Wednesday 22 June 2016

Workshops, New Menu, New Therapists

Well it's been a very busy month here at Global Tribe.

 

I hear it's been busy all over the World too. The astrology has been very tricky for us all. The good news is that the second half of this year promises to be much gentler. At one point there were 5 planets in retrograde motion and a very strong square between Jupiter and Saturn. 

Everyday seems to get a little bit lighter and the smiles are starting to return. Well done everyone, decisions have been made, directions for our future have emerged and old beliefs and patterns have been dissolved.




 We have run two amazing crystal awareness courses at the Hilton, DoubleTree. This is the new home for our courses and workshops. They have really loked after us and we are very happy running more events in this beautiful and peaceful hotel. The introduction day went really smoothly with just the nicest group working really well together exploring the esoteric, healing and spiritual aspects of crystals.


 
Then, we ran the advanced crystal course, which is only open to those who have attended the introduction course. We had a splendid day exploring the more subtle aspects of crystals, energy and consciousness. We have been meditating for over 15 years and this course really works on stillness and how this can open the doors of perception to the subtle realms of the Universe.

There will also be an introduction to Meditation workshop at The Quaker Meeting House on Woodhouse Lane , opposite the University Mechanical Engineering building, next to the Eldon Pub.
The workshop is £65 and will be on the 6th August. For more details click here.

Our next course will be an introduction to Kundalini. This course comes in two parts and will again be at the Hilton DoubleTree. Even though we have not even set a date, the course is already filling up nicely. We are looking to run the kundalini course in September, so look out for the posters and flyers in the coming weeks.



Global Tribe Cafe has been equally busy, with the new Spring Summer menu. Teleri one of our team has also put her Art Degree to good use and done the graphics for the menu for us. It looks beautiful Tel. Some of the new dishes include Vegan Chinese fried rice with battered pineapple ring and Vegan "Prawn" Toast, Fasolakia, Vegan quiche and the all new Global Tribe Breakfast including Aubergine "bacon", avocado and mexican beans. New juices and smoothies also adorn the wonderful menu. 



 

Our Chiropodist from Bliss Therapies @ Global Tribe has finally gone to live in Hawaii. She has passed on the baton for her clients to Chris, who is as jovial a fellow as they come. Emma work her magic with her steady stream of clients. For more information on therapists click here.


Wednesday 24 February 2016

How to Cleanse a Crystal ?



How can we cleanse our crystals ?

There are a variety of methods we can employ to cleanse our crystals. Some involve water, some sound, others involve smoke or fire. How can we choose the best option to cleanse our crystals. Below you will find a number of different options with which you can decide which is the best to cleanse your crystals. Remember to choose the options that you are most comfortable using. The options you choose may change with time, situation or environment.

 

Different options for cleansing crystals.


Natural Water

Waterfall near Malham Cove.

Run the crystal under a cold tap for 5 to 10 minutes or until it feels cleansed. This can be done easily at home or work.

Place the crystals in a bowl of water for 1 to 24 hours. Use your intuition to decide when to remove the crystals from the water. Remember to throw the water away after you have cleansed your crystals in it !

Some people suggest working with salt water, this is however is not recommended, as salt is a corrosive mineral and will begin to harm the crystal at a physical level.

Cleansing with water is a wonderful way to cleanse your crystals. However, some crystals don’t like to be cleansed with water as they affect their physical nature. Selenite, Angelite and Opal are three stones in particular that don’t like water. Tschmergite and Chalcancithe also don’t like to be cleansed in water.
Cleansing with water also physically cleans the outside of the crystal and they always look bright and sparkly after a bath. If you are cleansing a lot of crystals then cleansing by water may be time consuming !
                                                                                        

Smudging

Oil Burners and burners for Frankincense or Sage.



Light a smudge stick and place each crystal or all the crystals to be cleansed in the smoke for 10-15 minutes. Follow your intuition when deciding when the crystals have been cleansed.

 There are all kinds of smudge sticks available in the market place, white sage, desert sage and combinations of sage with sweet grass and lavender.

You can also use other types of smoke for cleansing. Frankincense, which can come as both an oil and a resin is excellent for cleansing spaces, people and crystals.

