Welcome to RawforLife
RAW FOOD is no longer the preserve of savvy health experts and Hollywood stars who look and feel decades younger than their years. The raw food movement that has taken America by storm is now in the UK, and you can find out about it here!
Some people think Raw is ‘extreme’ - they just want to be NORMAL…
THIS is normal: coughs, colds, allergies, IBS, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, strokes, pain, suffering and premature death.
These things may be NORMAL, but they are NOT inevitable. Thousands have testified to the power of raw food, banishing the spectre of ill-health (and those who have spent most of their lives battling weight gain will find that, on the raw food diet that particular problem should be solved - permanently).
The raw food diet is eating the pure, nourishing, healing, protecting foods that were made for us!
Whether you’re 20, 40, 60 or 80, do you really want NORMAL, any more?
If you don’t, TURN to raw food.
I'm Debbie Took, Raw Food Coach, and founder of RawforLife.
Two years ago, I discovered raw food eating. In the eyes of most of the world, I became a 'nutter', an 'extremist', but, in becoming one, my body seemed to get younger rather than older, I found heaps more energy and waved goodbye to a host of health complaints that we're taught are 'normal'. So, as a teacher, I felt the best way I could serve the world from that point on was to use my teaching skills and experience of raw to help others along the path I've travelled. So, you're interested in the benefits that raw can bring, read on.
You can switch to all raw food at once, or move towards that, in a gentle way, by gradually increasing the amount of raw food in your diet. And however you’d like to start your journey, I can help.
Read on...
Since starting RawforLife I have helped those at all stages of the raw food journey, with differing short and long-term goals.
How the RawforLife Raw Food Coach can help
Do you want to go raw GENTLY? To simply increase the raw in your diet?
If you are looking simply to increase the amount of raw food in your diet, how to make a positive difference to health, how to make interesting meals purely from raw ingredients, and need a teacher who can motivate, empower, entertain and inspire….
you have plenty of teachers to choose from. The good news is that so many people in different areas, eg vegan cookery, yoga, life coaching, have all experienced the power of raw for themselves, and are incorporating raw food eating within their educational programmes.
And of course, I can certainly help in these circumstances. Come to me for encourage and motivation, and practical help, ie information, and raw food recipes! Many of my clients are looking to increase the raw in their diet rather than go 100% raw, and I can help you move from WHEREVER you are now to wherever you want to go.
When are you successfully raw? When you can say you're eating more raw food than you were a year ago. After that, it's up to you!
In fact, my job satisfaction will be high if I can help someone move to even 25% raw whose previous raw was the lettuce in a burger bun! And, by the way, when I talk percentages, I mean ROUGHLY!
Or do you want to DIVE IN? Is your goal 100% raw (or very close to), either now or in the future...
Learn from someone who has travelled the path
By the end of 2008 I will have been two years on raw food. 80% first few months, then 95%, then, since the beginning of 2008, 100% raw.
And, yes, that's really '99.6% rounded up', as occasionally non-raw ingredients do pass my lips. For example, you may or may not be surprised to hear that dishes at raw food restaurants, events and potlucks sometimes contain non-raw ingredients (I now follow the policy 'eat and enjoy' rather than subject raw friends and raw restaurant chefs to the third degree...). And I have been known to eat non-raw ingredients mixed into an 'almost raw' salad at a 'cooked' restaurant. However, these occasions come to far less than 1 in 100 meals. I never eat 'cooked meals' as commonly understood, and you won't find miso, nama shoyu, maple syrup or nutritional yeast in the raw food recipes I use at my classes, as...they're not raw.
I believe that a Raw Food Coach who has actually kept to a raw food diet for a significant period of time will be the most effective in helping those who would like to go 'very high raw'. And after two years I have a pretty good appreciation of the challenges.
Raw overnight, or in steps?
Some people go raw overnight and never look back. There are advantages to this, eg the transformation is dramatic. But there can also be disadvantages - cooked food has a big hold on us and saying goodbye to everything immediately is quite a challenge. Also, detox symptoms can be uncomfortable (although the article 'What is Detox?' from the RawforLife May 08 e-zine may help you ride them out).
My general recommendation is only increase your raw food to a level at which you feel comfortable and happy. If it's a struggle, 'rest' a while where you are (for weeks, months or even years) before going on. A 75% raw diet is light years healthier than the standard diet and will make you feel (and look) a LOT better! If you're 'not sure' go for a 'high raw' diet initially.
Here's an article that could help you decide whether to switch to 100% raw food straight away, or start at, say, 75%. It's from the RawforLife April 08 e-zine - 'How Raw? How Soon?
As your raw food coach, I can help you every time you want to increase the raw food in your diet, as I have done that successfully myself and have negotiated the obstacles.
For example, I can help you cope with those 'trickies' -social occasions, holidays, raw with a family, etc. And, about to start a third winter of raw, I can explain to you why no one 'needs' to eat cooked (damaged) food in the winter any more than they do in the summer (but we can discuss the psychological and social pressures there will be on you to do otherwise!)
And I will not be warning you of the possible ‘dangers’ of becoming obsessive over raw food, because simply wanting to put into your body undamaged food only is not an ‘obsession’! It’s a rational decision in a somewhat crazy world.
To sum up, if you would like to take the path less travelled and go 100% raw, whether that's overnight or gradually, then learn from someone who has already trodden the path.
And, if that's wayyyy.... more than you want to do right now (or ever), and you'd just like support in increasing your raw food a little, I can help there as well.
And if you're not looking for a 'raw food coach'?
Fine. Forget the label. Just use me in whatever way you like. Friend? Information source? Or just take what you need (eg articles, raw food recipes) from the RawforLife monthly e-zine and blog articles.
What I can offer:
FREE
The RawforLife e-zine
– NOT a 'salesletter'.
- Articles on raw food and related subjects
- Other useful information
- Raw food recipes
Every month
Here’s a sample issue:
If you’d like to see more back issues, subscribe to the e-zine and in the process of subscription you will see links for all back issues since February 07. (I suggest copying and pasting the links into a document as the subscription process may be the only chance you get to see them!)
The RawforLife Blog
- NOT a diary
- NOT 'what I ate today'.
A series of informative articles (and occasionally raw recipes). Amongst my most popular articles have been 'Do you eat the pips?', 'Freezing', and 'How to make Essene bread'.
I update the blog 2-3 times a month, so if you'd like to see the articles as they come through, subscribe via the Feedblitz panel on the Blog page, or pop it onto your own blogminder service.
PAID-FOR
Raw Food Preparation Classes:
£70
RawforLife Experience (‘transition foods’ - all dishes made from raw ingredients)
RawforLife ‘Fruit & Leaves’ (a simpler raw food diet - all dishes made from raw ingredients)
People of all ages have attended my classes – from 20 to 65+. (I'm 50 years old; the photo on this page was taken just last year, and – OK – is one of my more flattering photos (still prey to vanity!), but it is unretouched, the hair colour is natural, and, except for a nose straightening 25 years ago, I've had no cosmetic surgery, or any other sort of 'anti-aging' treatment - bar raw food of course!).
RawforLife Saturday Social
£25
RawforLife Saturday Social
A new kind of raw event, with lots of delectable dishes to sample!
RawforLife Coaching Support Service:
RawforLife Support
Debbie Took, BA (Hons)(Psychology), CAM Cert, PGCE (qualified teacher)Trained Raw Food Coach - approved and personally recommended by Karen Knowler.
Whilst I am a student of Natural Hygiene (Natural Health) I do not subscribe in whole to this 'school of thought', neither to the teachings of any 'guru' - I'm a Raw Food Independent!)
