Here we are tucking into lunch on my New Year Detox Cookery Course held at Bodnant in January, where we had a fabulous day making raw and cooked dishes using fresh, organic detox-friendly ingredients. As you can see, detoxing doesn't have to mean going hungry! Here are some of the comments:
"A
really fabulous day with Rhona. Great to use only the freshest produce to make
some truly delicious detox dishes."
"Lovely day, lots of interesting dishes. Thank you Rhona"
"Super day, made healthy eating fun. Wonderful food, thank
you Rhona."
"A fantastic day from start to finish. Delicious recipes and lots of
great new ideas. Thoroughly enjoyable, thank you."
"Great Day. Would like to do many more classes. Thanks for a good
day!"
There
are so many weird and wonderful ideas circulating about detoxing. To me, it's simply about cleansing
and nourishing the body from the inside by eating fresh ingredients as close to their natural state as
possible. It also means eliminating the foods that clog up our bodies, take a long
time to digest and deplete our immune system.
I
stopped eating meat, eggs and dairy over 30 years ago because I believed it was better
for my health. During that time I've been growing and eating my own
organic fruit and vegetables too. Over the years, I've learned how my body
feels when I'm eating the right food for me and some may say I pretty much eat
a detox diet most days of the year!
Even
though this was a "detox" course, I still chose recipes that the
whole family would enjoy,
that didn't need any special equipment and, most of all, were delicious to eat
and full of flavour and natural goodness. My inspiration came from the
ancient traditions of Japan and India where they have been detoxifying the body
for centuries. I also incorporated a few 21st century ideas on eating
raw and hopefully inspired a few people to enjoy eating "free from" more
often!
The day
started at 10am with a welcome drink.
The freshly made cup of root ginger and lemon tea went down well, so much so
that everyone asked for seconds! The creamy cashew dip with apple slices
was popular too!
The first dish we made together was a colourful quinoa salad, filled with roasted butternut squash, red onions, red and yellow peppers and fresh rocket leaves. Then we made a blended pate with mushrooms, onions, walnuts and thyme.
After a
fresh juice break, I demonstrated how to make a healthy miso soup using freshly made vegetable stock,
dried wakame, rice noodles, an assortment of vegetables and flavoured with
fresh root ginger and two sorts of miso.
In
Japan, having a bowl of miso soup every day has long been associated with
health and vitality
and research has certainly proved that it is beneficial in
strengthening our immune system. After a warming bowl of soup for lunch, there
were more healthy dishes to enjoy including a variety of fresh salads, spelt
bread and some raw and roasted vegetable dips I'd made in advance.
In the
afternoon, we made some of my favourite recipes - a Moroccan Carrot and Orange
Salad with dates and toasted cashews, then Aloo Gobi - a spicy Indian
cauliflower and potato dish. Our final recipe was Vanilla Cashew Cream
with fresh fruit kebabs.
At the
end of the day, when all of the prepared dishes were packed away to take home and enjoy later, I had one final
treat for everyone - some home made raw cacao bites and sugar free fruit
flapjacks!
Since
the course, it's been great hearing from those of you who came and how you've enjoyed
making the recipes again at home. Even the detox drinks have become a
daily habit for some which is brilliant!
Of
course, it's how our bodies feel at the end of it that matters and my next course at Bodnant is
all about feeling good and feeling lighter!
Lighten
Up for Summer -
Saturday 26th April 2014
Just
after the Easter break and with the summer holidays looming on the horizon, this will be the
perfect time to be more health conscious if you want to look and feel good when
the warmer weather arrives!
The
good news is that during the summer months, it's often easier to include lighter,
healthier plant-based meals in your daily diet that will cleanse and lighten
your body naturally and lift your energy too.
On the
course, I'll be showing you how
to prepare high quality raw and cooked dishes that are packed full of goodness
and will leave you feeling lighter and with a renewed sense of well-being.
Lighten
Up For Summer
is on:-
Date: Saturday, 26th April
2014
Time: 11:00am -
4:00pm
Price: £95.00 inc lunch and
all ingredients
With
lots of practical advice and simple guidelines to follow, together with some new exciting
recipes to help you create a healthy body you'll be proud of, this will be a
day you definitely won't want to miss!
