of apple cider vinegar

Filling:
Avocado or cucumber or whatever else takes your fancy really.

Raw untoasted nori sheets

Peel and chop the parsnips, then blitz them in a food processor, with the pine nuts, until they get to a rice like texture.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar.
Finely slice the avocado and chop the cucumber into thin sticks.
Take a sheet of nori and spread the parsnip rice on it, about a third of the way up.
Then put a row of avocado or cucumber or whatever filling you're using along this.
Roll it up, quite tightly, and moisten the edge with water to help it stick together.
Then just slice the roll into little bite sized pieces.
This amount made enough to fill 3 nori sheets when I did it earlier.

I made a really good dip to go with them, which was a combo of tamari (wheat free soy sauce), sesame oil and a bit of chilli powder. Just shook it all up together in a jar. Turned out extremely well :) Enjoy!

KB's Ultimate Power Green Juicy Breakfast Smoothie!

2014-05-26T22:09:00.000+01:00

Hello! Hope everyone is feeling good and happy. I'm going to share with you my go-to breakfast of the moment. I've been experimenting with various different green juices and smoothies for a while now. I've made all kinds of concoctions with a wildly varying range of ingredients, but have ended up having this one just about every morning for the last few weeks. It's delicious, bursting with nutritional goodness and it really sets you up for the day.

Although, the main component of this is freshly squeezed fruit and veg juice, this is a smoothie, not a juice, so won't work for you if you're on a juice cleanse. As soon as you blend it up with the other ingredients you're adding fibre back in, which is all good, but not if you're juicing. Perfect for a green smoothie detox though, or just as your everyday breakfast. Oh. And it is gorgeous.

Ingredients

A) In the juicer:
Quarter of a pineapple
2 sticks celery
Big chunk of ginger
Big chunk of cucumber (about 4 inches)
2-3 apples
Half a lime (peeled, but pith kept on if you can, for added zing!)

B) In the blender:
1-2 handfuls of spinach
Half a ripe avocado
2 teaspoons raw hemp powder
2 teaspoons wheatgrass powder
The contents of one acidophilus capsule (or other kind of probiotic)

Method

1. Juice all the fruits and veggies from list A.
2. Pour the fresh juice into the blender, adding to the other ingredients (list B).
3. Blend it all up.
4. Drink it.
5. Lovely, innit.

Hope that gives you a spring in your step :) Have a lovely day.

Chocolate brownies and strawberry ice cream

2013-01-28T17:07:00.001+00:00

So, I had a bit of a raw food prep day yesterday, filling up the dehydrator, fridge and freezer with staples and treats for the week. The things I made were: chocolate brownies; strawberry ice cream; buckwheat flax crackers; jalapeno burgers; carrot, raisin and cashew bread; marinated veggies; kale chips and the ultimate salad dressing! Some of the recipes I made up, others I got from books and other websites which I will post up here. I'll do some of the recipes today, and try to finish them off tomorrow :)

Chocolate brownies

First off, Chocolate Brownies. These have a more gooey texture than traditional brownies and are really rich and delicious. I made this as I wanted something chocolatey and had walnuts leftover from making the jalapeno burgers (the burger recipe is already on this blog- look in the index on the right of the home page if you're interested, they are really good).

Ingredients:
I cup walnuts, soaked 4-6 hours
1/2 cup dates
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup raisins
squirt of agave (optional- to taste, depending on how sweet you like them. and how well your mixture is holding together)

All you do is put everything in a food processor and mix it all up until it starts sticking together. It will probably all go into one ball if you leave it long enough!
Then spread the mixture in a baking tray or glass dish lined with greasproof paper, score it into squares, put another piece of greaseproof paper over the top and put it in the freezer to set for about half an hour. Keep in the fridge.

Next up, real Strawberry Ice Cream, YUM! This is amazing. You would never know this was not a dairy ice cream. Well, actually it's way better than that as it has no artificial sweeteners, colours, flavourings, sugar, dairy or any of that bad stuff AND tastes even more delicious. I adapted it from Ani Phyo's basic ice kream recipe which you can get from her book Ani's Raw Food Essentials.

Strawberry ice cream!

This picture does not do it justice at all, I can't tell you how delicious it is. Real fresh strawberries taste so delicious in ice cream.

Ingredients:
1 cup cashews, soaked 2-3 hours
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup water
1 punnet strawberries (mine was 227g)

Again, it's really easy, just blend it all up together until smooth. Use as little water as you can get away with, as too much will make it harder and form ice crystals. Add more if you need to, to get the mix to the texture of thick cream, but 1/4 cup seems about right to get a lovely creamy, ice cream texture. Taste a bit of the mix (amazing right?!) and adjust the sweetness if need be. Then put it in a tub in a freezer to set overnight. I recommend doing it overnight so you're not tempted to scoff it before it's done! I made mine in the afternoon and had "tested" it quite a lot before it was frozen! You don't need to churn it like dairy ice cream, it sets beautifully without forming ice to break up. I stirred mine up once, when it was just frozen, but you don't need to. Then, in the morning it's all ready to eat!

Well, I've run out of time for today but will put more recipes up tomorrow. :-)

Chia pudding

2013-01-22T16:11:00.001+00:00

Ok... so this looks pretty weird, I know, but go with it, trust me, it's delicious! I took this pic on my phone after letting it sit about 10 minutes, but it gets thicker and more gloopy the longer you leave it. Kind of frogspawny. Er, not really selling it here am I?! I guess it's sort of like tapioca pudding, if you can remember that? Look, all you need to know is it's really gorgeous and sweet and filling and absolutely amazing for you :)

Put 1/2 cup of cashews (soaked for 2 or 3 hrs then rinsed) in a blender with 3 cups water & 6 dates. Whizz it up until smooth. Put this cashew milk in a container, e.g. an old ice cream tub or similar (N.B. It tastes pretty delicious at this stage- you might want to try a glass!)

