FITNESS THAT FITS YOU

You love getting your green on and finding the healthiest choices for your day, and yet nutrition is only half the story of wellness. To reach optimum health you need to move your body.

But what if exercise has never really been your thing? Sure you’ve tried a lot of classes, and different types of exercise. You’ve even given yoga a really good go, but somehow you lack the consistency of approach to really see a long term difference or find the body confidence you seek.

It’s true that exercise can be hard to do, it can be challenging, overwhelming, confusing and it can be costly in time and money without always getting results.

But when it’s the right kind of movement for you, when you get into the flow and stick with it, and when you actually see and experience the benefits… the feeling that fitness gives you can be out of this world!

So what is the key to finding an approach to fitness that fits you?

Our expert panel who have a flair for fitness will share their insights and tips to connect you with that fitness freedom that you’ve been looking for. Come and join the conversation with like minded people and reap the benefits for the rest of your life.

Tanya and her alkalising welcome juice and organic energy balls will be awaiting your arrival too!

YES PLEASE, SAVE ME A SPOT>>

Hear from…

Pamela Lai about New and Alternative Fitness Trends: How to navigate fitness trends and know the finds from the fads,

Adrienne Herbert about Intuitive Fitness & Body Confidence: How to listen to your body and know when you can push yourself and when you need to rest,

Hollie Grant about Forever Fitness: Health, vitality and toning for a lifetime, not just a season.

YES PLEASE, SAVE ME A SPOT>>

Here’s a little more detail of what to expect:

ALTERNATIVE FITNESS TRENDS: HOW TO NAVIGATE FITNESS TRENDS AND KNOW THE FINDS FROM THE FADS

Pamela Lai is the Studio Manager of Slice Urban Fitness which offers a variety of fitness classes in its boutique studios in Parsons Green; over 100 classes per week including different styles of Yoga, Mat Pilates, Dance Fitness, Spinning, Rebounding, Pound Fit, HIIT, Boxfit, Pre and post natal exercise..and more! As well as managing every aspect of the studio, you will find Pamela teaching a variety of classes including Trampoline Rebounding, Barre, Aerobics, Total Body Workout and Zumba. With Zumba Pamela has had the opportunity to perform at various London events, including being on stage as opening for Beyonce’s Chime for Change concert in 2012.

Pamela will discuss which exercise is right for you, how to choose from the variety of fitness options offered these days with some suggestions of what to try for different fitness levels, and will share examples of classes and success stories on fitness trends that worked for her and her clients  from Pound Fit to Barre, Rebounding, HIIT, Zumba etc…

INTUITIVE FITNESS & BODY CONFIDENCE: HOW TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND KNOW WHEN YOU CAN PUSH YOURSELF AND WHEN YOU NEED TO REST

Adrienne Herbert is a personal trainer, fitness model, mother and an advocate for women’s fitness and health. Adrienne shares her passion for fitness on her blog ‘That’sMyMum.com’ as well as contributing to Women’s Health magazine each month. Often teaching classes at fitness studios in London and Hertfordshire, Adrienne also leads talks and workshops to women about ‘Body Confidence’. For more information follow Adrienne on Instagram and Twitter – @AdrienneTMM.

Adrienne is passionate about body confidence through women’s fitness and health. She will be discussing the importance of intuitive training specifically for women and mothers, as well as her tips to experience true body confidence.

FOREVER FITNESS: HEALTH, VITALITY AND TONING FOR A LIFETIME, NOT JUST A SEASON

Hollie Grant is an award winning PT and Pilates Instructor, owner of 1:1 London studio PilatesPT and creator of The Model Method online. As a huge advocate of the #strongnotskinny movement Hollie believes we should think more about how our bodies work and less about how they look. This ethos is at the core of all her workouts. Hollie has earned an impressive client list through her innovative method, which includes the likes of Ella Woodward, Millie Mackintosh and Melissa Hemsley. Hollie is passionate about the lifestyle and fitness benefits of Pilates and caring for your health not just appearance. Her training technique reflects this philosophy and her dedication means her clients never fail to leave happy, healthy and strong.

