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It speaks volumes about how much the vegan movement has grown that you can now travel to such exotic far flung destinations as Singapore, Bali and Australia and sample the most sensational examples of plant based cuisine in some of the most dramatic and beautiful settings in the world.

And that's exactly what I did for this issue. I figured if I'm going travel to the other side of the planet I may as well break up the journey and 'knock down three coconuts with one stone'. Not so long ago vegans were content with what they were given, but now things have evolved so much in the area of dining out the plant way we can be more discerning on which restaurants to visit. Things like ambiance, ingredients quality, originality, integrity and service are now more important than ever - and so they should be. In order for vegan establishments to succeed and grow, whomever visits (whether they be veggie curious, fully plant powered or carnivorous) should be impressed, satisfied and inspired with their experience.

I hope that will be the case with the three vegan travel guides we've created and you'll be inspired enough to make the journey yourselves as there's never been a more exciting time to be in the conscious living and vegan movements.

The first stop on my trip was at the famous burger bar Vegan Burg at their original branch in Singapore. Their slogan of "saving the world one burger at a time", is actually quite true if you think about it. When you visit a vegan business, your money is helping support a business that has the same ecofriendly ethics as you, therefore it's likely they minimise waste, use renewable electricity, pay their staff a decent and fair wage, support organic local farming and of course it's also saving animal lives which means you're saving water and land resources as well as avoiding the heavy green-house emission cost of the meat and dairy industry. To cap it all you're helping yourself be the best version of you with the aid of a cruelty-free, healthy diet. It's when we are showing love for ourselves and our home that we're able to fully act on our passions and embody our dreams, bringing into the world our own conscious creation.

Steven Nicolaides Founder/Editor of LĂşcuma Magazine

ÂŤ 'COCKATOOS DAY' STEFANIE C. HASLBERGER casiegraphics.com *12

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LENTIL & CHIA BURGER BONPOM CARAMEL & BLUE QUEEN SMOOTHIES BONPOM UNICORN BITES BONPOM

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Unfairly overlooked by many as just a 'stopover city', there are actually many reasons to spend some quality time in Singapore - especially for the eco-minded or vegan traveller. With a growing health food scene, lush tropical nature & gardens, city greening policy, majestic architecture and rich cultural history there's lots to explore here - even a train station called Cashew! ÂŤ Each Supertree consists of four parts: a reinforcement concrete core, trunk and planting panels for the living skin and the canopy. The Supertrees actually perform a vital function for Gardens by the Bay. Some of them are air vents and 11 of the Supertrees have photo voltaic cells to harvest solar energy.

Twenty two metres up there is a 128-metre aerial walkway (the OCBC Skyway), that connects two of the Supertrees from where you can catch views of the gardens and the surrounding Marina Bay area. Don't miss the Supertrees coming alive in a 7:45pm and 8:45pm nightly light and sound show! *12

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PINK SOY LA�E AFTERGLOW By ANGLOW

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If there ever was a destination to make you feel like you're in a James Bond movie as soon as you arrive it's Singapore.

The magnificent Changi airport (which has won the 'best airport in the world' award four years running) looks like it could be a set from the classic Bond movies. Tropical plants climb the walls of the arrivals hall creating one of the biggest indoor living walls I've ever seen. Below, water trickles gently over stone bas-reliefs of dolphins, peacocks and lush foliage. The only other whisper comes from the snake like baggage carousel slowly winding its way around real palm trees. The cavernous space is broken up with gigantic sculptures which wouldn't look out of place in a museum. The space is almost zen like, it feels like I've discovered a long lost temple in the middle of the jungle. No screaming children, no queues, no stressed out travellers rushing around. In fact one practically walks straight trough passport control, "This way Mr Bond‌" No queuing up required, just a quick glance at your passport by the boarder official. This is a rarity elsewhere in the world.

How many times have you been stuck in shambolic passport control queues? Apparently this ease is the norm here.

Singapore is famous for its love of order and efficiency and their determined 'quest for excellence' in everything. Even

the airport toilets have screens displaying a portrait of the attendants asking you to rate their cleaning efforts on the touch screen. I'm surprised there's no spa - oh wait that's the departure lounges, which is even more sumptuous than the arrivals. When my departing flight was delayed I was overjoyed. I explored the butterfly garden (complete with waterfall), did some clothes shopping in high street sized stores, found hidden 'zen spaces' with the most comfortable armchairs ever (complete with ports for your gadgets) overlooking water features and the runway. You could even walk around barefoot if you wanted as all the waiting areas are covered in a thick soft beautifully patterned carpet (yes it's spotless - this is Singapore after all). I did however feel the indoor koi ponds and bridges were a little over the top, especially from an animal welfare point of view. In 2019 Changi will add another attraction - 'Jewel', which will contain a five-story indoor tropical garden, a hedge maze, bouncing tree top canopy nets visitors can walk on, indoor clouds and at the centre a multi-coloured 131-foot waterfall and vortex. Now Changi airport is sounding more like Star Trek than Bond. *12

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Along with shopping, eating out is one of the favourite pastimes of the Singaporeans.

Dining out at any time of day is the norm here. There are of course a wide range of posh high end restaurants, but most locals prefer to visit enclosed food halls called hawker centres, which have a wide range of food stalls and communal seating. Here you'll find almost every type of cuisine available in Singapore, at really cheap prices.

That's not to say the quality is low, in fact Singapore can boast the world's first two street food outlets to have been awarded with a Michelin star. There will usually be at least one or two vegetarian food outlets in any hawker centre where a meal can cost as little as ÂŁ1-2. Unlike other South East Asian countries, fish sauce and shrimp paste are not widely used in Singaporean cuisine, so you can be more confident that if something looks vegan, chances are it is. It's always worth asking though to be sure. Obviously if you're ordering a Thai dish that may not be the case.

