If you've been reading this blog for a while and had to bet on whether I do book reviews or not, you could confidently bet on 'not' and win. 


I'm pretty happy with my modest collection of raw food recipe and nutrition tomes, but I also know that if I was to start reviewing each one, it could quickly turn into a full time activity. (Don't know how my coaching clients would feel about that.) 


And theeeen....
I hear Amber Shea Crawley is releasing a book! Instantly I knew that once it's out, I'll happily smudge my own rules and do what ever I can for a girl, who over the past two years has become one of my closest virtual friends ever! And that's a big call.


Scroll to the bottom to read Amber Shea's professional bio, but I'm here to tell you what she never mentions in it...


Her blog Almost Vegan Chef is- hands clapping, tummy stitching, whole body bending, jaw aching, hiccup making- hilarious! I've been guilty of scaring Elliot with my random laughter outbursts while reading it, and not just once. And lucky me- my own eBooks Seduced and Festive have been featured in her giant, world-famous corner of vegan cyberspace.


So yes, I am a BIG fan of Amber's writing. This girl has such a poetic way with words, I found myself reading her brand new book Practically Raw- Flexible Raw Recipes Anyone Can Make, for hours. Yep just sitting there and reading RECIPES! I don't know about you, but I don't really think that's 'normal'. I mean I would usually flick, turn, return, skim, zip, and blink through pages of recipe books, but I actually found myself reading (and loving) Amber's, word for word. 


It is just jam packed with helpful tips, various options, mini stories, flexible suggestions and substitutions, that were revolutionary to me! The book is structured in the most easy to use way and each recipe begins with a lovely introduction about it by the author. A huge bunch of recipes come with instructions on making them both raw or cooked and there is an entire section devoted to KALE CHIPS! OMG!


I also had the time of my life finding out what new name Amber would assign to each of her snacks, meals, sweets and drinks. Here are some of my top favourites: Pizza Kale Chips, Cocoa Corruption Smoothie, Naansense Bread,  Famous Five-Minute Blondies, and Deconstructed Sushi Bowl. Pure awesomeness.


Oh and did I mention how cute she is?...



With well over a hundred incredible looking and sounding recipes to play with, I discovered I must have a group of chipmunks living inside my own head. Because why else would there be all kinds of little voices arguing over which recipe I ought to make first?

One got its way and if you remember my last post on a Three Course Raw Food Dinner, you might recall that winning choice! I just couldn't resist the sound of the ingredients in Sopes con Mole Poblano and Wooweeee Amber Shea Crawley The First- did you know what you were doing when you rocked up with this sensation!

My guests couldn't agree more!...

Practically Raw fans (from left): Riki, Elliot, Tanya, Britney

I served the Sopes with my Sauerkraut from the Raw Food 101 DVD. It is fermented and probiotic rich cabbage, which I also mixed with grated carrots and cucumbers for that summer touch. It complimented the recipe so well with a mix of flavours and textures, just irresistible to the taste buds.

Luckily for us all, Amber also happens to be the sweetest and most generous person, whom I didn't need to beg in order to share her special recipe with my readers. Let me know how much you also love it in the comments below and make sure to get the book here>>

It's so easy to eat raw food when the sun is out, isn't it? (Or at least that's what I keep hearing from you all winter long.) But I'll tell you what's not easy... that's rollerblading backwards!



Honestly I don't even remember the last time I rollerbladed forwards, before last Friday. Was it five years ago? Six? Seven? Times flies. Luckily for me, it's been just as long for Britney, in case you haven't guessed it yet by our intense safety gear!



We discovered a Skate Hire shop near Marble Arch tube and flew through hours of Hyde Park thrills. What a way to spend a Friday afternoon! Triple recommend to all!


Britney was also on my Acid Alkaline Breakthrough program with me, so we finished the day off with a pH balanced salad.


Recipe below:





For the salad
2 Large carrots
Big handful snow peas
1 Courgette/Zucchini
1 Sweet potato
1 Avocado
1 Mango
1 Kiwi fruit
1/2 Cucumber
Salad greens

For the dressing
1 Cup Brazil nut milk (made the same as Almond milk)
3 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Garlic clove
1/2 Red onion
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/3 tsp Himalayan salt

For the optional topping
My pesto (I made this one with soaked sunflower seeds instead of nuts)
Basil leaves

-Chop, slice, dice or spiral the salad ingredients any way you like to eat them (Hint: I make mine all kinds of shapes and sizes for more excitement- I spiralised the zucchini and sweet potato, thinly diced the carrots and snow peas into strips, and chopped the rest of ingredients into cubes).

-Blend all the dressing ingredients and pour them over salad in a large bowl. Mix.

-Serve with a side of fresh green leaves and top with optional pesto.

Last weekend I was very blessed to have been invited for a very special day of meditation at The Nutri Centre in Regent's Park. This gorgeous centre is one of the world's largest suppliers of nutritional products and my favourite wellbeing book store in London. They even stock my DVD Raw Food 101!

The day was lead by a wonderful spiritual guru Andrew Smith, who is the author of The Revolution of 2012- The Preparation and The Revolution of 2012- The Challenge.