In her talk Hollie will focus on function over aesthetics. As her fitness career began with teaching Pilates and focusing on the importance of posture and muscular balance she loves to promote how thinking about how your body works, and not how it looks, is the best way to experience lifelong fitness. She will discuss what muscle imbalances are, how they affect your health, performance and posture and how they can be addressed. As well as discussing how we can change our mindset away from short term gains to long term, sustainable, achievable change.

We’re so excited about this event!

Bring your questions, and join us for an evening of uplifting conversations about wellness and connecting with the fitness freedom you’ve been looking for!

Tanya’s Talks – where great advice and great nutrition meet #TanyasTalks #TanyasCafe

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Terms of Purchase: Tickets are non-refundable, and non-transferrable.

Can you believe how close Christmas Day is?

The idea of Christmas feels especially surreal to me this year, because not long after, Elliot and I will meet our daughter.

I literally can’t believe I just said that.

Each time the mini muffin moves inside my belly (ie. all day, every day, each minute, non stop, always), I’m in total amazement at the superpowers of my own body. There’s a real baby in there! Well maybe it’s an alien- it certainly feels like that at times- but then again the other day I felt a teeny tiny foot with five perfect little toes and fell even more in love with this living creation within me.

So while I hear all sorts of stories about her coming for the world earlier or staying cosy for longer, I’m not going to plan any new workshops till we know for sure…

That means that THIS Friday's Raw Breakfast Club is not only my final mini workshop for the year, it's the final indefinitely. OMG!

If you're in London, it's the one morning you'd be glad you slipped out of work for!

You will meet a bunch of super awesome like-minded people, receive a little Christmas gift from one of our partners, learn how to make living raw Christmas Mince Pies (and take the recipe home) and indulge on the most beautiful and nourishing flavours of this silly season!

Take a look at the menu...

There's a lot I love about the way my American friends celebrate special occasions. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Baby Showers. What ever the event, you can be sure they don't go about it halfheartedly.

So you can't even imagine my excitement when my best friend- our muffin’s future God mama / the sunny Californian Britney- offered to throw me and Elliot a Gender Reveal Party!

For those not in the know what this party entails, here’s the gist:

Mum-and-dad-to-be get their 20 week scan and if the sonographer can see the baby’s sex, they don’t tell you, but write down Boy or Girl on a piece of paper, seal it in an envelope and you then pass it on to a friend who is throwing you the surprise party, where you and your guests find out what you are having at the same time. This could be with a treasure hunt, quiz night, blue or pink coloured balloons, etc etc. Fun, right?

I’ve always loved the idea of finding out in this way (we’re both too impatient to wait nine months), however before Britney took over, I thought we would organise this on our own. We were supposed to get the secret envelope to one of my raw chefs at Tanya’s, who would then take a look inside and make us either a blueberry cheesecake (blue for boy) or strawberry cheesecake (pink for girl), then coat it in white icing with absolutely no sign of what colour is inside. Then Elliot and I would slice open the cake with all of our friends in the room.

But! Britney does everything better!

She made sure not to give away any clues and said to leave it with her. The only clue she was willing to give away was that the reveal wasn’t to be via a cake, so if I wanted to make one of my own, then it’s my call, otherwise she had the food and drink sorted too. Wowsers. That’s a whole lot of work, time and effort and even from your closest friend, it just feels like too much to accept.

Of course I could never turn up empty handed or leave a friend to do all the work, so I promised to bring a cake. Two cakes- one for each gender.

So I gathered my recipes and a plan to make it happen, but the day of the reveal also coincided with my actual birthday and Better Raw’s annual sale, so the evening was approaching faster than anticipated. By the time I calculated how long it would take me to shop for ingredients, soak the cashews, make, decorate and leave both cakes to set in the fridge, I knew I’d be hours late to my own party…

Slightly panicked, I dove into my 20 year old recipe notebook for ideas.

