I discovered Nakd bars several years ago at a raw food / vegan festival in London. Immediately I fell for the taste, the cheeky packaging (declaring that the bars are “gleefully made in Wales’”) and the nice vibe I got from Natural Balance Foods, the company behind them.

Since discovering their new raw food bars this summer, I have I admit gotten a bit of a crush on this company. I totally love their cheeky little Raw Nakd Nudie bars, especially the Cocoa Orange which offers a perfect little hit of dates, nuts and cocoa (5%, not raw) and tastes truly delicious – and as you know by now, dear Reader, I am rather particular when it comes to my raw treats!.

Apart from the fact these these are yummy-licious raw bars, and are free from dairy, gluten and added sugar, I also love their size. The other bars they do are about twice the size, which is absolutely fine, but having these 35g bars is so very handy. If you are flagging and need a quick boost of energy then one of these bars will keep you going until your next meal. And if you have longer to wait, then eat two! Or three!…

I like to make sure I always have one or two of these in my bag to turn to either when I am hungry, or need a boost of energy, or am out and about and want a raw treat while other people are tucking into cakes and cookies.

So I have been enjoying these on planes, in cinemas (perfect with a carton of Coconut Water, a true treat!), walking down the street (I don’t usually like spoiling a perfectly good eating occasion by walking at the same time, but sometimes we busy girls need to eat on the run), in a park with a take-away peppermint tea, in the car, at my desk, on a walk in the woods…!

Apart from the lovely Cocoa Orange, you can enjoy these bars in the form of: Cashew Cookie, Ginger Bread, Pecan Pie. I think the names are so perfectly descriptive that I don’t think you need me make you drool onto your keyboard by going into too much detail; the best thing to do is try them for yourself.

You can find these cheeky little bars on line from Natural Balance Foods >>>

You can also find them in health food stores and other well stocked shops such as Goodstore >>> on Södermalm in Stockholm – perfect for enjoying in the park next door, or treat yourself to some coconut water (also from Goodstore) for a perfect cinema combo!

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If you read my last newsletter then you will know that we have been redecorating our living room. Hardly front page news, I know, but the reason why I am sharing this with you is twofold. One reason is that the gorgeous colour of our walls reminded me so much of a recipe that I wanted to share it with you (see below), and number two is that doing something so ‘mundane’ as redecorating has triggered such huge changes in other areas of my life.

Even before we came to look at the house in December 2008 I took in instant disliking to the living room. The walls were an orange-salmon colour, and the wooden floor and ceiling had an orange tint to them from age, so that the overall effect was, well, rather orange!

However, since we had more urgent projects to take care of when we bought the house, changing this livable, but hideous, room wasn’t a major priority. I realize now that it should have been. Even though we used the room (mostly in the evenings) neither of us actually enjoyed being there, and if Christoffer wasn’t in there, then I would prefer to sit at my desk in my studio than sit in a boring orange room!

So one weekend, a few weeks ago, we could stand it no more, and by the following weekend we had already made a start on ‘project de-orange’. Even though we didn’t finished the project in one day, merely making a start sparked something in our lives. On a practical level, the little furniture that was in the living room (we hadn’t really made ourselves at home there, so there wasn’t much) was relocated during the renovations. But their new homes suited them so well, that suddenly our other rooms had a whole new feeling and function, and our house is consequently feeling more of a home.

But on a more subtle level, we noticed several changes. Firstly, we both felt that we had finally honoured ourselves and that we felt that we ‘deserved’ a nice room. This recognition of our self-worth has trickled into other areas of lives, and I know for sure that my tolerance towards things that don’t serve me well has reduced considerably, and I am making changes to ensure that I treat myself as well as I should.

Secondly, within the following few days opportunities somehow presented themselves to allow me to tick off several big things that had been on my ‘to-do list’ for months. It was really weird. I didn’t have to initiate anything all I had to do was accept the opportunities that we presented to me. And I am not going to even start on how good it feels, for example, to get my accounts in order, or get the car finally fixed and how clearing that mental clutter is allowing new things to grow.

And all these small things are in turn triggering other things inside me, so I feel that there are more exciting changes ahead, both at home and within my business!

The living room is nearly finished, but is still looking like a bit of a building site, so I can’t share any photo’s with you today. I admit that it is a bit trying living around a half-decorated room, but I have been using my techniques for making effective changes that I shared in April’s newsletter to keep me focused, and stop me loosing my enthusiasm.