We all brought with us a healthy treat for a shared lunch. I must admit I didn't even stop to contemplate on what my contribution was going to be. This recipe has been a hit in all of my Beginners to Raw Food Workshops, Retreats, and more recently on so many blogs across the internet raving about it after watching the DVD. The only regret I had was not being prepared enough to take a better picture of the salad to show to you guys here. The photo really does it no justice at all :)



For the Dressing/Dip
1 cup cashews, soaked 2-8 hours
1/2 cup pure water
1/2 red bell pepper/ capsicum, de-seeded and chopped
1/8 red onion (small slice)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp tahini
1 tsp himalayan salt
1 clove garlic

For the Salad
5 large carrots, shredded
optional: sundried tomatoes, adzuki bean sprouts, mung bean sprouts, lentil sprouts

-Blend cashews with water first
-Add the rest of ingredients and pulse until creamy (use the tamper of your Vitamix blender)
-Add a little more water if needed
-Put all the grated carrots into a large bowl, pour the sauce on top and mix it all in
-Transfer into a nice serving dish and sprinkle with the optional extras
-Nom nom nom


If you like this recipe, watch me demonstrate the making of it step-by-step, as well as another 19 super scrumptious recipes on my DVD Raw Food 101- Your first steps to the healthiest lifestyle ever. The DVD is divided into there chapters: Intro, Equipment, Smoothies vs Juices, Milks and Calcium, Superfoods, Sprouting, Fermenting, Dehydrating, Sauces and Flavours, Quick Meals, and Sweets. The recipes are of course all deliciously raw and include nut cheese, superfood shake, 'meat' balls and spaghetti bolognaise, crunchy granola, chia crackers, raw chocolate and many more!

First come Christmas festivities, then New Year's Eve celebrations, now what? We are well and truly into January, and if you are like many people I know- you are either on a Detox right now or are planning one for ASAP.

Swimming and jumping at Zamora falls, Ecuador with Alissa and Elliot

I keep getting asked whether there's any point for myself to do a detox when I eat so well all the time and whether I allowed myself to be naughty during the holidays. Well, I'll put your curious fairies to rest...

No, I did not have any turkey, I don't eat meat.
Yes, I've just been on a vacation with my family (photos here) and ate aeroplane food.
No, I don't consider it slipping up at Christmas when you eat Nutella that one time a year ("my guilt is more toxic than my food").
Yes, I prefer to eat raw and do the majority of the time.
No, I didn't start off loving it straight away and it took a good amount of time to detoxify the system, change my cravings, and discover a new appreciating for what real food is.
Yes, I believe Detox if for everyone, no matter what your diet is. A body needs a 'shake me up' and 'flush me out'.
No, I am not too cool to follow my own Detox program, in fact I am having this very recipe (below) for dinner tonight as I type this sentence!

in Vilcabamba with sister Alissa, mum Elena and dad Vladimir

Taken right out of the Luxury Section of 'Purified', this is the DAY FOUR Dinner Recipe...
[Purified is a 7 Day Detox Program which contains two menu plans- one for a Budget Detoxer and one for a Luxury Detoxer]
Zucchini (courgette) used here as spaghetti will surprise some of you, when you taste how satisfying it is eaten raw and not too different in taste to the actual processed wheat pasta variety, since it doesn’t have a strong taste. But it really is an amazing vegetable with anti-cancerous properties and high water content, making it an ideal detoxifier. The flaxseed oil is the richest source of Omega 3 fatty acids, that are vital for preventing many degenerative conditions, such as heart disease, but it also plays a big role in strengthening immunity. The addition of lime in this meal is not only for taste, but to improve metabolism and speed up the detox effect.

For the Pesto
1 Cup Basil, packed tightly
½ Cup Sundried tomatoes, soaked 1-4 hours
½ Cup Pine nuts
½ Cup Macadamia nuts
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Lime, juiced
2 Tbsp Flaxseed Oil

For the Pasta
1 Large Zucchini/ courgette

For the side
1 Cup Sauerkraut
1 Cup Spinach, packed

-Process all the Pesto ingredients in a food processor (Tip: stop to scrape down the sides of bowl often to make sure there are always ingredients covering the blade)
-Dice thinly or grate the zucchini, to make them as long as possible and resemble noodles (Tip: use a spiralizer if you have one)
-Assemble the spinach leaves first, then sauerkraut, then pasta and pesto on top


Do you like this recipe? How would you LOVE another 45? My downloadable eBook 'Purified- Your Complete 7 Days Detox Program' contains two menu plans- one for the Budget Detoxer and one for the Luxury Detoxer, a complete shopping list for each, a recipe for every meal (even snacks) and a little information (just as above) about the benefits in every meal you'll enjoy.

Remember my trip to The Valley of Longevity?
I'm baaack!

This time our whole family are together for the first time in over two years. And since it won't be quite complete without Elliot, he also gets here in a couple of days in time for Christmas. So much happiness!!

Vladimir (dad), me, Alissa (sister), Elena (mum), Kiwi (doggie), and Irina (friend)




That's the kale growing on my parents' land! Mum is using organic homemade pesticide of water + tobacco leaves + chili peppers + garlic




3 Tbsp liquid aminos or tamari
3 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds*
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
7 pitted dates
1 Tbsp raw honey
1/2 Cup pure water
huge bunch of kale
packet of kelp noodles
optional: avocados, extra sesame seeds, olives

*Roasted sesame seeds are a naughty exception here. They are not bad for you at all, in fact my theory here is that when they are in this recipe- they are extremely good for you! That's because you would find the recipe so delicious that you'd consume much more than you normally would including all the mega nutritious chlorophyll and protein packed kale.
-To roast the sesame seeds, just heat a non stick frying pan and toss them in it for a couple of minutes
-Blend all the ingredients apart from kale, kelp and optional ingredients in a blender
-Cut the stalks off all the kale leaves and chop them into a large bowl
-Massage the blended dressing well with the kale and then mix in the noodles
-Add any optional ingredients and serve
[Note it tastes even better if you make it in advance and leave for the flavours to infuse. That way the kelp noodles also have time to soak up some of the juices and to soften]