Then mix 1/2 cup chia seeds into the cashew milk & leave it to sit for at least 10 minutes. Ideally leave it for longer- it softens up and gets thicker the longer you leave it. Stir it to break up any lumpy bits. This will keep for a few days in the fridge. It's a lovely breakfast or dessert & really good for you. This amount should make 2 or 3 big bowls or more, depending on how hungry you are.

Chocolate orange truffles!

2013-01-22T15:46:00.001+00:00

Oh my, I have been slack with this blog, haven't I?! It's been over a year since I last wrote, oops. In part, that's because I have been eating lots of crap and not making any exciting and new raw stuff. And also because I have been lazy :/ But no more! I made loads of tasty raw delights at the weekend and so I'm going to update you with some new recipes.

The most delicious thing I invented on Saturday were: raw chocolate orange truffles.

They are so quick and easy to make and one of the most delicious raw sweets I've made.

Put 1 cup of cashews, soaked for for 2-3 hours, in the food processor with 1/2 cup of dates. Process these until they start to stick together. Then add 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder and the zest and juice of half an orange. (This is the amount I used because I had half an orange leftover in the fridge! You could use more or less, experiment to taste.) Process it all some more- it will start sticking together and going into a ball. Taste the mixture- you might want to add a squirt of agave if you like them sweeter.
Then just take out spoonfuls of the mixture and roll it gently into balls in your hand. Put them in a container and into the freezer to set. They'll be ready in about half an hour, if you can wait that long!

Then keep them in the freezer! You don't need to put them back into the fridge to keep, eat them straight from the freezer, the texture is amazing! They're still soft, not hard at all, and don't seem 'frozen' but it gives them a lovely creamy texture. And they have a very rich taste. Enjoy! More recipes to follow :)

Raw caramel apple pie

2011-10-09T11:44:00.000+01:00

I took this pic with my phone
before the caramel had set so it
looks a bit rubbish!

Ok, this isn't my own recipe, but it's so delicious I had to share it. I got it here, from the one green planet blog. The author of that does another really good blog too, Raw on $10 a day (or less!) which has loads of great recipes and tips for being raw on a budget.

The pie has a base of walnuts and raisins- except I used a combination of raisins and dates in my version (just because I didn't have enough raisins!)- ground up together, pressed into a dish, then left to chill in the freezer. The apple filling is sliced apples, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (this was what I used instead of pumpkin pie spice as I don't think you can get that in the UK), lemon juice and agave, mixed up and softened in the dehydrator for a couple of hours (you could skip this step if you don't have a dehydrator). Then the caramel sauce is raw almond butter, agave, water and olive oil blended together and poured over the apple mix which you spread over the base. It's so gorgeous I just had a fat slice for breakfast. I recommend this recipe LOADS, and really you only need a little slice as it's really rich... although having said that I just had a pretty massive slice and am already contemplating another... Well, why not, it's all healthy, raw and good for you... enjoy!

Mastercleansing again

2011-09-09T16:57:00.000+01:00

Well, so much for my last post all about moderation... I've just returned from a week in France where I ate LOADS of cooked food, including plenty of dairy and wheat- pizza, quiche, pasta etc!- and loads of wine and cheese. Hmmm. In my defence, it is pretty impossible to eat out raw in rural France- it's hard enough to get vegetarian meals, let alone vegan, everything has cheese in it! So I decided to just go with it for the week and reset myself when I got back. I did make a green smoothie for my breakfast every day while I was out there... oh, except for two days when I had croissants, ahem.

Now I'm back and my tummy has definitely expanded so I'm back on the mastercleanse. I've explained loads about this before in this blog, I journalled the last time I went on it, so do look at my other posts if you're interested in more details. So far I'm starving but it's only the first day! However I wasn't in work today, and now have a weekend ahead, so hopefully will be in the swing of things by the time I go back to work (which I am DREADING by the way...)

Also, need to get back into exercising. Too broke for Bikram this month so am going to start doing another 30 day challenge with the EA Active personal trainer on the Wii, starting in the morning. Wish me luck!

I also have another colonic booked for tomorrow. Not sure how that will go after a week of stuffing myself (oh, and I also had crisps, pretzels, biscuits and crackers in France... did I mention that?). But hopefully it will all help in resetting my system. Heaven knows I need a reboot!

Onion bread, kale chips, aubergine bacon and chocolatey bites

2011-08-18T11:56:00.000+01:00

Hello! I haven't written this blog for ages and decided it was time to get blogging again. I've been kind of on and off the raw food over the last few months and have come to a few realisations. The main one being I absolutely definitely feel better when I am eating raw. I have more energy, I'm more positive, productive, and generally feel happier and healthier. The change from when I'm eating rubbish food and drinking alcohol is immense. But I have learnt not to be too hard on myself and take it easy when things don't go to plan.

Aubergine bacon, recipe below

I've noticed a lot of raw foodists lately, who used to go on about being 100% raw now referring to themselves as "high raw". And I'm kind of doing the same. I think as long as the bulk of my diet is raw, say 80-90 %, I am not going to beat myself up about the remaining 10-20% that may be cooked foods. I am still remaining vegan, and the funny thing is, since I have "allowed" myself this, I have actually been pretty much totally raw! I think I have finally discovered moderation! Instead of grabbing a bag of crisps when there is nothing tasty and raw around and then saying "ah sod it, I may as well eat crap all day now", and then getting chocolate, a sandwich, a glass of wine, biscuits etc, and then getting on that whole stuff-your-face-with-junk merry go round again, if I now allow myself the odd "bad" thing and carry on with my mainly raw diet it all works out fine!

The only thing I am keeping off though is the wine- when I drink booze I really do loose all sense of moderation and that is when stuffing my face with junk takes control! So I am remaining off the booze for the time being. And the more raw food I eat, without feeling like I'm being strict on myself, the less cooked food I want to eat. I have only eaten raw for the last week as though I told myself I could eat cooked stuff too I actually haven't wanted to. And with my extra energy I have been making loads of raw treats- this is another key thing, make sure you are prepared and have plenty of treats around so you're not left with only a salad or something as a choice.