What I can share with you, however, is that two of our walls are now such a beautiful colour that I just wanted to grab a straw and stick it into the paint bucket and slurp it all up. I haven’t become a paint junkie or anything, it’s just that it looks just like a gorgeous blueberry smoothie. Such a sexy, rich purple colour!

Blueberries are such brilliant a source of anti-oxidants and are just so tasty. I am very lucky because when they are in season, I can pick them from our neighbouring woods. I often munch on them during my walks with Pixie the dog, and she loves them too!

So, dear Reader, here is a recipe for a super quick, yummy and nutritious smoothie for you. Just remember to drink it and not smear it on your walls!

Blueberry Smoothie
Serves 2

2 cups nut milk (you can find a recipe for this in March’s newsletter)
1.5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 large bananas (you can use frozen ones for a super thick and creamy drink)
A pinch of vanilla powder, or a few drops of vanilla extract
Ice (if not using frozen fruit and berries)
Half an avocado (if not using frozen bananas and you want a richer smoothie)

Blend it all up and enjoy!

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I have been absolutely delighted to see both the number of my newsletter-subscribers and my blog readers grow in the past couple of months. I often think about you, even thought I may not know you, and I am very conscious about ensuring that I bring you as much value as possible. After all, if you have honoured me with your time by reading my blog, then I want to make sure that you get as much out of it as possible.

With this mind, I would be super grateful if you could complete a short survey of just 10 quick questions, so that I can see where you are now, where you want to go, and how I can best tailor my free recipes and information and my products/courses to suit you.

As a little thank you, you have the option of being entered into a draw to win a copy of my e-book ‘Loving Life-Loving Desserts‘. Just make sure you have responded before Monday 12th April for a chance to win.

Take the survey here to let me know how I can help you, and to have the chance to win a copy of my yummy e-book.

One way that I know I have been able to help people is by sharing my recipes for delicious desserts to make it easier for them to eat healthy food without having to compromise on taste. With this in mind, I also wanted to let you know that my Easter discount on my e-book runs until tomorrow, so if you would like to get access to 43 heavenly healthy dessert recipes for 15% less, do make sure you use the following instructions:

To get your discount scoot on over to this page, select your preferred currency, and add the discount code eat15 at the check out. Discount valid until, and including, Friday 9th April 2010. Enjoy!

I will be posting a tasty blog post as usual tomorrow, so until then, stay healthy and yummy!

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As you may recall from a previous post, Christoffer and I had the pleasure of spending a day and night at a lovely spa the other weekend. It was a really lovely thing to do, and what I found interesting about the experience is that while the actual physical part of being at a spa is, of course, simply heaven, the simple act of being treated to something is equally as wonderful.

This is very exciting, because I don’t feel that the feeling of self-worth carries a price tag. The fact that the spa cost quite a bit of money wasn’t particularly relevant (lucky for us, our stay there was a gift from someone!). Of course, it was divine to use the luxurious facilities, but the fact that we had taken time off work, time away from our daily routines, in order to ‘treat’ ourselves was the most significant thing.

We may not have someone who will treat us to a stay at a spa. In fact, we may not always have someone who’s thoughtful enough to make us a cup of tea, to offer to make dinner, or give us a foot rub, so we need to be even more aware of gifting small things to ourselves.

It’s so easy for us to get swept up in the tidal-wave of life, whooshing along between work, household duties, family responsibilities, studies, growth…everything, that we can forget to just take time out and thank ourselves for all that we put into our existence.

For me, once I tasted this sense of the extra-ordinary, it left within me a glow of knowledge that for others to love and respect us, and value us even, we need to love, respect and value ourselves.

Yesterday, for probably the first time since I started work on my Miss Best projects last Autumn, I actually took a proper tea break. I made some tea, (and some raw treats, of course!), sat on the sofa (well away from my computer) and just took some time out. Apart from the minimal cost of the tea and chocolate treats, it didn’t cost me a penny. But damn! Did I feel like I had wrapped up an hour’s spa session and presented it to myself!

And I returned to my desk, relaxed, invigorated, productive, and feeling just a little silly that I don’t do this more regularly.

