Annelie Whitfield - Annelies Raw Food Power: Supercharged Raw Food Recipes and Remedies

RAW FOOD POWER

supercharged raw food recipes and remedies

Annelie Whitfield

Text and recipes 2013 Annelie Whitfield

Design and layout 2013 Ivy Press Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage-and-retrieval system, without written permission from Ivy Press Limited.

Published by

Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.

57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-10: 1-4405-5751-9

ISBN-13: 978-1-4405-5751-4

eISBN-10: 1-4405-5752-7

eISBN-13: 978-1-78240-037-0

Color origination by Ivy Press Reprographics

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the publisher.

This book was conceived, designed, and produced by

Ivy Press

Creative Director Peter Bridgewater

Publisher Susan Kelly

Art Director Wayne Blades

Senior Editor Jayne Ansell

Design, Art Direction & Styling Simon Daley

Jungle Photographer Jennifer Harter

Food Photographer Ian Garlick

Home Economist Lorna Brash

All spoon and cup measurements are level: 1 teaspoon is assumed to be 5 ml, 1 tablespoon is assumed to be 15 ml, and 1 cup is assumed to be 250 ml.

Always follow safety and commonsense cooking protocol while using kitchen utensils, operating ovens and stoves, and handling uncooked food. If children are assisting in the preparation of any recipe, they should always be supervised by an adult.

While the publisher and author have made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate and presented in good faith, no warranty is provided nor results guaranteed. The publishers and author exclude liability to the fullest extent of the law for any consequences resulting from reliance upon the information contained herein. This book is intended as general information only, and should not be used to diagnose or treat any health condition. In light of the complex, individual, and specific nature of health problems, this book is not intended to replace professional medical advice. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions in this book are intended to supplement, not replace, the advice of a trained medical professional. Consult your physician before adopting any of the suggestions in this book, as well as about any condition that may require diagnosis or medical attention. The author and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

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Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Of all the gifts I received in my life, the most important was my childhood. I was always out and about, eating wild foods and loving the freedom of growing up on a farm. My early years were spent mostly barefoot and, today, Im delighted to be able to gift my children the grounded, barefoot magic of living close to nature.

When I was four I decided that I was going to become a stunt girl, and from the age of twenty-three I found myself doubling for the likes of Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, and Cameron Diaz. I spent seven years jumping off bridges, being beaten up and set on fire, and crashing cars. It was a wonderful but brief career, full of excitement, travel, fun, and a fair amount of fear. However, deep down I always knew that one day I would be spending more time in nature, and Id be doing something more likely to nurture my health than threaten it!

My turning time point came four years down the line, when I had a serious car crash while working, which left me burned, battered, and somewhat disillusioned. This, of course, was a blessing in disguise and the shake up I needed to start me on a different journey. I spent almost a year healing, choosing natural alternatives to conventional medicine where possible, because it felt so instinctively wrong to be mummified in casts and be applying strong pharmaceutical creams. This year was a time of huge learning, which left me both humbled and in awe of the power of herbs, living foods, plant spirits, bone-mending monks, homeopathy, Chinese medicine, and much, much more.

I am now a qualified naturopath and herbalist and have spent the last eight years running clinics, presenting TV shows, and traveling the world in search of powerful natural remedies and recipes.

I am not exactly sure why, but I have always had a deep-seated pull toward the jungle, which has intensified as Ive traveled. I have spent many YEARS reading about jungle medicine and am fascinated by peoples journeys into the jungles of the world; books, such as Jungle Medicine by Connie Grauds and The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs by Leslie Taylor, ND, inspire me.

Then, one day, came the realization that my inspirations were just voyeurismI wasnt living those experiences. How had it come to pass that the nature girl I so cherished inside had become part of the furniture in Londons urban jungle? In a remarkably casual conversation, given the gravitas of what we were discussing, my husband Jamie and I decided that same night to completely change our lives. We wanted to remove our little girls from the big city into a more natural living environment, learn a new language, experience a completely different culture, and no longer be in a nine-to-five existence. After a few months of plotting and planning, selling our house, and putting more than ten years of London life into storage, we went to live in the Costa Rican jungle. It was many things, from sheer bliss to borderline hell, but it was always highly stimulating.

The journey taught me so much, not just about how incredible it is to experience living such a different life, but also about my family. I feel like I know each one of them so much better, and I now understand how such an experience can strengthen ideas about how you want to live your life. It also taught me something that I always knew, but hadnt yet properly experienced: the power of the natural world. Living so close to nature was at times intimidating and a real challenge, but also incredibly energizing.

As a health practitioner, I have spent many years learning from courses, books, and seminars. But from living in the jungle I have changed some of my previous ideas about diet and lifestyle, and I now feel that I know how I really want to live, what I want to eat, and most importantly, how to nurture my children. I have no doubt in my mind that taking my kids out of the urban jungle and into the real one has been truly amazing for their little spirits, nourishing and supporting them while they rise to the challenges of life.