There's nothing quite like being in a hawker centre to make you feel like you've arrived in oriental Asia especially the ones popular with the locals, which offer a glimpse into the culinary life of the real Singapore. Plus there's that special aroma unique to South East Asia; 40% cooking smells, 20% tropical humid air, 20% incense/joss sticks and of course the secret ingredients 20% durian and other tropical fruits.

Vegan friendly hawker centres: Circuit Road Food Centre 79A Circuit Road, 370079

Redhill Market and Food Centre 85 Redhill Lane, 150085

Bendemeer Market and Food Centre 29 Bendemeer Road, 330029

Amoy Street Food CentrE 7 Maxwell Rd, 069111

Photo Š Singapore Tourism Board

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Afterglow

by Anglow

RAW PIZZA

ASIAN TOFU SALAD

24 Keong Saik Road afterglow.sg Best raw food in Singapore Located in old Chinatown in a historic Peranakan Chinese style building, Afterglow by Anglow is bursting with Singaporean charm. Keong Saik Road was once part of the red light area up until the 1960s. That was the old Singapore of legend - wild, dirty and a melting pot of different cultures. Today it has been 'detoxed' and much of the surrounding houses are now restaurants or boutique hotels. The interior of the restaurant and menu is a fusion of styles, Asian roots with contemporary global influences.

Most of the dishes here are raw and I'm glad there's a strong oriental influence with dishes like 'Saigon Rolls', 'Deconstructed Sushi Bowl' and the lush sounding 'Dragpom salad' - dragon fruit, pomegranate, avocado with chopped macadamia & lemon mint dressing with mesclun greens. I tried the raw pizza and raw strawberry cake, which I'm pleased to say are on par with some of the higher end raw food restaurants around the world. In terms of value, you get a lot more for your money here, for example a whole round pizza rather than a slice. Afterglow is quite cosy in the evenings so it's definitely a place to dine with company and go for a walk afterwards to explore China town.

KIMCHI NORI

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BAba HOUSE - 157 Neil Road ure s of Peranakan architect one of the FINEST example

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The American branch of Vegan Burg in San Francisco is very famous with many celebrity endorsements but its origins are actually here, in a quiet residential area called Eunos - just a few stops away from the airport (which makes it a great hangout before your flight or even as a pit stop as soon as you arrive). You wouldn't really come here as a tourist as it's slightly away from the city centre but the residential tower blocks with washed clothes hanging outside each apartment, and busy hawker centres give you a glimpse of how local Singaporeans live. In order to get to Vegan Burg you'll have to cross what feels like one of the widest roads in the world, perhaps it's the thought of vegan burgers waiting on the other side of the road? Vegan Burg has a few surprises up its sleeve. The buns are mixed whole meal grains with walnut, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. There are some unusual menu options too such the Char-Grilled Satay which includes satay sauce (a traditional South East Asian sauce made from peanuts) and a very pretty Paleo Burger which replaces the bread bun with layers of lettuce. I also love how the burgers are served with broccoli or fries sprinkled with seaweed flakes). The patties are GMO free soy based with a nice soft and succulent texture.

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Real F�d

THE LIVING CAFE & DELI

Good food & Ambiance A dream of a veggie restaurant chain, four locations in Singapore and two in neighbouring Malaysia. Each with a unique concept influenced by the location.

CENTRAL 6 Eu Tong Sen St, The Central #B1-52/53 SQUARE 2 10 Sinaran Drive, Square 2 #B1-105/106/129 ORCHARD CENTRAL 181 Orchard Road, #02-16 SOUTH BEACH 26 Beach Road #B1-19, South Beach Tower

Beetroot burger/Real FOOD Naturecafe

realfoodgrocer.com

The Boneless Kitchen Vegan Korean food

Very popular authentic Korean food restaurant. Note: a couple of dishes contain eggs.

1 Irving Place, Commerze @ Irving #01-31

thebonelesskitchen.com

Nature Cafe

Authentic Asian food A very large menu with over a hundred dishes covering all types of oriental Asian cuisine - but vegan - even a vegan version of shark fin soup!

THE LIVING CAFE & DELI

KALLANG No 12 Kallang Ave, The Aperia 01-28 BOON LAY No 8 Boon Lay Way, 01-29 Trade Hub21 CHINA STREET No 21 China Street #01-01

naturecafe.com.sg

Project AÇai

Açai fans dream come true As the name suggests Project Açai specialise in superfood bowls crafted around açai. Each bowl is beautifully decorated with various different toppings.

There are also açai smoothies on offer.

Not tried açai before? Think cherries mixed with blueberries and raspberries.

HOLLAND VILLAGE 27 Lorong Liput, 391 ORCHARD ROAD #B2-32A Takashimaya Shopping Centre EAST 217 East Coast Road

project-acai.com

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The Living Cafe

779 Bukit Timah Rd balancedlivingasia.com Healthy raw food mains and a vast desserts counter with delicious raw cakes and treats to choose from

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An absolute must visit is the Singapore Botanic Gardens. A lush tropical setting where you'll find a collection of various themed gardens - the Healing Garden (with a comprehensive collection of plants and trees used in herbal and traditional medicines), Orchid Garden and the Ginger Garden. Why not finish your day by enjoying a plant based meal at The Living Cafe - a living foods oasis at the centre of Singapore's wellness scene, only 2 stops away from Botanic Gardens.

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MUST TRY...