Inspired by this, I decided that it would be a lovely gift this morning to treat myself to some yoga before I did anything else. And so, when it was time for me to make my morning smoothie, and sit down at the computer I felt really rather special. Like it was my birthday! Or a ‘Me’ day! Every day should be a ‘Me’ day! I think we are cable of giving more to others when we nurture ourselves with rest, relaxation, Life-Loving food, exercise and self -appreciation.

As Tinu Su once wrote: “I must prioritize my day to do things that nurture my soul before anything else.”

And so, fueled by all these inexpensive, easy-to-do little gifts of self love, my lovely Christoffer and I have decided to spend this weekend in our home version of a luxurious spa.

OK, so we don’t have a swimming pool, hot tub, or private chef, but we are going to treat ourselves to a liquid feast of fresh juices, smoothies, shakes and raw soups to energise our bodies. We are – or at least I am – also going to enjoy doing more yoga, soaking my feet in my lovely foot bath that Christoffer’s sister gave me for Christmas, massaging our feet, walking in the forest with our dog.

I am also planning on trying out some natural, home made beauty treats such as hair masks, facial scrubs etc. This is where I would LOVE your input. If you have any that you can recommend, please post them below.

I am really excited about this weekend. I am very interested in what this experience will trigger, and to see if I can continue with my little gifts of self-love.

l will let you know how this weekend of relaxing self-love goes in a future blog post. In the meantime, have a fantastic weekend, full of little treats. And do let me know your favorite home-made natural body treatments, below!

Oh, and I would love to take this opportunity to let you know about a yummy, introduction to raw food class that I am holding near Stockholm on 24th April. Perhaps this is a prefect opportunity to give yourself a gift of self-love? Please visit this page to find out more!

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For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of experiencing the benefits of eating a high raw diet (gah, I dislike that word ‘diet’ – it has too many restrictive connotations. Let’s call it a high-raw life instead) it may be hard to accept the claims that eating mainly or only raw food gives you more energy and a new zest for life, makes you feel ‘lighter’, rids you of aches, pains and illness and helps you loose weight.

Any skepticism is completely understandable. After all, we are bombarded every day with pills, potions and diets (those boring restrictive ones) that promise you this and that, all for the ’special price’ of a month’s salary, or make you count calories, overdose on protein, guzzle expensive and unnatural drinks, or stop eating fruit.

But one thing to bear in mind is that most people don’t promote raw food as a way to cash in and so are coming from a genuine place. Of course there are people that make their living from it, but this is often due to the fact that they have revolutionized their lives by eating that way, and want to share it with others. Yes, they charge money for their books and courses but there is also a lot of free information out there that you can get by on. Besides, if people hadn’t written books on raw food, and if I hadn’t gladly paid a relatively small investment to buy them then I wouldn’t have discovered the benefits of eating and living this way. After all, if you go to the doctor with an illness or fatigue, very few of them are even going to ask what you eat, let alone recommend eating natural and uncooked food!

So while reading about so many people waxing lyrical about raw food may sound intriguing and fill you with new hope to live a life you deserve, rather than one of lethargy and pain, it is almost hard to imagine just how good you can feel from something as seemingly simple as not cooking the life out of your food, and by cutting out certain things from your life.

A friend of mine, for example, used to be able to get away with filling his tummy with fries or potato wedges and veggie burgers at night without complaining about it the next morning. I on the other hand, would have some potatoes with my evening raw meal and wake up feeling far less energetic than I usually do. Does that then mean that I am ultra sensitive and a naturally tired person, or does that mean that I actually know what it feels like not to feel tired and weighed down by such food? I believe it is the latter, though I do also acknowledge that it seems that the cleaner food you put in your body the less crap food and drink you are able to tolerate without feeling rubbish.

This friend of mine has been eating more and more raw food throughout the past few years, and now starts the day with a fantastic green smoothie and eats a large salad with his cooked veggie food. But recently those plates of potatoes and stodge have not been letting themselves be forgotten the morning after. Now my friend is waking up with the potato hangover that I get. And despite me telling him how great it feels to eat mostly, or only, raw foods, it is only when he experiences it that he understands what I mean.

I know that the times when I have slipped back to eating say 50% raw, with the dreaded bread making an appearance several times a week, I am aware that I would feel better getting back up to high raw again. I have felt how it feels before, but it is only when I am there and high raw again that I can remember just how darn good it is and that it is certainly worth the effort of curbing cravings for cooked or stodgy food.