Cleansing with sage is wonderful and whilst cleansing your crystals you are also cleansing the energies of the space in which you are cleansing. It is possible to cleanse many crystals easily when smudging. As far as I am aware there are no crystals which don’t like smudging. There is a lot of smoke involved with smudging and this can be uncomfortable some and even set off fire alarms. If you want your crystals to physically shine, then you may still have to polish or dust them after smudging is complete.


Rice

Fill a clear glass bowl with uncooked red, brown or black rice and then totally immerse the crystal to be cleansed in the rice for 24 hours. Again use your intuition to decide when the crystal has been cleansed. Once the negative and adverse vibrations have been absorbed by the rice, remove the crystal from the rice and throw the rice away.

Cleansing with rice is a very thorough way to cleanse crystals. It is also possible to cleanse rooms and homes with rice. Always remember to throw the rice away, as it will have absorbed the adverse vibrations from the crystal.

This is a wonderful method to employ but takes time and is not useful when cleansing larger numbers of crystals.
                                                                                      

Earth

If a crystal has a particularly negative state and needs more than just a cleanse, then we can bury the crystal in the earth and leave it there until
                                                                                              

its time to bring it back. In doing this we are returning the crystal to mother earth, where all negative vibrations, emotions and programs will be gently released into the earth and transmuted into more useful energies.

Cleansing through burying crystals is a slow process and is generally used when no other form of cleansing seems to do the job. This is not a very practical method but when the need arises it can cleanse the crystal in time.


Fire

We can cleanse with fire by simply passing each crystal quickly through a candle flame or by surrounding each crystal with candles. Leave the crystals surrounded by the candles for as long as seems required.

Some crystals don’t like fire, like opal and we must consider this before we cleanse them in this way. Also some people don’t like working with fire. Remember to do things that you are comfortable with, some people love fire.
This is a nice method which can be very romantic and a lot of fun.


Sound




We can cleanse crystals using different forms of sound. Different instruments we can use for cleansing include singing bowls, shamanic drums and rattles, bells, tuning forks or Tibetan chimes. We can also tone various sounds or mantrams including Om.

Using sound is an enjoyable and fast way to cleanse crystals. We can use sound to cleanse many crystals at the same time. Sound also can clear spaces and rooms at the same time. I believe we will begin to use sound much more in the future especially for aligning, attuning and cleansing.

Sound works fast but depending upon the clarity and the strength of the sound used it may not be as thorough as other methods previously discussed. As sound tools become more accurate and potent, this method may become more efficient and effective.
                                                                                                   

Gem Essences and Sprays

Crystal Essence sprays from Hazel Raven.



There are a few dedicated essences and sprays that have been specifically designed and prepared to cleanse crystals and spaces. These include Angel of Light, Bush Flower remedies ( space clearer)  and Aura Soma    ( Serapis Bey ). Simply spray a little over and around the crystal to be cleansed. In the case where there is no spray option, then rub the essence into your hands and then rub your hands over and around the crystal to be cleansed.

This is a fantastic method of cleansing when speed is required. This method is not as thorough as others previously discussed.



Reike / Spiritual Healing

We can simply apply Reike or spiritual healing by intending that we cleanse the crystal in question of all negative or adverse energies.

Reike is very fashionable at the moment, and can be very powerful. The level of cleansing will depend upon the state of the practioner and their level of ability.



After we have cleansed the crystals….

It can be very useful for us to charge or re-energise crystals after we have cleansed them. We can charge crystals in numerous ways.
We can leave the crystals out under moonlight, either on a window sill or in the garden or a special place of our choosing. When using moonlight it might be wise to use the waxing or growing moon, ie. up to and including full moon.
We could also leave our crystal out in the middle of a storm. This will charge the crystals with storm energy.                                                                                                  
We can also charge crystals up on a bed of amethyst. This is a wonderful method. However it has been noted that if crystals are left on an amethyst bed for a long time they may absorb some of the energies and attributes of the amethyst itself.
Which ever method we choose to charge our crystals it is good to note that each will have slightly different results. As we become more proficient at using our crystals we will understand which methods of charging and cleansing are more appropriate at different times with different crystals.

