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Better Raw in Simply Beautiful magazine [October Issue 13]

Posted by 2 · October 02, 2011

Hello beautiful people!

This month I had an amazing privilege being interviewed by Simply Beautiful magazine and I guess what!?.. They asked all those questions, that you too have been asking!

Thanks so much to all who wrote me about the article. To those who have gone to all your nearest WHSmith Bookstores only to find it sold out, here is the scoop...

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Articles
Meals

Feeling crappy?

Posted by 2 · August 31, 2011

I'm a total junkie when it comes to motivational posters, super girlie when it comes to quotes, large appreciator of fun forwarded emails and the biggest believer in that it's the smallest things in life which make you happiest.

Now that you know this about me, I'm ready to reveal my secrets! Don't tell anyone :) , but this is what I call my Magic Etiquette/ my Happiness Project/ the Tanya Protocol on how I like to live my life...

Eat like you want to live for ever, live like there's no tomorrow
Drink water from a wine glass
Always have a mopped floor and vacuumed rugs
Own at least one painting you know the whole history on
Wake up being grateful
Fall asleep being grateful
Smile at a stranger for no reason (grin if they don't respond)
Have a blender/juicer take up the most prominent part of your kitchen
Take regular walks
Re-read your favourite book of all time
Admit that you've been wrong
Cherish silence. Just listen. Shhh...
Always have clean hands and nails
Stretch often
Think of those that matter to you and truly wish for them something you know they really want
Be specific when giving a compliment
Have a favourite snack recipe and always the ingredient for it in stock
If looking at a photo that doesn't bring you joy and take you back to that moment, bin it
Own pot plants, many of them

Recent trip to Rome. Felt amazing energies at St Peter's Basilica

Write a list of all that upset you, forgive them individually, burn the list
Always keep a clean kitchen bench
Call someone out of the blue
Remember what it was like being 5 years old
Look forward to your birthday and celebrate with joy
Love the body you've been gifted, no other has the same
Think of the real reason why you eat and love your food for that
Go to the park and blow bubbles
Be on time. No, be early
Detox often- your wardrobe, your desk, your body
Say hello to a tree. It also likes hugs
Buy a product/ brand/ food you are not familiar with
Love for no reason, carry on loving for many
Meet a new person each week
Show real interest in people
Thank the bus driver
Sing out loud
Make a healthy treat and share it with a neighbour you've never met
Take a different route to work
Enrol in a random class
Love herbal tea
Remember to breathe

Think I'm a geek yet? Just wait till I rock up with the rest of the list, this is just what I have in memory right now. Do you have a Happiness Rule you go by? A favourite quote? I'd love to hear it in the comments...

Cherish your own hopes and dreams... even when noone else believes in you

My top 25 in one image

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Lush Escapes- Luxury Raw Food & Yoga Retreat is happening again!

Posted by 2 · August 12, 2011

Today is a TWO months anniversary since the stunning cute and lovely Colby Hanks of Kinetic Studios and I held our first ever Lush Escapes Retreat.

Lush Escapes is a luxury (oh yes luxury, we wouldn't have it any other way!) Raw Food and Yoga weekend retreat, which we designed specifically for those individuals wishing to get away to tranquillity but be involved in a stimulating program at the same time.

"Fun, energising, relaxing, and enjoyable weekend away from the hustle and bustle of daily life and a chance to relax in beautiful surroundings with like minded people" -Anita, Ireland

In June we escaped to the deluxe lodges set amongst a forest and a meditation centre of Yorkshire. Even on a rainy day, it all looked completely serene and picture perfect.

We were blessed with a group of truly amazing people- sisters, friends, married couple, singles, those with health challenges, and those in top health, many complete beginners to yoga or raw food, some that already practice yoga on a daily basis, some that study nutrition, and two beauties even flew over from California especially for Lush Escapes.

"I’ve done and overcome more in the past 3 days than the last 12 years... Tanya and Colby made me feel so positive and relaxed." - Laura, Wales

The program consisted of divine mocktails and canapés on arrival Friday evening, followed by a get to know each other session and voluntary Zumba. Both Saturday and Sunday included energising morning yoga and digestion boosting evening yoga. The raw food sessions were all workshop based, which included a selection of my top signature classes, where you got to learn all about the nutrition and the making of every drink, breakfast, meal and dessert. Yummy!

“Life-changing and life-enhancing. We picked up loads of new food recipes and ideas. The food was amazing and there was plenty of it; we were never hungry!” – Lynne & Roger, Yorkshire

We had awesome surprise challenges, group activities, educational dvd evenings, a crazy mask night, plenty of free time for hot tubs and exploring walks, even an unplanned Reiki session. I’ll tell you what was tough though... saying goodbye on Monday morning!

We all turned up as ourselves, individuals from all walks of life and left not only inspired to create a healthy lifestyle, but having formed solid friendships. We are all still in contact on a regular basis and that’s not about to change...

