1. What are some Raw Food Staples in your current diet? Are you 100% Raw? How did you start?

My diet is 100% raw and it is based on veggies, fruit, seeds and nuts. From the total daily calories, 60% comes from carbohydrates, 30% from fats and 10% from protein. I have a busy lifestyle including lots of exercise, I train for running competitions and gymnastics, so food is very important for my performance. During all those years I tried different approaches and to be honest, balance is the best! I believe that most of raw fooders don ??t eat enough fruit. I love fruit..mangoes are my passion. !!!

I was raised as a vegetarian and in 1990 I decided to go on a vegan diet. By 2001 I started to develop a lot of abdominal pains and was getting sick all the time.I thought I was doing the healthiest diet on this planet, just eating organic food and taking lots of vitamins.The pain was getting worse and worse and I decided to check it with a GP. The doctor checked me and said that I had to go to surgery ASAP and asked me to go to the hospital.When I got to the hospital I fainted, and lost consciousnesses a few times. The doctors wanted to operate on me to check my guts since my white cells count was alarmingly high. I said to them, "NO".In the end I spent 7 days in hospital. I had to endure all manner of medical tests and procedures and in the end they decided to give me antibiotics and send me home. They did not find out what was making me sick. And I was still feeling that awful abdominal pain.After that I went to a Naturopath, a famous one in Sydney. She asked me to do more tests. She said that I was allergic to almost everything and could only eat tofu, broccoli, cauliflower and a few types of fruit. No way!That day I decided to find a solution for it, and I did! I went to the internet and did lots of research and everything was pointing to TOXAEMIA, as a result of an excess of cooked food in my diet making my body sick and increasing the white cell count. In other words, my body was fighting against cooked food and the only solution for it was RAW FOOD. You can see my health results since I post all my health check-ups on my webiste: www.rawfood.com.au

2. How did you become raw food chef? What other raw services do you have?

After all my diet changes, I started to create recipes and more recipes. I read lots of book, and tested lots of recipes. To be honest many of Raw recipes include (raw and sprouted) grains and in my experince, it is not good for me and for anyone ??grains are poison ?? in my opinion!! Another negative side to many raw recipes was the preparation times ??.no way could I wait 3 days to prepare a dish! I have a busy life and have no time for it. So I created recipes that taste nice, can be preapared in 5 or 10 minutes and include all required nutrients.

With time people started to ask me to teach them how to make those ??AMAZING, CRAZY DISHES ??, so that is how everything started. After a few months I was in the local media, then the national media. Good things spread easily.

I also do catering for parties or receptions, but my passion are the raw classes were I can teach people how to be free from diseases and negative lifestyle, and enjoy life !

3. What kind of superfoods or supplements do you consume while being raw?

I am against anything that comes in pills. My opinion is ??if pills were good, they would grow on trees ??. In terms of superfoods, I see that there is a huge market to exploit people ??.I tried lots of superfoods and the only ones that I see results are Maca, Bee Pollen and Spirulina. I actually mix Maca, Bee Pollen and Spirulina with dates and use it everyday as a snack. It is so good and nutritious that I even take it during my marathon training sessions.

4. What are some ways of keeping warm this winter?

I live in Sydney so for me the winter is not a problem at all. I would suggest the usage of raw fats in the form of seeds and nuts as a mix, so it will give you lots of energy. For easier absorption, I would advice to soak them for 24 hours, then blend them with water and keep it in the fridge. This paste is more easily digested than normal nuts or seeds and can be blended or spread into anything. Another tip is to not mix salt or honey to the basic mixture, so you can then use it in either savory or sweet recipes or mixtures. Mix all nuts and seeds that you find, so you can get a huge range of amino acids . You can also mix this mixture with superfoods and create a superball ! Enjoy it!

Another point to take into consideration is the possibility of winter food addictions like cakes, soups, etc ??.If you eat raw and eat well, you will not crave these things!!!

5. What are some quick tips or hints for Raw newbies?

First tip is : WELL DONE !!! Finally you have found the natural and correct way to eat.

Other tips include :

Eat 6 meals a day, or every 3 hours, it will maintain your insulin levels in a normal range

In the mornings try to focus on fruit

Detox is not a nice process, but after being clean, life is amazing

Eat no more than 2 handfull of nuts and seeds everyday

No grains! They are pure acid. Not good for humans

During the detox phase, do lots of exercise

Exercise at least one hour everyday. You can eat raw but you still need to move your body

Don ??t use chemical products on your body or house

Use only papaya to clean your face and a natural deodorant or essential oils

Detox your life from bad friends

Never force anyone to eat raw

You can be the new Raw Food Guru, so read lots and challenge your knowledge

Be aware when you speak about your diet with Naturopaths or doctors, you might know more than they do!

6. Do you have any major influences?

Yes, of course. I love David Wolfe ??s work, Shazzie, Dr Douglas Graham and Mike Nash. I ??ve read about everyone that wrote about raw but I think that those names that I mentioned are the top now. It doesn ??t mean that the knowledge about Raw Food has stopped. It is always being developed, so keep your eye out for new research and new people in this amazing movement.

7. What is your favorite raw food recipe?

My favorite Raw Food recipe is the nut cheese .

I make it in 5 minutes ??very easy.

Try it yourself :

4 cups of almonds soaked in water for 24 hours

1 handful of parsley

1 garlic clove

1 tablespoon of salt

Enough fresh orange juice to make a dough.

Blend all ingredients until it makes a hard dough.

8. Do you have any dental problems on the Raw Diet?

No..my teeth are great !

9. Where do you see the Raw Food movement heading?

I see the raw movement becoming the normal diet in a few years time. Humans are becoming more and more focused on a healthier lifestyle, and Raw is the solution. So we, as part of this movement, need to read more, test more, and don ??t be afraid to to say : this approach doesn ??t work.

I see that now there is a segment of the Raw Food movement that for me is OLD SCHOOL, and are so afraid to open their minds to the new information and research around. A good example of that is the grain issue ??there are just a few people using sprouted grains on their diets, and you can see by their appearance that it is not good for you.

10. Can you please tell us about some of your current projects you're working on and/or developing?

My new project is to link the Raw Movement with fitness. I am inspired by Dr Graham and his work. At the moment I am studying a Fitness Degree so by the middle of 2006 I will be a qualified Fitness Instructor with a Masters in Fitness. I strongly believe in the link between fitness and a Raw food diet, not a simple raw food diet, but a diet with equilibrium in the marconutrients : protein, fat, carbohydrates.

For more information on my services as a Raw Food Coach or about anything, just go to my site : www.rawfood.com.au

I hope that all of you who are reading this article can be a Raw Guru and show everyone your potential!!!