This month Miss May focuses on recipes to incorporate into your spring culinary repertoire. With the focus on raw food these refreshing recipes mean that you don’t need to sacrifice life’s little pleasures whilst preparing for bikini holidays. Start the day by adding the ‘Classic Detox Juice’ to your breakfast menu then invite friends around to share a 4 course spring feast. You can dazzle them with the nutritional information Miss May provides alongside each recipe and ensure you are consuming the helpful nutrients your body needs to  GET YOUR GLOW.  For those days when you have neither time nor inclination to keep on cooking, Raw Fairies, the raw food delivery company, offer the perfect menu options for maintaining a healthy diet when you’re on the run.

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THE DRINK

The Classic Detox Juice

1 Medium Beetroot
1 Lemon
Thumb size piece of Ginger
2 Medium sized carrots

Place all the ingredients through a juicer, and if you don’t have one at home order this combination at your local juicing joint.

It is important when juicing to use the best quality ingredients you can. If organic is not available just make sure you clean your vegetables well. Try a vegetable rinse available from your local health food store to wash away fat soluble pesticide residues or give them a quick rinse in vinegar.

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SPRING START

Cucumber, Pineapple and Herb Gazpacho
Serves 4

This recipe is inspired by Raw food/ Real World

1/4 cup fresh pineapple juice
2 cups pineapple, roughly chopped
2 cups cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 green chili (jalapeño if available)
1 spring onion, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of coriander leaves
Handful of mint leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Garnish
2 tablespoons each of pineapple and cucumber, finely diced
1 tablespoons each of each mint, coriander and chives, roughly chopped
Olive oil

Mix the pineapple juice, chopped pineapple, cucumber, chili, lime juice and salt in a blender, blend for a few seconds at a time until a slightly chunky consistency is reached. Now add the herbs and olive oil and blend for a few seconds.

Place in the fridge for at least ½ hour, or until chilled, before serving.

Take 4 small bowls and divide the soup among them, then garnish with the finely chopped pineapple, cucumber and herbs, along with a few drops of olive oil.

NUTRITIONAL NOTE: Long revered for its skin detoxifying properties, cucumber contains compounds which reduce water retention and strengthen connective tissue. Then there is pineapple, which is packed with digestive enzymes and compounds that reduce inflammation. It is also an excellent source of manganese, which happens to be an essential mineral used in energy production and antioxidant defence (just one cup of pineapple contains 73.1% of the daily recommended intake of manganese). I think I should rename this the youth elixir - drink up and you should be on your way to a glowing and radiant complexion.

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THE SALAD

Grapefruit, Avocado and Fennel Salad
Serves 4

Just about every raw foods cookbook has a version of this salad. This is mine, I like to add chopped nuts or seeds to salads for a little crunch.

1 butter crunch or 2 baby gem lettuces
2 avocado, sliced
2 large ruby grapefruit, segmented
Half a bunch of coriander, roughly torn or chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely sliced (use a mandolin if you have one)
½ small red onion, finely sliced lengthways
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons roughly chopped macadamia nuts (optional)
Salt & Pepper

Place the first 6 ingredients in a bowl, mix the olive oil and lemon juice together, drizzle over the salad and lightly toss with macadamia nuts, salt and pepper

NUTRITIONAL NOTE: Grapefruit is thought to help with the orange peel effect. Whether this is fact or fiction I cannot be sure, but it has been proven that grapefruit assists the body’s natural detoxification processes, and it contain phytochemicals which help to make toxic compounds more water soluble for easier illumination from the body.

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THE MAIN EVENT

Pacific Ceviche
Serves 4

As a child I spent some time living in the Pacific Island of Tonga, during this time I developed a love of fresh fish and coconut - this recipe combines those two elements to perfection. A mainstay recipe across the Pacific, this is a delicious version I had whilst in the Cook Islands.

350g very fresh firm white flesh fish, diced into roughly 0.5 to 1cm pieces (snapper or sea bream work well)
1/2 small red onion, finely sliced lengthways
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped
1 red capsicum, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or minced
300ml coconut milk or cream
Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredient Notes: Please visit the Marine Conservation Society to view the list of fish which are currently at sustainable levels before purchasing. You can make your own fresh coconut milk to keep it raw and delicious, otherwise substitute with a good organic canned coconut milk or cream

Place the fish and red onion in a bowl. Cover with lemon juice and leave to marinate for at least 3 hours. For best results leave overnight. The fish is ‘cooked’ when it turns opaque all the way through, the thinner the fish the quicker it will cook.

Drain the lemon and lime juice off the fish. Add the coconut, capsicum, tomato, garlic salt and coriander. Mix and serve.

Optional – to add some more texture to your meal serve this with a side of flaxseed crackers. At the moment I’m eating Dragonfly Wholefoods Sundried Tomato Flaxseed Crackers, but anything you can get your hands on would be good as flaxseed crackers are not the easiest thing to get hold of. Even better, if you have a dehydrator you could make them yourself!

NUTRITIONAL NOTE: Ceviche is the Latin American name for fish or shellfish cooked in lemon or lime juice. The main difference between the Latin American version and pacific ceviche is the coconut cream -  try it with and without, but if you make it without the coconut cream add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mix.

In the 1950’s coconuts were wrongly accused of increasing cholesterol in rats. It turns out that this was due to the fact that the coconut oil had been hydrogenated - when will we learn that changing the molecular structure of foods is not a good idea? Nature has things in the right order just as they are. Raw coconut and coconut oil are now being revered as health foods which may promote weight loss and protect against heart disease.