Onion bread

I just made a double batch of Matt Amsden's onion bread from Rawvolution, I had forgotten just how good this was. Rawvolution was the first raw food book I got and it's also my favourite raw food restaurant in LA. And this bread is so easy to make, it only has 5 ingredients, and I swear my batch came out just as tasty as the bread I had at his place in LA, if I say so myself! It takes ages to dehydrate though, so make sure you make it in advance (36 hrs in the dehydrator total) but the actual making of it is so simple: you just grind sunflower seeds and flaxseeds, slice onions, then mix it all up with olive oil and tamari (or nama shoyu if you can get it, or braggs or another equivalent). Then spread the mix over dehydrator sheets. Then wait, while the smell of it cooking tempts you to eat it out of the dehydrator before it's done! (or is that just me... I am greedy!)

Chocolatey bites

I also invented some lovely chocolatey bites, that are so simple to make. I soaked 1 cup of cashew nuts for an hour then put them in the food processor with a cup of chopped dates, 2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder and 1 tablespoon of mesquite. Process it til starts to come together, then shape into mouthful sized cookie shapes (or whatever shape takes your fancy!) and put in the fridge. That's it! And they are delicious.

I also made another batch of bacon out of aubergine (photo at top of page), I've put the recipe on here before, but you can find it here. I love this stuff, it's really crispy and full of flavour. I didn't have any chipotle so I used smoked paprika and chilli which worked really well. The marinade for the aubergine is amazing- I've also used it on kale chips and in salad dressing!

Talking of kale chips, my love affair with them continues. These are the things that I could not do without and keep me away from crisps as they taste just as good! I've put enough recipes for kale chips on here, but experiment and invent your own. The farmers markets in Brixton and Swiss Cottage have some amazing kinds of organic kale, there's a purple one I love and some Tuscan kale with massive leaves that's great too. I've also been getting neon chard from them which is beautiful and great for smoothies. I did a green smoothie detox last month which was great, and I have continued with green smoothies for breakfast each day, a great start to the morning. A couple of bananas, then any other fruit- mango, papaya, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, peaches etc, they're all good! Then add some water, and maybe some maca, mesquite, purple corn or whatever superfood you're into and a couple of handfuls of greens and you're good to go.

Well, I'm glad to be back, I'll be back soon with more raw food stuff. I've been making some skin care products too so might let you know a bit about these too. Bye for now x

Raw chocolates!

2011-03-15T12:41:00.000+00:00

My new favourite thing= homemade raw chocolates. They are so quick and easy to make and completely delicious.

All you do is put 100g of raw cacao butter in a glass bowl, on top of another glass bowl filled with hot water, and melt it down to liquid. Then whisk in 6 tablespoons of raw cacao powder (I use a 1/3 cup measure and a 10ml measure). Use a metal whisk, it gets it all mixed up better than a spoon. Then add 2 tablespoons of agave nectar and about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Then you can add whatever you like as flavourings really. The batch I knocked up last night I put mesquite and lucuma in and they are really good! I've got a bit of a thing for mesquite at the moment, it's so gorgeous, I put it in my smoothie this morning too!

I've made them with a few drops of rosewater in before too- they were good- a bit turkish delighty tasting. But you could add orange, mint, chopped nuts, goji berries... whatever takes your fancy! I bought a silicone mould to make them in but you can easily make them in an ice cube tray.

I have also used the leftover melted chocolate to dip some raw ginger flapjack biscuits I made in, and they turned out great. I got the biscuit recipe here, they call them ginger oat cookies, they were lovely as they were, but massively improved by being chocolate coated!

Raw crackers, tapenade and sundried tomato cheeze

2011-02-06T15:38:00.002+00:00

Okay, so these don't look all that appetising but I blame my phone! My battery charger has packed up so can't use my camera til I get some new batteries. And these crackers are also very messy looking and free-form because I just snapped the big sheets of dehydrated cracker into random bits to make the crackers! But they taste so good, and are very addictive.

So first things first, the crackers. I based these on Kate Magic's recipe for Crackables, which you can find on her website, with a few additions. Basically, soak 250g of flaxseeds in a litre of water for 12 hours until you get a gloopy mixture. To this add the juice of 2 lemons, a couple of spoons of green powder, and a chopped red onion. Then I also added 1/2 red and 1/2 green pepper, chopped, 1 red chilli, a few grinds of black pepper and a pinch of salt. You can vary this recipe and add what you like really, fresh herbs are especially good. Mix this all up well, spread over 3 dehydrator trays with teflex sheets on, and dehydrate at 105 degrees for 12 hours. Then flip them over and dehydrate for another 6 hours or until crispy. Then break them up into bits like me- or try and make nicer proper square cracker shapes if you can!

Tapenade
This is scrumptious! I got this recipe from a girl called Natasha at a raw food meetup, and she got it from Cafe Gratitude (San Francisco), it's official name is 'I Am Opulent' Olive Tapenade and is my new addiction. It's totally delicious. Although, she put a bunch of fresh coriander in hers, and I didn't have any so missed that out. All you do is blend together a jar of raw olives- I used these Raw Health organic kalamata olives which are divine- with a red chilli, a clove of garlic and enough of the olive oil from the jar to create a smooth mixture- but not too smooth, I like it with a few little olive chunks in. Simple but beautiful, really fresh and succulent tasting, with a spicy chilli kick. It's also really good spread on romaine lettuce leaves with mashed avocado and rolled up.
The sundried tomato cheeze is my old favourite from Ani Phyo's recipe in Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes and is made with brazil nuts, lemon juice, garlic, water, sea salt and sundried tomatoes. Another really easy one but very flavoursome and moreish.

Key Lime Pie

2011-02-06T15:05:00.000+00:00

I've been wanting to make some kind of lime tart for a couple of weeks and finally got round to it yesterday. I have to say, it was delicious, I think it's the tastiest raw dish I've made so far. I've already eaten half the pie! I first started thinking about it at a raw food potluck meetup at Heleana's place a couple of weeks ago, where one of the guests brought her lime pie and was kind enough to provide the recipe later. I then found a different recipe in Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People, Jennifer Cornbleet's book which also sounded good. So in the end, I took the best bits out of each recipe, changed some things, added some new twists of my own and came up with this recipe. If you only make one raw dessert, make this, it's amazing, you would never know it was raw, and actually healthy! It tastes indulgent, rich, sharp and sweet, and the crunchy base is a great contrast to the smooth zestiness of the lime mousse.

