As well as being a career and leisure traveller, I am also a budding Raw enthusiast. Combine the two and it gets quite tricky to not let one of them slide. I am always impressed by my fellow raw foodist's abilities to still stay on track when they are indulging themselves in a wonderful holiday savouring the local cuisine, which to me is almost always the reason you chose the destination in the first place.
I just got back from another work trip, this time to London and Jordan (both fabulous!), and as I had at least a week notice prior to departing, I was able to plan my excursion with precision. As I was going to have 3 full days in Londontown I had to plan my time wisely and the main tasks I wanted to check off my checklist (apart from catch up with old friends as I only moved from London at the beginning of this year), was to pick up my tools to assist me on my drive to be healthy and 'mainly' RAW. By the end of my 3rd day, I swear the bellmen must have thought I was an online shopping junkie, with boxes being delivered to my room EVERYDAY!
Here's what I ordered and from whom:
Excalibur 9 Tray Dehydrator with 26 Hour Timer: The best way to preserve the goodness of nutrient dense fruits, vegetables & nuts without subjecting it to the heat of cooking where enzymes, vitamins & minerals packaged straight from nature can be lost
A Saladacco Spairal Slicer: A machine you can make spaghetti like strands out of most vegetables, most notably zucchini. I have been dreaming about this ever since I tried RAW Zucchini Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce at Spa Samui on my detox. The sensation of eating the long thin pieces of zucchini makes it feel like you are eating al dente pasta (albeit cold).
A Tribest Personal Blender: Now I have no excuse not to have smoothies on the road. This little gem is so power packed that it can grind dry ingredients (it has two kinds of blades) as well as ice and wet ingredients, and every day after I bought it, I was blending up all kinds of smoothies in my hotel rooms. Bananas, kiwi, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and spinach made an appearance with a dash of water...YUM! This little beauty is also light enough to pack in your suitcase. I am now searching on Amazon for extra large cups to go along with it and maybe a travel case....Thanks Kristen for recommending it to me over a year ago.I also made a long awaited trip to London's Wholefoods at Kensington which I was plenty excited about (so many little crazy ingredients that are just NOT available in my part of the world) after hearing about it all the time on some of my favourite blogs. Yeah it was heaven alright. I even came away with 2 logo hessian carry bags to cart my shopping home so I can look uber cool at my own little supermarket back home (and GREEN too) Then another quick stop to Holland & Barrett to top up on some ingredients that were sold out at Wholefoods then I was done. Phew.
So not only am I now flicking fruit & veggie pulp all over my kitchen with my daily use of my Champion Juicer, I can now make raw pasta, and some delicious treats with my new dehydrator whilst my kitchen looks like a garden with all my fresh produce. YUM!
If you are interested in more of the Raw lifestyle, here are a few great places to start:
Kristens Raw - got me on the road to learning more about raw after I devoured the book Skinny Bitch last year. Her blogs contains useful tips and hints, plus she sells the BEST recipe books. She is one cool chick!
Casey's Lifestyle Raw - shows how her choice for going Raw has helped her skin & low immunity. An Awesome Aussie girl!
Bev Goes Raw - an inspiring journey of 'Bev Going Raw' whilst showing some beautiful photos of her adopted home in Germany. Love her stories and beautiful photos too!
We Like it Raw - some inspirational before and after stories as well as interviews and tips to making RAW a part of your life
Raw Epicurean - RAW lifestyle recipes
Kristens Raw - got me on the road to learning more about raw after I devoured the book Skinny Bitch last year. Her blogs contains useful tips and hints, plus she sells the BEST recipe books. She is one cool chick!
Casey's Lifestyle Raw - shows how her choice for going Raw has helped her skin & low immunity. An Awesome Aussie girl!
Bev Goes Raw - an inspiring journey of 'Bev Going Raw' whilst showing some beautiful photos of her adopted home in Germany. Love her stories and beautiful photos too!
