Until 2008, I was overweight, often felt bloated, had IBS and lacked energy. For
about 40 years I had tried every diet under the sun and although I did lose
weight, the process was unpleasant and the weight soon returned. Then, for the
first time in my life, I lost 23kg effortlessly AND kept it off for over 5
years! I was no longer ruled by food cravings. And the best thing? In all this
time, I did not feel deprived! I enjoyed delicious foods that nourished my body
including mouth-watering cakes, ice-cream, sorbets and chocolate, all made from nourishing plants, nuts, seeds and other raw food ingredients. The Raw Food
lifestyle changed my life!

Before I changed to a raw food diet, with lots of vegetable juices and
smoothies, I never felt completely satisfied after a meal. Even when I indulged
in all the foods I loved (bread, cheese, pizza, lasagne, chocolates, crisps,
ice-cream, etc.), I never really felt satisfied. I was always craving
“something” and FOOD CRAVINGS RULED MY LIFE!

When a friend of mine who was 80% RAW, invited me to be her “Raw Buddy” I
thought she was crazy! Sharon introduced me to Tonya Zavasta of
www.BeautifulonRaw.com and I found
Victoria Boutenko of Raw Family, and read her book, Twelve
Steps to Raw and Green for Life. I was inspired by both these ladies. I
was also introduced to Gabrielle Couzens
at Tree for Life, who wrote Conscious Eating, and Brian Clement at the Hippocrates Centre in USA, who wrote, Life Force and soon my inventory of books on the raw food
lifestyle looked like Raw Food 101 at University!

I learnt all about the role that enzymes play. I learnt about cravings and
what my body REALLY needs. I began really ENJOYING my food and feeling so
satisfied AND nourished after every meal. I found books filled with delicious
mouth-watering recipes. At first I used the equipment I had, but I found it very
time-consuming and the end result was not always so great, so I invested in an
Oscar Juicer. And a few months later, I added a Super Blender and Dehydrator to
my kitchen. Without this equipment, I’m not sure I would have been able to
sustain a Raw food lifestyle. With them, I was able to make delicious pâtés,
hummus, tahini, burgers, lasagne, crackers & breads, soups, nut milks, nut
cheeses, cakes, biscuits and yummy desserts like chocolate ice-cream and
chocolate mousse.

I am so passionate about these amazing machines, that I
stocked them in my shop in Johannesburg and now that I have relocated to the Western Cape, they are available in my online store.

The best was that while I was enjoying all these abssaaa–loooo-tily delicious
dishes, I was losing weight and gaining energy! In fact, in only 10 ½ months, I lost
23kg! And it was effortless AND I went through menopause without any symptoms – no hot flushes!

Before I began my Raw journey, I craved chocolates and crisps and didn’t really enjoy
exercise apart from hiking & cycling when on holiday. Now, I wake up every
morning craving exercise, green juices and smoothies! I love cycling, and
rebounding every day. In fact, I am so passionate about how REBOUNDING changed my life, that I now sell the awesome rebounders online. At at 61, I had more energy and passion for life than I
had when I was 21!

In fact I love this way of life so much, and feel so strongly about the power
of raw food in one’s life, that I want to share what I have learnt with those of
you who also feel there is something missing in your diet/lifestyle. I was an
educator for 30 years. I left mainstream education to start RAW WORKS in 2010, in order
to share the wonderful new possibilities that raw foods can bring to us. (This
doesn’t mean you have to be 100% Raw- I will show you the benefits of increasing
your intake of raw foods to 30% and then 50% and for those of you who would
like, to 80% or even100%).

When I moved to a raw food diet, many of the books that are now available, were not available – I had to read widely and bought over 20 recipe books! Today we
have the most amazing Raw Food recipe books to help you transition and sustain a
high raw food diet. Since I live in South Africa, I especially enjoy the Five
South African books available: Easy Living, written by a Cape Town couple,
Natalie and Noel; Rawlicious and The Magic of Superfoods by Peter & Beryn
Daniel; Recipes from Our Organic Garden by Antonia DeLuca of Leafy Greens Café
and Organic Flexitarian by Bev Wium .