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Inspiring people

It's been a fabulous couple of months at Global Tribe. There is a wonderful energy and buzz about the place.
The café has a new summer menu which is simply gorgeous.

Click here for the new menu http://shop.globaltribecafe.com/

The Vegan Tofu hot dogs are going down a storm, as are the Caribbean Black Eyed Peas with Jerk Asparagus and Sweet Potato and Corriander Mash.


And the Raw Malaysian Curry with Cauliflower Rice.

We are so proud of the creative team in the Kitchen. There is soo much that we want to do. But as they say patience is a virtue.
We had a team meeting before the menu went live. Everyone brought a few ideas to the table. There was so much good food to chose from.
After we had sampled all the food, we wittled down the options to our current menu. Everyone of the team brought some inspiration to this new menu.
Thanks to feedback from our clients in the café, Facebook friends and the team. We introduced the vegan hot dog as well as the Tart of the Week and the Salad of the Week, just to keep things changing and more creative.

The Shop continues to go from strength to strength. We are so fortunate to have such happy and talented people in the building from Annaly, Emma, Collette, Donovan, Mario and Bev in the shop. And Phil, Sid, Hazel, Collette, Mandy and Donovan in the café.
And
I just love coming to work and hanging out with such a great group of fabulous people, and that's the customers as well as the team.

Emma's therapies Bliss at Global Tribe, continue to grow beautifully with some delightful clients. She has extended her list of services with Collette now doing Reflexology and Tarot readings and Hazel also doing Tarot readings. These as all services with Bliss Therapies are by appointment only. You can speak to Emma in the shop or visit her facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bliss-at-global-tribe/128727090649425?fref=ts

And you will find Collette and Hazel in the café.

Many thanks to Ryan and Louise, who have created the Spiritual Book club, which continues to grow in strength, trust and love. It is wonderful to see their smiley faces for breakfast once a month.
We had our first poetry evening last month and it was very well attended. We hope that it becomes a regular thing.
The music nights and themed menu nights have been very popular. The evening menu nights have been fully booked every time we put one on. We plan to begin the evening schedule in September.
There have been some great meditation workshops run in both the café and the shop over the last 8 months and they continue to bring more like minded people together to search more deeply about themselves.

So all in all, the whole Global Tribe building is working really well together to produce a wonderful atmosphere to both visit and work in.

Love,

Mario

Tuesday 9 April 2013

The Global Tribe Family.

Here at Global Tribe our Little centre of happiness and joy that feeds both Mind, Body and Spirit in more ways than one! Your senses will be over whelmed.

Our shop offers a host of products for the Healer, The Spiritual Seeker, The Shamon, The Collector and everyone else of all ages, lifestyles and beliefs, YES EVERYONE!
We sell Crystals from around the World, some of which we source ourselves. Incense from India (Nag Champa range, Maroma Auroville essential oils incense), Resin Incense, Essential Oils, Smudge Stickes, Native American Indian Jewellery, Silver Jewellery Talismans, Mens Jewellery, Crystal Jewellery, Gold Jewellery, Healing tools, Books, Tarot, Pendulums, chimes, Singing Bowls, Tingshaw Bells, Candles for nice smells (Beeswax, Soya, Vegetable wax) as well as Dinner Candles and Ritual Candles, Sun Catchers for Feng Shui and soooo much more!!! We have only a small taster of what we actually sell on our website, we have so much more in our physical shop in Leeds City Centre. Drop in and take some leaflets to see what groups, course and events are happening in and around the city.
Come and see our team Mario, Bev, Emma, Annaly, Collette, Donovan



Our Cafe brings you a taste sensation that really does fill your physical body with nutritional goodness. We love food and we want to show that Vegetarian and Vegan food can be very very tasty indeed by Danny our Head Chef. We also cater for Raw food diets and delectable hand made Raw Chocolate by the lovely Philippa our Raw Chef who is a genious at combining unusual flavours in her very popular raw deserts.
Our Creative team in the cafe are Danny, Philippa, Sidalicious, Alex, Hazel, Collette, Mandy and Donovan




IF you fancy a pamper then you can always have a Holistic massage, Aromatherapy, Crystal Massage, Aura Soma or even Reiki. Contact Emma for info about her team at Bliss@GlobalTribe 07707569842 located in the top floor of the building.

