Simply Raw

Yes, I am finally announcing that there will be raw food classes in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, in the Geneva Lake region, in Morges to be more specific. As many of you will know, my raw food coach business is just beginning. This blog was a very first step to get the word out, and to get people to sign up if they want to be kept informed of what is to happen. Much will be happening, especially in the second part of this year when I will be devoting much more time to this new business. As announced late last year, there will be a website, with many products and services on offer, including instantaneously downloadable recipe e-books — first in French, as this is the region that needs raw food information the most! There is a great deal of information available in English on the web, but very little in French.

This coming spring, I will be organizing short events for people who just want to have a taste of raw food and exposure to what it’s all about. I will also hold classes for beginners to introduce them to the concept and teach them a variety of tasty and simple recipes to get you started. I will start opening up my coaching practice for those who will want to be guided and helped through the process, as depending on where you’re at, you may need someone to show you the way! Also, and this is a special treat for those of you out there who are already into raw foods, I am looking into inviting Visiting Raw Food Chefs from the UK or the US to come and teach special high-level gourmet classes at my home. This will bring inspiration and creativity to those already into raw food without having to necessarily fly overseas to get the benefits of these precious teachings.

Whether you are simply curious, a beginner anxious to learn, one who is already eating plenty of raw food or a well seasoned raw fooder, I assure you there will be something for you. As this is the very beginning of my new business, I would encourage any of you who are eager for more, excited at the prospect, and perhaps even wanting something different, to contact me here. One of my readers wrote a comment from Nice, stating that flying from Nice to Geneva was easy enough, and that is true from many other locations in the rest of Switzerland or in neighbouring France.

Classes will be held in Morges, a small town near Lausanne, a short 40 minute train ride from Geneva international airport. My large and sunlit kitchen is a perfect setting for a raw food class, it can accommodate up to ten persons for intimate, hands-on and really inspiring experiences in the company of like-minded people. I hope to hear from you soon and look forward to meeting some of you to share delicious and healthy foods, and maybe the beginning of a wonderful journey. Stay tuned for exact dates which will be posted here before the end of the month!

Eating a raw food diet can be full of revelations. You start eating fresh fruit and vegetables as often as you can, and as a result you feel energized and revitalized. Then you discover the Green Revolution. In the raw food world, green is the way to go — not just out of respect for the environment. No this goes much further: it means eating as many greens as you can get your hands on. And not just in any fashion. To ensure you get as many greens in your body as you possibly can, juice or blend them for immediate positive effects.

Victoria Boutenko is the raw food expert who launched the idea of the Green Smoothie — and Dr. Ann Wigmore before her had introduced the Energy Soup back in the 80’s. The idea of the Green Smoothie is to ingest a large quantity of greens by making them as palatable as possible. By blending greens with fruit (you’ll need a high power blender for this) you get a green smoothie that may look strange at first but is truly delicious. The sweet fruit takes the bitter taste of greens away. And it is filling too! The benefits you can derive from such a drink are manifold: a highly nutritious complete food, that is very easily digested thanks to its high content in digestive enzymes. Dr. Wigmore spoke of “an instant surge of energy and brain focus” when she drank her first green smoothie. To make this even better, green smoothies are a great source of protein. Yes, green leafy vegetables are the richest sources of perfect proteins (amino acids) for humans. Green smoothies reduce cravings for not so healthy foods, help lose weight and feed every cell in your body. So why wait? Try a green smoothie now!

Green smoothies are made from blending sweet juicy fruits (for example mango, pineapple, pear, apple, peach, orange, etc.) with green leaves (spinach, any salad, green leaf or green sprout, as well as herbs such as basil, mint, parsley, etc). Start with the fruit to have a liquid base before blending in the leaves. Adding a banana can turn it into a real creamy drink, and adding water will give it the consistency you prefer.

My favorite green smoothie is the following: 1 banana, 1 mango and two bunches of lamb’s lettuce. This is more easily found than young spinach leaves all winter long here in Switzerland, and it is even sweeter in taste so the result is lovely. I highly recommend it. Even children like it! My 6 year-old asks for more when I make her one! So here’s to green smoothies! I assure you, a green smoothie every day keeps the doctor away!

If you want to see Karen Knowler make her classic mango and spinach smoothie on YouTube, click here!