AntonyinLondon.com

Living with a Writer

2012-01-28T13:00:00.001Z

Living with a writer is one of the best cures I know to the fantasy that I might actually have what it takes to become a professional writer - if only I applied myself. Writing - like anything worthwhile - is hard work and takes an enormous amount of dedication and application. Every day.

My partner is a writer. He's wonderfully talented and works incredibly hard. And now he has a book coming out in both the UK (July) and the USA (November) this year. It's going to be called The Heat of the Sun by David Rain and I'll tell you more about it soon.

Very exciting :-)

London or Adelaide?

2012-01-19T22:36:00.003Z

Let me wish you a belated happy new year before January ends. I'm sure there's some rule about that.

What do you think of that suntan? Here I am in Adelaide over Christmas and New Year. If you envy my suntan, don't worry it's already fading. I'm back from by antipodean summer holiday and have spent the last week or so trying to re-engage with my life in dark, cold, wet and wintery London. Jet lag really hit me but I'm getting back on track.

Would you live in a large urban and cosmopolitan (polluted) city like London or a small suburban (quiet) city like Adelaide?

Adelaide is where I grew up. It has a magnetic draw for me. My mother (and step father), my father (and step mother), my sister and my niece all still live there. But we (my partner and I) live in London.

In Adelaide, it kind of feels like a car is necessary - and I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed driving again. In the north eastern suburbs of my childhood there is also the O'bahn - a sort of German influenced bus track that provides high speed links into the CBD (central business district). I enjoyed the small town politeness and the individual engagements of with bus drivers when getting on and off the bus. BUT in my memory Adelaide is also the home of homophobic violence: a place where I knew people who were bullied and even killed in gay-related crimes.

In London, all sorts of cosmopolitan behaviours go by - including gay-related crimes. I remember squashing onto the tube (the underground train system) on my first journey to work. Just as I was reflecting on the need to create a small sense of anonymous space in London the woman squashed beside me smiled and briefly spoke to me. It was a small but human connection but it reminded me that London (cold though it may sometimes seem) is populated by human beings.

Have you moved away from the home of your birth? Do you agree that, if you do, it's hard to regain that sense of belonging anywhere? In Adelaide I don't have to enjoy where I live. It's where I was born. Meanwhile I am learning to love living in London again - even in the dark depths of winter!

Namaste (I must get back to yoga!)
Antony

2011-12-16T02:14:00.000Z

Thanks for reading in 2011 and wishing you everything you desire in 2012

World AIDS Day & Juicing 1 - 7 December 2011

2011-11-30T22:20:00.001Z

We're getting ready to go to Australia for Xmas and about to plunge ourselves from cold to hot. All of our Bikram classes are good preparation for this. I'm going most days if I can and am definitely feeling the difference. I am happier, healthier, feel thinner and taller as well. It can't be bad!

I'd also like to do a week of juicing and have decided that 1 December is a great day to start. It's also a good day to honour healthful activities in memory of all those who have lost their lives to AIDS. Are you wearing a ribbon on 1 December?

making progress in the hot rooms

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001Z

26 HATHA POSES TWICE IN A HOT ROOM

I was going to say I think but the truth is I'm definitely falling for Bikram.

The new London Bridge studio I've joined has a big poster of him doing spine twisting pose and I found myself thinking today that I'd like to have one at home.

I did my first Bikram class on 30 May 2010 at Bikram Yoga Soho. It's a great studio and I went on to attend about 50 classes there until Feb 2011. Then I stopped and I can't quite think why other than that it wasn't really in a convenient location for me and it always required me to go out of my way. It was certainly worth going out of my way but in the end I didn't.

So far at London Bridge I've attended 9 sessions. The first two sessions left my body reeling - my legs in particular wanted to know if I was really serious about this newly imposed flexibility in a dramatically hot room. But on or around the third class, having remembered to eat lightly and to hydrate, I started to feel I was making small amounts of progress. At my fifth class I was thrilled to feel able to do Camel Pose again. Today, at my ninth class, I was thrilled to be able to get back onto my elbows in Fixed Arm Pose. I've certainly never done that before! Something I've never managed to do yet is to stand well even in the first part of Standing Head to Knee Pose. However I'm happy to be in the room and happy to progress slowly, class by class. One day I'll get there.

The double-edged advantage of all of this is that it does indeed encourage me to eat lightly. I'm by no means completely raw but I am juicing and eating lots of raw food. It all helps.

Do you find that exercising helps or hinders with your raw food journey? Have you tried Bikram or other types of yoga?

Wishing you a lovely week

Antony

Bikram Yoga

2011-11-11T20:56:00.001Z

A new Bikram Yoga Studio has opened at London Bridge and it's right on my way to and from work.

I love doing Bikram Yoga but OMG it's hard core and I'm feeling it - especially in my legs. My hamstrings (I think they're called) are definitely complaining. In class they suggest you just keep coming to class.

This last week I went on Wednesday evening, Friday morning and Saturday afternoon.

My next class is tomorrow (Monday) morning and I'm aiming to go 4 times a week before I go home to Australia for Christmas.

I haven't got a lot to say about raw food at the moment. I'm juicing most days but I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm high raw at the moment. Perhaps the regular Bikram and my recently ordered copy of May I Be Frank (when it arrives) will help ...

celery, coriander, carrot, apple juice

2011-11-06T12:49:00.001Z

celery, coriander, carrot, apple - chopped

celery, coriander, carrot, apple - juiced

Vegan MoFo: Kale and Pineapple Juice

2011-10-09T09:12:00.001+01:00

kale & pineapple juice

This week I read in Lisa's Raw on $10 a day or less blog about juicing kale and then using it in a smoothie. That's what I thought I was going to do this morning. I juiced a big bag of kale and a whole pinapple and I was going to blend that with a couple of bananas. However the juice alone was really delicious. It looks like a green glass of guinness, don't you think? Better for you!

Vegan MoFo: Simple & Delicious Platters

2011-10-03T20:44:00.001+01:00

simple & delicious platters

Day 3 of Vegan MoFo ... My partner doesn't really enjoy cooking but if I'm out late he can always be relied upon to throw together a platter for when I get home. This one features fresh spinach leaves, carrot batons, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, avocado, organic humous and gluten free oat cakes. Sharing simple food with people we love is fabulous ...

Vegan MoFo: Juice & Smoothies

2011-10-02T19:27:00.003+01:00

Today was all about liquids and here are two of them: a light green juice made with celery, cucumber and apple; a chilled pineapple, banana and maca soup (it kind of looks like curried parsnip soup don't you think?). I also had a green smoothie (banana, mango, spinach) and a juice made with carrot, apple, orange & ginger. And in addition to all of that there has been water and cups of earl grey tea. Quite nice really.

Vegan MoFo: the comfort of rice (and juicing)

2011-10-01T19:46:00.003+01:00

the comfort of rice

Today marks the first day of dramatically increasing the quantity of raw food in my diet as part of Raw Food Rehab's 11 weeks of Raw Balance. With the idea of balance in mind I started the day with a delicious fruit smoothie but ended it with this delicious vegan rice dish. Tomorrow I'm starting 5 days of juices and smoothies so it's lovely to make the most of one of our favourite comfort meals this evening. Twisted? No balanced :-) This adaptable one pot recipe (using with whatever you've got in the fridge) can be chucked together an then simmer away lovingly as you potter about when you get in from work or wherever you may have been ...

Ingredients
Comforting Rice (makes 2 massive servings!)
0.75 cup basmati rice
2 teaspoons of stock powder of your choice
4 cups of water (I usually use boiled water if I've just made a cup of tea ...)
1 large red onion, chopped
4 - 5 cloves of garlic, sliced (to taste)
0.5 - 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
A tiny drizzle of sunflower oil
Some seaweed (I only had nori sheets to hand so sliced in some of that)
A small handful of olives, deseeded and roughly chopped
A few carrots, roughly chopped
A few brown mushrooms, roughly sliced or chopped
An avocado, sliced
A drizzle of olive oil
A sprinkling of himalayan salt

Method
In a large pot, fry onion, garlic and chilli for a few minutes in a tiny amount of sunflower oil. Then add all ingredients except: avocado, salt and olive oil. Bring to the boil and then let simmer, covered as you potter about until most of the water has been absorbed. Serve and top with avocado, salt and olive oil to taste. Some sliced fresh tomatoes on top is also good.

Enjoy!

And tomorrow 5 days of juicing begins ... I'm looking forward to that as well :-)

Forks Over Knives: In the Raw Food Kitchen

2011-09-18T13:43:00.000+01:00

FORKS OVER KNIVES
Last night we finally got to see Forks Over Knives, a film which references The China Study and which promotes a compelling argument for a vegan diet. One of the facts that really struck home with me was the drop of cancer in the Norwegian population during Nazi occupation, when they were forced to eat a mostly vegan diet - and how cancer rates went back up again as soon as they went back to meat and dairy. There's lots of compelling evidence like that.

VEGAN MOFO
So with this in mind (after seeing the details on Nikki's Fresh Young Coconut) I've decided to join VeganMoFo.com and write as much as I can about vegan food during October. Registration to join in is by 28 September:

RAW BALANCE 1 OCT - 16 DECEMBER
I'm also going to be with the rawfood rehab crew for the last 11 week challenge to be scheduled. Definitely worth checking out if you're interested. Penni's taking the first quarter of 2012 to regroup so this will be your last chance at least for a while:

PRUNES FOR BREAKFAST
I'm not sure why people have prunes as their first solid meal after juice feasting but they do. So this morning for breakfast we had some prunes and a cup of tea. Because we've been incorporating smoothies into our diet during the last 30 days I'm not anticipating returning to eating (aside from portion size which is likely to be very small) as a huge challenge. We'll see.

A LITTLE SALAD FOR LUNCH

It's really nice to chew on something crunchy after all this time. For lunch I made a small salad of spinach leaves, batons of carrot, celery and red peppers served with a sprinkling of mixed sprouts and little dollop of humous and a some fresh lime juice. Delicious!

DARK + LIGHT COOKIE BITES FOR THE THIS WEEK

Is your workplace littered with cakes and biscuits and donuts and all sorts of stuff like that? Mine is. This morning I made some dark and light cookie bites to ward off temptation in the week to come.

Dark Bites
1 cup soaked and dried almonds
1 cup coconut flakes
1 vanilla bean
0.25 cup cacao beans
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 cup loosely packed medjool dates (about 8)
A little himalayan salt to taste

Grind coconut flakes, vanilla bean and cacao beans. I used a vitamix. Add to food processor with almonds and coconut oil. Process until soft breadcrumbs. Add dates and process until a ball starts to form. Use a teaspoon of the mixture and form into bites.

Light Bites
1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup dried white mulberries
4 medjool dates
1 tablespoon coconut oil
A little himalayan salt to taste

Place all ingredients into the food processor and process until a ball starts to form. Form into bites.

Before & After 30 Days on Liquids

2011-09-17T19:40:00.002+01:00

The before photo wasn't exactly before but is representative. I don't wear glasses, by the way. I was experimenting :-) The after photo was taken today, on day 30. It's been a great experience but I'm looking forward to eating tomorrow. I'm over this for a while at least. Starting weight 174 lbs. Ending weight 158 lbs. Total loss 16 lbs.

after

before

This is your life

2011-09-12T20:33:00.000+01:00

How true! I found this image on the 60 Day Bikram Yoga Challenge blog and couldn't resist re blogging it here. Many of these things I'm fortunate to have in place. Others need more thinking about. Some need some action! What about you?

Sunday Night Smoothie

2011-09-11T18:52:00.001+01:00

Sunday Night Smoothie

I've been studying today (working on an essay) and feeling rather virtuous. So tonight it's a an all out feast (well as much of a feast as you can have on a liquid diet). The above picture shows a delicious smoothie made from:

almond milk flavoured with cinnamon
medjool dates
bananas
mixed berries
a little himalayan salt

The cinnamon adds an extra depth of flavour to this delicious smoothie. Definitely one to make again!

Living on liquids day 23 of 30

2011-09-10T10:58:00.001+01:00

orange-carrot-apple-ginger juice

It's living on liquids day 23 of 30 and this is my breakfast today: orange-carrot-apple-ginger juice. Delicious!

As I was watching the pulp coming out of my lovely Hurom juicer, I was wondering what else I could do with it once I start eating again. Crackers? I know I've seen recipes that use juice pulp in the past - I'll have to go looking. What do you use your juice pulp for if anything???

Progress report. On day one I weighed 173.8 lbs. This morning I weighed 159.2 lbs. That makes a total loss to date of 14.6 lbs or just over a stone in 23 days. People have started telling me that I don't need to be losing any more weight which is nice to hear. My goal is still 154 lbs so I have another 5.2 lbs to go, but I'm not particularly concerned about it. I feel really good which is the main thing. I'll post a before and after photo on day 30 to log the difference.

Have you tried my Cashew-Coconut-Maca Cookies?

2011-09-07T10:58:00.000+01:00

I'm juicing at the moment but that doesn't stop me looking at and thinking about food. In an idle moment I was just flicking through the stats area of my site, seeing which posts have been most popular. This recipe for cashew-coconut-maca cookies published in January this year has attracted over 1000 views. That's many more than individual pages usually get. I'm inspired to try these again once I'm back on solids. It's my birthday later this month so I might take them to work as well. Have you tried them?
__

Cashew-Coconut-Maca Cookies

1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut
0.5 cup maca
1 medium courgette/zucchini, roughly chopped
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
0.5 teaspoon himalayan salt

In your food processor grind cashews and coconut until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add other ingredients and mix until a biscuit dough forms. Divide into biscuit rounds and dehydrate until dry on the outside and chewy within. About 4 hours.

