{ ON E W OM A N ’ S J OU R N E Y I N T O R AW F O O D S A LVA T I ON }

Words Samantha Kirton

GET YOUR RAW

ON!

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What started as a modest blog about a flight attendant’s journey with raw food

some seven years ago is now an international empire. Robyn, head honcho of

Robyn J Law International, helps health and lifestyle professionals grow their

online visibility. Whether Robyn is acting as an online business strategist, raw

food chef, speaker, mother or wife, what she has to say about her journey into

raw foods is nothing but inspiring.

The raw movement seems to grow tenfold daily. What’s contributed to this?

People are becoming increasingly proactive with their health and that includes

wanting to know more about the foods they’re eating. The great thing about

eating raw food, is it isn’t an all-or-nothing philosophy so anyone can enjoy

it within their current diet, or they can go all out and use it as a way to kick-

start better eating habits. Also, the wonderful thing about eating raw food is, it

isn’t restricting. Want pizza? Sure you can have it; some of the most delicious

pizza I’ve enjoyed is a raw buckwheat crust, with fresh basil pesto and pine nut

cheese. I remember making a delicious raw chocolate icecream and I was like,

if this is raw food then why isn’t everyone eating it? Oh, and the beauty about

raw food, is that by nature it’s gluten free.

How did you get started in raw food preparation?

My interest in raw food first came about when I was living in London as a flight

attendant. I was living a party-hard lifestyle and had just ended a relationship

when I felt I needed to change my life, but didn’t have much money to do

so. I saved up and took two weeks off to head to a Thai resort, embarking on

a seven-day detox fast that entailed consuming not much more than

herbs, broths and juices and performing twice daily coffee enemas.

During this time I was exposed to a fresher way of looking at my

life and healthy habits. Post detox, to avoid regressing, I checked out

blogs and books and started to become very interested in veganism,

but not the processed food kind, the whole food kind. Naturally, I

progressed towards wanting to learn about more raw food.

When I moved from London to Saudi Arabia and had more time on

my hands to practice new food preparation techniques, and more

money to purchase high speed blenders and spiralisers, I really got

excited about the endless potential.

How has ‘being raw’ changed your life?

At first when I discovered raw food I wanted to tell everyone about

it. That is how my blog came about. I really wanted to share the

positive results I was getting and the food I was creating. I had to

get it out of me somehow. After having children and with a partner

who loves eating healthy just not necessarily raw (cold!) food all the

time, I tend to stick to simple, fast, raw dishes.

Is this raw food lifestyle a stark contrast to the previous lifestyle that you may have lived?

As much as I was living a party-hard lifestyle, I’ve always been

interested in nutrition. With a father who is coeliac, and with

diabetes prevalent on my mother’s side of the family, I’ve always

wanted to keep my own health in check. Learning about raw food

kicked it up a notch.

You are based out of Bahrain - what difficulties does this present?

Yes, I am now based in Bahrain which is close to Saudi Arabia,

where I lived for almost eight years. In the beginning, getting good

quality fruits and vegetables was sometimes hard. The shelf life was

very limited so I had to purchase little and often, which is difficult in

a country where women cannot drive and you are relying on your

working husband or taxis to get your groceries.

As a flight attendant on a private jet, every other month I would

go on overseas trips where I would stock up on my harder-to-find

items like nutritional yeast, kale, cacao powder and chia seeds. Seven

years on, however, the health movement in this part of the world

has progressed somewhat so most of what you can get back home

you can find here. Living in a desert still has its difficulties when it

comes to fresh produce though!

What tips can you give our gluten-free community, especially those that love to travel?

My ebook, Travelling in the Raw, contains my favourite travel tips

and recipes. Otherwise, my tip is to pack your own food. Banana

and spirulina crackers, raw macaroons or cookies, flax crackers and

hummus, trail mixes and kale chips. The list is endless, but always keep

up your hydration when flying by opting for water and herbal teas.

www.robynjlaw.com www.facebook.com/robynjlaw www.twitter.com/girlonraw www.instagram/robynjlaw

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