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The national fruit of Singapore, durian is famous for its lingering stinky smell which is why it's banned from hotel rooms and most indoor spaces - even the Singapore Rapid Mass Transit. The smell is quite difficult to describe, a bit like rotten fruit mixed with old dirty gym socks. Thankfully the eating experience is nothing like the odour. It's a roller coaster ride of taste sensations. Think of a creamy custard base mixed with bubblegum and almost every type of fruit you've ever eaten combined with hints of garlic and you might get close to understanding peoples obsession with this fruit, which is referred to in Asia as 'the king of fruits'. The prices go up dramatically depending on the variety. The sweeter ones being more expensive. I'm happy with the mid range varieties which are sweet enough for me. There are durian fruit stalls in streets and markets where you can buy whole durians or packets of freshly carved out durian flesh. So all you have to do now is find a dark corner and devour the slimy flesh like a durian fiend.

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Raffles Hotel raffles.com For a memorable drinking experience head to the iconic 19th century Raffles Hotel where the famous 'Singapore Sling' cocktail was developed by Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915. Nothing captures the history and glamour of Singapore quite like sipping on this tropical cocktail in the Raffles outdoor courtyard surrounded by lush foliage in the hot humid breeze. * Raffles hotel is undergoing major restoration and renovations through most of 2017 and will close completely towards the end of the year before reopening in 2018. So check the website before visiting. They will however still be serving Singapore Slings whilst they are open.

Singapore Sling recipe 3 cl Gin 1.5 cl Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy) 0.75 cl Cointreau 0.75 cl DOM Bénédictine 1 cl Grenadine 12 cl Pineapple juice 1.5 cl Fresh lime juice 1 dash Angostura bitters Preparation: Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into highball glass. Garnish with pineapple and cocktail cherry.

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MUST VISIT...

CLOUD FOREST: Open daily: 9.00am - 9.00pm FLOWER DOME: Open daily: 9.00am - 9.00pm SUPERTREE GROVE: Open daily: 5.00am - 2.00am OCBC SKYWAY: Open daily: 9am - 9pm Tickets: $28 - allows entry to both Cloud Forest and Flower dome Supertree Grove/OCBC Skyway: FREE.

gardensbythebay.com.sg Gardens by the bay is composed of various outdoor and indoor gardens which are housed in large greenhouses - one of which is the world's biggest. Like a 21st century Asian version of London's Kew Gardens in the way it fuses beautiful architecture and horticulture with education, but on a much larger scale. The Flower Dome is so huge it comfortably fits baobab trees and mature palm trees. At times I thought I was in a bio-dome on a space ship especially after sunset when you're surrounded by darkness beyond the glass dome panels. Before you make your way to the domes you're unlikely to miss the spectacular Supertrees which look like technological versions of babaob trees. The sprawling outdoor grounds and art installations are also worth exploring if you have the energy, but most likely you may need to leave that for another day.

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Photo Š Singapore Tourism Board

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Getting Around Travel is easy and enjoyable throughout Singapore via public transport - even to and from the airport.

You can get to most places via the MRT & LRT train networks. The easiest way is to buy an EZ-link card (ezlink.com.sg) from the station at the airport which is valid on MRT & LRT trains and buses and works the same way as London's Oyster card. Alternatively you can get the Singapore Tourist Pass which gives you unlimited travel and a variety of discounts for attractions. The Tourist pass costs $10 for 1 day, $16 for 2 days, or $20 for 3 days (together with a $10 rental deposit refunded if the card is returned within 5 days after purchase).

Most of the train station names are in English and usually have memorable titles. Some are sure to put a smile on your face. My favourites are 'Cashew', 'Stevens' and 'Lavender'. But even if you forget the name, each station on a particular line is numbered in ascending order. How clever!

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FELIX PrICE SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

YOGI * SPIRITUAL EXPLORER * ARTIST INTERVIEW BY STEVEN NICOLAIDES PHOTOS BY HANNAH RAJAH AMALUNASTUDIOS.COM ILLUSTRATIONS BY FELIX PRICE 30

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It's not often one gets to meet up with someone whose goal is levitation, but that's exactly what I'm doing.

I'm heading to Vantra, a vegan restaurant at the top of Oxford Street to meet up with one of London's most inspirational yogis - Felix Price. It had been on my mind for a while to feature an experienced athlete or yogi who had some advice and wisdom to share. Someone who is a living embodiment of a conscious, compassionate, plant based lifestyle devoted to reaching their full potential. I'd seen Felix around at various events and I remember him briefly working at the Wild Juicery in Covent Garden. At the Wild Food Cafe's third birthday party in 2014 he led a short but fun fast paced yoga class outside in Neal's yard with his partner Diahann creating a rhythm on a drum for us whilst we tried to keep up with Felix's quick pose changes. This was a small taste of the high energy Felix and Diahann bring to their various events around the world through 'Urban Avatars', which they founded. Their regular cacao ceremonies are quite popular and one of their most epic events is a day long 'Urban Retreat' which include asana yin & yang yoga, meditation, sound baths, live music and healthy vegan food.

Eventually my decision was made by synchronicity. As I was walking home one evening I was pondering what the contents of the next issue of LĂşcuma should be and I felt I should contact Felix and ask for an interview. When I got home and checked my Facebook account, the first thing I saw was a post by Felix! "Got a spare ticket for tonight's Shaolin monk show, first person to comment gets it". I instinctively commented "yes". Boom! I got it. However It would take some Shaolin monk skills to get to the theatre in time as I only had one hour before the show started. This was a great opportunity to knock down two coconuts with one stone - see the Shaolin monks perform live, for free, and properly meet Felix, so I wasn't about to let anything get in the way. It had been a long held wish of mine to see the monks perform live. As if their exhibition of power and grace isn't enough they make what seems impossible look easy.

I was watching them closely for any clues as to 'how they did it'. One of the essential elements must be training the solar plexus chakra and harnessing that energy to surround their physical bodies to make themselves 'indestructible'.