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DESSERT

Chocolate Mousse 3 Ways

Chocolate is probably not the ideal detox food so stick with the carob option if currently on a detox programme, otherwise enjoy this dairy-free raw chocolate treat, no need to desert the desserts!

The Base
2 large ripe avocados
½ cup raw cacao or carob powder (I like to use half and half)
½ cup agave (you can adjust this according to taste, the more cacao you use the more agave you will want to use to balance the bitterness)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or the seeds of ½ a vanilla bean
Pinch of salt
Up to ½ cup of water

Blend all the ingredients except the water until smooth, add small amounts water as required until you reach the desired consistency. For a thinner mousse add more water.

At this stage you can stick with original recipe and refrigerate as below. Alternatively try the flavour variations below.

After Dinner Mint Choc Chip
To the base recipe add 2 drops of high quality peppermint essential oil (I recommended NHR organic essential oils) and 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs.

Raspberry
To the Base recipe add ½ cup of crushed frozen or fresh raspberries

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. If you can’t wait that long place it in the freezer for 20 minutes. I am unsure of how long you can keep this as there are never any leftovers……

NUTRITIONAL NOTES:  If you can’t get hold of raw cacao you could use a good quality organic cocoa powder such as Green and Blacks, which is available in most supermarkets. With its reputation as being a ‘food of the gods’ and recent research confirming the high levels of antioxidants and other healthful qualities present in cacao, keep in mind that it can cause a stimulant effect - this can lead to nervousness, anxiety and headaches in some people. Be aware of how different foods react in your body, just because a food is revered as healthy doesn’t mean it’s right for everybody. Cacao is a wonderful food that brings us great pleasure; I find it’s best enjoyed in moderation.

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OPTIONAL EXTRA

Sumo Wrestler Soba Noodle Salad with Shitake Mushroom and Watercress

½ packet soba noodles (preferably 100% buckwheat)
5-8 fresh shitake mushrooms
5-8 brown mushrooms
1 courgette
3 spring onions
Snow pea shoots
1 bunch of watercress
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Sea Salt

Marinade/Dressing
1 red chili, deseeded and finely diced
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1 tablespoon mirin or agave
1/8 cup tamari or shoyu
1/8 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons of roughly chopped coriander
Freshly ground pepper

Firstly marinate the mushrooms: Finely slice the mushrooms and place in a bowl with the marinade ingredients. Mix together and leave for at least 30 minutes to ‘cook’ the mushrooms.

Prepare the soba noodles as per packet instructions, drain and run under cold water. To prevent drying add a few drops of olive oil while you prepare the other ingredients.

Finely slice the courgette and spring onions lengthways, using both the green and white part of the spring onions. The courgette can also be prepared using a spiraliser to make ‘noodles’.

Mix the mushrooms with the cooked soba noodles, add the courgette, spring onions, snowpea shoots and watercress and gently mix together. Lastly add the toasted sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with some fresh coriander.

Note: To make this dish completely raw leave out the soba noodles and toasted sesame seeds, add another 2 courgettes to replace the noodles and use untoasted sesame seeds.

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Finding ingredients……

Raw Cacao and Agave - Detox your World
Sea Vegetables - Clear Spring
Nama Shoyu - Japan Centre or The Fresh Network
Fish - always check the Marine Conservation Society for recommendations
Tahini, soba noodles and tamari should all be available from your local health food store

Nutritional Information sourced from……
The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods;
by Dr Michale Murray and Dr Joseph Pizzorno with Laura Pizzorno.

Happy Spring!
x Miss May

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RAW FAIRIES - the helping hand for your detox

Let’s face it there are going to be days during your ’spring clean’ when the sight of another carrot quite literally turns your stomach, and all you really feel like is a meal prepared without your hands doing the grating and chopping. A little respite is good for the soul after all. But ordering the usual takeaway isn’t an option (without the nagging guilt that follows), so where does one turn for health-friendly delivery? We think we’ve found the answer…

The people at Raw Fairies really know their stuff - not only are they UK’s first raw food delivery service, but they have made it’s easy for us to get our hands on daily deliveries of hand crafted, fresh, organic, ethically sourced and environmentally (and detox) friendly raw cuisine.

No more excuses! Maintaining your health and your general wellbeing made easy and, we suspect with the help of  a little fairy magic, enjoyable. Raw Fairies’ food is free from meat, fish, dairy (of all types), wheat, gluten and processed sugar and is generally low GI, but not free from flavour! Perfect for a spring clean….

The service is the very flexible. Order deliveries to suit your schedule and customise deliveries to create your own perfect menu - remember it’s all detox friendly so you can add guilt-free chocolate, cakes and other desserts, fruit and green juices and superfood boosters.

The reasons for including more fresh, raw foods in your diet alongside whole grains and good quality protein are many. From getting your fill of anti-ageing enzymes,  rediscovering flavours and textures, reducing lethargy and tiredness and feeling full of energy. Not to mention healthy nails, skin and hair.

For the time poor who to still want to take part in our May spring clean challenge you can make the most of the Raw Fairies service by trying the high-juice 5 and 12 day detox programmes, as featured in British Vogue, and packed full of energising and nutrient-rich botanical superfoods.

So for those days when fending for yourself gets the better of you, try the delivery option. Order every day, or each Tuesday and Thursday. Or better still start as you mean to continue with ‘Raw Mondays’ - the perfect healthy start to your week.

Prices start at £22.50 per delivery.

Exclusive Reader offer: order your delivery and quote ‘content’ at the checkout and you’ll receive 10% off your order. Eat your greens!

rawfairies.com
07508 015 313

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