Nourish & Flow

Last night we celebrated the summer solstice by driving to a lovely hill about 10 minutes away from where we live, and, surrounded by nature, watched the sunset.  It was quite cloudy, but it was still really beautiful. We took the camping stove to make herbal tea. Solstice blessings to you all! I've also been practising making raw chocolate recently.  Some have tasted really lovely, some weren't quite right.  Yesterday I made some which tasted delicious, and they didn't last long after me and the boys started eating them.  I'm still working on different recipes, but these are the ones from yesterday... Here's the recipe. 120g Cacao Butter 9 tbsps Cacao Powder 110g Raw Honey Melt the cacao butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Once it's runny, add the cacao powder, then the honey.  Whisk until smooth and pour into moulds.  Place in the fridge to set, this takes about half an hour. I also a...

Today Luke and I decided to take a trip to a botanical gardens.  We planned the trip a few days ago, looked at the website and typed up a list of animals, wildlife and plants that we wanted to look for.  We printed it out and took it with us today.  We had a lovely time.  Luke wants to work with animals when he is older so he enjoys any kind of trip like this.  After that, we sat in the gardens to have some food and then explored in the woods. I always find it really helpful to get out of the house and do something different, particularly if it involves being in nature.  It's not only been a lovely trip, but a very educational one as well, and I do find that Luke learns more, and enjoys learning more, when he is having fun.

We arrived back from Holland with a bronze medal! I'm so proud of Dylan, he did so well.  It was a very tiring 4 days, but so worth it to see his face when he got his trophy.  He's really proud of himself and has learnt a lot and is doing really well in training.  He can't wait to go again.  It's lovely to see him following his passions and doing so well. These are some other photos I took of the trip. On the ferry, leaving England The boys on the sun deck Our hotel room Near the hotel, very cute Luke and the chicks The centre of Rotterdam A Smoothie Bar, where I bought a delicious orange, strawberry and avocado smoothie Luke posing under a statue The boys having dinner The venue for the Dutch Masters The day we arrived back, Luke performed in a dance show and did really well, despite his trainer falling off half way through.  I don't have any photos though, as I was filming it instead.   It was a lov...

We thought we'd make the most of the sunshine today and go for a nature walk in the woods, close to where we live. We looked for insects and talked about different trees and flowers.  We also collected pine needles to make pine needle tea - Bear Grylls style. Here are some photos from our day. I always feel so much more relaxed and content when i'm surrounded by natural beauty.  Especially on a beautiful day like today.  It's also amazing how the sun shining can affect our moods so profoundly too.  I was sitting in the garden at 6am, meditating and listening to the birds singing.  There was no other noise, it was so peaceful.  I can't think of a more lovely way to start the day.

My oldest son Dylan will be 13 this weekend, and I was thinking last night about how he always follows his interests and learns as much as he can about the things he loves.  One of his main passions is formula one and cars and these are the things he has learnt over the years from this interest: Reading - he has lots of large encyclopaedias full of facts and has memorised them all. Writing - he makes up his own leagues and spends a lot of time writing them out. Geography - he knows every race track and which city and country it is in. Science - he has learnt a lot of facts about cars and aerodynamics, though i'm even sure what that is yet. Art - he has done sketches of racing cars. Creativity - he has created his own race tracks, drawn plans, drawn a large track and coloured it in. Music - well not so much music, but he has heard a lot of national anthems. This shows that when you are learning about something which you really enjoy, it is a fun and rewarding experience. ...

I realised over the years that how I start my day tends to influence how the rest of my day goes.  So I have gradually come up with a morning ritual that i'm happy with.  Obviously it doesn't always go according to plan but this is how I generally begin my days. 5:30 - Wake up and clean my teeth. 5:30-6:30 - Yoga and meditation. 6:30 - 7:00 - Reading whilst having hot water and lemon. 7 - 7:15 - Juicing, I make a juice for me and the boys. 7:15 -  Wake up Dylan, my oldest, he has his juice and breakfast whilst I make his packed lunch. 7:30 - Shower, using natural products, some home made. 8:15 - Dylan leaves for high school.  Luke usually gets up around this time.  We have our juice. 8:30 - I dry my hair whilst listening to relaxing music on my mp3. 9:00 - Luke and I have breakfast together.  Then the chaos of homeschool begins! If I start my days like this, I feel relaxed and happy. I've also found that the way i'm woken up makes a...

As I finished my detox yesterday, I thought I would share with you what I would eat on a typical day.  I will be making a recipes section where I will put all these recipes and more of my favourites. Breakfasts * Juice/smoothie - this is how I start every day. * Raw muesli - made with raw almond milk. * Fruit salad - different varieties. Lunches * Salads - plenty of variety with added nuts, seeds and sundried tomatoes. * Raw soup - again lots of different recipes.  I'll heat them very slowly in winter, if I want something warm. Dinners * Raw pasta - made with courgette and carrot * Salad wraps - using large leafed lettuce or nori as a wrap. * Raw burgers - made with nuts, vegetables and herbs. Snacks * Fruit - fresh and dried * Nuts and seeds * Raw chocolate * Medjool dates - stuffed with cacao nibs * Veggie sticks with raw dip * Raw cake - have a lovely recipe from Shazzie, will add to recipes. As i've said before, there are some cooked foo...