As I sat near the front of the stage I looked on at their meditative preparation before some dangerous feat was about to be performed. To the outsider it looks like they are putting on an energy armour as their arms make waves of motion over their bodies, synchronised to deep breathing and visualisation. I feel that the monk is literally choosing a reality from the infinite possibilities, in which the outcome is what he desires. He chooses a reality where the spear being thrust at him doesn't cause him injury. He is choosing a realty where he can hold two full buckets of water up at shoulder height whilst walking up a staircase consisting of sharp blades without injury. Of course it's easier said than done, but that's where the wisdom of generations of masters and diligent daily training comes in.

During the intermission I found Felix sitting comfortably with his younger brother and Diahann. Felix is huge both in terms of height (6ft 6 inches) and robust muscular frame.

He made the theatre seat look like a kids chair. Later when he stood up I remarked on his stature, "Wow, you're really tall Felix!". "Yes I'm tall, but then there are others who are taller than me." Was his humble and wise reply. He reminds me a bit of the Green Giant character from the canned sweet corn brand - especially with that big warm smile he always seems to have.

On the day of our interview I arrive at Vantra early so that I can help myself to some of their delicious lunchtime buffet.

Their world fusion and Asian inspired dishes are tried and tested favourites with customers. Despite Vantra being located in one of the busiest parts of London, it always feels like I'm in a sanctuary, safety cocooned from the shopping frenzy of Oxford Street. It's a testament to the energy of the plant based holistic lifestyle and the peaceful energies the founders bring to their space. The sand coloured render on the walls have rough deep grooves so that the light casts shadows creating depth. Their tables are thick cuts of solid wood and the chairs are carved from solid tree trunks.

Felix arrives and immediately fills up a large box of Vantra's buffet. As he sits at the table to join me he takes a moment to bless his food with positive energy. "Do you like this kind of food?" I ask. "Oh yeah, I love it. It's my favourite. I'd eat

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FELIX PRICE

here every day if I could." He replies enthusiastically. I take this moment to ask his thoughts on the often tricky subject of food, especially with all the conflicting opinions out there on healthy diets - even in the plant based communities, such as high fat/ low sugar or the more high carb based fruitarians. His answer is refreshingly simple, "I try to eat as much as I can whenever I can". He goes on, "With food I am working out what feels good for me. I make big smoothies in the morning which can be banana, dates, hemp protein. I have some raw food; salads sprouted nuts and seeds, but I probably eat more cooked than raw food. For me it's taken practice. There's an art to veganism. When I didn't get it right I felt weak and from that feeling of weakness I went back to eating meat. But because of my ethics and morality I went back to vegan again. It's just about eating enough, eating the right things and also organisation. If I 32

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don't organise enough food for myself in the morning and then I'm out and about I won't find anything, there's not a Vantra on the corner of every street‌yet". He explains with a smile.

"For example where I live in Brixton there's only one place I can eat out which is at Oracle's juice bar, also being in central London one can spend a lot of money on food. So if I go out now I prepare three big containers of food like this [pointing to the large Vantra size container of food in front of him] ‌ Rice, quinoa, steamed vegetables, hummus, bean curries, bean sauces, soups. Now I love it".

How did you get into yoga?

When I was 10 my dad took me to some classes and I really enjoyed it. Then again when I was at college there was an extra course I could take which was yoga. I really liked that as well. When I left college I was working on a building site, I was doing a lot of heavy lifting

and I started getting a bad back. My lower back was really blocked. I started getting really bad back pain - sciatica.

The mother of one of my friends was an osteopath, I went to see her and she sorted me out in two sessions and unlocked my lower back. She put me in a sort of twist position and cracked my whole back. One day I was cycling and I saw this sign for yoga in Brixton, and I just said 'yes I'll try this'.

Do you think yoga on its own could unblock something like sciatica?

For me yoga is spiritual realisation.

So you see yoga as more of a spiritual thing than a physical thing?

Yoga is a spiritual thing. Yoga is used in a lot of interesting ways these days, it can mean a lot of things, so when you ask 'can yoga help your lower back?' Yes it can, but at the time the way I relieved it at first was through osteopathy and then I went to yoga classes.

FELIX PRICE

When you are a spirit in the spirit world you have the option to incarnate as a human if you want, just for fun

spiritual

Where do you think most people are going wrong with yoga?

I don't think you can go wrong with yoga, I don't really believe in right and wrong.

encompass everything

What about getting more spiritual realisation from yoga?

I think it's a journey, it's a timeline, we are all flowing on a timeline. There might not be conscious realisation.

There's moments of unconsciousness that will perceive consciousness and that's part of the journey. In a way unconsciousness is part of the purpose of human life.

journeys that's in the

huMan realm,

including all the darkness

and the bad that's essential

Oh, like the rediscovery you mean?

Yes that's part of the fun of having a human experience. So if someone's not realised spirituality yet, their spirit is enjoying the experience of being totally immersed within a human realm.

The illusion of amnesia (forgetting that you're actually a spirit) is fun for

a spirit. When you are a spirit in the spirit world you have the option to incarnate as a human if you want, just for fun, and the game your playing with yourself is to see how long you'd take to remember, and when you do remember it's the funniest thing ever, and it makes everything you've experienced previously seem worth it just for that moment.

Do you think being vegan can help with ones spiritual journey?

I think spiritual journeys encompass everything that's in the human realm, including all the darkness and the bad - that's essential. For me the feelings that I enjoy the most, and set the intention to feel are joy, bliss, love and happiness. Foods affect how I feel.

When I eat vegan foods I feel clear, good and happy.

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I realised what I thought was the real tHing

wasn't even the real thing!

Do you feel physically lighter especially as one of your goals is physical levitation?

