Raw Update

Hey lovely folk, Just an update on being raw as a family for a week. Well Jez and I are on Day Five and feeling pretty fantastic. I started introducing cooked foods again for my children on day three because I didn't think that raw was really working for them. They ate loads of fruit, a bit of seaweed and quite a few raw veggie crudites but my youngest in particular was not keen to try anything more complex so when they started to get hungry I made some soup and the next day jacket potatoes and so on (they are now eating raw for two meals and cooked at lunchtime).

Making mylk One of the most successful things has been hazelnut mylk which I make fresh every morning by blending two handfuls of hazelnuts (that have been soaked overnight with two dates) with about a pint and a half of water. I drain this for a lovely creamy mylk to accompany raw granola. 1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked 1/2 cup agave syrup 1 cup almonds, soaked 1/2 cup raisins (not usually raw as they are coated in oil, so omit if on a strict raw diet) 1/2 cup hemp seeds 1/2 cup flax seeds 1/2 cup coconut flakes Put all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until well mixed and nuts and seeds are broken down a bit. Put into dehydrator overnight. If you don't have a dehydrator - put in the oven on lowest heat with the door open for an hour or so (although environmentally this is a bit of a disasterous use of energy!)

Crisps and other snacks We have also dehydrated parsnip and courgette crisps which went down well and made tomato nachos by blending five tomatoes in a food processor and dehyrating the mixture. When ready I broke it into triangle pieces and we have them with sprouted chickpea humous (which is made in just the same way as normal humous, just with sprouted chickpeas instead). Mains and salads Vegetable pasta (peelings of carrot and courgette) has featured prominently either with raw tomato sauce or spinach pesto. Am going to try nettle pesto as well this week. I have become addicted to a brassica leaf mix (finely chopped with a hemp seed dressing), available from the local farmer's market and have had to phone the lovely farmer who grows it to ask if I can go and pick up some more because I've run out and have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days! Detoxing and cleansing One of the things that has struck me is that we have all gone through a detoxing phase and that I have been so anxious about how everyone else is feeling, what they need to eat etc that I have not been able to tune into my own detox at all. I love fasting and doing equinox and solstice cleanses so will probably carry this through into next week and do a Master Cleanse to finish the clearing out. Oh, and clearing out has been another good thing to come out of this going raw experiment. I have taken lots of things to charity and done some regifting of books and clothes. Will keep you updated with our progress!