Base:
1/2 cup macademia nuts
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup medjool dates
1 capful natural vanilla extract

Put it all the food processor and mix together until nuts are coursely ground (it's nice if they're still a bit chunky) and the mixture is starting to stick together.
Press it down firmly in a flan dish and put it in the freezer or fridge to chill while you're making the filling.

Lime mousse:
1 1/2 cups mashed avocado ( about three- I used two massive ones and one little one)
1/2 cup sweetener of your choice (I used a combo of half raw honey and half agave nectar)
Fresh lime juice- I started with 1/4 cup then upped it to almost 1/2 cup, but anywhere in between these amounts would be fine, depending on how sweet or tart you like it- taste it and see!)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 capful natural vanilla extract

Blend all this up until smooth, then pour it over the base, smooth over wit the back of a spoon and leave to set in the fridge for about an hour before serving.

I decorated it with some lime slices too. Then enjoy! x

Mainly, pics from 'An Evening of Raw Vitality & Splendour at Vantra'

2011-01-30T21:56:00.004+00:00

I've been really busy the last week or two so haven't had time to update this blog much but I have stayed 100% raw, and eaten a lot of amazing things. I even managed to stay raw and alcohol-free when I stayed at my sister's last weekend- I brought a load of stuff down with me, including my favourite cheezy kelp noodles- I think the recipe for these is in this blog already- as well as loads of salads, fresh fruit and chocolate mousse!

My phone is full of pictures of things I've been making and eating out that I haven't had time to upload yet. Haven't got a lot of time now as really want to try to get an early night so I think this entry is going to be more pictures than words!

But I want to show you the pictures from Saturday night first. I went to Vantra for an event with Phillip McCluskey and the food was great. The service was kind of slow, so I was ready to eat off my arm by the time my starter arrived, but nobody minded too much and I met some lovely interesting people and had a fab night.

The starter- canapés, including a big kale chip and
flax crackers with different toppings

My choice of main course- stuffed red pepper with nut roast. The other
choices were Thai veg noodles or courgette lasagne. All seemed to be
very well received.

Pepper with the lid off so you can see all the yummy stuff inside.
It was really tasty, and the dressings were beautiful.

Berry and rose tart

Carob tart

Pineapple and passionfruit mylkshake- doesn't look too exciting
from this photo but trust me, it was one of the most delicious
drinks I've ever had! The maca and mesquite living latte was
also gorgeous!

I'm going to call it a day now, but will try to update some more in the week and catch you up with all the other things I've been making, including some chocolate crispie cookies I invented that turned out sooooo good! I've also ordered a load of stuff for making raw chocolates so going to get on that soon, which will hopefully stop me from spending the small fortune on raw chocolate bars that I do at the moment! Laters x

Hot purple kale chips

2011-01-19T21:44:00.001+00:00

I admit it, I am completely and totally addicted to kale chips, I can't get enough of them! My favourite recipe is usually the Renegade Health Show's cheezy kale chips (you can find the recipe on this blog- look in the alphabetical index on the right hand side titled "Labels", under cheezy kale chips) as they're completely delicious and tangy and addictive. But yesterday I invented a new kale chip recipe. I'd bought some from Inspiral last week that had purple corn in, so I decided to use some of that in mine too. I used a different recipe to theirs though- I looked on the tub and the Inspiral ones just had cashews, nutritional yeast and salt in. And kale, obviously. Here is my recipe:

1/2 cup cashew nuts, soaked for 2 hours
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons purple corn flour
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 chilli (I used a scotch bonnet, seeds and all, which made them really spicy! You might want to use a little less, or a less strong chilli... if the mix is too hot, add a little more agave)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Whizz it all up in the food processor until smooth- you may need to add to some water to get it to the right consistency- thickish but still runny- I think I added about 1/4 cup, maybe more.

Then coat the kale with it really well, rub it in so it's all stuck to the leaves.
I used 1 pack of organic curly kale from Waitrose- I can't remember how much that is in weight- probably the equivalent of one head/ bunch whatever they call it.

Then spread the kale out on teflex sheets on dehydrator trays- use enough trays so that it's well spread out, not all clumped together, so the air is able to circulate and the kale can dry out properly.

Dehydrate for about 8 hours at 105 degrees until crispy.

Keep in an airtight container. Well, I've eaten the whole lot already so storage isn't a problem! Enjoy!

This picture is my lunch today- more courgette pasta, but this time with marinara sauce, the one from Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People, which is the best tomato sauce I've made, it's really rich and tasty. And just a little salad of pea shoots and spouts and stuff with it. I also scoffed a load of blueberries, flax crackers, macademia nuts, goji berries, kale chips, a Nakd bar, and a bar of Raw chocolate throughout the day! And had a green juice for breakfast. All very satisfying and delicious. I did also make a kind of coleslaw with red and white cabbage mixed with more carrot-ginger dressing but didn't manage to eat that, so will have it for lunch tomorrow. Might make some guacamole too to have with crackers- I'm working late tomorrow night so will have to bring enough stuff for dinner as well as lunch. I'll let you know what I concoct!

No more master cleanse... FOOOOOOOOOOD!

2011-01-18T21:07:00.001+00:00

So, I completed 16 days on the master cleanse! I lost 10 lbs, not as much as previous times, due to the time of the month, but I lost 2 inches from my waist, an inch from my hips, an inch from each thigh and an inch and a half from my boobs (bit gutted about that last one!). Feel a lot trimmer and my jeans are now too big!
I had been planning on doing 20 days, but I got up on the morning of day 17 and could not face one more lemon/ cayenne/ maple drink. So I made fresh orange juice and damn it was GOOD! I haven't put any weight back on since I came off the cleanse (5 or 6 days now I think), in fact I've lost another pound and I am eating tons! All raw of course. I feel amazing, so much better than I was before the cleanse and am so glad I did it. And it feels so great to be eating raw again. I've had loads of delicious stuff.