Today marks day 20 of my 30 day juicing and smoothie experience. I'm down to 11 stone 7 (161 pounds) which is a pleasing drop of 13 pounds in 19 days. I'm really starting to feel thin again now and have good amounts of energy which helps to deal more calmly with all the stresses of daily life. In my final 10 days I'm hoping to drop another 7 pounds which would take me to my goal weight of 11 stone or 154 pounds. Then it's JUST a matter of maintenance ... As Bitt quite rightly said in a comment on one of my previous posts, the true challenge is about sticking to nourishing foods as part of your daily life (I'm paraphrasing). I've been learning to do that for the last (almost) 45 years. Maybe this time ...

Saturday Juice & Smoothie Update

2011-09-03T09:51:00.000+01:00

cashew smoothie

Hello all - I've just realised that blogger has a whole new way of working that I've missed so I'm trying it out. I'm also trying out disqus (again) for comments. I read one of Nikki's posts this morning and she points out that disqus allows you to reply to individual comments and that would be nice ... so here goes. It's funny to make changes to a comment tool that actually removes all previous comments ... but let's see how it goes.

I'm half way through 30 days of living on liquids. 10/11 pounds lost and 9/10 pounds to go. In the last few days I've plateaued in my weightloss and I think this may be because I've introduced some nut-based smoothies into my day. Delicious! Ms Adventuress, if you're reading this, that experiment might be relevant for you! This morning I had a lovely cashew smoothie (cashews, water, prunes, banana, maca, bee pollen, cinnamon) but that's my last one now. I am not looking for maintenance just yet. Maybe one day!

At the half way point I'm still amazed that I'm not actually hungry. I do miss eating and look forward to eating again. My teeth feel dirtier and require more meticulous cleaning. Perhaps that's because they're not used for munching ...

Also at this point I've been thinking about how to incorporate juicing into my life long term. One of the things I've learnt about myself over the years is that I'm good at being good for about 3 months. Then I tend to slip back into old habits for a while until I get fully sick of myself and decide to be good again.

So how do I break this cycle? Part of my thinking is around the time between reboots. At first I thought about doing a reboot every 3 months, but I suspect that might be too long a gap. Now I am thinking about juicing for the first 5 days of every month. What do you think? I also thought of juicing one day a week but I suspect that that day might get set aside by hectic schedules and then just never actually happen in practice.

Wishing you good weekends

Juice & Smoothie Update

2011-08-29T12:22:00.001+01:00

It's the morning of day 11. I'm one third through and have been surprised and impressed by how easy this has been so far. I do have moments of desire for eating but that's usually triggered by smelling something delicious. In real terms I am not hungry at all.

... A TYPICAL DAY ...

On waking:
A teaspoon of L-Glutimate (amino acids) powder in a little water
A teaspoon of MSM powder in a glass of water
A chromium supplement
A RAW ONE FOR MEN capsule
A probiotic capsule

The L-Glutimate, Chromium and probiotic are all recommended by the person who did my allergy/tolerance testing. The others are just good ideas.

For breakfast:
A vegetable juice: with whatever greens, fruits and vegetables are in the fridge

Mid morning:
A green smoothie - e.g. banana, pinapple and a bag of spinach. I typically add a spoonful of maca, bee pollen and spirulina for good measure. I make this at home in the morning and take it with me to work.

Afternoon:
I go to a juice bar and have a wheatgrass shot and a juice of some kind

Evening:
A fruit-greens-vegetable juice with whatever's in the fridge.

A little later, if I feel like it, I have another smoothie

Before bed:
A teaspoon of L-Glutimate in a little water.

Really, when you think of it. that's a LOT of nutrients. In 10 days I've lost about 9 pounds and on the whole I feel REALLY GOOD.

I love our new Hurom Juicer

2011-08-22T20:31:00.000+01:00

I came home from work today to find our new Hurom juicer
waiting patiently in its box for me ...

Poor lighting doesn't adequately show how lovely
Hurom is fresh from the box ...

Ready to juice:
cucumber, courgette, celery, apple, pear, lime, coriander, Kale

Quick as you please:
two lovely glasses of delicious juice

Quick Juice Feast Update

We are nearing the end of day four on our juice feast.

I've lost about 4.5 pounds in just 4 days and am feeling good :-)

juice & smoothie feasting

2011-08-19T18:38:00.000+01:00

Everywhere I look it's all about juice at the moment. Over at raw food rehab people have just begun 30 days of living on liquids. Browsing blogs I found a link on the Gluten Free Vegan Family site to a fabulous film called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (see trailer below):

I've had lots of success with green smoothies in the past but have only really had success with juice when we've been at retreats. So the time seems right to sort out a proper juicer at home, but which one? I've done lots of research and found the most useful (and most enthusiastic) reviews over at Kirstin's Raw. I've opted for the Hurom juicer pictured below. It's widely available but I got mine from Jason Vale's Juice Master site. It's relatively fast, easy to clean and makes good quality juice. Like a hybrid of the centrifugal and the masticating juicer. It's on order and my fingers are crossed.

In the meantime I'm making do (no hardship) with green smoothies and my old centrifugal juicer and fresh shop-bought juices.

Today has been day one. This morning I weighed 12 st 5.8 or 173.8 pounds. The plan is to keep on liquids until 17 September at which point I would love to weight 11 stone or 154 pounds. That would be a loss of nearly 20 pounds in 30 days. More importantly I'm hoping to feel full of energy and sparklingly well.

AJuicerforeverything-allfruits,vegetables,wheatgrassandleafygreens.YoucanevenmakesoymilkwiththeKT100HuromJuice

Allergy Testing

2011-08-17T18:38:00.000+01:00

I've been thinking about having one of those energy tests for ages. I opted for the one where you hold a brass tube in one hand and they prod you in an acupressure point on the other hand. At the end you have a list of foods to eliminate from your diet for at last 8 weeks as well as a health check on your vitamin levels. So, for the next 8 weeks I have to eliminate (not cut down on) the following things in my diet:

Coffee

Cow's milk

Lactose

Peas

Red wine

Wheat

This is all perfectly doable but it does make eating out quite difficult: particularly the wheat and dairy combination. My energy levels have been low lately, even with those artificial coffee highs. I'm hoping that this is going to sort me right out.

I was pleased to note that I have good levels of all the main vitamins except I have low chromium levels. I also have low levels of bio acidopholus ... So, in addition to avoiding the above I've been given the following supplements to take:

L-Glutimane twice a day

Bio Acidopholus once a day

Chromium once a day

I'm hopeful :-) Have you ever had an allergy test or a vitamin test? What did you learn?

oh my goodness

2011-07-25T21:52:00.002+01:00

oh my goodness

first all raw food choices day in so long

soaked almond, white mulberry, fig and coconut muesli

apples

coconut water

a big green salad

some more soaked almond, white mulberry, fig and coconut muesli

well okay

i did have one cup of black coffee

and various cups of earl grey tea

but i feel good

Are you wheatgrassing at the moment?

2011-06-25T11:15:00.003+01:00

It's a long time since my last update.

Yesterday I found myself talking about the benefits of wheatgrass juice in a meeting at work. I didn't bring it up, it was one of my colleagues who was sharing his practice of drinking wheatgrass in the morning followed by ABC (apple beetroot carrot)juice when he was travelling. He seemed to be gearing up to get wheatgrassing again ... and so, I thought, must I.

I thought about buying some trays to juice at home but I think I'll start out by (1) walking instead of taking the bridge over Waterloo bridge every day next week and (2) stopping at a juice bar for a double shot of wheatgrass.

this image is from aconbury sprouts http://www.wheatgrass-uk.com

Average Joe on the Raw

2011-05-30T16:12:00.000+01:00

Have you heard of Average Joe on the Raw? Its' a project Penni Shelton is invovled in and promoting and it's about her friend Seth's journey into the depths of his true self ... Seth says, "At 30 years old, I looked in the mirror and saw complacency. I saw a man settling into normalcy, settling into being average. At first glance, my initial thought was to just accept it. “it’s just part of the process, just part of aging and life. Get over it. So, at a crossroads in my life, I could just fall in line with the rest of the people on the assembly line of commonplace. Just waiting in line to see which disease will be handed to me, and which medications modern medicine will enslave me to . . . Or . . . I could take the path less traveled. I could make a push at my limitless potential. I could try to reset my intelligently designed body to heal itself! That is crazy enough, it just might work! So, this film is my 60 day journey into finding my limitless me. What kind of an effect can eating raw, clean foods and working out consistently have on my mental, physical, medical, emotional, spiritual, and relational life? We will see as I am an Average Joe on the Raw!"

Right now they're encouraging people to visit the film's website, and take advantage of a limited 33% discount by preordering the film. This will help them secure the best possible post production treatment for their film . . .

our poor little kittie has been to the vet

2011-05-28T22:27:00.000+01:00

Egypt Puddie went to the vet today. Here she is with her new neck brace. Later we cut it down in the hopes that she will be able to eat and drink with it on. She's supposed to wear it for a whole week ...

thinking of you

2011-05-10T22:53:00.002+01:00

while i've been away, in addition to thinking of you, i have:

- been very busy at work

- been on holiday to Stockholm to celebrate my partner's birthday

- studied for and completed an exam in strategic hr management for my mba

- started a new course for my mba in creativity, innovation and change

- upgraded to the iPad2 (the picture above is the first photo i took on it and i think it's lovely)

- gifted my iPad1 to my partner (who is lovely and loves it)

- seen several rather fabulous films including a retro screening of Bertolucci's 1990 The Sheltering Sky at the BFI on London's Southbank

- seen Greta Scacchi and Anita Dobson in Anton Burge's excellent play about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis

- eaten lots of beige food, got out of the habit of eating raw and, note to self, put on about half a stone (7lbs)

so i'm getting back on track very soon :-)

Fresh Laundry?

2011-04-05T06:56:00.000+01:00

I haven't been around much lately - it's a very busy time.

I walked into the bathroom this morning to find Puddha on

our freshly laundered towels! What can you do?

Winner Announced: Rawmazing Easy Raw Food giveaway

2011-03-27T11:41:00.000+01:00

Thank you for all your entries. According to randomise the winner is Lori at Lori Goes Raw.

Congratulations Lori - I've got your email address so a copy of Susan Power's book is winging its way to you right now.

Susan Powers' Rawmazing Easy Raw Food giveaway

www.rawmazing.com

Susan Powers' Rawmazing Easy Raw Food giveaway

2011-03-20T10:36:00.004Z

www.rawmazing.com

The Giveaway
Susan Powers is a talented raw chef and author of lots of amazing raw recipes at rawmazing.com. I won a copy of her lovely full colour ebook over at Raw Food Rehab this week. As it happens I already own a copy - I couldn't resist. So I'm offering it to you ... Over 230 pages with colour photos to make your mouth water. If you'd like to win this ebook just make a comment below according to the rules (that I've adapted from the lovely HiHoRosie ....)

The Rules
1. Just leave a comment below saying that you'd like to win the ebook

For extra credit
2. Publicise this giveaway on facebook or twitter or on your blog or other . . . (Please leave a comment for each kind of publicity that you would like to count as an entry)
3. Follow my blog via Google Friend Connect or by your preferred method . . . (Please leave a comment for each kind of follow you would like to count as an entry - or tell me that you already do follow my blog and you'd like that to count ...)

Closing date
This contest will end at 11:59 PM (UK time) on Saturday, 26 March 2011.
The winner will be announced sometime on 27 March 2011.
Please make sure I have a way to contact you.

Good luck!

Norwegian Wood

2011-03-13T19:42:00.003Z

The news from Japan is impossible to imagine. I was shocked to hear that 10,000 people may have been killed but then I heard that the worst earthquake in Japan (in the 1920s) killed 30,000 people.

Today we went to see Norwegian Wood, the film based on Haruki Murakami's haunting book of the same name. The Japanese landscape is so beautiful. The film is set in the 1960s during the narrator's remembered youth, when his best friend and his first love killed themselves.

Though I've read the book, I was still shocked to see the film begin with the carbon monoxide poisoning of Kizuki. My brother did this to himself on top of a bottle of whiskey in 2001. He was 32 years old, not 17. It was well planned and I suppose he could see no other way out of the difficulties he was facing at that time. Suicide is not romantic, it's brutal. The film ends with the idea that, with every season, we move further away from the dead. Is this true? I guess that's true in the sense that the dead always remain the age they were when they died whereas we grow older. And yet, as we grow older, it's also true that we grow closer towards death. May it be a long time coming.

Wishing you safety, happiness and good fortune this weekend and always.

Amy Levin makes great chocolate

2011-02-26T20:07:00.001Z

Today I spent the day with Amy Levin learning to make raw chocolate. I met some great people there who were keen to learn this amazing skill as well. Let me be clear, Amy makes great chocolate! If you get a chance to be taught by her you certainly won't regret it. Check out Amy's blog for details of where she might be teaching near you. Today we were in Etchingham which, I discovered, is kind of near Hastings in East Sussex. We were in the middle of the most English countryside and that itself was a treat. The chocolates, though, were a revelation. Did you know that raw chocolate needs to be tempered? I certainly didn't. Check out these photos from the class ...

white and milk chocolate with a mango filling

cute little men in different colours of white and dark chocolate

I made these leaves. The yellow comes from turmeric,
the orange from red peppers, the green from spinach powder.
I'm not a fan of white chocolate but I love the colours!