All good things come to those who wait! This is so true, from the 22nd April our cafe will be open Mondays.  Our new Monthly Acoustic night will be starting on the 19th April. We also want to develop talks on all kinds of topics related to Health, Well Being and Spiritruality, sp watch this SPACE!


Wednesday 16 January 2013

SPRING



SPRING

 
 
Haiku Poem
'Ice on the side walks
A discarded Christmas tree
Shelters the sparrows’
 
 
You may think it strange that I've called this post SPRING then show you a winter scene.
Well there is a reason to this madness, as it will all unfold. Please read on.................
                                                          
Goodbye 2012, hello 2013 and hello winter!

So many people I have spoken to are so relieved that they got through 2012 (with a huge sigh of relief). They are also very optimistic about this year.  Whether this is wish full thinking or informed with  astrological knowledge or even psychic foresight, I don’t know. I do think however, that so many people are looking forward with positive attitudes, hope and endurance (learnt from last year, that they can survive  just about anything) that the potential for this year to be great, is real. A collection of good thoughts and intentions by many, could only be a good thing for great things to happen. 'A smile creates other smiles as you walk down the street, then this too spreads.'

The  world  can throw  up many challenges. Already we have seen Jessop’s the high street store chain close, also Comet has now ceased to exist.  HMV is now in the firing line. Perhaps more will follow, but what does this mean?

 Like everything in life and death, it’s just another cycle. Even though some cycles that end can be very painful, what comes from this can be a great opportunity, for healing, growth,understanding or even change.  It’s like spring, new shoots will appear and new life, new ideas, innovations, new businesses will open with anticipation of what will happen. I see this year to be very exciting. It’s a year of potential, giving it a go. If there is something that you really want to achieve, why not do it now? We do not know what the future will bring as there are so many surprises in life.

These challenges in life can appear and feel like the end of our own world, but when perceived differently can be a great opportunity for change. There is nothing wrong with starting again time and time again, after all we have spring every year and winter every year too. There are many cycles, some are short and some are long. Being flexible within yourself, your actions and your ability to adapt will set you in good stead for these unpredictable times. There is only one life so look after your health, physical and mental, be kind and gentle to your self, be patient,  give your self every opportunity to be and do what you want. Every situation will have different perspectives.

A discarded Christmas tree may seem sad, reflecting upon the past, where it has been, then forgotten. From another perspective, it has been given a new life as shelter for sparrows.

Wishing you all a truely wonderful 2013.

By Bev McDonnell

 

 

 

 

Monday 22 October 2012

Reflections


Reflections      

I have just been considering reflections with the new sun catchers that have just gone up for sale on the website.
The way the light enters the crystal then reflects the light back out into the world, splitting the white light into rainbow colours is beautiful.

In life we often take time out to reflect upon ourselves, am I kind, have I done the right thing, would I have done things differently? All usual questions that we often ask ourselves. In fact I was going to write this a week ago, but I needed time to reflect upon what I wanted to say, ironically.


What is it to reflect?

Well to me it means different things.
Firstly to reflect is to have an awareness of yourself.  Life is busy for many people and not so busy for some.  Regardless of what we do or do not do in our day we have interactions with ourselves or with other people. An interaction with our self is how we view who we are, who we want to be, where we want to be and what we think or believe of others . Basically we are full of judgments of who we are and judgement for others as well as contradictions.  To be reflective is to be able to question our  behaviour and our judgements rationally.  To compare and to contrast how a situation could have been handled is often done in hindsight rather done with foresight. Hindsight  is a wonderful  luxury  as long as you learn from it, for if a similar situation arises again at least you know you have the option of handling it differently. Foresight is when rational thought occurs before action. Being able to assess a situation and what a possible outcome could be depending upon the most appropriate response/action is a useful skill to practice. To be reflective I think takes honesty to really take a close look at yourself, your surroundings, your behaviour, thoughts and emotions, you are after all  multi faceted (and doesn’t mean having a permanent out of body experience watching what is going on). All it takes is a desire to be better  for change to happen.

