winter cooking class is ON!
1st July (Sunday) 2pm till 5 pm. 
It is going to be a hands on class. We will be cooking meals that are great for colder months (both cooked and raw dishes will be prepared) and eating together. All the ingredients supplied are organic. It is always a nice afternoon, sharing time with like-minded people who will inspire you... contact me ASAP for more details
shokuiku.life@gmail.com

two colour coconut lasagne and cooking class update

I am not sure if they should be called lasagne... Maybe vegetable stacks?
Anyway they do look really pretty and taste amazing....

Because I am eating high raw at the moment it is so easy to eat too many nuts. They taste so comforting and satisfying. This recipe doesn't contain any (unless you consider coconut as nuts....)

I have finally pulled myself together and set the date for a winter cooking class. It will probably on 30th June. I will be posting to confirm in a couple of days. If you are interested you can contact me by email.

shokuiku.life@gmail.com

If you are on Facebook, you can reach me there as well.

It will be a nice relaxing afternoon, cooking and eating together...

a life of perfect days: 6 STEPS TO BECOMING THE VERY BEST VERSION OF YOU

a life of perfect days: 6 STEPS TO BECOMING THE VERY BEST VERSION OF YOU

How I love this Blog. I have been following and reading Connie's blog for a long time.  I adore her writing and honesty and I can relate to many feelings and experiences that she writes about in her blog.

Connie goes through these fantastic 6 points

1. LOVE, NOURISH AND SUPPORT YOURSELF
2. FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
3. FOCUS ON THE GOOD THINGS
4. GIVE YOUR BEST TO ALL THAT YOU DO
5. DEDICATE YOUR LIFE TO WHAT YOU LOVE
6. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

You may have heard these all before but I need to be reminded often. Sometimes things happen and I let a negative felling takes over me. Self doubt and questioning the purpose of my desire have been something that I still have to work on now and then.  Am I good enough to achieve what I want to do? Am I worth it? Is what I am doing making a difference positively to others and myself anyway? Does following my dreams mean I am selfish?

I have a lot to learn still..

Do you have a favourite quote or steps to motivate you?

first you tube! raw macadamia and cashew ricotta cream

My first ever you tube upload!

I am so not experienced but I wanted to do this for fun.
Check this out on You tube. How to make raw macadamia and cashew ricotta cream.
let me know how I could improve next time..

adjusting your diet for winter macrobiotic and raw

Yesterday was the first day of winter. I have to admit I am not too excited about the idea of being cold for the next couple of weeks. However winter is an important season for preparing for spring.
Macrobiotic and Chinese medicine teach that the organs we need to be careful in this season are kidneys and bladder. When they weaken you may have troubles controlling your body's water systems. You may experience water retention, poor circulation, muscle fatigue etc, as well as endocrine problems.
In the winter you may include more salty flavour. Make sure you are taking good quality salt such as miso, soy sauce or tamari, mineral rich salt (celtic, pink, Himalayan ) as well as seaweek. Winter root vegetables like carrots, burdock, lotus roots, taro are great as well.

Because I am eating quite high percentage of raw foods I have to be careful I am not having too much of cooling foods. The basic rule is to eat seasonally. I still see cucumbers and tomatoes around (they are even organic). I would try to use more produce that grow in winter.

winter fuits-
apple
blood orange
cumquat
custard apple
grapefruit
kiwifruit
lemon
lime
mandarin
nashi
navel orange
pear
persimmon
quince
rhubarb
tangelo

Winter vegetables
Asian greens
beetroot
broccoli
brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrot
cauliflower
celeriac
celery
fennel
horseradish
jerusalem artichoke
kale
leek
okra
olives
onion
parsnip
peas
potato
pumpkin
silverbeet
spinach
swede
sweet potato
turnip

Also include warming spices, such as cinnamon, cardamon, turmeric, ginger, cloves. Be careful not to overdo spicy spices such as chilli and cayenne. They do warm you with a small amount but when it is too much it will induce sweating and cool you down.

If you are cooking, you may decide to use a cooking style that provide you with more heat, such as slow cooking, stew, baking. Even if you are making raw dish such as soup and stir fry it may be warmed to 42 degrees. Don't eat food straight from the fridge or freezer!

I have been finding myself wanting to eat more FAT! coconut butter and other coconut product, cocoa butter, avocado, olives, nuts and seeds... you name it! Because I am small I know this is the way my body is trying to keep warm. So I welcome this craving at this time. But if you are trying not to gain weight be careful not to overdo with fat, even they are in a whole and healthy form of fat. It still adds calories.

still raw, vegan, organic and now agave free truffles

My raw chocolate  truffles have been my signature product for a long time. lots of people love them and no wander as they are so delicious. However I have to confess I haven't been too happy with the product for a while now. As I knew more about the  sweetener (agave nectar) that I was using for the truffles and reported negative effects and about scientific studies I found, I was feeling less excited about my truffles.
I don't want to list why I decided not to use agave nectar in any of my products, as there are many great, respectable companies use them and that is their decision. I just decided not to for my own reasons.
It was kind of awkward decision for me. They were like my little babies who I started making them at very early stage of my business. I thought about not making them anymore. Then I changed my mind. I have adjusted the ingredients and now they are agave free as well. Still raw, vegan and organic.
Due to more labour intensive process and ingredient change I have no choice but to increase the price. Please don't put off by it, do try one and let me know what you think.

buddha's day and multicultural festival

I was honoured to have an opportunity to do a cooking demonstration at Buddha's day and multicultural festival at Federation square.
Some Buddhists choose to become vegetarian out of respect for all life and the First Buddhist precept of non-violence and killing. Becoming a vegetarian also allows Buddhists to cultivate compassion.


My session was from 12:30 till 1:30. Even though it had been raining in the morning we had a bit of sunshine coming thorough the clouds by the time I started.


I demonstrated these three dishes
- raw cauliflower and sweet potato couscous with brazilnut parmesan
- simple lentil hotpot with coconut
- apple layers with carob caramel and pistachio


Unfortunately because of the health regulations there was no tastings allowed but I had so much positive feedbacks from the participants as well as volunteers.


I certainly enjoyed the demonstration as well as talking to the volunteers. They are all so sweet and helpful, making the whole experience easy and pleasant. 

it is on every year so if you missed it this year make sure to put that in your diary.