We learned how to make chocolates filled with ganache.

fillings for coconut almond truffles

lots of different dipped chocolates and truffles

A dark chocolate cup made with a balloon

We came home with lots of samples from the chocolates we made. I'm definitely inspired to get creative with chocolate soon so stay tuned :-)

The cookies are back in the kitchen

2011-02-20T21:11:00.001Z

CARROT AND WALNUT COOKIES

I've been avoiding dates (trying to be more low glycemic) but it's cookie time again in the raw food kitchen.

Dry ingredients:

1 cup soaked walnuts, roughly chopped

1 cup coconut flakes, ground

1 cup raisins

0.5 cup ground flax

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 pinches of himalayan salt

Wet ingredients:

1 cup dates

1 cup carrots, roughly chopped

A little water

1 tspn vanilla

Method: Make a paste from the wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and pulse through. Shape into cookies and place on the wire mesh of a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for a few hours (depends on wetness of dough). This made about 20 cookies.

BLOG AWARDS

A big thank you to Raw Girl for nominating me for a blogging award. I'm not sure if I get the Stylish Blogger, Creative Blogger or the One Lovely Blog award. Life's a bit hectic at the moment so I'm not sure if I can complete all the conditions just now but it's lovely all the same :-)

7 potentially interesting but definitely random facts about me

I was born in Australia. I lost my Australian citizenship due to a technicality when I became British some years ago and have just got it back again. It feels good.
I've lived in six cities: Adelaide (Australia), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Athens (Greece), Pardubice (Czech Republic), Brighton and London (England).
I love going to the cinema and will watch most films except camp horror films which scare me terribly for some reason. Two of my favourite films are Now Voyager (with Bette Davis) and Indochine (with Catherine Deneuve)
I'm a slow reader but always have a book on the go. Three of my favourite books of all time are: A fairly honourable defeat by Iris Murdoch, A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark and The Middle Age of Mrs Elliot by Angus Wilson.
I've been Myers Brigg'd several times and my personality type is always ENFP (extrovert, intuitive, feeling, perceiving). Quite happy with that.
I love learning: I'm about half way through my MBA (useful for my job) but I long to learn to speak French fluently during this lifetime.
I'm learning to live in the present but I have a long way to go: for example, I'm always thinking about growing my hair (when it's short) or getting it cut (when it's longer) - apparently it's something I comment on weekly ...

Nominated raw food related blogs
There are so many that I enjoy but these are seven which came immediately to mind, so I'm breaking the rules somewhat and sticking to these seven:

Rules to claim and share these awards:

Thank and link the blogger who has given you the award.
Copy and paste the Logo in your blog.
Share 7 things about yourself.
Nominate 15 other Great Bloggers
Comment and let them know of the award

WEST IS WEST

We seem to have taken a trip back into winter this weekend. This morning we ventured out into a slightly mysterious, slightly foggy London (we live on the river) to see a preview of WEST IS WEST (sequel to EAST IS EAST) at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square. Set in the mid 1970s, it's set in the north of England and Pakistan and explores what happens next to the Khan family. What happens when Mr Khan's first wife and family (whom he left in Pakistan 30 years ago) has to interact with Mr Khan's second family (from Bradford) ... I laughed and cried.

Framing the Future: WDP Service User Art March 2011

2011-02-16T22:35:00.002Z

If you will be in London in early March, why not come and experience the creative vision of our WDP Wandsworth service users who use their creativity to support their recovery from drug and alcohol dependency?

Venue: Putney Art Theatre, Ravenna Road, Putney, London SW15 6AW
www.putneyartstheatre.org.uk

Admission is free. Please circulate or forward this to anyone you think may be interested.

___

WDP is a drug and alcohol service provider in London and the South East of England
www.wdp-drugs.org.uk

Boy George is raw and a quick list of supplements

2011-02-13T21:07:00.001Z

Boy George goes raw

I read a great interview with Boy George on the Guardian website today in which he says:

"I'm very healthy; I eat well, I'm completely raw now. Have you ever heard of chia? I think it's Peruvian. It's a bit like semolina, you have it for breakfast. Yesterday I made a raw lemon cheesecake… not everything I make goes down well in this house."

I'd love a slice of Boy George's raw lemon cheesecake, wouldn't you?

What do supplements actually do for us?

Supplements come from all over the place and are definitely not great when it comes to carbon footprints but they definitely whack a punch in nutritional values. I can't resist taking them but I often forget what's actually in them and what they're for. Most of mine tend to come from Detox Trading, the lovely people who took us through our first raw detox in the UK in 2007.

BEE POLLEN (China or various places) ~ contain all the essential amino acids. It contains a full spectrum of vitamins especially vitamins B12 and E, and significant amounts of B1, B2, B3, B5, C, and vitamin D. It contains various minerals including calcium, manganese, phosphorous, iron, sodium, potassium, aluminium, magnesium and copper. It contains trace elements and enzymes (including antioxidants), and co-enzymes, pigments, xanthophylls, carotenes, and sterols, phytosterols, lignans (dibenzyl butanes) isoflavones and flavonoids Hormone precursors (which stimulate hormone production and help anti-ageing). It contains carbohydrates and fatty acids. Bee Pollen is made up of 5-25% amino acids, up to 40% carbohydrates, 5% fatty oils and up to 35% protein. Apologies to my vegan friends. I have a lot of bee pollen in stock and I'm not sure that I'll buy it again ... I haven't quite decided.

CACAO (Peru) ~ is remarkably rich in sulphur and magnesium. Magnesium balances the brain’s chemistry, builds strong bones, and is associated with more happiness. Magnesium is the most deficient major mineral on the Standard UK Diet (SUKD); over 80% of us are chronically deficient in Magnesium. It also contains B vitamins, vitamin C and E and at least 300 other identifiable chemical compounds and possibly up to 1,200 chemical constituents. Cacao contains Serotonin, Tryptophan, Anandamide, Dopamine, PEA and MAO inhibitors which all have a positive effect on brain chemistry. Cacao beans are high in anti-oxidants - they are 500 times richer in anti-oxidants than blueberries with a flavonol anti-oxidant count of 10%. ... and yes it also apparently contains caffeine which is why it can keep you up all night! I love making raw chocolate as a treat.

CAMU CAMU POWDER (Peru) ~ apparently has the highest recorded amount of natural vitamin C known on the planet. Oranges provide 500-4,000 ppm vitamin C, or ascorbic acid; acerola has tested in the range of 16,000 to 172,000 ppm. Camu-camu provides up to 500,000 ppm, or about 2 grams of vitamin C per 100 grams of fruit. In comparison to oranges, camu-camu provides thirty times more vitamin C, ten times more iron, three times more niacin, twice as much riboflavin, and 50% more phosphorus. Camu-camu is also a significant source of potassium, providing 711 mg per kg of fruit. It also has a full complement of minerals and amino acids that can aid in the absorption of vitamin C. Alpha-pinene and d-limonene (compounds known as terpenes) predominate as the volatile compounds in this fruit. I sometimes add a spoon of camu camu to my green smoothies.

CHIA SEEDS (Ecuador) ~ have the highest plant source of Omega 3 on the planet, more antioxidants than blueberries, all 9 amino acids, calcium, magnesium and iron. Make a great porridge with almond or hemp seed milk and are a great alternative to flax in crackers. Kate Wood has a marvellous recipe for chocolate chia biscuits.

GOJI BERRIES (CHINA) ~ are reported to contain 18 Amino acids (six times higher than bee pollen), more Beta Carotene than carrots, more Iron than spinach, and 21 Trace Minerals. They contain Vitamin B1, B2, B6, Vitamin E (rarely found in fruits), and more Vitamin C by weight than oranges. They are 13% protein, contain many complex compounds, phytonutrients and lastly they contain extremely high levels of antioxidants. I love eating a small handful of these when I'm craving something sweet.

HEMP SEEDS (Germany) ~ has 3 unique nutritional factors. It has an ideal balance of Omega 3 and 6 for sustainable human health, it has a full amino acid spectrum meaning it provides complete protein, and it has a massive trace mineral content. They are completely versatile. I love sprinkling them on salads, adding them to smoothies ...

LUCUMA POWDER (Peru) ~ is a sweetener and an excellent source of carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and minerals. It has lots of beta-carotene, niacin (B3) and iron. It's good in a smoothie or added with cacao.

MACA POWDER (Peru) ~ contains 10% bioavailable calcium and about 12-14% bioavailable protein and nearly 60 phytochemicals. It's an adaptogen so it "adapts" to your body's metabolism, working with your body on to repairs. It doesn't contain hormones, but it naturally stimulates the pituitary into producing the precursor hormones which ultimately end up raising oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels. It also helps to balance the adrenal glands, the thyroid and the pancreas. It's good in a smoothie or added with cacao.

MESQUITE POWDER (Peru) ~ is a low glycemic sweetener that works well with cacao, nutritious powder that is ground from mesquite pods. It is high in protein and rich in lysine, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and dietary fibre. It's good in a smoothie or added with cacao.

MSM POWDER, PLANT-BASED (China) ~ stands for Methyl‐sulphonyl‐methane. MSM is a nutritional form of sulphur, which is an essential component in the formation of collagen, elastin, cartilage and keratin. It gives flexibility, tone and strength to muscles, bones, joints, internal membranes and especially the skin, hair and nails. Adequate levels of sulphur in the body help to promote a radiant complexion, glowing skin and mineralised hair. Sulphur is often referred to as “The beauty mineral”. However, research has found that most people are deficient in sulphur and that deficiency increases with age. I have a teaspoon of this in filtered water when I first wake up.

RAW ONE FOR MEN ~ seems like the safest bet. It's uncooked, untreated and unadulterated. It is raw, gluten-free, dairy-free and contains no soy allergens, no binders and no fillers. It contains vitamins A, C, D3, E, K, B1, B2, B3, B6, Folic Acid, B12, Biotin, B5, Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Chromium, Molybdenum, Indian Gooseberry and a blend of Raw Enzymes and Probiotics. I don't even know what all of these things are but it's an impressive list! I try to take one every day.

SPIRULINA POWDER (China) ~ is a tiny aquatic plant that offers 60% all-vegetable protein, essential vitamins and phytonutrients such as the antioxidant beta carotene, the rare essential fatty acid GLA, sulfolipids, glycolipids and polysaccharides. Its deep green colour comes from its rainbow of natural pigments - chlorophyll (green), phycocyanin (blue) and carotenoids (orange) - that harvest the sun's energy. Easy-to-digest so nutrients are absorbed quickly. I love adding this to my smoothies or.

WHITE MULBERRIES (Turkey) ~ a rich source of resveratrol which is found primarily in red wine. Mulberries contain moranoline, which delays the absorption of carbohydrates and promotes healthy glucose levels already within normal range. The anthocyanins in Mulberry are strong antioxidants. Besides being an antioxidant, resveratrol is an anti-mutagen and a strong anti-inflammatory. An anti-mutagen is a compound that inhibits the mutation of healthy normal cells into cancerous growths and tumors. Chronic inflammation is believed to be at the root of many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. I love eating a small handful of these when I'm craving something sweet.

Mangled but delicious cinnamon buns

2011-02-11T20:51:00.006Z

Okay, let me be clear, this photo represents my first attempt at making the beautiful cinnamon buns in Philip McCluskey and Heather Pace's new e-book Raw Food Carob Desserts. Check out what they *should* look like in their beautiful book. My version tastes delicious and I'll have to have another go soon to see if I can perfect my efforts!

For the roll, you will need ground oats (I used gluten free), ground almonds (I used soaked almonds which I think was a mistake), raw honey, coconut oil, vanilla extract and himalayan salt. I had some soaked almonds in the fridge and I was a little heavy handed with the honey (it's hard to pour) so the roll was sticky (even though I added extra oats to supplement).

For the filling, you will need pecans (I used walnuts), raisins, honey, cinnamon, carob (I used cacao powder) and mesquite powder.

I've been doing well with my Kris Carr questions - about 90% (leaving a little wriggle room). My neti pot arrived this week and I've used it several times now. It's very easy and effective once you get over the slightly weird sensation of slightly salty water flowing through your nose.

I've been enjoying the meditation. About 25 years ago I learned to do transcendental meditation, and I still remember the mantra I was given. However this time I've been following a breath awareness Buddhist meditation technique. It's lovely and it feels congruent with the emphasis on breathing in yoga.

After reading a post from Ms Adventuress about pure soap, I was appalled to see so many unpronounceable ingredients in my usual soap. So I found some lovely ethically-produced soaps with real and pronounceable ingredients at Simply Soaps.

My dry-brushed skin is currently being cleansed by a blend of melted but not overly heated olive, palm and coconut oils which haven't been blended with rose petal and geranium.

I tend to buy my supplements from Detox Trading, the online shop run by the lovely people at Sura Detox in Devon. They took me through my first juice fast detox in 2007. Last time I visited I came across a new supplement called SerraPlus.

SerraPlus is a serrapeptase, a proteolytic enzyme isolated from the micro-organism Serratia E15. This enzyme is naturally processed commercially today through fermentation and was discovered in the silkworm intestine. It is an immunologically active enzyme completely bound to the alpha 2 macroglobulin in biological fluids. Histological studies reveal powerful anti-inflammatory effects. It digests non-living tissue, blood clots, cysts, and arterial plaque and inflammation in all forms. Have you tried these?

