Kale salad

Ok, so this is probably another case of one of my dishes looking revolting but tasting great! I made it from Russell James' recipe for Wilted Kale Salad with a Creamy Chipotle Dressing. I know it doesn't look like much but it is a great, unusual salad. It's got a lovely slightly smoky, spicy taste from the chipotle chili, and a richness from the kale. Word of warning- if you haven't got a Vitamix (which I  haven't YET, it's out of my budget at the moment... but still patiently waiting, one is coming soon right Universe?!) don't bother trying to make the dressing in a normal blender, it's not going to work... believe me, I tried it last time and had no joy. But it works fine in a normal food processor, so just do that if you don't have what they call a 'high speed blender' (i.e. a Vitamix, which are just brilliant... can you tell I really want one...? ;))

Was going to invent a raw soup tonight out of the veggies left over in my fridge at the moment but never got round to it due to eating too many chocolate cookies (see yesterday's post) and flax crackers. I'm going to stay with my dad in France for a few days from tomorrow so made some more crackers and jalapeno burgers to take with me, as you have no idea how hard it is going to be for me to eat raw when I'm there! My dad thinks being veggie is weird enough, let alone vegan, and though he tries to understand, and will eat raw things when I make them for him, I know he thinks people that are raw are a load of crackpots! Which I do understand, it can all seem a bit weird until you find out more about the health benefits. It is a bit frustrating though as he is diabetic, but he won't look properly at any links I send him about how you can cure type 2 diabetes with raw food. He thinks that raw food people are "a load of old hippies from the sixties"!

He is actually a lot better than he used to be though and he does eat more vegetables and salads, and has learnt to make a lentil and vegetable casserole, so he is trying to be healthier. He is also recovering from bladder cancer, my mum died from breast cancer, my uncle has prostate cancer and I also have 2 cousins with breast cancer. So our family history is one of the main reasons why I am taking my health into my own hands and being proactive in trying to attain optimum health. And I have never felt happier or healthier since I started my raw journey.

The burgers I made (currently in the dehydrator) are the best I've ever made- I think I might even persuade my dad to eat them and like them. I've made them bigger and they're a more professional looking round shape, rather than my usual lumpy mess, and they taste great, really spicy. And my flax crackers came out great too. So I may not be able to update for a few days while I'm away but I'll fill you in on my trip when I'm back and if I managed to stay raw. My intention is to do so!

Hello and welcome!

So this is my new blog, where I am going to attempt to keep you updated with everything that's going on with me on my raw food journey.

A sandwich I made with Russell James'
Mediterranean Almond Bread

I first got interested in raw food about a year and a half ago through a friend who had been on a detox retreat and introduced me to the concept (thankyou Gina!) and since then I've been really on and off with the whole raw lifestyle thing. I didn't really get it at first and made a few half hearted attempts at introducing more raw food into my diet which didn't usually last long, and my first few attempts at raw dishes were pretty unsuccessful! But then I was introduced to raw "fried rice" from Jenna's Healthy Kitchen and Ani Phyo's raw apple pie both of which totally surprised me with how tasty and delicious they were and this really opened my mind to a whole load of new eating experiences. Right now I am back on 100% raw, feeling really good and hoping to stay that way.

I should tell you, I haven't always had a healthy lifestyle, far from it in fact! I used to party a lot, drink waaaaaay too much and take a lot of recreational drugs. That's not to say I'm Miss goody two shoes now either, I still like to go out and have fun, but I'm now much more interested in looking after my health for various reasons, some of which I'll go into later.

Melissa Mango's cheesy kelp noodles

And I want to show you that living a raw life doesn't mean you have to dedicate all your time to it- I have a full time job as a PA, I do part time work for another company and I'm also an actor, so I'm pretty busy. I don't have as much time as I would like for preparation of raw stuff, but I usually try and dedicate part of one day on the weekend to fire up the dehydrator and prepare a load of staples to get me through the week- usually breads, crackers, cakes, marinated veggies, 'bacon', burgers, that sort of thing. Then I always have a stock of fresh organic fruit and veg to make salads and side dishes and smoothies and juices to go along with it.

Jalapeno burgers, marinated mushrooms, "bacon",
salad and cashew mayonnaise.

Raw food does not have to be boring! Some of the tastiest food I've ever had has been raw, and raw desserts- well I've never tasted cooked desserts as good as some of the raw ones I've eaten. Raw ice cream, raw chocolates, and raw cakes can be amazing! I'll be sharing with you some of the recipes I've found or invented and giving you an idea of what I've been eating along the way! There's still loads I don't know about being raw, I'm learning as I go, but I do know that I feel so much better when I'm eating raw, I love it.

I've also stopped putting chemicals on my skin and started making my own skin care products from basic kitchen ingredients so I'll give you some recipes for natural products too.

Green smoothie- my usual breakfast-
looks revolting, tastes delicious!

Well this is just a short intro post as I'm still trying to get my head around how this thing works, but I'll write more soon, and upload some more pictures of the things I've (un)cooked and eaten recently! Bye for now.