The first couple of days I stuck to juice then eased my way back into raw. Last night I had a friend round for dinner and made courgette pasta with my spiraliser and fresh raw vegan pesto.

Courgette pasta and pesto

I put loads of fresh basil, a clove of garlic, olive oil and pine nuts in the food processor, blitzed it all up and mixed it in with the courgette. It was lovely! I also made loads of salads to go with it, as well as flax crackers, macademia cheese, and chocolate mousse for dessert.

I kind of made up the recipe for the flax crackers, based on the ingredients from a packet of crackers I bought from Inspiral the other day. I soaked 250 g of flax seeds in a litre of water for 12 hours. Then I processed up a 225g punnet of baby plum tomatoes, a red pepper, 1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes, a clove of garlic, a scotch bonnet chilli, loads of fresh parsley and 1/4 teaspoon of himalayan crystal salt. I put the gloopy seed mixture in, whizzed it all up then spread it over 4 dehydrator sheets and dehydrated it for about 12 hours. Then I flipped it over and did it for another 6 or so hours. And they turned out pretty good!

Flax crackers, mashed avocado,
macademia cheese & alfafa sprouts

The macademia cheese was amazing! I got the recipe from Raw Food/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow, and I really recommend this. You wouldn't believe a mix of macademia nuts, peppers, lemon, a pinch of salt and nutritional yeast would taste so amazing. This is dehydrated too, and comes out with a great texture. I just had some more of it now for my dinner, on flax crackers with mashed avocado and alfafa sprouts and it was gorgeous.

Chocolate mousse

The chocolate mousse is an old favourite from Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People. It's so quick and easy and tastes delicious. It's made with avocados but you would never know, it just tastes really rich and creamy and chocolatey but is totally dairy free! As well as the avocado I put in some medjool dates, raw honey, vanilla extract and raw cacao. The photo is never going to do it justice as it just looks like a dollop of brown stuff but it is soooooo good. I had the leftovers for lunch today which is why it's in a tupperware!

Today's packed lunch

So with all the leftovers from last night, I had the best ever packed lunch today! The yellow/orange stuff round the outside of the salad (picture on the left) is carrot and ginger dressing from Natalia Rose's The Raw Food Detox Diet: The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss. The salad has red cabbage, mixed bean sprouts, yellow peppers, pea shoots, spinach, grated carrot and marinated mushrooms.
I am so delighted to be eating real fresh raw food again! I've been having green juices for breakfasts too- this morning it was apples, cucumber, celery and ginger. Beautiful!

I'll try and keep this blog more up-to-date now, as I am totally re-set and back into the raw for good. I promise you I feel really amazing and will continue to keep it up!

Day 13 master cleanse

2011-01-09T18:22:00.001+00:00

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to start including psyllium in my detox... well I have and it is producing great results. I've been having psyllium and bentonite shakes and you would not believe what is coming out of me! I was toying with putting a picture on here but decided that was probably one step too far! But suffice to say, A LOT of old stuff that has been clogging my intestines is being eliminated, which is great. I also just did a coffee enema which also brought out a load of stuff. I mean a LOAD of stuff! I apologise if you're eating or if you find all this talk of bowel movements revolting but I am finding it very interesting! Ok I won't go into any more detail... today anyway ;)

I should say, some master cleanse purists don't think you should do anything extra on the cleanse as you don't need to, e.g. Peter Glickman, who wrote Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition, which is a great book, the first master cleanse one I read. He feels that the salt flush and laxative tea along with the lemon drinks is enough to detox you fully. However, others feel that it is ok to add other processes for a deeper cleanse, such as Tom Woloshyn, who wrote The Complete Master Cleanse: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing the Benefits of The Lemonade Diet which is also a brilliant book. Woloshyn studied with Stanley Burroughs and talks about various other techniques that can assist with the cleanse. I think that it's ok for me to do it now, as I've done the recommended full 10 days of the cleanse following the instructions to the letter, and now I'm carrying it on beyond 10 days I think it's fine to add further elements to help deepen the cleanse and rid myself of the stubborn toxins.

Coffee enemas are great for accelerating your liver's ability to detoxify, not just for the effect on the colon. You should only do them after a purification process is underway though. They have a clearing effect upon the liver and leave it in a much better state to continue with detoxifying. I learned about these and a lot of other excellent cleansing techniques from an amazing book which I really recommend, Cellular Awakening: How Your Body Holds and Creates Light. OK, that's enough book recommendations for one blog entry!

I am still feeling amazing, and have loads of energy. My mind also feels detoxed, I am feeling much more focussed and positive. My tongue has still not gone pink though it is starting to get better! And I am still eliminating plenty of unwanted matter. So the master cleanse continues!

Day 12 Master cleanse!

2011-01-08T17:51:00.001+00:00

Well, I have decided to go on beyond the 10 days I originally intended as I am still definitely detoxing. I think days 8 and 9 were big detox days for me and on the morning of day 10 I knew it wasn't time to call it a day. My tongue has not gone back to a healthy looking pink yet (a sure sign that I'm not done detoxing), and I've also come out in a bit of a rash on the inside of my elbows and the nape of my neck, which means that toxins are still being released.

I'm still feeling really good though and have bags of energy, I'm not feeling tired or weak or hungry at all. I spent about 3 hours cleaning my flat today and also went on a long walk around the park to try and burn off some of my excess energy! That's not to say that I'm not looking forward to eating actual food again, because I REALLY am, but I'm not desperate... yet!

I've also introduced psyllium husk into the cleanse, as of yesterday, to help clear out more of the old stuff from my colon. And this morning I made a tea with some herbs that are supposed to help get rid of parasites- wormwood, cloves and pau d'arco- but it was REVOLTING! It tasted so bad I almost threw up! I won't be trying that again. They say at least 80% of adults have parasites in their intestines and I wanted to try and clear them out but there's no way I'm drinking that again. I think I'm going to get a zapper instead, they're supposed to work well. You can get a really cheap one on Kate Magic's site: Raw Living. They also do the Terminator, which is meant to be the best one, but they're more expensive.