Finally, I'm celebrating today because as of this morning I am officially at the half way point in my overall weight loss journey. Since November last year I've lost 12 pounds so I just need to lose a final 12 pounds to be at my ideal weight. Hurrah!

Kris Carr CSD: 20 Questions for 21 Days

2011-02-04T20:53:00.004Z

The first few days of February have been crazy busy and within this context I've done relatively well. However now it's time to really focus on my journey. So, for the next 21 days I'll be asking myself these 20 Questions form Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet at the end of each day:

Did I abstain from coffee? Okay
Did I abstain from alcohol? Okay
Did I abstain from gluten? Okay
Did I abstain from animal products? Okay
Did I abstain from sugar and choose low glycemic fruits and better alternatives such as stevia or agave? This might be my sticking point so I've looked up glycemic indexes online. Different indexes seem to give different values but low glycemic fruits (55 or fewer points) on the whole seem to include: cherries, grapefruit, dried apricots, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apple, pear, plums, blueberries, peaches, oranges, grapes, kiwi fruit, bananas Medium glycemic fruits (56 - 69 points) seem to include: mangoes, apricots, raisins, pineapple. High glycemic fruits (above 70 points) seem to include: watermelon, dried dates. So, I'd better find a space in my fridge for my enormous bag of dates and dried apricots. I wonder if I'll want to eat them after my 21 days of goodness. I tend to eat lots of dates and bananas and raisins and mango and figs and very few items from the lower end. Oh well, it will be an experience :-)
Did I dry brush today? Okay
Did I clean my sinuses with a neti pot? I've ordered one from amazon
Did I move my body for at least 35 minutes? Okay
Did I meditate for 15 - 20 minutes? I'm out of practice but I can give it a go
Did I chew my meals thoroughly and mindfully? Okay
Did I laugh out loud and tell someone I love them? Okay
Did I spend (at least 5 minutes) in nature? I love visiting our ducks, swans and moor hens
Did I get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep? This could be difficult but I'll try
What did I eat today and did I juice? I confess I find juicing a chore so I might extend this to green smoothies. There's also a juice shop I can pop into for a wheatgrass every day. I'll have to take a book around with me to keep track.
How much purified water did I drink? Okay
What supplements did I take? I'm thinking MSM powder, spirulina, digestives, probiotics and I've ordered some raw multi-vitamins
How was my elimination? Okay
What time did I stop eating and was it 3 hours before bed? This could be difficult, especially when we go to yoga in the evenings
How do I feel physically? Okay
How do I feel emotionally? Okay

Rather a lot of questions, don't you think? It's only 21 days so it will be interesting to see how well I do.

Basil and Fennel Pizza and Juicing

2011-01-30T12:13:00.008Z

Raw Basil and Fennel Pizza

Ever since I saw a photo of Tree of Life raw pizza taken by Ms Adventuress, I've known there was a raw pizza on my horizon. And this weekend it's here!

The pizza I've decided to make is a Basil and Fennel Pizza from Carmella Soleil's wonderful recipe book called Delightfully Raw. The crust is made from buckwheat, courgette, flax, extra virgin olive oil, onion and garlic powders, italian herbs and salt. It's topped with pesto, spinach, marinated fennel, marinated portobello mushrooms and a raw nut version of parmesan cheese. Carmella gives you recipes for each of these but I had a jar of vegan and gluten free pesto and some raw parmesan in the cupboard so I used those.

Soaking the buckwheat and then dehydrating the crusts takes a long time (about 20 hours in total) but each step is quite quick and simple. And now I have 12 individual pizza crusts and some marinated toppings on hand to make a pizza any time I want. Carmella recommends dehydrating the assembled pizza for an hour, but if you were really hungry I'm sure you could omit that final step.

Juicing and Smoothies

blurry green juice ...

Do you do green juices or green smoothies? I favour green smoothies, simply because they're so much quicker and less messy - both the making and the cleaning up. Over at Raw Food Rehab more then 200 people are gearing up for a total reset cleanse in February and I've been thinking about the extent to which I can join them. If you'd like to join us you can sign up for the february cleanse here.

I'm not going to commit to juicing every day, but I can commit to starting every day with a heaped teaspoon of MSM powder dissolved in filtered water followed by either a green smoothie or a green juice. This morning, because it's Sunday and I've got more time to clean up, I made a delicious parsley, spinach, cucumber and pineapple juice.

All of this is inspired by feeling so well after going to Turkey for a cleanse over the Christmas period, eating high raw since 1 January, avoiding coffee and alcohol and reading reading Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet.

Bikram Yoga
I'm also excited to keep going to Bikram Yoga. I'm not quite sure what it is about sweating in a hot room for 90 minutes and trying to do sometimes seemingly impossible poses in a swimsuit, but I feel a magnet drawing me back to this practice. There are many things I just cannot do yet. In standing head to knee pose, for example, I struggle just to stay in stage one (holding my foot with the standing leg standing firm). But there are other small milestones of progress. I can now (usually) get my foot behind my calf in eagle pose and I'm learning to love the rush of vulnerability in camel pose. I know, if I keep going, I'll continue to improve my practice. By the way, if you're looking for a good blog about Bikram Yoga I'd definitely recommend Postcards from the Heat.

iCat
While I've been writing this Puddha has decided to come and sit on my lap ...

Biutiful

We went to see Biutiful today at the Greenwich Picturehouse. This is a dark, desperate and unforgiving film about people life and death which somehow manages to show the beauty of the human spirit. Javier Bardem plays a man with 2 young children and a bipolar wife who finds out that he has just months to live.

Antony's Raw Kitchen

2011-01-23T20:03:00.005Z

Quick Kelp Noodles with a Chilli-Almond Sauce and Salad

Step 1: Soak noodles in water for a few minutes while you're making the sauce.
Step 2: Make the sauce in your food processor or blender:
   1 clove garlic, sliced
   0.5 - 1 red chilli, sliced
   1 cm ginger, sliced
   3 heaped teaspoons almond butter
   3 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
   3 teaspoons agave
   3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Step 3: Drain the noodles and return to bowl. Pour marinade over noodles and mix through.
Step 4: Divide noodles between 2 plates. Top with whatever you have in the fridge ... I used chopped coriander, grated carrot, mixed sprouts and salad greens.
Step 5. Enjoy!

Coconut-Almond-Date Balls
1 cup soaked almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup organic dates
Pinch of himalayan salt

Add everything except dates to the food processor and grind well. Add dates and mix until a ball shape begins to form. Form small walnut-sized balls and dehydrate for a couple of hours until the balls are dry on the outside but deliciously moist within.

The Black Swan
This afternoon we went to see The Black Swan at the Picturehouse Cinema in Greenwich. It was a sell-out screening which meant that we ended up sitting in the front row. I haven't sat in the front row for years - it's quite full-on and personally I prefer a little more perspective. However in a strange way it worked well with the claustrophobic atmosphere of this film about dancing and madness. A very melodramatic and rather old-fashioned hollywood film, with powerful performances. It's easy to see why Natalie Portman won her award. I'd love to see it again from the back.

First Ever Raw Food Review: Viva Pure

2011-01-22T11:58:00.001Z

Recently I bought a whole stash of delicious goodness from the people at vivapure.co.uk. I also offered to review some products for them here. I bought a great haul of wonderful things: kelp noodles (I've actually never tried these before), sea spaghetti (which I love), raw parmesan (which tastes good - nutty and sharp - but not really like parmesan), cacao paste or liquor (which i've never tried before but am looking forward to using when i next make some chocolates), spirulina for smoothies, coconut nectar (which was out of stock but coming later), palm sugar and some raw honey ... I love getting raw foods in the post.

And so to the review items ...

Coconut and Chocolate MACA*roons. Chocolate ingredients: Organic Coconut Flakes, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Coconut Macadamia Nuts, Organic Peruvian Maca Premium, Organic Raw Honey, Pure Vanilla, Sea Salt. Coconut MACA*roon Ingredients: Organic Coconut Flakes, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Almonds, Organic Peruvian Maca Premium, Arizona Premium Raw Honey, Organic Cacao Powder, Pure Vanilla, Sea Salt. I thought these were a little dry and not quite sweet enough for my tastes (I prefer a moister, sweeter, macaroon) but they went down quite well with a cup of tea.

ChocolaTree Raw Granola ~ Honey and Apple Crunch
Ingredients: Organic Pecans, Organic Sprouted Almonds, Organic Sprouted Sunflower Seeds, Organic Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Coconut Flakes, Organic Deglet Dates, Organic Fuji Apples, Organic Tompson Raisins, Organic Orange Zest, Organic Arizonion Raw Honey, Sea Salt, Cinnamon. I thought this was crunchy and delicious, not too sweet. I'd definitely buy this again to eat dry or with some fresh almond or hempseed milk. Yum!

ChocolaTree Onion Bread. Ingredients: Organic Golden Onion, Organic Sprouted Sunflower Seed, Organic Chia Seed, Sea Salt. I thought these were wafer thin, crispy and delicious. If you don't have a dehydrator - or if you're too busy to make breads and crackers - I'd definitely recommend these.

Deliciously Warm Raw Vegetable Soup

2011-01-17T13:17:00.004Z

I love my Vitamix - it offers so many ways to make delicious and nutritious meals in minutes. This morning I used it to make delicious green smoothies for breakfast and for lunch we've just enjoyed this quick and fabulous soup ...

Deliciously Warm Raw Vegetable Soup
1 cm sliced ginger, 0.5 red chilli, 1 small red onion (quartered), 1 clove sliced garlic, 2 roughly chopped carrots, 2 roughly chopped parsnips, 4 roughly chopped celery stalks (preferably with leaves attached), a good sprinkle of Himalayan salt, 0.5 bag green leaves (left over), 1 cup filtered and boiled water (helps make it warm).

Simply put everything in the Vitamix and blend until smooth. Serve in warm bowls with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

We ate ours with gluten free crackers (not raw) and followed up with raw chocolate and raw carrot-cinnamon cookies.

What could be better?

Green Smoothies + Bikram Yoga + No Complaining Rule

2011-01-15T09:26:00.007Z

Along with many other people, on 1 January I started an 11 week commitment to high raw at Raw Food Rehab. Before that I spent a wonderful week at TheLifeCo retreat in Turkey on a juice fast and lost at least nine pounds. It's now Saturday 15 January and I've got to say I'm pleased with my high raw eating plan for 2011. I've actually gained back one of those nine pounds in the last two weeks but it's all good and part of a longer term strategy for greater health and happiness. Okay, and I feel thinner (which definitely helps).

If you've been following over the last couple of weeks you'll know that I've been eating a diet of quite dense raw foods (let's call it transitional). Lots of delicious dehydrated foods, nuts and dried fruit, raw cookies, etc. Yum. This coming week I'm happy for there to be more of the same but I'm introducing a commitment to green smoothies and fruit before 12.

I'm also back at Bikram Hot Yoga, aiming to go every other day. So far I've done two classes and I ♥ LOVE ♥ the way they make me feel afterwards. It's a wonderful way to deal with the stresses of the working day and ensure a GREAT night's rest.

Finally, since Penni Shelton introduced it to me on Raw Food Rehab, I've been reading Jon Gordon's inspiring book The No Complaining Rule. It's already given me so many great ideas for work and at home: today I've started a no complaining fast.

I'm looking forward to seeing what impact these three additions have on my life this week.

Sunday Update
At the beginning of yoga today I remembered reading about the importance of purpose and intention in Jon Gordon's books. So I asked myself ...

What is my purpose today? To improve my practice.
What is my intention today? To follow the instructions as well as I can and to give it my best effort.

I'm delighted to report that for the first time in ages I didn't sit out in any of the poses. Everything in Bikram is done twice and usually there's at least something I attempt only once. I am well pleased :-)

Raw Food Kitchen

2011-01-09T19:11:00.004Z

Raw Burger: onion bread with sweet potato burger,
chilli-cashew mayonnaise, sunflower greens and cooked beetroot

SWEET POTATO BURGERS
See here to make the onion bread. The sweet potato burgers are a renewal of my experiments this time last year with Lisa at Raw on $10 a day's sweet potato pancakes. As always recipes are often defined by what's available ...

Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes, 1 red onion, 1 apple, 0.5 sliced red chilli, 2 stalks celery, 3 dessertspoons flax, 0.5 cup sunflower seeds, a little tamari or aminos or salt to taste.

In your food processor grate sweet potatoes and apple. Set aside. Then with the blade in finely chop onion, chilli, celery sunflower seeds and tamari or salt into a paste. Add grated ingredients and pulse (or mix through in a bowl). Add flax and mix through. Shape into 8 big burgers and dehydrate for about 8 hours.

CHILLI-CASHEW MAYONNAISE
I started out thinking I would make some not-peanut dipping sauce but I didn't have any almond butter so I ended up making this chilli-cashew mayonnaise ...

Ingredients: 0.75 cup cashews (soaked for a couple of hours), 0.5 cup sunflower seeds, 1 clove garlic finely chopped, juice of a lime, 3 tablespoons agave nectar, 1 tablespoon braggs aminos, 1 inch chopped ginger, 3 tablespoons filtered water, 0.5 sliced red chilli.

In your food processor or blender mix everything together until it forms a sauce.