Crazy to think that I still own a book so old, torn and well-travelled, half of which is filled with carefully written recipes and instructions in Russian by my 10 year old self and the other half with a whole lot of scribbles in English after I began to learn the language in New Zealand. What’s crazier is that the recipes within it either use a bunch of animal products, processed ingredients or both. Still, this is a place I like to refer to for ideas and where best inspiration comes from when creating my healthy recipe versions.

As soon as I flicked to the page with my once-upon-a-time-favourite carrot cake, I knew I had to make it. It’s baked, which requires no setting time in the fridge, so it had to save me at least 3 hours and desperate times were upon us.

There’s one problem- I haven’t baked for over 6 years!

Actually there's more than one problem- the recipe contained eggs, processed sugar and other ingredients I haven't used in over 6 years either!

But then again, I checked out my notebook for inspiration, not the recipe per se, so I took out all the healthy versions of listed ingredients from my pantry and started up a science experiment to invent 'vegan eggs’. I used a little banana for the ’slimy’ part of the egg, ground flaxseeds for the ’sticky’ part which holds ingredients together and coconut yogurt to make it ‘mushy’. It didn't take long to invent, however having not baked in such a long time, I completely forgot the fact that there is baking AND cooling time involved before icing the cake, so we were still late to our own party afterall. The cake was AMAZING though!

Recipe below, but first, the remainder of the story…

We arrived at Tanya’s in Chelsea, where a portion of the cafe was reserved just for our group and decorated in the most adorable blue and pink colour palette. There was really nothing to give away the gender at that stage though- Britney made sure to have an equal ratio of blue to pink for everything.

We had such a good time catching up with all our friends, that I didn’t even notice how nervous I was until she called everyone to start making their way downstairs.

Downstairs? What is down there? This was the time I dialled in my parents in Ecuador and my sister in New York via Skype and Elliot FaceTime’d his mum in New Zealand, so our families could partake in the fun.

When our whole group entered myhotel’s darkened meeting room, we were impressed to see rows of chairs facing a large projector screen. Elliot and I knew it already, but this is when everyone else saw just how lucky we were to have a friend that would go through all this trouble. And this was before we even knew what she actually did!

When the movie showing begun, the first video was of the God mama herself introducing what was about to happen in the most hilarious way, followed by video clips of our friends around the world sending their well wishes and vocalising their bets (and even names) on what we were having. When I say ‘around the world’, I mean around the world! Friends from New Zealand, Australia, Ecuador, New York, California, Japan, London, Portugal and even Bangkok, sent in their video predictions for us to watch.

I wasn’t just blown away, I was an emotional wreck! Every familiar face appearing on the screen in front of us made me gasp for air. Then hearing them speak directly to us or to our baby was more than enough to make my eyes swell and my legs shake.

By the time Britney appeared on the screen again to do the final reveal, I was so overwhelmed with emotion, gratitude, anticipation, love, nerves and adrenaline, I was no longer sure that I was ready to know. When she said that this wasn’t the way we’d find out and that we now all had to go upstairs and look for a unicorn, I didn’t know who I was relieved for the most- me, because I got an opportunity to gather myself or my family, because they could now continue watching without the shaky experience they were getting when the laptop was on my trembling lap.

The parents and the God parents

The Unicorn Piñata

The rest was such a blissful blur, that I still don’t really remember where the unicorn piñata was or how it was split in half over my and Elliot’s heads or the details of what (or even what colour) fell out from inside, or who clapped first when the gender was revealed, but I’ll never forget searching my husband’s eyes for his reaction and thinking what an amazing dad he would be to a…. baby girl!

A girl! A girl! We are having a baby girl!

And I’ll never forget what Britney did for us. This little love bug inside my belly has already been so cherished and celebrated from the first day of discovering she was there, but she has no idea how lucky she really is with all the loving grandparents, aunties, uncles, God parents, and not to mention mum and dad, awaiting her arrival.

It's a girl!