I'm actually trying to get heavier, as in put on more weight. It's a funny one isn't it. I want a heavier body but to feel lighter. Sometimes 'heaviness' is feeling grounded, I don't mean heavy as in slow or sluggish. When I first started I was very ungrounded.

I see a lot of people in the 'spiritual' community ungrounded and it makes me a bit wary of some communities that I would of previously embraced but now I see a lot of weakness in them. There might be an open hearted love there but no roots, no power.

What about that photo of the planche pose (see p33). That almost looks like levitation?

It's a pose I'm aspiring to perform.

This is where I realise how much there is to do in the world of yoga. There's actually a lot of people who can do it. For top calisthenics guys this is a standard move. But in the yoga world I see very few who can do this. So for me I look to people who can do that as my teachers and although they are not using the word 'yoga' they are doing way more yoga than anybody I see under the name of yoga. Although it's all relative, I honestly feel I haven't truly started yoga. My aim now in the next few years is to set up a retreat centre in Brazil where I can begin and stay in my zone. There's too much distraction, stopping and having to do other stuff. The thing that really is yoga is very special. Levitation could happen spontaneously, but my intuition says it requires a lot of continued concentration - unbroken concentration.

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As Felix flicks through the previous LĂşcuma issue I gave him, he comes across the 'Cacao Ceremony' article which brings us onto the topic of shamanic plant ceremonies, in particular ayahuasca, a powerful traditional South American brew of Banisteriopsis caapi and other plants which can induce purging, visions revealing information about ones life purpose and the nature of the universe. I'm amazed to find out Felix has had eighty three ayahuasca experiences!

What do you think about people participating in an ayahuasca ceremony in the city and what did ayahuasca teach you?

It's more about how you do it than where. How it happens is important.

You can get jokers doing it in London as well as Peru [there are reports of people being conned, abandoned in jungles and worse by unscrupulous people and charlatans]. Personally my deepest experiences have been when I've done it over longer periods.

Lots of ceremonies in a row. But it's like an ocean. The further you go in the more you can learn. A typical ayahuasca experience in London is a one or two night retreat and they are only just scratching the surface really.

Even if it feels really deep. I thought I was feeling it until I stayed in Peru with a shaman and his family in a small village for three weeks where I did thirteen ceremonies. We did four or five ceremonies in a row then a day break then another four nights and so on. The first few nights are purging, cleansing, very active physically, like exercise body realignment, stretching, electricity in my body being released.

By the fourth ceremony I was laid out on the floor and completely relaxed, I had no more need to exercise. In that stillness a big door opens up into a whole new realm - a spirit realm. Then I thought 'oh wow this is it now, it's really beginning to happen' and then on the eighth night I realised what I thought was the real thing wasn't even the real thing! I broke through another barrier and went into this other dimension that made the last one seem like nothing. I was in a state of disbelief, 'How can that last experience that seemed so incredible, now seem so petty?' On the flight home I felt that everything I experienced was just another plateau, that if I'd stayed and carried on I could of gone even deeper.

That's when I began to wonder what would happen if I continued? Am I going to fly? Am I going to find the programme in my unconscious mind that says I can't fly and reprogramme it to know I can fly? That's where I got the idea for levitation and breaking down the beliefs - the physics. It's about learning all the laws and then learning how to break all the laws.

Although it seemed very far away it still seemed achievable with the right setting. That's why I want to set up a base in nature which will be like a training camp. Super powers aren't even the goal, it's just things that happen along the way like a checkpoint.

Ayahuasca showed me I'm not my body, I'm not my mind I'm a spiritual being from another dimension. Whilst on an ayahuasca journey I learnt how to shut my body down and step out of it. It opened up a completely different realm of experience for me that I've never been back to since.

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Another beautiful experience I had after a two or three day retreat was a 'kundalini awakening'. I was in a teepee sitting in front of a fire and I had a good amount of ayahuasca. I began to breathe very quickly. It was building up energy like getting a motor going, igniting a power inside me at the base of my spine. Then 'woosh' it was like a volcano that erupted and the energy went right up the centre of my spine and my spirit contracted inwards, squeezed tight inside and went right up the spine. And it was as if my consciousness jumped up out of the top of my head, out of the teepee, up and up like Google Earth, panning out and out everything kept getting smaller and smaller then all the galaxies and then 'whooopop' I passed a kind of barrier and I was on the other side of a dimension or a field. It was as if I could see the whole universe - this plane inside a bubble and I popped out of it. I was looking inside of it and saw it move into a swirling yin yang of light and dark and somehow I was able to see a line of darkness sweeping round at the same time in exact balance a line of white light. The line of darkness was all the suffering in the world and the line of light all the joy and love and they were moving around together. It was all contained within a reality of duality but I'd popped outside of this duality.

It always feels like a paradox when I attempt to explain it. It was as if I'd stepped out of duality and experienced complete oneness but at the same time I could see into duality and knew everything in this realm is a play in duality. Then I dived back in, all the way back into my body.

On another journey I saw my whole energy system, all the different 36

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layers of my 'vehicle' stripped down.

Using internal vision; all the nerves, veins, arteries, glands, organs. It was like x-ray vision scans. Physically if someone would look at me they would see me with my eyes closed, but my eyeballs are rolled backwards and instead of seeing black space when I looked inside, it's very high definition, very bright images.

It was as if I

could see

the whole

universe I feel blessed that I had four or five years without psychedelics. I was doing sun salutations everyday, exercise everyday, vipassana meditation retreats, practicing to still my mind, so when I tried ayahuasca my experiences were amazing because of that foundation. It's not the same for everyone. You can see people in the ceremony purging their bodies but they haven't learnt to sit up straight.

Kundalini awakening doesn't happen when you're all slumped in a bad shape.

So where are you at now in merging all these disciplines together?