COOKIES
I enjoy eating salads, but my sweet tooth appreciates a raw cookie to look forward to with a cup of jasmine or genmaicha tea. This afternoon I've made 51 cookies: a mixture of chocolate-raisin and carrot-cinnamon which will take us comfortably through the working week to come. Ideally the nuts and seeds would be soaked but poor planning means needs must ...

Ingredients for carrot-cinnamon cookies: 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup flax, 3 teaspoons coconut butter, 3 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and a good pinch salt.

In your food processor: start with walnuts, coconut and carrots and process until finely chopped. Then add the rest of the ingredients and process just until you have a well mixed batter. The dough will be quite thick which leaves full raisin pieces. You could also mix through by hand but I'm lazy. Shape into cookies and dehydrate for about 4 hours or so.

And it's because I'm lazy that I started with the carrot-raisin cookies. No need to clean the food processor before moving onto chocolate!

Ingredients for chocolate-raisin cookies: 0.75 cup walnuts, 0.25 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup flax, 1 cup raisins, 0.25 cup cacao, 3 teaspoons coconut butter, 3 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and a good pinch salt.

In your food processor: start with walnuts and seeds (I used a combination because I was short of walnuts) and carrots. Process to small crumbs. Add coconut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, salt and cacao, mixing in until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix until combined. This will be quite thick so you could add a little water or more syrup if you want to be kinder to your food processor. Otherwise just keep scraping it down. It doesn't take long. Shape into cookies and dehydrate for about 4 hours or so.

Onion Bread and Marinated Vegetables

2011-01-08T22:10:00.009Z

RAW LOULOU'S ONION BREAD
My partner loves onion bread (Cafe Gratitude's, Matt Amsden's) and I haven't made any for ages, so when I came across Raw Loulou's recipe I really couldn't resist!

Ingredients - 2 large onions, 1 cup flax meal, 0.25 cup namo
shoyu or tamari, 0.25 cup filtered water and 0.25 cup Olive oil (next time I might use less tamari because it's a bit strong)

Chop onions finely by hand or quickly in the food processor. Add them to the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and fold in thoroughly. Flatten mixture onto a teflex sheet and score the pieces. Dehydrate for 12 - 16 hours.

MARINATED VEGETABLE SALAD

As I had the dehydrator on anyway I marinated some raw vegetables in a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic to have as part of a salad for lunch: courgettes, mushrooms, red peppers and celery. Served on a bed of mung sprouts and sunflower greens.

THE KING'S SPEECH
The King's Speech opened this weekend. We'd heard lots about it and with Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in we could believe that it would be good. It really is a stunning film that I'd love to see again. The developing friendship between Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush is particularly moving and HBC's portrayal of the late Queen Mother is wonderfully believable. It all pulls together in a way that isn't stiff or restricted by the demands of historical accuracy, i.e. it's certainly not a dreary biopic.

WEIGHT LOSS

I seem to have gained 0.4 lbs in the last week. This isn't really surprising. I've been eating mostly heavy raw after my juice fast over Christmas and I think things are settling. I'm not worried. My belt has gone in a notch and I feel good!

Have you signed the avaaz.org petition to save the bees?

2011-01-07T06:35:00.001Z

I've just signed the avaaz.org petition to save the bees. Will you? Avaaz says:

Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey, they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow.

Scientists increasingly blame one group of toxic pesticides for their rapid demise, and bee populations have soared in four European countries that have banned these products. But powerful chemical companies are lobbying hard to keep selling this poison. Our best chance to save bees now is to push the US and EU to join the ban -- their action is critical and will have a ripple effect on the rest of the world.

We have no time to lose -- the debate is raging about what to do. This is not just about saving bumble bees, this is about our survival. Let’s build a giant global buzz calling for the EU and US to outlaw these killer chemicals and save our bees and our food. Sign the emergency petition now and send it on to everyone and we’ll deliver it to key decision makers:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/97.php?cl_tta_sign=154ddeead6ecd059aacc78b08db750ed

Bees are vital to life on earth -- every year pollinating plants and crops with an estimated $40bn value, over one third of the food supply in many countries. Without immediate action to save bees we could end up with no fruit, no vegetables, no nuts, no oils and no cotton.

Recent years have seen a steep and disturbing global decline in bee populations -- some bee species are now extinct and others are at just 4% of their previous numbers. Scientists have been scrambling for answers. Some studies claim the decline may be due to a combination of factors including disease, habitat loss and toxic chemicals. But new leading independent research has produced strong evidence blaming neonicotinoid pesticides. France, Italy, Slovenia and even Germany, where the main manufacturer Bayer is based, have banned one of these bee killers. But, Bayer continues to export its poison across the world.

This issue is now coming to the boil as major new studies have confirmed the scale of this problem. If we can get European and US decision-makers to take action, others will follow. It won’t be easy. A leaked document shows that the US Environmental Protection Agency knew about the pesticide’s dangers, but ignored them. The document says Bayer’s "highly toxic" product is a "major risk concern to non target insects [honey bees]".

We need to make our voices heard to counter Bayer’s very strong influence on policy makers and scientists in both the US and the EU where they fund the studies and sit on policy bodies. The real experts -- the beekeepers and farmers -- want these deadly pesticides prohibited until and unless we have solid, independent studies that show they are safe. Let's support them now. Sign the petition below, then forward this email:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_bees/97.php?cl_tta_sign=154ddeead6ecd059aacc78b08db750ed

We can no longer leave our delicate food chain in the hands of research run by the chemical companies and the regulators that are in their pockets. Banning this pesticide will move us closer to a world safe for ourselves and the other species we care about and depend on.

With hope,

Alex, Alice, Iain, David and all at Avaaz

MORE INFORMATION

Bee decline could be down to chemical cocktail interfering with brains
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/22/chemicals-bees-decline-major-study?INTCMP=SRCH

Bee briefing
http://www.soilassociation.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RXLEm9WXrHk%3D&tabid=439

$15 Billion Bee Murder Mystery Deepens
http://www.businessinsider.com/colony-collapse-disorder-still-unsolved-lead-researcher-had-connections-to-bayer-2010-10

“Nicotine Bees" Population Restored With Neonicotinoids Ban
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/nicotine-bees-population-restored-with-neonicotinoids-ban.php

EPA memo reveals concern that pesticide causes bee deaths
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/green/detail?entry_id=79910

Beekeepers want government to pull pesticide
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/beekeepers-want-government-to-pull-pesticide-1107701.html

British Beekeepers' Association to stop endorsing bee-killing pesticides http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/nov/16/beekeepers-end-pesticide-endorsement?INTCMP=SRCH

Pesticide industry involvement in EU risk assessment puts survival of bees at stake
http://www.corporateeurope.org/agribusiness/news/2010/11/16/pesticide-industry-future-bees

Avaaz.org is a 6.5-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Cashew-Coconut-Maca Cookies

2011-01-06T21:45:00.000Z

Cashew-Coconut-Maca Cookies

1 cup cashews
1 cup coconut
0.5 cup maca
1 medium courgette/zucchini, roughly chopped
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
0.5 teaspoon himalayan salt

In your food processor grind cashews and coconut until they resemble breadcrumbs. Add other ingredients and mix until a biscuit dough forms. Divide into biscuit rounds and dehydrate until dry on the outside and chewy within. About 4 hours.

Internet Shopping

Today a lovely parcel arrived from the therawgreek.com: raisins, olives, figs, tomatoes. It all looks delicious. So far we've tried the figs and they were so good I almost ordered another couple of packs straight away!

The No Complaining Rule: 20 Tips for a Positive 2011

2011-01-04T20:33:00.002Z

I love that we have a pair of swans
visiting the lake next to our
building just now ...

I'm so pleased and grateful to have hit 100 followers! What a wonderful way to begin 2011. Thank you :-)

The tips below are by Jon Gordon (author of The No Complaining Rule) with a Penni Shelton Touch. I'm going to remember these top 20 tips for staying positive in 2011 and, in case you aren't a member of Raw Food Rehab, I thought I'd post them here as well:

1. STAY POSITIVE. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is ...

3. Take a morning walk of gratitude. I call it a “thank you walk.” It will create a fertile mind ready for success.

4. Instead of being disappointed about where you are think optimistically about where you are going.

5. Formulate your personal food plan, keeping your kitchen well stocked with only what's on your program, always staying mindful about the reasons you are making these better choices.

6. Remember that adversity is not a dead-end but a detour to a better outcome.

7. Focus on learning, loving, growing and serving.

8. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

9. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

10. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

11. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

12. Remember there’s no substitute for hard work.

13. Zoom Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask: “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

14. Implement The No Complaining Rule. Complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.

15. Read more books than you did in 2010. We happen to know of a few good ones. :)

16. Get more sleep. You can’t replace sleep with a cup of coffee or a candy bar.

17. Focus on “Get to” vs “Have to.” Each day focus on what you get to do, not what you have to do. Life is a gift not an obligation.

18. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:

I am thankful for ...

Today I accomplished ...

19. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

20. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.

Carrot-Almond Cookies and Raspberry Ganache Mini Cakes

2011-01-02T20:40:00.001Z

Carrot-Almond-Raisin Cookies

(makes at least 24)

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds, soaked and dried

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup flax

1.5 cups carrots, roughly chopped

1.5 cups raisins

1 tspn vanilla

0.5 tspn cinnamon

0.5 tspn salt

Add almonds and coconut to your food processor and grind to breadcrumbs. Add carrots and grind to breadcrumbs. Then add raisins, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and process until well mixed through. Finally add the flax and process until well mixed through. Shape into cookies and dehydrate for a couple of hours.

Raspberry Ganache Mini Cakes

I was dreaming of this delicious Ani Phyo recipe while we were detoxing. I made the same recipe is I've previously made and shaped the dough into muffins, topping with the avocado-chocolate icing and raspberries. Store in the fridge.

Multi-Course, High-Raw, Gluten-Free New Year's Day Meal

2011-01-01T20:30:00.001Z

It's the first day of a new year and I feel happy and energetic. I've been having a new year clear out and sort through these last few days and this morning I ironed all of our shirts. I've never done that before - I'm always an iron what you need kind of guy. It feels good to have a wardrobe full of pret-a-porter!

We went to see The Tourist this afternoon (Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp). It's a light-hearted glamourous action film that starts from an apparently chance meeting on a train and goes from there. Angelina is indeed glamorous and Johnny clearly enjoys trying to look like a maths teacher. I enjoyed it but wasn't totally absorbed by it and so also found time during the film to plan this multi-course high-raw gluten-free New Year's day meal:

a little pea soup served in a cup

a mixed platter: sage stuffing, cranberry sauce, mung
bean sprouts, beetroot, red peppers, celery, avocado,
capers, an olive and some humous

some raw corn chips, raw mediterranean bread
and gluten free crackers

a trio of desserts: raw chocolate,
raw coconut and almond cookie and
raw chocolate cookie

Egypt Puddie Says Happy New Year

2010-12-31T21:34:00.000Z

Egypt Puddie, the internet pud, wishes you a rather sleepy Happy New Year. By which, of course, she means that you will have all the health, happiness, peace and everything else you may desire in 2011 ... so that you might, perhaps, bring her a tin of fishes.

Raw Food Kitchen

2010-12-30T10:59:00.012Z

Guilt-Free Chocolate Cookies
(Makes 20 Big Cookies)
1.5 cups shredded coconut
1.5 cups walnuts (soaked)
1.5 cups flax
1.5 cups raisins
0.5 cup cacao powder
1 tablespoon coconut butter
1 teaspoon himalayan salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In your food processor: Process shredded coconut first (if big shreds) to crumbs. Add walnuts and process to crumbs. Add coconut butter and salt and pulse briefly to mix in. Add flax and process through. Add cacao powder and process through. Make dessertspoon-sized balls of cookie dough and shape into cookies. Dehydrate for a couple of hours.

Sage Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce
I told Ms Adventuress that I didn't think I could make her delicous-looking raw cranberry sauce because I never see cranberries in the UK. But I saw some in the supermarket (okay not organic) yesterday and I couldn't resist trying them. I took her advice about keeping hte cranberries just a little bit chunky and I love the added colour and texture this brings. It's kind of tangy, sweet and delicious! And, so, I then had to make her sage stuffing to go with. What a fabulous combination.

Sage Stuffing based on Ms Adventuress' recipe:
1 cup raw walnuts, soaked
1 cup raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds, soaked
1 cup celery, diced
2 small red onions (or green onions), diced
2 heaped teaspoons dried sage
A drizzle of olive oil

Drain walnuts and seeds (don't pat dry if you like moist stuffing) and toss into food processor to pulse. Scrape into a mixing or serving bowl and fold in rest of ingredients.

Cranberry Sauce based on Ms Adventuress' recipe:
3 cups organic raw cranberries
3 organic satsuma or mandarin oranges (without seeds)
1 organic apple, peeled and cored
12 medjool dates (seeded) to taste

Toss cranberries into blender and pulse gently to get slightly chunky texture. Pour into bowl and set aside. Blend oranges, apple and dates to smooth paste. Mix with cranberries.

Energy
Okay, I'm loving the extra energy boost that comes after a detox and clearly I'm putting at least some of it into raw food prep, but I'm going to have to stop soon or we just won't be able to eat it all!