Pure happiness

And now the recipe! I asked on Facebook and Instagram if you guys were interested in a baked vegan cake recipe and to my surprise, the majority said 'Absolutely'! So here you are. It really is so delicious and using the best ingredients, I think you'll love it too..

Baked Vegan Carrot Cake

3 cups grated carrots
1 cup light olive oil
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 cups wholemeal flour (I used spelt)
2 cups coconut palm sugar
EGGS (1/2 banana, 1 cup soy/coconut yogurt, 1/2 cup ground flaxseeds)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp baking soda

[For the pink icing, I used a similar recipe to the Strawberry Layer here>> and for the blue icing, I used the recipe of my Blueberry Pie filling on p.117 of The Uncook Book]

-Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
– Blend oil and sugar.
– Add banana, yogurt, vanilla extract. Blend again.
– In a bowl- mix flour, ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, salt and soda.
– Add carrots and walnuts, then mix.
– Finally stir in the blended mix, scraping everything out of your blender. Stir well to combine ingredients evenly.
– Transfer to a 8 inch tin and bake for 1 hour.

Hi my friends,

Whoa what a week it's been.

I don't remember the last time I felt this busy, excited, energised, exhausted, emotional, productive, behind, overwhelmed and calm all at the same time. Actually, I've never had a week this full on before.

To sum up just a portion of events that occurred in this short space of time, I had a birthday and my huge annual birthday sale which is always exciting and mega busy, my bestie threw us the most incredible and emotional gender reveal party (more on this next time), I took Tanya’s Cafe and book signing on the road for the first time ever, our dear friends and travel buddies got engaged, my first published book was officially released all over the UK, the massive competition with an insane amount of entries came to an end, prep for The Uncook Book launch was in full swing, followed by the exhilarating launch party itself and ending with travel outside of London for uncooking demonstrations and book signings.

Sounds super fun (and it really really was), but during all the celebrations, my inbox nearly exploded and I’m now weeks behind replying to everyone (if it’s you, now you know why, love you!), my sister’s flight was so delayed that she missed the gender reveal party which she was looking forward to since the moment she learned she was going to be an aunty, the wheels on my giant suitcase broke off on the way to the Birmingham demo which made the 30kg of equipment not only too heavy for helpful strangers to drag, but especially for me with a growing baby bump, which brought on a meltdown even I didn’t anticipate, and meanwhile ‘interesting’ events kept occurring at our cafes which needed my immediate attention.

The last thing I wanted to do is to write a post full of what sounds like complaints, but I hope you can see that I am just like everyone else 

I cry, I get tired, I experience stress, I forget to drink water, I worry, I think too much and I take off my cape when it needs a good clean.

Amazing how just one day, sometimes even one moment, can remind you that you do live the best life ever and that there’s nothing in the world which would have you trading it for another.

For me that moment was last Thursday…

The Uncook Book launch party with some of my favourite people in the world, at my very own happy place, with my dream publisher, blessing my pride and joy into the world, may have just topped all the best nights of all time!

Aaaand finding out that during the first week of its release, The Uncook Book has already gone into its SECOND printing. Just wow.

Thank you so so much, it's all because of YOU!

Here are some of the pictorial highlights from my best night ever...

The Uncook Book ready to party

Peanut Butter Cups from the Kid's Section (really, Adult's section, but it was going to sound strange if I had an 'Adult's Section' in the book)

Prep in full swing. Vodka Lavendade (less the vodka for a non-alcoholic version) and Pina Colada (scroll down for recipe), both from the Party Section

Here I am with my book baby and a 5 months baby bump

See? There really is a bump. I love it!

The adorable Hay House team, from left: Jo, Alexandra, Jessica, Julie (the incredible and talented editor), Karen and Ruth (the hard working cutie responsible for this awesome night). But where's Amy?