 No one personality is perfect, often it’s full of contradictions picked up through habits learnt through life. To take a step back and have a good look is really useful. If you can’t see then ask a close friend for an honest opinion. Quite often we have a blind spot to our personality that we are completely unaware of that can be quite destructive to ourselves as well as friends and family.

This takes me onto reflection.

“If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?”
― Rumi

 

Life is fascinating as it has the potential to teach us so much about who we are as long as we have the eyes to see. When you walk down the street smiling, the world smiles back, if you walk down the street sad the world is sad back. However you choose to be in the day, pay attention to how people respond to you, as you are after all seeing yourself through others. Usually it’s not somebody else that is the problem, it’s what you are being that is. So choosing to be in a more useful state can lead to a more contented life. Something’s in life you can change like behaviour,   something’s you cannot change. Check your attitude then change it for a better one. Being self aware is taking personal responsibility for who you are. If there is unhappiness then find the cause and make the change. Change can sometimes be difficult,  sometimes it can be easy especially when the final result leads to the same place, happiness.

“People want you to be happy.
Don't keep serving them your pain!

If you could untie your wings
and free your soul of jealousy,

you and everyone around you
would fly up like doves.”
― Rumi

 

By an imperfect personality that is always working upon itself to be better. Thanks for the reflections.

Bev

Sunday 23 September 2012

Raw Food health by Philippa Pickering



I grew up in a big family, with big appetites. We never had very much money and so food was cheap, feeding 7 (sometimes 8, sometimes more) hungry people. Due to the expenditure we always had to eat everything on our plate – like it or not. I have a memory of being sat at the dining table looking at a plate of grey, wobbly liver, crying because I did not want to eat it. My mum would not tolerate hard earned food being wasted and so I had to sit there… luckily my sister came along and ate it for me (thanks Sis) but there began my lifelong dislike for meat. It always felt wrong to me to put this dead animal into my body and so I survived on mainly potatoes, chips, spaghetti, cheese, crisps and chocolate! I’m not sure how I actually survived my teen years with the rubbish I used to put into my body, not forgetting the drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. I was probably a typical teenager but looking back at my diet I find it quite unbelievable that this was me.

Then, my life began at 21………. (there’s a song in there somewhere)…….
Up until this moment I had not been REALLY living, just plodding along. I made a massive decision to leave my life behind and travel to Israel to work and live on a kibbutz. WOW! What an experience for a young, small-town girl. I was opened up to new sensory experiences, a fusion of new sights, sights, sounds and tastes. Being away from home made it easier to experiment with different foods, to find out my likes and dislikes. The kibbutz food was buffet style every day so I could try a little of everything, to my delight. Falafel, hummus, olive oil, pita bread, olives….the list goes on, and although these are now classed as mainstream foods, for me in 2000 these were amazing! I remember walking through Ber sheva with a smoothie made with fruits I had never tasted before, thinking ‘surely this can’t be good for me?’ how wrong was I?

Whilst in Israel I developed the travelling bug and made plans to go to Australia the following year for 12 months. The food there was fresh, wholesome and grown in their beautiful sunny climates. I tried no end of different salads, smoothies, juices, vegetables that were not even available back in England. It was also there that I met my beautiful husband who has been an absolute rock for me over the past 10 years. We travelled together to Thailand and experienced exotic freshly cooked foods that I still dream of today.

Returning home together I started at university and money was fairly tight. I also worked part-time and so healthy eating was not a priority. I remained a vegetarian but commenced my junk food diet – just without meat or milk. I had a real love of anything sweet – cakes, biscuits, chocolate, I just could not get enough. Fortunately/unfortunately I have always been a great cook and so would whip up big dinners and always pudding for afterwards. I could eat as much (and more) than my husband, which is a lot for a little lady. My plates would be piled high and I never forgot my mum’s words telling me to ‘eat everything on my plate’ and so like a good girl I would obey and polish off the lot. My huge appetite was always commented on whenever we ate out with friends and family, leaving me to feel and call myself ‘greedy’, as this is what I believed was true. Looking back I now realise that this was my body’s way of trying desperately to gain any nutrition it could from the food I was eating. I may not have been eating meat or milk which is very stressful to the body but I was consuming an awful amount of bread, wheat and sugar that are equally as stressful and toxic for our bodies.