Meals with sage stuffing and cranberry sauce

open sandwiches with sage stuffing and cranberry sauce
served with beetroot (not raw) and romaine

marinated portobello mushrooms with sage stuffing and
cranberry sauce. served with salad: leaves, sprouts,
celery, cucumber, olives and capers

In the raw food kitchen

2010-12-29T19:18:00.009Z

Here are the results of an industrious morning spent in the raw food kitchen.

fruit, nut and seed chocolates

Fruit and Nut Chocolates
I made a double recipe of Heathy's delicious dark chocolate recipe from her lovely book, Just Desserts. I sprinkled soaked and dried almonds, soaked and dried pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, raisins, goji berries and I added a little bee pollen into silicon moulds. Poured chocolate on top and chilled in the fridge. Delicious!

Mediterranean Almond Bread
I made Russell James's delicious almond bread. I followed the recipe reasonably closely but I'm not sure about the quality of those almonds (how raw they were) and I didn't have enough anyway so I used some soaked and dried pumpkin seeds to top up. It's enough to make two trays and smells wonderful in the dehydrator.

Corn Chips
I also had some frozen organic corn in the freezer so I made some corn bread (I think it's spread too thickly to be called crisps). I used about 6 cups of frozen corn, 0.75 cup flax, juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 finely diced chilli. This also makes two wonderful smelling trays in the dehydrator.

Lunch Salad
The salad I made for lunch was really good. Start with a bed of mixed leaves. Add to that some of Lisa's marinated broccoli and mushroom salad (to which I'd added some corn), some peppers and avocado.

Top Tip
Then we braved the sales with a small box of raw coconut macaroons in case we got hungry - which of course we did. I think this is my top tip for myself for 2011. Always have a small box of cookies or nuts and raisins or something in my bag ...

Dinner Salad

This was more of a salad platter (not all raw): mediterranean bread, humous, grilled artichokes, celery sticks, grated carrot, gem lettuce leaves and the rest of the marinated broccoli corn and mushroom salad.

Dessert was, of course, a chocolate.

Coconut-Almond Macaroons

2010-12-28T22:26:00.002Z

As my recent posts show, I loved having the opportunity to take a week out and detox under such luxurious conditions. It's equally wonderful, though, to be back in charge of what we eat and when!

This is the first salad I made when we got home: a bed of mixed green leaves; mushrooms (marinated in: toasted sesame seed oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic and chilli); avocado; a few olives; some red pepper; some marinated artichokes; celery; a dollop of humous. We ate it with some gluten free crackers (we'd been craving crunch) and the assistance of digestive enzymes.

I also made cookies!

Coconut-Almond Macaroons
(makes about 24)

3 cups shredded coconut
1 cup almonds
6 medjool dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 big pinch Himalayan salt
2 teaspoons honey
Up to 0.25 cup water
2 tablespoons maca

In a food processor:
1) Process coconut and almonds to crumbs. Set aside.
2) Then process dates, vanilla, salt, honey and water to a paste
3) Add maca and process again
4) Add coconut and almond crumbs and process until mixed.
5) As you spoon out macaroon portions, make into balls in your hands (wet your hands if the mixture is too sticky)
6) Spread the balls out onto a wire dehydrator tray and press down with a fork to make cookies
7) Dehydrate for a couple of hours until firm on the outside and chewy within.

Notes
1) I may have made these a bit sweet. Did I need honey and dates? Reduce maybe, they're quite rich (which is no bad thing)
2) This mixture would make a lovely filling for dipped chocolates!

Xmas Master Detox Day 9 - Last Day

2010-12-27T06:41:00.008Z

This morning I weighed:
- 76.2 kilos
- 11.99 stone (normally I would round up but it's too tempting to be under 12 stone)
- 167.6 pounds

Today's schedule is quite busy:
- the usual drinks and supplements
- yoga & meditation sessions x 2
- abdominal and reflexology
- hydrocolon
- a wheatgrass etc implant to start rebuilding flora in the gut
- a face mask
- and a walk

Then we've got to pack and pay. We have a car taking us to the airport for a 9:00 flight to Istanbul tomorrow morning and then a 13:00 flight from Istanbul to London.

I'm so glad it's the last day. Much as I've enjoyed this experience of being in a detox bubble I'm looking forward to getting back home now. Apart from anything else I miss our cats: Egypt Puddie (the internet cat warming herself on the wifi unit) and India Puddha (taking ownership of the bed). I feel rested and refreshed and much readier to face the new year to come!

Egypt Puddie: Internet Pud

India Puddha: Queen of the Bed

Xmas Master Detox Day 8

2010-12-26T07:13:00.000Z

This morning I actually weighed slightly more, 76.8 kilos.

This is a very minor difference and I'm not stressing. My nose has been running and I feel like I've got a slight cold so perhaps my body has been dealing with that instead of excess fat. I'm taking action against it by having intravenous vitamin c today instead of ozone. I want to feel as perky as possible!

We're now into overtime now. The standard series is seven days and we're going for nine. Next time I think we'll stick to seven. That said, we're lucky to have an additional two days of detoxing.

Xmas Master Detox Day 7

2010-12-25T16:51:00.001Z

This morning I weighed 76.7 kilos or 12 stone 1 or 169 pounds. What a lovely Christmas present!

Today's programme includes the usual drinks, colema, yoga and mediation sessions as well as a sports massage and an hour's walk along the coast.

I'm looking forward to going home now and have been devouring raw food recipes on the internet. At the moment I am obsessed by the idea of (1) a simple salad and (2) Ani Phyo's Raspberry Ganache - actually one of the five most viewed entries on my blog. See the link on the right if you're not familiar with it. I can't wait!

Coastal Walk

Xmas Master Detox Day 6

2010-12-24T14:36:00.000Z

It's Christmas Eve in Turkey. Wherever you are I hope you are having a Very Happy Christmas and a Wonderful New Year.

Including today we have four days left. We're into a routine now. This morning I weighed 77.5 kilos, not much of a loss from yesterday but it evens up my total weight loss so far to 4.5 kilos which is a pleasing number.

I've had my usual course of drinks and supplements plus a slightly strange Thai massage from a very nice Turkish man and some ozone therapy as previously described. Quite a busy day really!

Xmas Master Detox Day 5

2010-12-23T07:16:00.004Z

TurboSonic Machine

This morning I weigh 77.8 kilos (12 stone 2 pounds). That's 4.2 kilos or 8.8 pounds so far on this detox. I'm impressed and grateful - I can definitely feel the difference. We're half way through now and my goal is still to get to and maintain 11 stone (either here or back at home) which is just under 70 kilos.

The picture on the left is the TurboSonic machine: one of those machines you stand on and vibrate. This one uses sound waves I think which is apparently the newest thing and shakes your brain less. You stand on it for 10 minutes at a time. The different programmes focus on different areas but I'm sticking to programme four which does the whole body. Why not? I'm going to try and fit in two or three sessions a day while we're here.

Today's schedule

great in warmer weather

Drinks and supplements as on previous days but with the inclusion of a liver flush drink at 9:30 and 6:30 (seems to includes a little orange juice, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper and I don't know what else). It's certainly quite hot and makes a change!

9:30 Iyenga yoga and meditation class today and then a trip to a local horse farm this afternoon. See pictures below.

from the garden

At 12:30 I've got a a reflexology and abdominal massage followed by a 13:30 colonic hydrotherapy session (the industrial version of the colema machines with a therapist). Best not to think too much about it!

Things I'm loving about our stay in Turkey: hearing the roosters crow (do they crow?) as the day breaks, the smell of log fires burning (instead of central London petrochemical pollution), hearing the call to prayer (though not many people seem to heed it), having time to rest and recharge my batteries for the year to come and of course losing weight!

A walk at the local horse farm ...

olives freshly fallen from the tree

two of many friendly horses

squash drying to become lanterns

a big friendly dog

Xmas Master Detox Day 4

2010-12-22T09:18:00.000Z

communal areas

This morning I weigh 78.6 kilos

Last night I tried the detox soup but for me at least it was a bad idea. It tasted a little bit like food and was a trigger to fantasies about all sorts of things I have no access to at the moment. From virtuous cravings for cucumbers and apples to a strong desire for a thick piece of toast with various toppings. So, no more detox soup!

I've got some course work to do for my MBA and it's hard to fit it all in, so today I'm skipping yoga and meditation to work in one of the pleasant communal areas. Aside from the regular drinks pattern I've described on previous days, we've opted for an extra liver flush drink in the morning and evening. I've also got a colema scheduled for 12:00 and a sports massage at 16:00.

Xmas Master Detox Day 3

2010-12-21T15:59:00.000Z

This morning I weigh 79.4 kilos (it's odd the way weight falls inconsistently away)

My head is clear and I feel fine now except for some lower back pain which I always seem to get when I'm detoxing. Tomorrow I'm thinking about starting a liver flush - might as well while I'm here ...

8:00 shake and supplements
9:30 wheatgrass shot, carrot shot and supplements
9:30 yoga and meditation
11:00 shake
12:00 colema
12:30 supplements and salt water electrolytes
12:45 face mask
14:00 shake and supplements
14:00 yoga and meditation
15:30 wheatgrass shot, carrot juice shot and supplements
16:00 shiatsu massage
17:00 shake and supplements
17:00 walk along the deserted seafront
18:00 detox soup (I am encouraged to drink about 5 of these daily but this is my first)
18:30 supplements
20:00 shake and supplements
21:30 supplements

Xmas Master Detox Day 2

2010-12-20T16:50:00.003Z

This morning I weighed 79.6 kilos (-2.4 kilos is off to a good start)

I have mild detox symptoms: a mild caffeine headache and an ache in my lower back. I'm missing food emotionally but I'm not actually hungry: the fibre in the shakes must be helping with that.

"Angel of Water"

Yesterday I said I'd show you a picture of the "Angel of Water" colema or colonic irrigation machine (pictured right). The water is in the tall tower and the lighted box just to the left of it is where the waste flows. Above it is a mirror so you can see what's going on. I've actually paid to use a machine like this (accompanied by an assistant) as colonic hydrotherapy in London which on reflection my have been a bit of an oversell. We use this daily, unassisted. There's also two scheduled industrial strength hydrotherapy sessions during the stay.

in the garden

8:00 morning shake and supplements
9:30 wheatgrass shot, carrot juice shot and supplements
9:30 yoga and meditation (yoga plus pilates combination)
11:00 shake and supplements
12:00 colema/colonic irrigation
12:30 green herb drink
13:00 ozone therapy (see below)
14:00 shake and supplements
14:00 yoga and meditation (Iyengar this afternoon)
15:30 wheatgrass shot, carrot juice shot and supplements

deserted sea front: palm umbrellas

16:00 bali massage
17:00 shake
17:30 sunset walk to the largely deserted sea front (I imagine it's teaming during the summer)
18:00 big excitement in detox village: no water in our room so we are moved to the room opposite which is an exact (if confusing) mirror image.
18:30 supplements
20:00 shake and supplements
21:30 supplements

deserted sea front : orange boat

Ozone therapy is where they shoot tubes of ozone up the rectum and you have to hold it there for 20 minutes while it's absorbed. It's supposed to be very beneficial for all manner of things.

Brown Rice Detox
This morning's yoga teacher told us about an alternative detox which is easy to do at home.

150 grams of cooked brown rice per person per day
Stewed apple with cinnamon
tomatoes and greens
apples

First soak the brown rice overnight to begin the sprouting process. Then cook. Eat 50 grams for breakfast with stewed apple and cinnamon. Eat 50 grams for lunch with tomatoes and wilted greens. Eat another 50 grams for dinner with tomatoes and wilted greens. Eat apples for snacks between meals.

Have you tried this? Do you think it's a good idea?

Xmas Master Detox at thelifeco.com near Bodrum, Turkey

2010-12-19T19:51:00.000Z

Having fully indulged in winter foods and festivities, it's good to be back at thelifeco.com detox centre for an early halt to Christmas indulgence. We flew out of London on Friday, just as the snow was getting a grip of the city and, thankfully, before airports were closed. We were lucky that our flight was only delayed. We got an unexpected overnight stay in Istanbul, courtesy of Turkish Airlines. This gave us plenty of time to visit the Blue Mosque, the Great Bazaar and the Hagia Sophia (ancient church, then mosque and now museum). We were excited to see the cat on the left living quite happily inside Hagia Sophia, taking no heed of tourists or no go areas. A handsome creature.

And so, finally, here we are. It's nice to see the familiar staff who will, between them I'm sure, get us back on track.

Sunday, Day One (I weigh 82 kilos)

8:00 Shake (a little fruit juice, water, bentonite clay fibre and I'm not sure what else) plus several supplements
8:30 induction meeting in the juice bar to get an update on the details of the master cleanse and to discuss massage options etc

9:30 supplements and wheatgrass shot and carrot juice shot

9:30 yoga and meditation

12:00 colema (I'll take a picture of the "angel of water" machine for you)

12:30 supplements, salt water shot (for the electrolytes)

14:00 shake

14:00 yoga and meditation

15:30 supplements and wheatgrass shot

15:30 hamam Turkish scrub

17:00 shake

17:30 aroma therapy massage

20:00 shake

21:30 more supplements

Quite a full day really. To be honest I'm not completely sure what's in all the supplements (I just take what they give me) but if I find out I'll definitely let you know

Liver Cleanse???

2010-11-13T17:23:00.000Z

My weight's staying steady. This week I've mostly been raw during the day and cooked in the evening. It kind of works but I'm going to need to shift it up to get the pounds moving in the right direction ...

I've been reading Andreas Moritz's TIMELESS SECRETS OF HEALTH AND REJUVENATION amd thinking about doing a liver cleanse. Has anyone done one of these? Did it work well for you?