Here she is! My sweet editor Amy and her bright smile as always. Fab and Lauren in deep convo

No uncooking party without a cold-pressed organic green juice

And another super adorable Amy. I've come to a conclusion that the best and cutest humans are named Amy

Sister Party! From left: my soul sister (and the one responsible for introducing me to Hay House) Michelle, my sissy-in-law Saskia and my own sister-face Alissa

The stunning Nikki Salamony, PR for Tanya's Cafe

Serious chocolate talk with Kris from The Raw Chocolate Company and Richi Qi from The Wellbeing Now Conference

The always gorgeous Christy, American Girl in Chelsea

Food glorious raw food from various sections in the book

Alkalising Cucumber Rolls from the Party Section

My sis of Universe + Chorus , a Pina Colada (scroll down for recipe) and a summer roll

Luigi and my Goji Berry Trifles from the Party Section of the book

A few words turned into such a long gratitude list, you couldn't stop me talking

That little muffin inside was all blissed out and still with so much gratitude pouring though my body

The love squad. Thank you all so so much for your support

Happy times with the lovely Maxine there in the back ground and Bronwen from NZ Biz Women's Network here to support too

A tad proud of my cake, made using a combination of recipes from the book, especially having had my sister rolling the cute energy balls, my chef Eddie decorating the cake and Rebecca Campbell blessing it

The amazing Linda Barker of BBC's Changing Rooms

The Uncook Book launch

Blogger and co-creator of Plant-based Picnic, Natasha Lipman

The Uncook Book launch

My favourite human, personal recipe taster and loving husband, Elliot

And the prize for THE BEST goodie bag goes to... Can you believe how much goodness is in here? And all in support of the book launch! Thank you so much for such generous gifts: Superfoodies, Dr. Organic, Hay House UK, Neal's Yard Remedies, Udo's Choice, The Raw Chocolate Company, Planet Organic and Seasoul & Snow

And because I believe that every successful party post deserves a recipe, here is one you will LOVE...

It was a hit and a half at The Uncook Book launch (above), it's the first recipe of the Party Section in the book and it includes my favourite ingredient combination EVER. Introducing...

Pina Colada

(serves 1)

45ml (1.5fl oz) light rum

120g (4.25 oz) ripe pineapple, peeled and chopped, reserving leaves from the crown to garnish

90ml (3.25fl oz) fresh apple or pineapple juice (6 apples or 1 pineapple will usually produce enough juice for 4-6 servings)

2 tbsp coconut butter

2 tbsp manuka honey

handful of ice

-Blend all the ingredients, except the ice and garnish, in a blender until creamy, then add the ice and blend again.

-Pour into a chilled highball glass or a goblet, garnish with the pineapple leaves and serve with a pretty straw.

This is what you get when you ask for a bike for your birthday, but your husband doesn’t want his unborn child out on the open roads.

As you can tell we both take birthdays rather seriously (in very different ways) and there’s nothing that makes me happier than being able to offer something to you on my own day of birth!

It is today, which means….

SALE TIME all weekend long, starting now!

Scroll below to marvel over all the awesome equipment, supplements and books you can get at a fraction of their usual price. And make sure you go for it, because the savings are only there till Sunday.

Mwah,

Tanya

P.S. Only a very few people in the world will be able to see that I’m wearing a red cape in this picture. If you don’t see it, it’s OK, but if you do, then you have special super powers too! Use them 

—————————————

Sale starts now and ends at 11:59PM GMT Sunday 6th September (same time as the end of Complete Raw Food Kitchen Competition)

The Uncook Book- The Essential Guide to a Raw Food Lifestyle | Hard copy

Inside you will find over 140 easy-to-follow, accessible recipes with a modern edge, everything you need to know to set up a successfully raw kitchen and a whole lot of super handy tips that are both nutritionally viable and creatively fun. It's the perfect book for anyone who wants to celebrate life through food and there's even a Kid's Section and a Party Section (with Superfood Cocktail recipes!), as well as a whole collection of never-before-seen signature recipes from Tanya's Cafe.

