{ 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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