Wheatgrass Juice in a Tube

2010-11-06T10:21:00.007Z

So this was the week when I stopped drinking coffee again. I had persistent low grade headaches for about 3 days but they've gone now. Don't get me wrong, I haven't completely given up on caffeine: I've replaced my coffee habit with green tea and smoothies (both the hemp seed and the green variety) ... It's a harm reduction approach I'm taking ...

Something else I've been trying this week is drinking Tonic Attack wheatgrass in a tube. It's kind of extravagant to get little tubes of grass posted to you in the mail at £13 a week. With two of us that means £26 for a week's supply so it's definitely not something we could do all the time. It's good though and somehow apparently as good as new when it arrives. Their website says:
"As with anything worthwhile, it is not obtained without considerable effort and attention to detail. Many people have traditionally resorted to processed forms of wheatgrass such as pills and powders in order to avoid the chore and time involved in growing and juicing their own. Until recently this was the only alternative as ordinary juice only has a shelf life of one day. The wheatgrass we supply is grown by Vegus Foods on an organic farm in Southern Ireland using Ocean Solution™. Ocean Solution, derived from oceans, which are the largest sustainable nutrient resource in the world, contains all of the nutrients the wheatgrass needs. The juice is supplied in handy packs of 7 x 33ml recyclable tubes, providing a week’s supply at the recommended daily intake. The cost of the pack is £13 which includes postage using Royal Mail."

They also have broccoli juice. Have you tried anything like this? What did you think?

Making a Hemp Seed Smoothie in Pictures

After my last hemp seed smoothie post, Ms Adventuress wanted to see what a seed guard looks like. So here are some pictures for her and for anyone else who might be curious ...

I use a Philips blender that I got years ago on sale at John Lewis but there may well be other types ...

Here's the seed guard ...

It snaps into place and fits over the blades in the bottom of the blender ...

The top fits with the tube. Make sure you place it so that the lip will be available for pouring (the other side keeps the lip covered.) Put the hemp seeds in through the hole in the lid (I like to add cinnamon as well). Add sweetened water (I use the water from soaked dates) ...

Blend to make a milk ...

Pour the seed milk out into a separate container. There will be some seed residue left inside the seed guard. Rinse out the blender. You don't need the guard now. Place whatever you'd like to add to the smoothie in the blender. This one has dates from the soaking water, maca, camu camu, wheatgrass powder and banana. Pour the hemp seed milk on top and blend!

Pour and enjoy!

Hemp Seed Smoothies

2010-11-01T07:21:00.001Z

When I first discovered raw and living foods in 2007, I was on a detox fast in Devon with the lovely people at Sura Detox. I'd gone there simply for weightloss but I got much more than that. At the end of the week they showed us how to make a number of things including hemp seed smoothies. These are so good, they don't last long enough for a photo!

Ingredients
0.5 cup unshelled hemp seeds, soaked overnight (discard soaking water)
small piece of cinnamon
3 medjool dates, soaked overnight in 0.75 litre water (keep soaking water)
2 bananas
1 dessertspoon maca (optional)
1 dessertspoon mesquite (optional)
1 teaspoon camu camu (optional)

Blend together seeds, date water and cinnamon. (I have a blender I use for this which has a seed cylinder guard that goes over the blade but you could also use a nut milk bag or other sieve.) Pour out milk and discard seed residue. Rinse blender. Return milk to blender with all other ingredients and blend to a smoothie. Enjoy!

You have to remember to soak the seeds, but otherwise this is a quick and easy nutrient rich smoothie. This makes about a litre of quite sweet smoothie so adjust if you don't have a sweet tooth!

Contemplating Green Smoothies

2010-10-24T21:01:00.000+01:00

I was crossing Oxford Street this week and somehow I hurt my calf (again!) so I'm back walking with a stick (again!) ... more care please Antony!

I've eaten a higher percentage of cooked food this week and consequently gained weight. I've been contemplating what to do to raise the bar - both to help my leg to heal and to kick up on the raw food in general.

I suspect a juice feast would be a good thing to do but honestly I can't see that happening in the near future. I think what I can do is increase my green smoothie intake. So that's my plan for this coming week: more green smoothies!

Hope you have a good one ....

Quick Update

2010-10-16T20:04:00.000+01:00

I'm in the run up for an exam this week so there's not a lot of time for the raw food kitchen this weekend ... I'm weighing myself down with a couple of cooked meals but I'm certainly turning my back on raw. We did have a green smoothie for lunch today: mango, vanilla, lots of spinach and a bit of agave nectar and some water.

Weight loss: no move up or down this week ...

Raw Food Kitchen

2010-10-10T22:56:00.001+01:00

Marinated Mushrooms
1.5 punnets mushrooms, sliced (I used firm brown buttons)
Handful Baby plum tomatoes, chopped
A few marinated sunblushed tomatoes
3 small cloves garlic
A few slices of ginger, diced
1 red chilli, sliced
1 romano pepper, diced
1 pinch Himalayan salt
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Using a pestle and mortar, grind the salt together with the garlic, ginger, chilli and sunblush tomatoes. Add to large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and mix together. Add sliced mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and chopped peppers. Mix well and leave to marinate for a couple of hours.

I mixed in a can (so not raw) of butter beans to this mixture (I love butter beans) and served it for dinner with a green salad -- e.g. leaves, avocado, cucumber ...

The ginger wasn't exactly necessary but ... it was there ...

End of Week 1

2010-10-09T13:40:00.000+01:00

Pictured is the first green smoothie I've had in ages: mixed italian baby leaves, 0.5 organic unwaxed lemon (whole), mango, banana and water.

I'm at the end of my first week of Falling Into Raw and it's been a good one. I've eaten mostly raw and enjoyed it (lots of salads topped with those falafels I made last week, fruit (fresh and dried), nuts, etc

Highlights from this week include:

1) Enjoying being mostly raw
2) Losing 4 lbs
3) Progressing from 2 crutches to one (I want to be back in the yoga studio by the end of October)

So far I've felt no angst about what I'm eating and I hope that continues. In week 2 I'd like to try Penni's delicious-looking pad thai and vegetable broth recipes: check them out here.

Sunday Raw Kitchen

2010-10-03T19:15:00.006+01:00

Today I've been busy in the raw food kitchen making breads and falafels and chocolates to keep us raw in the week ahead.

Cinnamon-Date-Banana Bread

1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for a couple of hours
1 cup flax seeds
2 cups water
0.75 cup dates
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 bananas, peeled
1 teaspoon sea salt

Soak sunflower seeds in water for a couple of hours, then drain. Soak flax seeds in water for about 2 hours, but don't strain. Add sunflower seeds to soaked flax seeds. Add all ingredients to food processor and process until smooth.

Spread mixture onto two dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate for 4-5 hours @ 105 degrees. Remove the dehydrator sheets and flip the bread. Score into desired shapes. Continue dehydrating until desired consistency is achieved - about 5-6 hours.

Sunflower Seed Falafel
1.5 cups sunflower seeds, soaked
0.75 cup flax seeds, ground
1 small head of cauliflower, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
0.75 cup water
3 tablespoons tamari
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small bunch parsley, roughly chopped
1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped

Process the cauliflower and sunflower seeds in the food processor until roughly combined. Add all other ingredients and process until well combined.

Spoon onto a mesh dehydrator tray and dehydrate for hours and hours and hours!

Raspberry Ripple Chocolates

I was attracted to this delicious recipe for Raspberry Belgian Chocolates at the Bees Knees Kitchen via the always splendid happy raw kitchen. Unfortunately my skills don't stretch as far as making them look like the pictures you'll find with the recipe, so I went for a raspberry ripple chocolate version on the left. They still taste sublime and I've got a bowl of leftover raspberry filling in the fridge to experiment with during the week :-)

Falling Into Raw - Day One

2010-10-02T14:38:00.001+01:00

It's Day One of Falling Into Raw and I'm excited: falling into raw is exactly what I need to do. My starting weight is 178 lbs and my goal weight is 154 lbs. Can I lose 24 lbs in 11 weeks? I say yes! I think I'll get myself one of those trackers to record here as a visible sign of progress!

I'm still on crutches and my leg kind of hurts but it's nothing in the whole scheme of things. I'll get back to yoga when I can. In the meantime I'm going to focus on eating lots and of raw! The picture on the left is today's lunch. There's a bit of non-raw humous there but otherwise it's raw raw raw.

There's always more to life than eating. This week we went to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera: Love Never Dies. Sequels are difficult because it's hard to escape the idea that the power is elsewhere. I suspect My Fair Lady was a reference point: Professor Higgins imagines Eliza marrying Freddy and then ending up as the wife of a ne'er do well. Christine does indeed marry the ne'er do well and it all ends rather unhappily 10 years later in Coney Island amongst the "freaks and oddities" all of whom are rather good dancers on stage at the Adelphi. Check it out for yourself:

Generosity

2010-09-26T08:47:00.000+01:00

One minute you can be doing a little happy dance and the next minute you can be lying on the floor with a popped calf. The human body is fragile and its good health should be appreciated.

I've spent the last few days on crutches and I'm learning how differently people treat you when they perceive you as vulnerable in some way. Simple acts of generosity warm the heart: my partner helping me hop along to the doctor and then spending the morning with me in accident and emergency, strangers holding doors open or just making way.

Being on the receiving end of so many acts of generosity - particularly those from strangers - reminds me of Cami Walker's 29 Gifts: Give one thing away each day for 29 days. Why? Because to see your world change, you have to DO something to change your world. I perceive all of those door openings and making ways as gifts. I think I am reasonably generous, but I'm curious about how different my life would be if I consciously practised being generous for 29 days ...

Have you seen Julia Roberts in Eat Pray Love? What did you think? IMDb gives it 4.7 stars which is probably fair. It suffers the usual problems of films made from books - i.e. simplifying the story for the screen etc - but I enjoyed it. Loved Javier Bardem, of course.

No Gain No Loss

2010-08-28T19:53:00.000+01:00

Eating - About 50% raw this week. No weight gained and no weight lost. Am thinking of doing a proper raw stine during September ...

Bikram Yoga - Monday, Friday and Saturday. I always feel so much better after a yoga class. I'd love to see what would happen if I did 30 days of raw combined with 30 days of yoga ... And as soon as I write that I have to acknowledge that it's yet more evidence of my tendency to hope for quick fixes when I know that it's long term consistency that makes the difference. I guess I'm always tempted to do these things as a kick start to consistency ...

Personal Training - Won't be appearing on my updates any more. I think, actually, that my personal trainer has done a bunk and disappeared on me. I told him I would be taking a break after when our current series ends but he seems to have skipped on me. No matter. I'd rather do an extra Bikram class anyway.

Reading - I've been skimming around in old favourite writers this week: Muriel Spark and Alice Thomas Ellis and Vita Sackville West.

Films - I'm looking forward to seeing The Girl Who Played with Fire (sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

I gained weight this week

2010-08-21T20:17:00.000+01:00

Eating

In the lead up to, during and after the trip to Manchester last week led to a period of eating lots of cooked food. And so I've gained weight. It's not rocket science ...

Exercise

Better news to report this week:

Bikram Yoga - Tuesday and Thursday

Personal Training - scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday)

Reading

As well as quite a bit of MBA reading, this week I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. You've probably heard of it already. It was one of those amazone.com recommendations ... It's set in 1962 in Jackson, Mississippi, and tells the stories of a group of women (black maids and the white women they work for). What would happen if the white women knew what their black maids really think of them? The power imbalances are incredible and the risks of telling the truth are enormous. According to Wikipedia critics have questioned Stockett's use of the African vernacular for the maids and not doing the same for the white women. Can a white woman really understand a black maid's experience? It is, on the whole, an uplifting experience to read this book and I'm not at all surprised to hear that it's currently being made into a film.

Off to Manchester

2010-08-13T08:53:00.000+01:00

This has been SUCH a busy week at work and now I'm off to Manchester for a 4 day residential course as part of an MBA I'm doing through work. I'm looking for my motivation as I type.

Bikram Yoga: Monday
Personal Training: no

A light exercise, low raw week but I did clear my office and my desk at work and that has left me feeling light as a feather from that point of view.

I've been reading a lot about juice feasting over at rawfoodrehab this week and am really tempted to do a juice feast. I'm definitely due a really good clear out. Penni Shelton has a new book coming out that might well be just the thing to get me going on this ...

Have you juice feasted?
Are you juice feasting?
Will you juice feast?

Eat Pray Love

2010-08-07T22:54:00.002+01:00

This week I read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert on my iPad. Yes, it's that book that documents her journey (after a dreadful divorce and a disastrous rebound affair) to Italy (in search of love), India (in search of prayer) and Indonesia (Bali, in search of balance). I have to say I loved this book (I love my iPad too). Who doesn't need more balance in their lives? This is one of those books which quite possibly has a quote for everybody who reads it. I think the quote for me right now in my life is this:

"all the sorrow and trouble of this world [her friend Darcey tells her] is caused by unhappy people. Not only in the big global Hitler-'n'-Stalin picture, but also on the smallest personal level. Even in my own life [Gilbert says and I agree with her], I can see exactly where my episodes of unhappiness have brought suffering or distress or (at the very least) inconvenience to those around me. The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people."

So, we might as well be hopeful, don't you think?