All this changed when on my 31st birthday I was diagnosed with breast cancer. To be told at such a young age (or at any age) that you have cancer is almost too much to take in. You realise in that instant how short life is and that you are living on borrowed time. I was TOLD what procedures I would be having, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, medication, i was never asked so I went along with it, swept up in the medical world trying to ‘save me’.

Rewind several months to a chance overhearing on a train that changed my life and has led me to be where I am today. Sitting opposite a young woman I overheard her discussing a ‘holistic nutrition course’ she was on and how amazing it was. As the woman and I got off at the same station I stopped her and asked for the details and made some enquires on the internet when I got home. Fast forward to laying on the couch recovering from my third batch of chemotherapy a few months later, when I received a phone call from the Nutritional Healing Foundation asking me if I was still interested in joining up for the course. In my current state I thought this wasn’t possible and told the woman regrettably so. Putting down the phone my mind started to wander at the possibility that maybe I could do this, or at least go along for the introductory day to see if I could manage.

The following Saturday I alighted the train at Salford and hobbled along the road on blister covered feet , mouth as dry as a dessert with a white, swollen tongue and a terrible wig perched on my head (all lovely side-effects of the chemo) to a place where I knew I belonged. I met so many like minded people, all looking for a way to improve not only their own health but also the health of others. I was hooked. The course taught us that the food and fluid that you put into your body affects every cell and that we do have the power to heal ourselves. I took a good look at the food I was eating; stopped drinking alcohol completely, cut out refined sugars, reduced my wheat intake and generally improved my diet. Armed with this new knowledge I informed my Oncologist that I would be cutting the chemotherapy short, that I would not be having radiotherapy and that I would not be taking Tamoxifen (I did end up taking Tamoxifen for a short while after much persuasion).

After completing my first year on the course and feeling stronger and healthier I decided to leave my job and go travelling again. My husband and I travelled extensively in Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand, sampling some good and mostly not so good cuisine. Returning home felt good and I knew that I could begin to start eating well again. Throughout the journey my old eating habits had slipped back firmly into place and I was as addicted to sugar and bread as I had ever been, if not more. I had eaten muffins, cakes, biscuits, pancakes, fried banana bread, chocolate peanut-butter waffles, naan bread until I thought I could eat no more, and returned home feeling bloated, uncomfortable and addicted.

After settling in back at home and awaiting a start date for my new job I went for my regular smear test, expecting as you do, that the results will be fine……then I received that dreaded phone call AGAIN, only this time it was cervical cancer. I could not believe I was in this situation again and in some ways this hit me harder and in a different place. I felt I had no excuse this time. Yes my eating habits had slipped but surely I was healthier than the average person? Obviously I wasn’t. I knew I had to really sort myself out this time and address any issues that were causing my body to react in this way. I believed (and still do) that cancer is not something that ‘just
happens’, that there must be a causative factor. The medical professionals admitted that they did not know the cause, all the knowledge they had centred around removing the cancer. I was again TOLD that I would need a radical hysterectomy, followed by a combination of chemo/radiotherapy. I (politely) informed them in no uncertain words that there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I would undergo any of these procedures and instead opted for (against the consultant’s advice) a much smaller procedure of a biopsy to remove any cancer cells still present on my cervix. I was told that in all his years of working the consultant had NEVER met anybody who had turned these procedures down. Well I have always wanted to be different!

I embarked on a raw food diet, cutting out any processed, refined foods. Bread, dairy, fish, sugar, cooked grains, all went out of the window and in their place I ate green smoothies, soups, salads, fruits and sprouted seeds and grains. I got in touch with my tutor who devised a technique plan for me too, using enemas, castor oil packing, flaxseed tea, hot and cold showers, daily exercise, and as importantly I have worked on emotional issues getting amazing results with EFT from a German New Medicine practitioner.