So I can wholeheartedly recommend you trying it. Even small steps by introducing more and more raw food in to your life may help you feel better. To help you, I am writing two recipe books full of delicious and life-giving recipes. The first book is bursting full of amazing high-raw desserts that will make you look at those cooked desserts full of flour, cholesterol, refined sugar and unhealthy fats with new eyes. And an added bonus is that I have been making these yummylicious desserts and eating them every day for several months now and have maintained my weight and well being! I know that wouldn’t have happened if I had been feasting on the cooked versions daily for so long! Life is really sweet when you try new things!

Keep an eye out for news of my first book launch, or mail me if you would like me to notify you when it is ready: hello(at)miss-best.com

In the meantime here is a recipe for a lovely raw soup. I find that I feel so great in the mornings if I eat a larger meal at lunch and then have something like a raw soup and fruit for my evening meal. Raw soup is simple and quick to make and has not a single potato in sight!

Raw spinach and avocado soup
Serves 1 hungry bunny
(double, triple etc the quantities if you have other hungry bunnies to feed)

Large handful spinach (preferably organic)
1 avocado
a small piece of leek (about 4 or 5 cm in length)
1 carrot, scrubbed or peeled and chopped into pieces
1 small apple, core removed
1 stick celery, chopped to blender friendly pieces
1 chunk of cucumber
Salt and pepper and spices to taste: pinch of turmeric, ½ teaspoon curry powder, a little chilli, and – if you fancy – a pinch of kelp
A splash of fresh lemon juice
Warm water (just finger warm – you don’t want it too hot or you’ll ruin those happy helpful enzymes) – just enough H2O to help the blender do it’s thing!

Instructions:
Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and scoop out the flesh. Put this and everything else in a blender and whizz them, baby! Enjoy xx

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My Love Christoffer has been engaged in a very cool personal experiment. Since August he has adopted one new routine per month to work towards improving his health, fitness and well-being.

The first one was to get up at 5am (!) in order to have time in the mornings for things he wants to do before leaving for work. So now he gets up, takes Pixie Dog for a nice walk in the forest, does some yoga and weight-bearing exercises, and works on his personal projects before heading off for the day. I am super proud of him. He is the first to admit that he has not previously been one for sticking at things. After the initial enthusiasm wears off the good habits get left at the wayside. But now he gets on with it, and as each month passes he has got in to a good routine, and each month adds something positive to his daily life.

His latest ‘good habit’ is doing push-ups. You can read about it here.

But I wonder how people react to such a blog post. Just like when someone Tweets or Facebooks that they are on a juice feast, running marathons, or succeeding in balancing productivity with relaxation. Is your first reaction ‘Yeah, nice for you, no need to brag about it. You want a medal or something’? Or do you think ‘ Wow!, good for them. Sounds like a great idea…I wonder how I would benefit from trying that.’ Maybe you feel a mixture of the both: an initial recoil, small feelings of jealousy perhaps. Then maybe you realise that hell, if they can do it so can you. And you go dig out your running shoes and look up that recipe for a yummy healthy smoothie.

I think it’s OK to feel a little negative at first, as long as you try to recognize why you want to put down their achievement. Are you perhaps making a comparison that if they are getting healthier, fitter, happier then it makes you less healthy, fit, happy? Does it remind you of a time when you tried to get in to a good habit but ‘failed’?

What would be most useful is if you can progress and be inspired by what they do. OK, so you may not be able to run a marathon straight away, but neither did they. Look at Christoffer’s chart in his blog post – he wasn’t too impressed by his initial results, but every day he gets better and better. And for the record, I can actually see the positive changes in his body. And even better is his sense of achievement and increasing well-being.

So please do try and take those small steps towards your goal, whatever it may be – you will get there! And along your journey you will doubtlessly inspire others too.

Now, where are those running shoes?

Image: said_w

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We are officially on holiday! Yay! We will be spending our free time here at home. We decided not to go away during our summer break from work partly because summer in Sweden is just amazing, partly because we live in a beautiful part of Sweden – two minutes walk from the beach and in an area where people actually come to spend their summers – and partly because we have just bought the house and our little pockets didn’t really want to be emptied to pay for a holiday away.