"I arrived depleted and emotionally empty. Within a few hours I felt revived and my energy, strength, spirit and happiness increased rapidly throughout the weekend. I recommend Lush Escapes to everyone!" -Michelle, Australia

This Autumn, we want to do it all over again!! And this time, it will be our final retreat for an entire year. What do you think? Will you join us?

The new location is a mansion house in Woodbridge, Suffolk and Oh My, when I say luxury, I mean luxury! You will absolutely relish in the extravagant rooms and hallways, bedroom suites, magnificent dining setting and a delicious kitchen (yes I want to eat it!)

It is just 1,5 hours from London by train and we’ve even got transfers from the station covered. Just bring comfy clothes and a toothbrush (well that’s your choice) and let us take care of the rest!

And if that wasn’t enough of good news... you may still be eligible for Early Bird Savings! Are you still here? Oh good you are already checking out http://www.lushescapes.co.uk/ :)

Hope to hear from you soon and CAN NOT wait to meet you!

Too much Love,

Tanya Alekseeva

PS If you can’t quite wait till 16^th September, Colby and I are running our popular 1 Day City Retreat on Sunday 21^st August. It is an absolute steal of a deal for a full day of Raw Food and Yoga for Beginners, take a look

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Articles
Detox

The Getting Back to Basics Green Juice and 15 Health Benefits of Turmeric

Posted by 2 · August 09, 2011

It’s now been exactly 10 days since Elliot and moved into our new London home and we’ve been loving every minute of unpacking, unwrapping, hanging paintings, assembling, reorganising, filling shelves, exploring our new neighbourhood, parks, transport routes, gyms and leisure facilities.

So much excitement comes with starting fresh, but I decided I am definitely no fan of packing. How is it possible to accumulate so much crap in just 2 years of living in UK, that four strong men were necessary for the move?

So what my last two weeks have been all about is de-cluttering, deciding, re-thinking, throwing away, recycling, giving away, letting go and getting back to basics.

This week’s recipe fits the theme precisely ...

THE GETTING BACK TO BASICS GREEN JUICE

I have contemplated a little about even posting it, because it is just TOO simple. You’ve all had a Kale, Cucumber and Apple juice, right? Or am I being totally ignorant to assume so?

I love this juice, because even though all three ingredients are combined, there is a perfect balance of each to still taste them individually and that is a really good thing when you’ve been over complicating recipes for a really long time to the point of exhausting your taste buds.

1 Apple

½ Cucumber

1 Bunch Kale

½ tsp Turmeric powder

-Juice all ingredients apart of turmeric

-Stir the turmeric in before serving

Polly Noble came over for some juice and planning (just wait till you hear what it is we are planning for you!!! So exciting! Toooo exciting!!!) and I knew she wouldn’t just handle it, but love it...though don’t say I didn’t warn you about Turmeric in your drinks...

The taste may be a tad overwhelming at first, but you do get used to it (maybe add an extra apple to start) and just take a look at why I make this magical Indian Saffron spice a necessary part of my diet...

15 HEALTH BENEFITS OF TURMERIC

1. Bright yellow pigment contains curcumin, which is an active compound with anti inflammatory actions

2. Similar effect to anti- inflammatory drugs but without the side effects

3. A natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent

4. Good for disinfecting cuts, bruises and burns and speeds up the healing process

5. An amazing natural liver detoxifier, improving liver function

6. Helps remove amyloidal plaque build-up in brain, so praised for preventing Alzheimer’s disease

7. Helps with weight management due to its powerful fat metabolism effects

8. Amazing for treatment of inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis and acne

9. Best known for treating arthritis

10. A potent natural painkiller

11. Reduces the risk of childhood leukaemia and been shown to stop growth of new blood vessels in tumours

12. Really good for your stomach, calming gastric problems

13. Turmeric and onions combined are known to help prevent colon cancer

14. Turmeric and cauliflower combined are known to prevent Prostate cancer

15. Prevents oxidation of cholesterol, preventing your cardiovascular system

Some Turmeric straight out of the spice jar anyone?

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Sprouting Chart and Guidelines

Posted by 2 · August 03, 2011

Sprouted Adzuki beans

Hey there!

You may have seen my outrage on Facebook yesterday about losing internet connection for an entire day. It hit me like a brick. Yes, it was painful. I thought I was experiencing serious Detox symptoms during my heavy metal detox a while back, but I really had noooo idea what was coming my way when all of a sudden the phone signal AND wifi went bust!

Sprouted wheat

I’ve done ‘internet fast’ challenges in the past and got great pleasure out of it actually, but this time it was completely involuntary, more like a shock, as I simply was not prepared. Somewhere between tearing hair out of my head and freaking out like a mad woman, I finally saw something clearly...

Sprouted Alfalfa

I got my wish! For months now I’ve been dreaming about an opportunity to sit down without any interruptions, go over the stacks of notes from various courses to refresh, gather information that has been piling up, de-clutter to make room for learning more aaaaand make a Sprouting Chart for you too!!...