Not sure how long I'm going to continue with this. I should think at least to 14 days, maybe 16, possibly 20. I'll see how my tongue is looking in a couple of days! I'm still losing pounds and inches too, and definitely feeling a lot trimmer and healthier. So I may as well carry on a bit while I'm finding it easy and it's still doing its job. Hopefully this will set me back on the right track to raw living. I'm so looking forward to making some raw foods when this is all over. I think I have properly re-set myself!

Anyway, going to make a peppermint tea now, I'll check in again soon. x

Day 6 Master cleanse

2011-01-02T22:48:00.001+00:00

Well, my sixth day of the cleanse is coming to an end and it's still going remarkably well! I decided not to update this blog every day while I'm cleansing otherwise it will get ridiculously boring, but will check in now and again until it's over and I can start posting some more raw recipes again.

The salt flush has got so much easier. At the beginning it was revolting and I could barely keep it down without gagging, but now I can drink it easily and for some reason it doesn't taste so bad at all. And it certainly does the job with cleaning me out!

And I'm not feeling hungry at all yet, which is a surprise! Although I did have a couple of brief cravings today, for the first time. I woke up thinking about cheese on toast, then later it was grilled halloumi, then after that cottage cheese. So I would assume that my body is eliminating cheese today! But weirdly, I just thought about the food without having a desire go out and eat them.

I read another another really good master cleanse book, The Complete Master Cleanse: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing the Benefits of The Lemonade Diet which was great. Very different to the Peter Glickman one I read at the start of the cleanse, although that was good too. But this one explains a lot about the science behind the cleanse, the digestive system, how the cleanse actually works etc which I found really interesting, and it really helps with keeping focused.

Well, if I finish this after 10 days, I only have 4 days to go! However, you're meant to do it until your tongue goes pink- while on the cleanse it gets a very unattractive coating as the toxins are being expelled, and then goes back to clear pink when you are fully detoxed. So if my tongue is still not fully pink on day 10 I will probably go on until it is, if I feel like I can. Want to get fully cleansed! It's also not good to stop if you're having any major detox systems on the day- as then, obviously, you're still eliminating so should carry on until they have stopped. So I'll see how I feel on day 10.

Back to work tomorrow on Tuesday, unfortunately, so things might get a bit harder then. But I'm determined to keep going and see this thing through! Wish me luck!

Day 3 Master cleanse

2010-12-30T21:48:00.002+00:00

Well, day 3 is almost over and it's been very good! I'm really surprised but I'm not feeling hungry at all this time around and haven't had any nasty detox symptoms as yet. Although it is only day 3 so plenty of time for that to kick in! The salt flush is still revolting but it it is still doing the business. I keep having to blow my nose too, though I don't have any other cold symptoms, I think a lot of mucous is being loosened from everywhere! (Did you want to know that? ;))

Still have plenty of energy too. In fact the last 2 nights I have found it really hard to get to sleep. Maybe because I had been getting used to the instant sleep brought on by a couple of glasses of wine in the evening that now I'm not having! But I was tossing and turning for a couple of hours after going to bed which doesn't usually happen to me. So I went into Brixton today and got some of the brilliant sleep tea from Brixton Whole Foods (I love that shop) which should do the trick. Although drinking that before bed, on top of a laxative tea, loads of water and all the lemon drinks I'll no doubt be waking up to pee in the night instead! I'm also putting lavender oil on my pillow and am about to have a hot bath- hopefully this will all work! I put a big handful of Himalayan crystal salt in the bath to help with the detoxifying process and weirdly really wanted to eat some, so I sucked and crunched a few crystals too (out of the packet, not out of the bath!)and it was good! Is that weird?

I've also been doing skin brushing in the mornings which is great for detoxifying- the skin is the largest organ in your body so a lot of toxins get eliminated through the skin, and brushing with a natural bristle brush really helps the process.

I've been increasing the amount of cayenne in my lemonade quite a bit too because as well as aiding with eliminating it has so many other great health benefits. And I love a bit of spice! Here's a good link for more cayenne info: http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/cayenne.htm

Oo oo I almost forgot, I got a Vitamix today! Well, it hasn't actually arrived yet, but I ordered it. SO excited, I've wanted one for so long. As I was channel hopping today I stumbled across "Vitamix special" on the Ideal World channel, where they were selling them with £50 off, plus you could pay in monthly installments... it was a sign that I had to get one... so I did! Can't wait to start using it when the cleanse is over. Really looking forward to getting back on the raw. Already feeling so much better for 3 days off SAD food.

Well, I'm off to soak in my hot bath now. Night x.

Detoxing with the master cleanse

2010-12-29T21:31:00.000+00:00

Oops... it's been flippin ages since I blogged here! I did struggle a bit with staying raw when it was so cold, and fell off the raw wagon somewhat. So now I am back on the master cleanse to re-set myself and get myself back into the raw groove.

I'm drawing to the end of the second day and so far so good. It's a lot easier than last time I did it as I'm on holiday from work, which definitely helps. Also, the last time I only tried the morning salt water flush once and it didn't work at all so I didn't do it again ... however, this time, completely different story! I did it this morning, and yes, it's quite revolting to drink, but boy did it ever work! Last time, it just swished around inside me and nothing came back out, but this time I had several 'movements' (tmi? hee hee) and definitely feel like the detox is working. I think it's because I've got a better quality salt- Maldon sea salt flakes, which have no additives and are non-iodised. I can' remember what I used last time. I put in two pretty generous teaspoons of salt to make sure it worked- I may not have used enough for my body last time.

This time I got Peter Glickman's master cleanse book (on my new Kindle, which I totally love, but that's another story) Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days, Second Edition, and reading it I learnt a lot more about the benefits of the cleanse and the process of cleansing the toxins from the colon, so I feel I am really detoxing, and not just looking at it as a weight loss thing. I definitely need to cleanse my system, I have been eating fairly unhealthily at times over the festive period, as well as drinking alcohol, which I know doesn't agree with me, so I really need to detoxify my liver and colon.

