5 Day Trek Into The Raw Food Jungle

My Body Is A Dustbin Temple

I remember when my children were toddlers. After many a meal, I’d absent-mindedly eat the left overs on their plates. Thinking back this was quite foul. Baked beans and spaghetti hoops? Really Bethan?

“I wonder why I don’t just put these leftovers in the bin?” I wondered to myself one day, chewing thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” murmured another, day-dreamy part of myself. “I guess your body makes quite a good dust-bin.”

At that moment the chewing stopped dead. My eyes went all wide and blinky. Had I really thought that? Did I really think that? And if I did …well it was … just terrible.

Q. How could anyone treat their beautiful body vessel like a dust bin?

A. Mmm. Quite easily.

Are you a bit dustbinny ever with your body? Go on – you can admit it here. I accidentally admitted earlier that I munched some rubble whilst pregnant and you can’t get much worse than being Cement-Mixery with your body.

Cement-mixers aside though, we British – and many of you Americans peeps – live in a Dustbin Culture. We hurry here, stomp there, grab this, munch that, swallow this, glug that and as long as what we shove in our mouths tastes good and smothers hunger, we’ll happily keep eating it until we are clogged up, toxic and grimy on the inside. And half of us aren’t even recycling bins (because what we stick in ourselves is so processed, synthetic and artificial). With all this gunk going in, no wonder our sense of Gorgeousness starts to fade. That lovely, alive feeling of us-ness becomes clogged, toxic, groggy and dis-eased.

So, how to de-Dustbin Ourselves?

About 18 months ago I did an amazing Raw Food detox that lasted for five and a half weeks. Looking back, that time was like an adventure into a new world – a new way of being.

I.Didn’t.Even.Drink.Yorkshire.Tea.

I drank water.

I know.

It is phenomenal.

After the first 5 days I felt lighter, clearer, fresher and more buzzed out with life than I had been in ages. By the end of the detox, my body felt brand new. Since then I’ve eaten much more high energy, raw, fruit and veg based foods and it’s transformed my sense of well being.

So this week, I’m going to travel back into the Raw Food Jungle on a 5 Day Trek. It’s going to be like a little spa-break trek rather than a long, backpacking mission (I’m not up for going in any longer than that as I quite dig a bit of fish and nice Italian stews this time of year and I don’t think 100% raw is a great diet when training for The Grim). However, I’m v much up for the lush Timote waterfall freshness on the inside that I experienced last time on the Raw.

And I believe 5 days will be a good little dip.

If you want to spend the next week on a detoxification adventure, these are a few tips:

* Buy five 2 litre bottles of water (preferably in glass bottles) and commit to drinking one of then each day instead of tea and coffee.

* Aim to eat fruit or a smoothie for breakfast every day, a salad for lunch (throw in lots of nuts, seeds and avocado) and then google some nice exotic raw recipes for dinner. There are some lovely ones out there.

* Feed your brain with some awareness around what goes into our food and how the food industry are playing with the cells in our bodies via processed food. Read NOT ON THE LABEL or EAT YOUR HEART OUT by Felicity Lawrence. But beware, you won’t ever want to eat cereal* or crisps again.

* Nourish your soul and enrich your Gorgeousness by reading my sensationally beautiful book, Grow Your Own Gorgeousness.

*I have discovered some very disconcerting facts in EAT YOUR HEART OUT regarding cereal and that age old name Kelloggs. I would report some of these facts to you but they’re really … well … unpalatable. So I won’t. But seriously. Read the book. Especially if you are a parent and your kids are partial to Cornflakes.*

Oh – quick PS! There is also another exciting reason why I’m having a pure Raw week. I need to test drive the detox recipes that will make up the menu for a 7 day Grow Your Own Gorgeousness 5* Retreat happening here on the Isle of Wight next year. Until now I have kept schtum about the retreat, which is very unlike me. And I’m not saying anything more now.

Zip. Lips sealed.

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