Where I'm at now is to incorporate all the power and the grounding I see in gyms that I don't see in yoga studios. When you meet and overcome resistance that's how you make real power. Until the resistance is there the real power within someone won't be realised - the finer strands won't have been accessed yet. What

I see now is that intensity is what is necessary, you don't need a barbell or a dumbbell, you can find intensity just through positions like the planche in calisthenics. Can I squat my body weight? Can I bench press my body weight? Can I dead lift my body weight? Three simple things.

The power to push with your arms, the power to push with your legs, the power to lift up. So my goals right now are power lifting. In order that all the things that we're practicing veganism, ethical lifestyle, spirituality can be delivered from a place of power, from a really grounded aura, so that the people who aren't into this at all can hear it. A really skinny version of me who's vegan trying to tell a power lifter who's eating meat everyday to stop eating meat is going to have very little impact. The bigger picture is to spread this information around the planet. You don't need to preach to the choir. You don't need tell the people in juice bars about the benefits of veganism. You need to go to the hospitals, and junk food restaurants and be a good example, to get respect from people and for people to open up their ears. My flexibility has always been there but it's been way out of balance with my strength. I thought I was doing yoga just because I could do a scorpion and put my feet above my head, but what I've realised is I've been so out of yoga because I haven't been balancing it with strength. When I meet calisthenics guys their physical practice is amazing, absolutely amazing and that's a reflection of their spirit.

Whether their third eye is open yet or not is another thing, but you have to use spirit to get into that planche, you have to overcome resistance.

FELIX PRICE

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© Tourism Australia Photo by Hugh Stewart

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ABOUT LIFE

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

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bout a decade ago the idea of a raw food or even a vegan Sydney guide would have seemed ridiculous. Famous for their love of barbeques and beer, Australia wouldn't be the first nation you'd associate green juices and vegan 'tucker' with. However Aussies are now quickly embracing the idea of healthier diets, organic food, juicing and detoxing. Australia has risen out of nowhere to become the coolest place in the global healthy eating, raw food and vegan world particularly the East coast from Melbourne and Sydney in the South up to Surfer's Paradise and Byron Bay further North.

Australia now has the third fastest growing vegan market in the word - in part due to the popularity of vegan bloggers/ vloggers, social media and the embracing of veganism by the youth and alternative communities. Some of the worlds most beautiful and popular plant based Instagram accounts belong to Aussies. To be fair they are helped by the gorgeous weather. It always seems to be clear blue skies in Sydney even in their winter which is around June/July. With weather this good plus the out-door lifestyle and beaches at your doorstep, it just makes it that much easier to get motivated about vibrant living foods.

Vejjo Paradise

Every kind of vegan cuisine you can imagine is here enough for you to dine out somewhere new every day for 2 weeks. And let's face it if you're going to fly to the other side of the world you'll want to stay here for a while. The

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only trouble is you may never want to leave and stay like so many of the population here who originally came from somewhere else. What surprised me the most was that the majority of independent coffee shops or cafes, (particularly in the trendier suburbs) would have something healthy on the menu and are well aware of the demand for plant based options. Even if it's just smashed avo on toast, falafel wraps or freshly made smoothies or juices. In fact the best presentation of a green juice I've ever seen was at a cafe that didn't even have a vegan dish on the menu.

Beach Life

The quality of life in Sydney is quite something to behold, with a chilled out vibe and 'easy going' people. Not surprising since Sydney is built around the worlds largest natural harbour and there are seventy beaches to enjoy. Although not all of them are suitable for swimming due to large waves and rip tides. The most famous beaches - Bondi and Bronte are mostly used by surfers and sun bathers. If you grew up in England you've probably seen an Australian soap opera called Home and Away. I always used to think it was a bit of an unrealistic portrayal of Aussie beach life but after spending three weeks in Sydney I can see that it's actually not that much of an exaggeration. Though set in a fictional small town called Summer Bay there are parts of Sydney's coast that reminded me of Home and Away, especially Coogee beach.

The real location of that famous beach in Home and Away is Palm Beach only 41 kilometres North of central Sydney.

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© Tourism and Events Queensland Photo by Tourism QLD

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

H

GALA

roseas the name n w o e n Also k ockatoo. Th laa, a c gi d e m t o s r a f bre rived uwaalaraay e d s i galah nd in the Y age ou gu word f original lan Ab

Getting around Sydney

Wild Australia

Australia is well known for its exotic animals and although in Sydney you wont see kangaroos jumping around the streets or koalas climbing the eucalyptus trees you might see a galah (a large pink and grey cockatoo) sitting in the middle of a park starring blankly into space, or the Australian white Ibis with its long curved beak exploring the parks and quiet streets. More rare is the exotic call of a laughing kookaburra. The amazingly colourful and exotic looking rainbow lorikeets are quite common especially in wild patches in the suburbs or trees by the coastline. For an almost guaranteed sighting of a sulphur-crested cockatoo make sure you visit the Royal Botanic Garden where a flock of them live in the grounds.

For a taste of the real wild Australia you can take a trip to the Blue Mountains, just two hours from Sydney by car or train.

There you can explore mystical mountains, plateaus, gorges, caves and gum trees.

The magical blue mist that covers this region is due to the oils that are released from the eucalyptus trees.

The cleanliness and efficiency of the public transport means travelling around Sydney is a pleasure. You can get an Opal card - a smart card ticket to load funds for use on trains, buses, ferries and light rail which basically works the same way as London's Oyster card. As Sydney is built around a natural harbour ferries are just as important as buses or trains. The Sydney ferries make for some memorable commutes especially going under Sydney bridge and past Sydney Opera house to the main ferry stop Circular Quay.