So how to have a holiday at home? One way is to do things that you would do when you are on a holiday away from home. Do things that you wouldn’t normally do and eat things that you don’t usually eat. And for me, who usually eats mostly raw food, this meant sampling some cooked goodies!

So yesterday, after a leisurely breakfast, we went into Stockholm for lunch and a mooch around. We had decided to eat at Ekobar – a new ‘accidentally vegan’, healthier and more environmentally friendly alternative to fast food places. It’s located just a couple of streets away from my part-time job so I know that part of town pretty well, but Christoffer suggested an alternative route to get there and we discovered some new streets, shops and a further appreciation of the lovely buildings in that area. (I always remember the advice I read somewhere about experiencing new places: always look up. And it’s true! There are some lovely old buildings around Stockholm and looking up instead of down or straight ahead reveals beautiful details on the facades and interesting balconies.)

At Ekobar I had a yummy cheeseburger and oven baked fries and Chris had a burrito. All vegan and mostly organic and 100% tasty! And since they are not greasy and fried you really don’t feel bad after eating them (well, a strict and long-term raw fooder probably would, as it would be a bit of a shock to the system!)

After a very nice chat with the gorgeous owners, we pottered along to our favorite food shop, Goodstore, which has a brilliant selection of vegan and organic foods. Seriously, this store means that I don’t miss the UK like I used to, as we can get all our vegan goodies from there.

To follow the holiday theme we decided to try….wait for it….fake salmon! Yes, it does in fact exist. Over the past few years more and more ‘fake’ food products have come on to the market, so you can now find vegan alternatives to: cheese, ice-cream, chocolate, burgers, bacon, ham, roasts, caviar, salami, prawns…and now fish!

I am sure opinions are divided over these fake products. Some people may argue that it seems illogical to try and fake meat. Some veggies/ vegans really don’t want to eat anything that resembles meat and some people believe that we shouldn’t encourage the consumption of processed foods.

However, many people who don’t eat meat for various reasons actually used to enjoy the taste/experience of meat/fish-based dishes and these foods are a good replacement and incentive to give up the animal-based versions. I personally was never a fan of meat or fish. Well, except for the things you don’t actually really want to eat, namely burgers and sausages, which to me didn’t resemble the flesh of a dead animal too much. But since these ‘foods’ (if you can even class them as that) are, as how one person put it, ‘ground up lips and arse holes’ they are not the most appetizing of things to put in your mouth once you think about it. Interestingly enough it was the discovery of a hairy piece of cow skin in a burger that pushed me to give up meat. Those burgers had suddenly become a lot more animal for my liking! And now, if I do want a burger, then I can get a 100% vegan one, without the bits of skin!

These fake meat/fish products also mean that animals and fish are not subjected to suffering and death in the name of a meal, are better for our health since they are free from toxins, cholesterol and saturated fat, and are also less of a burden on the environment since the meat, dairy and fish industries are incredibly destructive and energy demanding. For more info see www.vegansociety.com/environment

So back to the ‘fish’. Once defrosted we lightly fried it in coconut oil and served it with salad, new potatoes and a yummy creamy dill sauce that turned out to be totally raw when I made it!

The verdict? Well, potatoes are a novelty to me, and were most appreciated, and the fake fish was in fact very yummy. I never liked fish before turning veggie but since eating more raw food I have developed a penchant for seaweed and thought this fake fish with the raw dill sauce (recipe to be posted shortly) was pretty good. Chris thought it had a good and convincing taste and texture (I can’t remember what real fish is like) and was also impressed with it.

But I have to admit it did feel weird eating something so fish-like. My brain was sending thousands of ‘does not compute’ messages. I kept checking the packet to make sure that it really wasn’t fish. It’s made from seaweed, soya and wheat protein and spices but since it in an imported product from China we are at the mercy of the translator. Maybe it’s a cruel joke played upon us veggies…

I am definitely not giving up my beautiful health-giving and tasty raw food in favour of food like this on a regular basis but it really was an interesting experience and gives one less excuse to continue eating meat and fish products.

So it was a good holiday-day yesterday. The only thing that made it not feel like a holiday was the washing-up. Maybe we need to invite some people over for dinner. They are often more than willing to help clean-up in return for some beautiful food. Any offers?….

(For your info, this fake salmon is distributed by K.F. Enterprise in the Netherlands. Tel +31243773698)

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