I had a massive burst of energy this evening- my bathroom has never been so sparkling- but I suspect this won't last as day 3 (tomorrow) is often the hardest day, detox sympton-wise, but I suppose that's a good thing in terms of cleansing (my body, not the bathroom). The hunger hasn't really kicked in yet either. But I have been peeing ridiculously, I'm in and out of the loo at the moment! I'm sure that's good too though, more stuff passing through me helping the cleansing process, and I am drinking a ton of water as well as the lemonade drinks and peppermint tea, so it's only to be expected.

I read in the book that if you get a craving for something specific it is most likely what your body is currently eliminating and the craving will probably be gone the next day after the morning 'elimination'. Someone said funghi on TV this morning and I suddenly wanted a mushroom pizza, so I suspect that is true! It's also imprtant to recognise the distinction between craving and hunger, which I am working on.

Well, I'm going to make my laxative tea and have an early night, but I will keep updating on my progress through the master cleanse if you're interested to read it. If not, I will be back on the raw food after this 10 days is over, so do check back then!

8 more days to go and then I can have fresh orange juice...mmmmmmm! x

I'm back... with cheezy kale chips!

2010-10-05T11:34:00.001+01:00

Kale chips coming out of the dehydrator

Hello! Well I haven't updated this blog in a while for a few reasons. Been debating whether or not to go into it all here, but I've decided not to bore you too much for now! One reason was because of being in a play- rehearsing evenings and weekends as well as doing the day job didn't leave me with much time to make anything exciting. And some other stuff going on. But that's all over now and I am back on track! Last night I made Cheddar Kale chips from Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food. I LOVE kale chips, they're so addictive. I have just eaten the whole lot this morning, an entire bunch of organic curly kale! They had red pepper, cashew nuts, olive oil, agave and water in... I think that's it. Hmmm, maybe something else too but I can't remember what... I'll check later.

Ani Phyo's cheddar-kale chips

They were good, but I have to say, my favourite kale chips recipe is one I made from the Renegade Health Show a while ago. They were so tasty, just thinking about them makes me want them again. So I'm going to buy more kale later and maybe do those tonight or tomorrow. Check out the link above and give them a go, there's a video too. They're less sweet than Ani's ones- that's what I liked least about her's- they have agave in which made them sweeter than I'd like. I like it savoury! Anyway, just a quick post to let you know I'm still here, I haven't forgotten about this blog! I'm fully back into creating raw food recipes now and will be making a lot more and putting them up here soon.

The next thing I really want to make is a raw version of scones with jam and clotted cream from Ani Phyo's book. Sounds amazing right?! Can't wait to see how they turn out. So bye for now, but I promise to be back soon with more raw food dishes.

Ani Phyo's Korean 'stir-fried' kelp noodles with vegetables (Jap Chae)

2010-09-15T22:23:00.001+01:00

I just made the most deee-licious dinner! Jap Chae kelp noodles, from Ani Phyo's new book
Ani's Raw Food Essentials: Recipes and Techniques for Mastering the Art of Live Food
It was utterly gorgeous. This link shows her making a version of it on a TV appearance but it's a bit different to the one in the book- I think she's simplified it a bit for live TV ease! The one in the book (that I made) also has spinach, garlic and agave in it and the shiitake mushrooms and onions are marinated in tamari (or nama shoyu or braggs) for at least 20 minutes first. Oh it was amazing. Just like a 'regular' stir-fried rice noodle dish, only better!
I found a great way of making the noodles really soft too. When they first come out of the pack they're quite crunchy, and thin. I put them in a bowl of pure water with the juice of 2 lemons and a crushed clove of garlic and left them to soak and soften for 2 hours, which helps breaks them down. Then I rinsed them and left them in a bowl of warm water for another few hours (or do it overnight) and they ended up soft, fat and plump, mmmmm!
This dish is so quick and easy to make too, no equipment needed except a bowl, a chopping board and a knife! If you're new to raw foods, I really recommend you try it. Kelp noodles are not that easy to get in the shops over here but you can easily order them online, here's one place, Kate Magic's lovely site Raw Living and for this recipe one package serves 4. Go on, give it a whirl, you won't regret it!

Buckwheat crispies, almond milk, jalapeno burgers, spicy mayo

2010-09-12T20:13:00.001+01:00

Delicious lunchbox salad with olives,
caperberries, carrot, tomatoes, mixed sprouts,
peppers & other lovely things that I can't remember...

Haven't written for a while as I've been mad busy with rehearsals, as well as being back at the day job so I've been pretty much been sticking to eating some old staples that are quick and easy to make. At my colonic last week, the therapist told me that there was too much sugar in me, which was causing me to be bloated, so advised me not to have too many smoothies. I think this was probably also down to starting drinking wine again which is full of sugar and very bad for fermenting inside you! There is quite a lot of debate in the raw food world around smoothies, largely due to the high sugar content. Victoria Boutenko was pretty much the first to start the "green smoothie revolution" and a lot of people follow this and feel great, but others, including some at the Hippocrates Health Institute, are not into blending at all, and think juicing is much better. So although I do love starting the day with a green smoothie packed with superfoods, I've been alternating them with raw cereals.

Buckwheat crispies with almond milk

I made a big batch of buckwheat crispies, which are really easy to make and they stay fresh for months, in an airtight container. All you do is soak raw buckwheat groats in pure water overnight, rinse them really thoroughly, then dry them in the dehydrator for about 6 hours. I first got this recipe from Ani Phyo's books, and she recommends dehydrating for 3-5 hours, but it think it takes less time in LA as it's so flippin hot there all the time, whereas we can't rely on such good weather here in London! They are quite plain tasting, kind of like Rice Krispies, but much more nutritious! I have these with almond milk, which is delicious and also really easy to make. Soak half a cup of almonds overnight, then drain and rinse them, and blend them up for a minute or 2 with a couple of dates (depending on how sweet you like it, you can add more if you wish), a litre of water and a capful of natural vanilla extract (optional). Then you strain it through a nutmilk bag, or muslin, or a sieve would probably work. It keeps for 4 or 5 days in the fridge- it will separate, don't worry about that, it's normal, just shake it back together again! You can also add raw cacao powder to this to make chocolate milk, then it's kind of like Coco Pops!