TIP: if you are travelling on a budget, and your accommodation is near a train stop It's worth taking the train from the airport to your final destination as taking a taxi can be expensive in comparison, plus there are often queues for taxis leaving the airport.

Š Tourism Australia Photo by Nick Rains

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The Bondi to Bronte walk has got to be one of the best walks in the world. It spans three gorgeous beaches (Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte), and more shades of blue & teal that your eyes are ever likely to see in your lifetime, as the path winds its way around the coastline. But the coconut icing on the top of the raw cake is you can be consuming some amazing plant-based food as you explore this glorious part of Sydney.

You can easily do this walk in reverse and start in Bondi Beach but I feel it's nicer to finish in Bondi which would make a nice climax to the day, also it's easier to get back to the city centre straight away if you're not staying in the area and feeling a bit tired.

Get to Bondi Junction train station which is next door to a Westfield mall. Then get a juice or smoothie at either The Bondi Juice Company or O Superfood Follow Bronte Road down until you find an entrance to Bronte Park. This is quite a dramatic route to Bronte beach as you see the landscape change from cute suburban houses, dried up creak to grass and then beach. On the way you may fancy some lunch at the excellent IKU Wholefood chain You will see the Bondi to Bronte walkway from the top of Bronte beach. Just follow the people heading North. When you get to Bondi beach you have a choice of Orchard St Juice bar, Funky Pies (home baked vegan pies with gluten free options) or Vegan Lebanese Street Food. You can grab a bus from Campbell Parade or further West up in Bondi Rd to Bondi Junction train station or the 333 and 380 buses will take you all the way to City Circular Quay.

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e s e n a b e L ood f an g Ve reet St G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

BONDI 188 Bondi Rd Bondi, NSW 2026 veganlebanesestreetfood.com.au

Who doesn't like Lebanese Food?

If ever there was a traditional cuisine perfectly suited for vegans it's Lebanese food.

It's already extremely vegan friendly by nature but 'Vegan Lebanese Food' have gone all the way by subsituting the few remaining traditional non-vegan ingredients like yoghurt in Labneh with their own cashew and rice blend of yogurt, and meat traditionally used in kofta skwers with vegan mince. What better location to enjoy this vibrant food than Bondi Beach. A perfect way to end a day out by the beach.

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BonDi

"Bondi" or "Boondi" is an Aboriginal word meaning water breaking over rocks or noise of water breaking over rocks

Š Tourism Australia, Photo by Ellenor Argyropoulos

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Coogee BAy

RANDWICK 49 Perouse Rd soulburger.com.au

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SOUL BURGER Australia's first wholly plant-based burger restaurant that aims to satisfy the carnivores too. Their patties are focused on emulating meat flavours and textures.

The beef burger I had was shockingly 'meat like'. If you need to walk off your meal afterwards, head over to charming Coogee Bay.

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

ROZELLE 656 Darling St ungaroraw.com

Ungaro RAW Despite the name there are more cooked vegan options than raw. There's quite a range of raw desserts, juices and smoothies though. The most curious thing about Ungaro is that it is in the suburbs rather than city centre. A sign of things to come I'm sure...

Ungaro RAW

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Alibi Bar

Woolloomooloo WOOLLOOMOOLOO inside Ovolo Hotel, 6 Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo, NSW 2011 alibibar.com.au

Top quality plant based food & drinks by one of the world's leading vegan chefs, Matthew Kenney Yes that is the name of a real place. When I first saw a street sign pointing to 'Woolloomooloo' I laughed out loud. It's typical of Australia to have such fun sounding names and it probably derived from the original aboriginal name.

Alibi is a bar and restraurant located in the Ovolo hotel. In addition to stunningly presented cocktails there is a healthy and satisfiying plant based menu by Matthew Kenney, world renowned plant­ based chef.

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enchanted forest: sol tarasco. white cacao. portobello. green apple. absinthe foam

er er. sunflow plant burg up. rrot ketch cheddar. ca he bun vegan brioc *12

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A thrilling day out that will surely hit home just how wonderful Sydney is. Take in the beautiful sights of Sydney harbour and its iconic bridge and opera house, the exotic Royal Botanic Gardens with its examples of Australian flora and flock of wild cockatoos and finish up with evening dim sum at one of Sydney's finest vegan restaurants where you can dine outdoors to the sounds of bats!

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Lord of the fries

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Sydney Opera House; Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in 1957 and formally opened in 1973 sydneyoperahouse.com

Sydney Opera House

&

Cockatoo

Walkabout

© Tourism Australia Photo by Andrew Smith

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Cocky Cockatoos

I was really excited about the prospect of seeing wild sulphur crested cockatoos and thankfully I managed to find some in Sydney. Before urban development the Sydney coastline belonged to them. They can still be found in the quieter suburbs but your best chance to spot one is in the grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens where they are still going strong.

I came across a group of about 20 in the morning.

They were meticulously cutting leaves from a tree with their sharp beaks and letting them fall to the ground. Curious on the reason for this I picked up one of the leaves to inspect it. It turned out to be little seeds/pods stuck to the underside of the leaves that the cockatoos on the ground were picking off and eating. I was amazed at how close I was able to get to them but that's before I realised they have no fear of people. In fact they are just as interested in us as we are of them. One of them started to bite on my shoes and when I tried to lose them by walking around the tree it followed me! I eventually managed to distract it by waving a leaf in front of its face. The whole group eventually flew off amidst a cacophony of loud squawks. With their yellow punk style mohawks, they're natures equivalent of wild rock stars - full of confidence and screaming at the top of their lungs. They seemed to delight in showing off their aerial acrobatics and liked to swoop down close to unsuspecting tourists. There are even reports of cockatoos playing 'chicken' with cars in the streets!

