About me

My Raw Food Journey

My journey into the raw vegan world has been a slow and natural transition over the years. It actually spans all my adult life; I have thought about a healthy lifestyle as far back as I can remember. Many people embrace this raw food diet for specific reasons, often the need to recover from illness or wanting to lose weight. These reasons can be a great motivation for changing your eating habits.

However I had none of these reasons, each change to my eating habits has been simply because it felt ‘right’ at the time, on a very deep level. We can all take a different path to gain the same end result, that is, a life full of joy and radiance and supreme health.

The first major step on my journey began in 1981 when I and my family became vegetarian. By studying how and what we should eat I developed an avid interest in whole foods and natural ingredients. My interest grew over the years and due to my daughter Catherine’s ongoing illness (later found to be chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia) I became interested in food intolerances. I was amazed at what effect certain foods had on the body e.g. wheat, dairy products, additives etc. During the 80’s I worked in a local health food shop where I developed a rapport with customers helping them with various health problems that were associated with food. I soon realised, even then, that it went further than people being intolerant to foods, that perhaps none of our bodies were designed for these particular food types.

Although I was healthy and well myself, I continued to observe my own eating habits and wanted to refine my intake of food. As the years passed I naturally started to leave out wheat, dairy, animal fats and oils, and sugars simply because it felt right and I functioned better without them. However I had little knowledge of exactly why they weren’t healthy foods, and more importantly, what to replace them with.

In 2000 my son Stewart met his girlfriend Max Tuck and when I heard about her raw food diet I was very interested. It seemed a natural progression from what I was already doing and Max, a Hippocrates Health Educator was very inspiring. So I read books and went to talks on the subject to gain as much knowledge as possible. I slowly introduced green juices and raw foods into my diet and over a period of years became ‘almost raw’. That is, I would still eat cooked foods if we dined out and occasionally at home. I was very happy and relaxed about how I was eating and felt great.

My reason for becoming completely raw

In 2004 I developed pleurisy (due to a stressful period at the time). Normally this serious infection is treated with massive doses of antibiotics and painkillers but after years of no stimulants of any sort in my body I had no intention of polluting myself with drugs. My decision to say no to medication was not that difficult. Catherine and Stewart came to look after me as they were both ‘raw foodists’ and my husband did not have enough knowledge. They fed me with green juices to begin with progressing to a high raw green diet until I recovered. The pleurisy disappeared very quickly without any medication.

Once I was well, cured totally by raw green food, I made a very easy decision to go 100% raw. I had a very clear thought – why would I ever want to put cooked food inside me again. So it doesn’t take discipline for me to eat this way, as I said earlier, its easier to change your eating habits when you truly want to, not because you should.

My role as a raw food coach

Having trained as a raw food coach in 2007 with Karen Knowler, I now look forward to sharing my passion with you; of giving you the knowledge which helped me to become excited about this lifestyle. I am not a nutritionist, I do not pretend to be a scientist and I do not profess to have medical knowledge. What I do have to offer however is years of experience of actually living the raw food lifestyle. I have continued studying the subject, reading and attending seminars purely for the joy of gaining more knowledge. I also have years of experience in helping people in all aspects of their lives. I am a good listener and treat everyone as an individual, offering practical advice and emotional support. Most importantly, as a raw food coach I can demonstrate how changing eating habits need not be a struggle.

It’s this psychological aspect that I truly want to help people with, to help them understand themselves better so they can take the battle out of life. The problem with most people is that the intellectual head says a certain food is wrong but the indulgent part of the brain doesn’t agree. The intellect may win by saying how unhealthy the food is but deep down inside the person is not really ready to change. This is why so many people end up being tempted back to cooked food.

The secret is knowing oneself, being able to be totally honest deep down inside. I encourage people to observe themselves, watch the food they eat and watch the effect of these foods on their body. By this continued observation they will find that they eventually don’t want the foods that have adverse effect and will choose the foods that make them feel good. I do however have empathy with people with a more addictive nature; I’m always non judgemental in my approach and can help them find their own path on this journey.

You can see that knowledge is necessary for any progress; knowledge of practical matters but also knowledge of one’s self. I look forward to supporting you in all these aspects and helping you find the motivation and discipline needed to obtain the joy and radiance which the raw food lifestyle offers.