I've been eating jalapeno burgers a lot too- I realise I keep going on about them but have never given the recipe. The recipe I use is based on the recipe here: http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3467 but I make a lot more and slightly alter the amounts, and made the preparation a bit easier as I'm a lazy cow so just bung it all in the food processor basically, instead of having to do lots of fine chopping! And dehydrate longer too. So here's the recipe I use:

Jalapeno burger, mixed sprout salad, marinated mushrooms,
cherry tomatoes with coriander. Lovely lunch.

Soak 3 cups walnuts for 6 hours and then put them in the food processor with 3/4 cup soaked sundried tomatoes and 1/4 cup soaking water. Grind it up until you get a kind of mince texture and put in a big bowl. Then put 2-6 chillies in the food processor, depending on how spicy you like your burgers! I usually add 2 scotch bonnets or 4-6 jalapenos, but for me, the spicier the better. And I love the rich, earthy flavour that jalapenos add to food, not just the heat, so these are my favourite chili. Then also put in 2 small onions, 2-3 tablespoons tamari, a few twists of salt and black pepper, and some cayenne pepper if you want it spicier! You only need to chop these ingredients roughly before putting in the food processor. Blitz it all up until it's finely chopped, then mix it all in with the nut mixture. Form the mixture into burgers- this makes about 18 when I do it, but it depends how big you want them! I roll a spoonful into a ball, then flatten it and put it on the dehydrator tray. I usually dehydrate them for about 6 hours, 3 on each side. They are sooooooo good!

I also made this spicy mayo/dip to go with the burgers and salad, which came out really good:

Rubbish picture of spicy mayo

1 cup cashews, soaked 2 hours

Juice of 1 lemon (approx 2-3 tbsp)

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 large clove of garlic

1/2 cup water

1 dash salt

Put it all in the food processor and blend until smooth. That's it!

I have finally got new batteries for my camera, so you won't have to put up with rubbish mobile phone pictures after today's entry! I promise to use my actual camera and take better pictures from now on!

Homemade chocolate tart

2010-09-04T21:03:00.002+01:00

My chocolate tart

Well, I got a bit experimental in the kitchen this afternoon and came up with this chocolate tart which I am quite proud of! It's quite decadent but it's very rich so you only need a small slice! The crust is sweet and coconutty and the filling is a velvety, moussey, chocolatey mouthful of deliciousness! (If I say so myself!) Here's the recipe:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups hazelnuts
1/ cup shredded coconut
Dash salt
1/ 4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar

Grind the hazelnuts, coconut and a small pinch of salt in the food processor to a crumb-like texture.
Then add the coconut oil (melted over a bowl of warm water first) and agave and mix in til it comes together.
Then press the mixture down in a pie dish to form a crust.
Then put it in the freezer to set while you do the next bit.

Filling:
1 1/2 avocados (I know, sounds weird, but just go with it- you would never know there is avocado in this when you taste it! It gives it a lovely velevety, rich texture, just believe me and try it!)
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 capful natural vanilla extract
2 tbsps water

Basically, bung it all in the food processor and blend it all up. Add the water last- just enough until you get the right kind of silky texture.

Then get, the crust from the freezer, and spread the chocolate filling over the top. Then I sprinkled some more shredded coconut over the top, more for decoration than anything else. And that's it done, easy peasy!

Natalia Rose's guacamole salad

Thought I'd also share with you a couple of salads I've made recently. Last night I made the guacamole salad from The Raw Food Detox Diet which is possibly my favourite ever salad. It's just avocado, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, coriander, garlic, agave, lime juice (well, I used lemon juice as I didn't have any limes) and salt and pepper, but something about the combination is so delicious. It's really quick and easy too, you just bung it all in a bowl and mix it together. The picture is a bit rubbish as the batteries have gone in my camera so today's pics are all taken with my phone!

Packed lunch salad and black pepper cheeze

I'm also in rehearsals for a play at the moment so I've been making packed lunches to take with me again, and on the left is what I had today. The salad has a mix of different stuff in it- alfafa sprouts, mixed bean and lentil sprouts, sweetcorn, yellow pepper, grated carrot, celery and cress (blast from the past- forgot how good it is!) I've a feeling I've forgotten something else I put in it but can't remember what... but anyway, it was lovely. I also brought some more of that liquid gold elixir dressing to go with it that I've talked about before, also from Natalia Rose's book. The little tub next to the salad is black pepper cheeze from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I know I'm always banging on about this book but it is my favourite, I've had it for ages but it's got so many good recipes in it I use it a lot. However, I've just ordered her new book Ani's Raw Food Essentials so I'm really looking forward to that arriving and trying out some of her new recipes. But anyway, the black pepper cheeze from her old one is really tasty. It's made with cashew nuts, and it's so much better than I imagined it would be. Not sure why but I wasn't expecting too much from it, but it's great, quite addictive.

I was going to tell you a bit about the colonic I had yesterday (my first one!) but I've written too much already, but I will just tell you it was great and I thoroughly recommend that everyone gets it done! If you live in London there's a half price deal on at the moment at a brilliant place with great therapists if you go here: http://www.wahanda.com/product/2701-39-for-1-hour-colonic-hydrotherapy-session-facial-or-massage-at-hydrohealing-value-85-save-54/ so it's only £39. I think you have to book the deal by tomorrow night though (Sunday night). And if you go here first: www.wahanda.com/love/kaybee you get another £5 off so it's only £34, bargain. It's through a free beauty newsletter thing called wahanda which has loads of cheap deals and offers. But I definitely recommend it!

Ok, I have written much more than I intended to so I must go now, but might go into more colonic info at a later date if anyone wants to know any more! See ya x