This leads nicely into my Boris bike lesson. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, has introduced a rent-a-bike scheme in central London. That's him next to a fleet of new bikes on the left. It's based on similar schemes in Paris, Montreal, Melbourne, Boston, Washington and Minneapolis ...

What I LOVE about this scheme is how friendly it makes Londoners! I had a cycling lesson on Thursday evening and as I don't own a bike I used one of the rental bikes: I loved that there was so much friendly curiosity. Long may it continue ...

Bikram Yoga: Tuesday and Wednesday

Boris Bike Lesson near Regent's Park: Thursday evening

Personal Training: Scheduled for Sunday afternoon

Raw food: very low this week. I gained a pound ... but I'm hopeful for next week :-)

Time to refocus

2010-07-31T10:15:00.001+01:00

It's been an exhausting week (both work and study) and this has meant some food indulgence/comfort eating. Neutral in terms of weight loss and gain (thank goodness for exercise) but the coming week is an opportunity to refocus on healthy eating.

Bikram Yoga: Monday and Friday

Personal Training: No session this week

The Rebound

This week we went to see Catherine Zeta Jones in The Rebound. Catherine is 40 and falls in love with a younger man (25). You get the picture. There's some rather down to earth humour to balance the otherwise simple romance. It's a charming film and Catherine is particularly good at humour. The children are great: we especially liked their unsentimental curiosity when they think their mother may have died during the night (the daughter speculates that she may have choked on her own vomit) ... Love conquers all but it's still more difficult for a woman to date a younger man than it is for a man to date a younger woman - perhaps that's because the woman as lead must still be nice.

It's just a number

2010-07-25T08:20:00.001+01:00

Thank you for your comments about our naughty cats. They really are more wonderful than ghastly and they definitely have minds of their own.

Fruit Soup
On Monday night after an exhausting yoga session I stumbled home to make this restorative fruit soup. To make 2 large servings ... Blend together 4 dates, 1 tblspn maca, 1 tblspn bee pollen, 1 tspn camu camu, lots of spinach, a punnet of strawberries, 1 banana and a little water in the vitamix to make the soup. Pour into bowls and top with blueberries and raspberries. It was so easy and so good!

Yesterday lovely Penni complemented me on a couple of pounds lost in her RawFoodRehab group and asked me if I had an ultimate weight loss goal in mind. My immediate and instinctive answer was 154 pounds (11 stone): 17 pounds to lose. But, really, it's just a number. I can see that I've still got weight to lose but I can also see that I'm gaining muscle strength through my yoga and personal training sessions.

Bikram Yoga Sunday and Monday
Personal Training Saturday

Meanwhile, we went to see Inception at the O2 Cinema on an enormous screen. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a man versed in the technology of extracting information from people's minds when they're in a dream state. To see his children again he must succeed in the even more difficult task of inception (planting an idea in someone's mind). IMDb gives it 9.3/10. I definitely enjoyed it, but I suspect I would have enjoyed it more had I been into computer games. The technical brilliance of it was a little relentless at times.

Naughty cats and weightloss

2010-07-18T18:39:00.001+01:00

This is a photo of Egypt Puddie (the darker one) and India Puddha (the lighter one). Don't they look sweet? They're actually two of the naughtiest cats I've ever met. Puddha mercilessly attacks one arm of the sofa and Puddie doesn't go to the toilet in the litter tray ... It's just as well we love them.

This first week in the new Raw Food Rehab has not been as raw as it could have been. I seemed to be finding myself in lots of catered sandwich situations without having planned an alternative. Still, I lost 2 pounds this week, so I haven't done too badly.

Bikram Yoga: Tuesday and Thursday and Sunday
Personal training: Saturday

In this coming week I want to eat fewer cashews (I've been eating lots of cashews and raisins lately) and more green smoothies!
Wishing you a great week :-)

Day 1 of 77: Raw Food Rehab

2010-07-10T22:04:00.000+01:00

Today begins day one of 77 days at raw food rehab and it's been quite a good start in very hot London . . .

Breakfast: raisins, dates and cashews
Lunch: spinach, watercress, rocket, pea greens, avocado & grilled artichoke salad
Afternoon smoothie: strawberries, banana, blackberries, coconut water, maca & wheatgrass powder
Dinner: broccoli, red cabbage, green bean, avocado, hummus, sundried tomatoes, capers salad with a dressing of toasted sesame seed oil, balsamic vinegar & chilli
Dessert: cashews, raisins, bee pollen, cacao nibs and banana drizzled with agave

Bikram Yoga: Monday and Tuesday
Personal training: scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday)

Enjoy :-)

Bikram and Personal Training???

2010-07-04T10:53:00.000+01:00

Happy Independence Day weekend if you're reading this in America :-)

If you're reading this in the UK you've still got until the end of Tuesday 6 July to enter Girl on Raw's UK Give Away ...

There's no particular photo to go with this post so I thought I'd share this picture of a beautiful snail I took near our house a few weeks ago. I love the spiral pattern!

Okay, so this was a low exercise week. The excuse I used at the time was that I was too busy: on Wednesday I went out for dinner with friends and on Thursday I was working outside London) but it was also a case of poor time management and motivation: on Monday and Friday ...

Bikram Yoga: Tuesday
Personal Training Saturday

However a new week beckons and I can certainly do better!

One question in my mind is whether I should continue with the personal training. The yoga is very challenging and also feels healing. The personal training often leaves me in pain (of the Jane Fonda no pain no gain variety) and sometimes actually hurting (this week I hurt my ankle). So I'm wondering if I would be better off finishing the personal training series early and doing an extra Bikram Yoga class instead ...

Raw Food this week? Not sure. Certainly not more than 50%

Meanwhile I'm gearing up for the next round of Raw Food Rehab that starts on 10 July and ends on my birthday, 24 September! How high raw can I stay for those 77 days? It's a good time of year to aim as high as possible :-)

Pounds and Inches

2010-06-27T13:23:00.002+01:00

So this week finished the current 11 week challenge on Raw Food Rehab. I haven't been anywhere near 100% raw and that may explain why I only lost a pound or two. However the good news is that I did lose nearly 4 inches on my measurements (chest, waist, hips). Not bad. The new challenge starts in July so this time I'll be going for weight loss and reduced measurements as well! I've been reading the recipes in the kitchen area on the site so all I have to do is get organised enough to work it into every day :-)

Yoga this week: Monday, Friday and Sunday
Personal Training: had to reschedule
Raw food: 60%?

Based on Nelly's Farinata

2010-06-20T20:48:00.000+01:00

I saw a fabulous recipe for a farinata at Nelly's site the other day and couldn't resist trying it. Though, as often happens, the recipe below is an adaption influenced by ingredients I had in the fridge. The red bits of the recipe are where I go off piste from Nelly's recipe

olive oil (enough to cover bottom of oven proof skillet)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups chickpea flour
Juice of 1 small lemon and some grated rind
1 garlic clove minced or pressed
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
1 grated courgette (zucchini) - because it was there

Directions

In a bowl, thoroughly mix chickpea flour, salt, garlic, pepper, chilli flakes
lemon juice, rind and water.
Let mixture sit 1 to 4 hours (or overnight). (I did 4 hours)

Preheat oven to 435 degrees (I have celsius and did 200 degrees)

In a pie plate (or skillet), pour enough olive oil into the pan to generously cover the bottom.
I preheated the skillet and oil in the oven before I added the batter.

Pour batter into skillet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. The pancake is done when it pulls away from the sides of the skillet and has a nice golden brown colour.
Remove from oven and devour!

I served it with a salad made from gem lettuce, red peppers, avocado, peas, sesame seeds and grated carrot. The dressing was lime juice and olive oil.

I think it would have been better without the courgette but it was still delicious! Thanks Nelly! :-)

Please Give (2010)

2010-06-20T15:25:00.000+01:00

Please Give is a compelling character piece which centres around a New York couple who make a living buying dead people's furniture from disinterested relatives and then selling it on for huge amounts of money in their 10th Avenue store. We join them at a time in their lives when they are waiting for the woman next door to die so that they can knock through and make the apartment of their dreams. Guilt about privilege, the politics of marriage, loss, karma, loneliness and the connectedness. It's all there. Definitely worth seeing.

IMDb gives it 7.3/10 and Rotten Tomatoes rates it 88% I'd say 4 out of 5 stars :-)

Have you seen any famous people lately?

2010-06-19T09:54:00.000+01:00

I saw Leona Lewis on Friday of last week (not last night). She was leaving Mildreds (vegetarian restaurant in Soho) with what must have been her minder and some people. Very discreet and beautifully put together ... It's funny the number of famous people who pass by on the streets of central London.

This week, once again, I haven't lost any weight. Surely it can't all be muscle gain from hot yoga and personal training. I must be over compensating with my eating ... I certainly had cravings - and satisfied them - for toasted bagels with butter and marmite for breakfast several times. Perhaps I'll have to try a week of 100% raw :-)

Bikram Yoga: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
Personal Training: Saturday
Percentage Raw: 60%

Before & After

2010-06-12T19:57:00.002+01:00

Hello! I hope you've all had good weeks and are either enjoying or successfully avoiding the World Cup. I'm in the avoiding camp. No, this is not about before and after weight loss: I'm talking hair cuts. For the last 5 years I've been experimenting with long hair: both shoulder length and different types of short on the bottom and long on top styles. Today I went to the barbers (I've not been to a barber in I don't know how many years) and opted for a number 4 crop! What do you think? It's certainly a change and will be much easier to deal with, especially at yoga. Other updates:

Bikram Hot Yoga: Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Personal Training: Saturday
Raw Food: About 70 percent this week
Weight: Still steady at 171 lbs (12 stone 3 lbs) but I'm still feeling thinner and stronger

I'm feeling thinner . . .

2010-06-06T17:50:00.003+01:00

Today I'm a bit flaked out. This week I've done more exercise that I have in years: 6 hot yoga classes and a personal training session. Actually I think I've rather over done it but I'm planning to do 4 hot yoga classes and a personal training session each week for the next 3 months. Surely by then I will be transformed :-)

Clearly I'm someone who is vulnerable to the hope of high speed transformation. That said, I do of course know that real benefit in anything comes from consistent practice. Fortunately the yoga in particular seems to encourage me to eat lightly and I'm sure this will help as well.

In the meantime I want to remember these thoughts from Damon Davies in a hot yoga weight loss discussion thread on Facebook:

"Even if you have excess fat, and your kilograms increase on the scale after a month of Bikram classes, I wouldn't worry. Muscle is being built! The excess fat will shed in time. Keep in mind, though, that not everyone will be wonderfully rock-rippled. If you're one of those people who feels they are improving skill-wise, but not looks wise, perhaps it's more a question of how you see and feel about yourself, rather than your actual looks ;)"

"Pay attention to how you FEEL. Not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Watch your concentration, patience, and general overall sense of well-being improve. Watch how you go from hating to get up and move to hating to sit down. Watch how you stop getting angry at trivial things, and watch how you somehow become a generally happier person. Latch onto these things - it's THIS that will get you through to the end. (End of what - that's up to you) Having a perfect physique or trying to achieve a certain number of kilograms is an elusive and sometimes devastating goal. If you are an overweight person watch how painlessly the weight falls off when you dedicate yourself to your practice and your own happiness and not some external image."

Bikram Yoga

2010-05-30T16:36:00.000+01:00

Starting today I've got a week off from work. I need to do some reading for my course and write an essay but other than that I want a project and it's time to turn it up a notch.

Bikram Yoga offer 10 days unlimited access when you first start for £20 so that seems like a good deal. I went to my first class today and am looking forward to my next class tomorrow :-)

Bad Lieutenant

2010-05-23T21:32:00.000+01:00

We went to see Nicolas Cage in Bad Lieutenant today. Generally speaking it seems to be getting good reviews. I could see that it was well made, but I was a little bored much of the time.

I'd rate it 2 stars = It was okay.

IMDb rates it 7 out of 10 and Rotten Tomatoes rate it 75%

Sunny Days

2010-05-23T21:19:00.000+01:00

More goslings! We now have quite a few geese families living near us. There are moor hens as well. They grow so quickly. Although this shot shows a rather sitting gosling, they are often to be seen picking about for who knows what kind of sustenance in the grasses growing on the bank of the lake. Maybe it's because we're not quite sure what geese eat that people will insist on feeding the bits of stale bread. Why do they do that?

This has been our first truly warm weekend in the UK this year. We made the most of it: personal training session outside, a 3.5 km run and several long walks.

Eyes Wide Open

2010-05-22T20:43:00.000+01:00

5 stars = This was really fabulous, amazing, something special and I loved it!

We finally made it to see Eyes Wide Open today which is on very limited release here in the UK. We loved it. It's a very quiet and by no means a happy film: claustrophobic, sombre, full of longing and grim. The bathing lake is about the only beautiful place in the film. Ran Danker (who plays Ezri) is very beautiful. Everyone else seems rather deliberately unattractive, though Zohar Strauss (who plays the older man) definitely becomes younger and more attractive as his sense of freedom grows with his love for Ezri. Of course it all ends rather unhappily, which is no surprise given attitudes towards the pursuit of personal happiness and homosexuality and watching television and ... in orthodox judaism. So, on the whole, it's a sad film with moments of hope and definitely worth seeing.

Goslings & Flowers

2010-05-18T07:21:00.000+01:00

I passed by these vibrant flowers on my way home from work

Sorry about the poor quality picture. I wish my iPhone camera could zoom more. Under those wings are 4 goslings having an evening snooze