UK version available for next day delivery on Amazon.co.uk , click to save 30%. Take me there>>

US version available to pre-order on Amazon.com, click to save 25%. Take me there>>

Purified- Your complete 7 day detox program | eBook

This eBook is a step-by-step detox guide with 2 different menu plans- 1 for the luxury detoxer and 1 for the budget detoxer. Every breakfast, lunch & dinner recipe is designed with a busy individual in mind, taking only upto 30 minutes to prepare. Comes complete with shopping lists.

Enter coupon code Tanya50 at checkout and save 50%. Take me there>>

Seduced- Raw chocolate recipes to get very excited for | eBook

It’s all in the title really. This eBook contains 22 gorgeous & simple raw chocolate recipes, including raspberry jam centres, marzipan cigars & chocolate coated strawberries. There is even a superfoods glossary & none of the chocolate making requires any special equipment.

Enter coupon code Tanya50 at checkout and save 50%. Take me there>>  

Festive- The best raw food Christmas recipes | eBook

This eBook contains the most flavour rich, luxury recipes that are not only incredible for the Christmas & Holiday seasons, but any time of the year. You will find 30 recipes with stunning photography. Everything is as always absolutely free from gluten, dairy, non-cultured soya and wheat, but definitely not the taste!

Enter coupon code Tanya50 at checkout and save 50%. Take me there>>

Nourished- Comforting raw foods for winter | eBook

This stunning full colour eBook contains 39 of my most carefully selected recipes to feel warm, comforted and nourished during winter & beyond. Get a whole heap of extra tips on staying healthy & immunised in the cold, as well as a guide to seasonal local produce.

Enter coupon code Tanya50 at checkout and save 50%. Take me there>>  

JTC Omniblend 3 Horse Power Blender

I totally get what it's like to want to make all those frozen fruit ice creams, creamy cheesecakes, pastes, rawtella, nut butters, frozen cocktails, etc, but being left disheartened at the price of a Vitamix or Blendtec. Did you know that the best, closest, most incredible alternative does exist… and costs HALF the price!?

Enter coupon code betterraw into promo code box and save upto 30%. Take me there>>

Tribest Personal Blender

Hands down- the best travel companion for a raw foodie or anyone on the go with a busy lifestyle. You can grind nuts to make vegan parmasan, blend dips, sauces & salad dressings, and whizz up individual drinks to a creamy consistency. Mason jars attach right to the blender, drink right away or put on a lid and have on the go.

Enter coupon code TANYAB25 at checkout and save 25%. Take me there>>

Tribest Soyabella Nut Milk Maker

The easy way to make dairy free milks at home using the Tribest Soyabella Milk Maker. Simply add soaked soya beans and water to get fresh soya milk in 15 minutes. For raw-vegans, it can make amazing raw almond, cashew, hazelnut and other nut milks in as little as 30 seconds. It can also quickly and easily make delicious milks from a wide variety of other beans and grains such as oat, rice and coconut. The included grinding attachment can even be used to grind nuts, seeds and coffee beans.

Enter coupon code TANYAB25 at checkout and save 25%. Take me there>>

Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend plus whole product range

Udo's Choice Ultimate Oil Blend is a blend of plant-based, organic, unrefined nutritional oils free of the constituents found in processed oils. Its unique formulation provides an excellent source of the essential fatty acids Omega 3 and 6 and the fatty acid Omega 9, for incredible digestion, glowing skin, strong hair, nails and bones. Or take a look at Udo's Choice range for more options...

Enter coupon code TANYA25 at checkout and save 25%. Take me there>>

Become a Health Coach!

Wondering how I found a career I love and became a Health Coach? I studied holistic health and nutrition at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition! IIN taught part time and entirely online, by the world's best speakers, nutritionists, doctors and spiritual gurus. Check out the entire first module of the curriculum here>>

Call +1(877)-733-1520 and mention my name (Tanya Maher) to save upto 25%. Take me there>>  

Sale ends at 11:59PM GMT Sunday 6th September (same time as the end of Complete Raw Food Kitchen Competition)