We Like it Raw - some inspirational before and after stories as well as interviews and tips to making RAW a part of your life
Raw Epicurean - RAW lifestyle recipes
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13 readers decided to share their thoughts:
I'm really curious about going Raw, I must admit. I don't think I could keep it up all the time, there are far too many cooked meals I love, and I really enjoy the cooking process, but I think I'm going to try eating raw on a semi-regular basis as I think it'll do me a lot of good!
Self-discipline… I am lacking self-discipline on travels. I am leaving with the best of intentions… It must be so much harder for you to stay raw while traveling constantly. How do you manage?
Thank you for the links. I am tempted by the blender… but is it really light enough to travel?
Wow you've been a busy girl shopping!
We used to have a dehydrator at the kitchen I used to work in and I used to go bonkers dehydrating everything in sight! Mangoes work really well!
I also dehydrated mushrooms then blended them up into a powder and you can make a boring mushroom soup into something much tastier!
Its a really interesting post. Raw food is tasty and delicious. Its funny because I just bought a good juicer and a new blender and a whole bunch of fruits and vedgies..I decided yesterday to go on a fruit fast for a month, starting tomorrow. I read a lot about that on the internet lately and apparently it is good for health. I hope I can really make it. I will start blogging about tomorrow!
Its always fun to read your blog :)
Sparkleandglitter - I hear you, but seriously, when you get the chance to feel a better kick than coffee following a Green Smoothie or goto bed without that icky feeling after eating something lacking in nutrients you may reconsider. I still like my cooked foods too, but a friend once told me that cooked foods are highly addictive and once we break that cycle you start to crave more natural foods...YUM. Plus you can have some delicious VEGAN cooked foods too with a HIGH raw diet, I am still not 100% able to break the Carnivore side in me but am trying.
Fida - oh yeah I am learning big time about self discipline, but for me it is about not leaving my room hungry (yay smoothies). Seriously, unboxed this blender weighs 1.2kgs and the base can easily fit in my large handbag (ok it is a large one but they are all the fashion).
Sky High Boy - I think I am going to have to come to you not only for cocktail recipes but also RAW recipes now. You know what you are talking about (you used to be a chef right?)
Carine - good luck on your juice fast. Here is another link you might find of interest if you are embarking on a 'juice feast' www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2008/11/my-way-courtney.html
That zucchini pasta sounds kinda interesting, in a good way :) I love the little blender too! Ours died, and we've not yet gotten round to buying a new one.
The link is fixed now, I think it was a 'my-bad' moment!
congrats on the wonderful new toys!! all three are at the top of my wishlist, i was so close to buying that tribest blender before my trip down here to CA, wish i had as the diet hasn't been so spot on ;)
i do agree with you though, one of the draws for me while travelling is sampling the local cuisine. often enough i'm able to find something vegan or at the very least vegetarian and i like to stay at vacation rentals so i can pick up produce at a market and prep lots for myself too.
hope you are well!
You are so awesome! I just bought the Excalibur 5 tray. Ready, Set, Race! What are you going to make??? I can't wait to make some breads and crackers. I am really craving carbs. I also agree about having to eat the local food when you travel. Especially someplace where the food is divine--like Germany. My compromise is when I'm at home--it's all Raw. No guilt when I'm traveling--you have to try the food, it's one of the best parts.
It's funny I get so excited for snow then when we actually get it I want it to go away just as quickly....it's a love hate relationship :)
I sure was! So just fire away the questions! After all I did spend 4 years of my life in commercial kitchens :P
we used to dry out beetroots and make it into a powder and then make a very sexy looking red risotto with it! lol!
Thanks for sharing my blog! Glad you find it helpful :) Us Aussie gals stick together!
Look at all your yummy new toys...fun!!
Wow! I admire your discipline. I'm trying to eat more healthily, too much aircraft food as it is lol... I think my first step is to just keep a diary of what I eat for a few weeks, then worry about eating better.
I did really well for a day, then I got some bad news and turned to sugar for comfort- I am so BAD!!!!
Hi! What a fabulous blog you have and I love travel stories and adventures. Thank you for sharing a link back to my blog!
It is always fun to add new equipment and tools you outfit your kitchen, and you've added some great items to yours. Have fun creating delicious raw food with your new toys!
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