This brings me up to date to today. This recent ‘dis-ease’ is not long behind me but I understand and feel differently about cancer today. It has been described to me as ‘our bodies last defence at protecting itself’, which I have taken to understand as like a blister forming after a shoe has rubbed too long. Cancer is inflammation of cells; a blister is inflammation of the skin cells, both trying to protect the delicate tissues underneath.

My journey to heal myself continues and will not end until my last day on earth, but how lovely it feels to be looking after myself, at last! My diet is now almost 100% raw and remains similar to what was earlier advised; only now I’ve added in nuts, seeds, and occasional raw chocolate and raw desserts. I’m not rigid though; if I go out for a meal with friends and there isn’t a raw option then I’ll eat cooked vegan food and appreciate the company of my friends rather than focusing on what’s for the next course. I still love sweet food only now I satisfy this with fruit. If I’m going out for a special occasion and know there won’t be a suitable dessert for me then I go prepared and take my own, which I must admit tastes better than the manufactured, mass produced, ‘plastic’ food that is always present at these events. I have had horrendous cravings for bread which after time have now passed and I no longer have cravings of any sort. I can replicate nearly everything I used to eat before only in a healthier, raw way. I absolutely love the new world of raw food that has opened up before me, the fantastic like-minded people I am meeting and the recipes and food that I am experimenting with. My path has changed again but I would not change it for the world. I don’t ever wish that I hadn’t had cancer as I wouldn’t be here today doing what I love. It has shaken me out of my reverie and made me appreciate my life, what I have and realise the potential of what I can be.

Blog written by Philippa Pickering


RAW FOOD

So what is ‘raw food’?
Raw food is uncooked, unprocessed and organic (where possible) food that has not been heated above 47.7 c/118 f.
It can be dehydrated, fermented, sprouted and sundried.

What is a typical raw food diet?
A raw food diet is based around vegetables, fruit, seeds, and nuts.
It does not include processed or refined foods.

What are the benefits of raw food?
It is pure, unadulterated, whole food that is rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients. Eating a raw food diet will renew energy and encourage weight loss. Raw foods are very nutrient dense and energising and possess many health and health-promoting properties, these include:
* Weight loss
* Improved digestion
* Improved immune function (less colds & infections)
* Clearer complexion
* Increase in energy & vitality
* Improved mental clarity
* Reduction in fluid retention
* Reduced risk of chronic conditions (heart disease, diabetes etc)

Why not eat cooked food?
When food is processed or heated above 47.7 c/118 f, many of the natural enzymes, phytonutrients and essential nutrients are destroyed. cooking can also produce unnatural chemical substances which places strain on the bodies detoxification organs i.e. liver, gut and kidneys. Many processed foods have no nutritional value at all and are often loaded with fats, sugars, salt, preservatives and chemicals.

How do I go raw?
Why not try replacing one cooked meal with one raw meal. Find a recipe in a book that reminds you of an old favorite and try a raw version. When you learn to make a few raw food dishes, many mysteries of raw food preparation will unravel and the whole process will seem easy.

Benefits of ingredients used in raw food preparation:

Raw cacao powder/butter:
Packed with antioxidants for mood-boosting and a concentrated source of nutrients (particularly Magnesium).

Lucuma powder:
A nutrient dense fruit used as a natural sweetener. It provides fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Maca powder:
A Peruvian root vegetable rich in protein, iron and calcium. it is naturally sweet and is renowned as a hormone balancer and an aphrodisiac.


Agave nectar:
A natural sweetener from the agave cactus plant that is low on the glycemic index, making it safe for those monitoring sugar levels.

Coconut sugar:
Is not considered raw but it is used as it is low on the glycemic index and is unprocessed, unfiltered, unbleached and contains no preservatives.

Nuts:
Full of nutritional value. They contain essential amino acids and fatty acids our body needs.

Seeds:
High in iron, protein, calcium and potassium. They are packed with essential fats, vitamins and minerals that are nourishing and energising.

FOREVER RAW
NATURE’S GOODNESS, LOCKED
INSIDE,
NOTHING COOKED, BAKED, BOILED
OR FRIED.
FULL OF FLAVOUR, FOREVER
MORE,
SAVOUR THE TASTE, FOREVER
RAW

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