Sprouted Quinoa

Am I that boring, when THIS is what I’ve been dreaming of? I can’t tell you what a liberating feeling it is to turn a ‘catastrophe’ into an opportunity. Despite a whole day of ‘work’ being lost, I now feel more on top of work, than I have for a long time. Success!

Now... back to that Sprouting Chart...

Raw dry buckwheat

I get so many emails asking instructions on sprouting- Are grains ok? What kinds of seeds? What should water temperature be? How long to soak? How often to rinse? When to harvest? How much to measure?

Sprouted Fenugreek

Finally I managed to squeeze it all down into one simple table. It really is that simple. It only took me a whole day J But now you and I can refer back to this page for ever and ever. Double Success!

GENERAL SPROUTING GUIDELINES

ü Soak all seeds in glass/ceramic/stainless bowl in pure water

ü Feed soaking water to house plants (they thrive on it!) and rinse seeds well

ü Sprout in covered colander/ sprouting bag/ cheese cloth/ jar with mesh

ü Rinse (or water if growing greens in trays) with pure water every 12 hours

ü As a general guideline the sprout length should be roughly the same or twice as big as the seed, (exception: small vegetable seeds will be many times longer and green shoots will be 10cm from the soil)

ü Note, that I have experimented with all these sprouts in UK indoors and at steady semi-dry temperatures of around 23degrees C. Where it is warmer and drier, required sprouting time may double

SPROUTING CHART

Variety	Dry Measure	Yield	Soaking time	Sprouting time	Notes

NUTS
All, but peanuts	1 Cup	1 3/4 C	12 hrs	0 hrs	Soak in cool water, will store 3 weeks in fruidge if in water

SEEDS
Sunflower, hulled	1 Cup	2 Cups	4 hrs	12-24 hrs	Soak in cool water, store dry in fridge
Pumpkin, hulled	1 Cup	1 3/4 C	4 hrs	12-24 hrs	Soak in cool water, store dry in fridge
Sesame, hulled	1 Cup	1 1/2 C	4 hrs	6-12 hrs	Soak in cool water. Do not sprout for longer, they'll be bitter
Buckwheat, hulled	1 Cup	1 3/4 C	1-4 hrs	12-24 hrs	Soak in cool water. Buy Raw groats only

BEANS/ LEGUMES
Lentils	1/2 Cup	2 Cups	12 hrs	3 days	Soak in very warm water to convert starches to complex sugars
Chickpeas / Garbanzo	1/2 Cup	2 Cups	12 hrs	3 days	Soak in very warm water initially. Complete protein
Adzuki	1/2 Cup	4 Cups	12 hrs	4 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Mung	1/2 Cup	4 Cups	12 hrs	3 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Lima/ Pinto/ White/ Red	1/2 Cup	2 Cups	12 hrs	3 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Green peas	1/2 Cup	1 1/2 C	12 hrs	3 days	Soak in very warm water initially

GRAINS
Wheat/ Kamut	1 Cup	3 Cups	6 hrs	2 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Spelt	1 Cup	3 Cups	6 hrs	2 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Rye	1 Cup	3 Cups	6 hrs	2 days	Soak in very warm water initially
Barley	1 Cup	2 1/2 C	6 hrs	12 hrs	Soak in very warm water initially. Doesn't sprout
Corn	1/2 Cup	2 Cups	12 hrs	2 days	Soak in very warm water initially

ALKALIZING GRAINS
Quinoa	1 Cup	3 Cups	3-6 hrs	24 hrs	Soak in very warm water initially. Most calcium
Millet	1 Cup	3 Cups	6 hrs	12 hrs	Soak in very warm water initially. Most alkalizing of grains
Amaranth	1 Cup	3 Cups	3-6 hrs	24 hrs	Soak in very warm water initially
Teff	1 Cup	3 Cups	3-6 hrs	24 hrs	Soak in very warm water initially

SMALL VEGETABLES
Alfalfa	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water
Cabbage	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water
Clover	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water
Kale	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water
Mustard	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water. Spicy
Radish	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water. Spicy
Turnip	3 Tbsp	4 Cups	6 hrs	4 days	Soak in cool water
Fenugreek	1/4 Cup	4 Cups	6-12 hrs	5 days	Soak in cool water. Dissolves mucous

GREENS/ SHOOTS
Wheatgrass	1 Cup	1 tray	12 hrs	7-10 days	Sprinkle over dirt in tray, see more
Sunflower greens	1 Cup	1 tray	12 hrs	7-10 days	Sprinkle over dirt in tray, see more
Snow pea shoots	1 Cup	1 tray	24 hrs	7-10 days	Sprinkle over dirt in tray, see more
Buckwheat lettuce	1 Cup	1 tray	12 hrs	7-10 days	Sprinkle over dirt in tray, see more

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