Until 2008, I was overweight, often bloated and lacked energy.
For 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. In 2008, I was told to give up all wheat, dairy and refined sugar for health reasons. I felt devastated! I couldn’t imagine life without bread, cheese, pizza, pasta, chips and chocolates. And then I heard about the Raw Food Lifestyle and I decided to try it out. I loved the variety of tastes and I loved how energized I felt. And, for the first time in my life, I lost weight effortlessly, and without feeling deprived. My food cravings were gone and the ill health I had experienced as a result of food intolerances, healed. I enjoy delicious foods that nourish my body including mouth-watering cakes, ice-cream, sorbets and chocolat (all made from raw organic ingredients). I have the Raw Food lifestyle to thank for this! After 3 years of following a 100% raw food lifestyle, I became more flexible and I now follow an 85 -90 % RAW VEGAN diet, enjoying steamed veg or a light stir fry at times.
Once I switched to a Raw Food lifestyle, I studied extensively: Gabrielle Cousens (www.treeoflife.com): David Wolfe (https://www.davidwolfe.com/ ); Vicotia Boutenko (www.rawfoodfamily.com) and bought every raw food recipe book I could find. At that time the amazing Easy Living Foods (Easy Living Foods (https://rawworks.co.za/product/easy-living-foods/) and Magic of Superfoods, written by South African chefs who had also gone raw, had not yet been written. These books are the best to get you started on the Raw Lifestyle. find out more about them https://rawworks.co.za/books/
I learnt all about the role that ENZYMES play in the digestion of our foods and the importance of MINERALS and PHYTO-NUTRIENTS. 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 the greatest, so I bought a slow, masticating OSCAR JUICER (https://rawworks.co.za/juicers/). And a few months later, I added a SUPER BLENDER (https://rawworks.co.za/blenders/) and DEHYDRATOR (https://rawworks.co.za/dehydrators/) to my kitchen. Without this equipment, I’m not sure I would have been able to sustain a Raw food lifestyle for 8 years. This equipment enabled me to make delicious pâtés, hummus, tahini, burgers, lasagne, crackers & breads, soups, nut milks, nut cheeses, mango lime cheese and other raw cakes, biscuits and yummy desserts like chocolate ice-cream and chocolate mousse
Before introducing more raw foods to my diet, especially 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 still had food cravings ruled.
The bonus of following a healthier lifestyle, was that while I was enjoying delicious dishes, I was losing weight and gaining energy! In about 10 ½ months I lost 23 kg! I woke up every morning craving exercise and green smoothies! I also went through menopause without any symptoms. I am 62 and have more energy and va- voom than I had when I was 16!
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 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%).
At Raw Works, we run WORKSHOPS ( https://rawworks.co.za/workshops/), ranging from Introduction to Raw, to Quick Easy Meals; Sweet Treats and Dehydrating made easy (where we make delicious raw vegan pizza!). We even have a Domestic worker/cook’s workshop for busy women who don’t have the time to make delicious raw vegan dishes. You can see more at https://rawworks.co.za/ . We have a shop in Berario, near Northcliff, which is open to the public every Wed and Sat from 9:30 – 16:30, where we also sell equipment, books and ingredients that make food preparation easier.
If you are interested, sign up for our newsletter or send me an email, info@rawworks.co.za or contact me on 082 579 0440.
I look forward to sharing this amazing lifestyle with you!
Serna and the Raw Works Team