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Bodhi

(Between St Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral and the swimming pool) Lower Mezzanine Level of Cook and Philip Park, 2-4 College St www.bodhi.id.au

A stunning setting (beneath Chinese lanterns and fig trees) to enjoy some vegan yum cha

Located in Cook and Phillip park, Bodhi is one of Sydney's most exciting dining spots. Bodhi have been serving some of the best vegan 'yum cha' (a type of Chinese style brunch, which involves drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum) and pan Asian cuisine since 1988. The outdoor terrace with hanging Chinese lanterns is always popular but there is also a cosy indoor dining and bar area. The biggest surprise here won't be how yummy and pretty the food looks but the sounds of the bats in the park at night!

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GEORGE STREET CBD 537 George St, Sydney 2000 lordofthefries.com.au

Vegan burgers,hotdogs, milkshakes and 4 different kinds of fries

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f o d r o L S E RI F the

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

A fast food style chain founded on the idea of the perfect natural fries with nasty chemicals and cheap oil has got to be a good idea, right? That was back in 2004, now there are 16 stores accross Australia. The Sydney branch isnt the largest, in fact it's just a take away outlet but it is open till late (4.am) on Fridays, so if you happen to be wandering the streets of Sydney looking for a vegan burger and fries you'll find it.

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G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

Green Gourmet 115 King St

greengourmet.com.au

Oriental vegan cuisine

Bliss & Chips 215 King St

Vegan & gluten free 'fish' and chips Gelato Blue Newtown 318 King St

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Oriental vegan cuisine

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Suzy Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher 49-51 Hutchinson St

ssvb.com.au

This is a groovy walk to spark off your multidimensional imagination. But don't get all strung out in heaven!

Start off at Lunatiques - one of the most fun and well presented antique stores you'll ever find. A large warehouse worth of antiques ranging from Victorian to the 1980's. After your imagination is captivated with all those historical links to the past it's off to the wonderful Pana Chocolate shop for some healthy & delicious cakes. Hopefully that cacao will stimulate your third eye as you head up to Newtown - Sydney's most alternative neighbourhood, and despite the name it's more of an 'old town' with vintage fashion, cars and architecture. It looks like it's stuck in a bit of a time warp, but the best part is there's plenty of vegan food to choose from!

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SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

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IT'S Vegan wn e newto Gelato blu

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SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

Pana ChoColate ALEXANDRIA 21 Fountain St Alexandria NSW 2015 panachocolate.com

Some of the best raw desserts and chocolate bars in the world

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If you've never heard of Pana Chocolate before just look at their instagram account to see just what the big deal is and to understand why they have a quarter of a million followersâ&#x20AC;Ś and yes, all those beautiful cakes, chocolates and shakes are all raw, vegan and gluten & refined sugar free. For people who are familiar with Pana and already enjoy their chocolate bars, I don't need to say anything to you other than, Pana have their own cafe in Sydney! And what a beauty she is, with a lovely chilled out atmosphere. There's a shady outdoor terrace too clad in luscious plants which is a welcome retreat for those sweltering hot days. Pana Chocolate serves a selection of cakes, ice creams or bites and also made to order hot or cold cacao drinks. If like me you find it difficult to just pick one cake you can choose a selection for a set price. Sit back and feel the love.

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G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

Enjoy 3 recipes from our mates at Pana EXTRACTED FROM 'PANA CHOCOLATE: THE RECIPES'

BY PANA BARNBOUNIS (HARDIE GRANT, £16.99) PHOTOGRAPHY © Armelle Habib

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G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

CINNAMON KISS Our cinnamon kiss filling is sweet and woody, smooth and delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to a coffee on a chilly day. It’s simple to make and is also a great topping for raw desserts and choc-brekkie granola.

Makes: approximately 35 small chocolates Time: 25 minutes preparation, plus 2 hours setting time Equipment: high-speed blender, piping bag, chocolate moulds (or similar) 230g (8 oz) maple syrup 130g (4½ oz) cashews, soaked 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways and seeds scraped 100g (3½ oz) cacao butter 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon 2–3 45g (1½ oz) bars of Pana Chocolate Raw Cacao

MAKING INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATES LINING MOULDS Note: Ensure your chocolate mould is completely dry.

Any little drops of water will leave watermarks on the finished chocolate.

Melt chocolate slowly in a bain-marie. If the chocolate is not melting to a smooth consistency, you can add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.

1.

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.

Refrigerate the mixture in a covered container until it is firm enough to pipe into each lined chocolate mould.

Transfer the mixture into a piping bag and pipe a small amount into each lined chocolate mould.

Close the moulds with chocolate and set in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Once set, knock the chocolates out of the moulds.

Note: Refer to 'Making individual chocolates'. for step-by-step instructions on lining and filling moulds.

Hold the chocolate mould on a slight angle. With a ladle, spoon the chocolate over each mould to fill.

Tap the edge of the mould with your ladle handle to release any air bubbles. This is especially important if your mould has lots of detail.

2. Tip the mould upside down over the bowl of chocolate and let the excess drip out, tapping gently with a metal spatula.

3. Run your spatula over the top and sides of the mould to remove all excess chocolate – this will ensure a clean and professional finish. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

FILLING AND CLOSING MOULDS 1. To fill the mould, place your filling in a piping bag.

Squeeze some filling into each chocolate mould, leaving a gap of approximately 2 mm (1/10 in) at the top of each mould.

2. Ladle more melted chocolate over the mould to completely cover the filling and fill the mould.

3. Using a metal spatula, scrape off excess chocolate.

Keep your hand and spatula flat to ensure you don’t puncture your beautiful chocolates! Set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Note: Once the chocolates are set, twist the mould slightly as you would an ice tray, then turn the mould upside down and tip the chocolates out.

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65

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

RASPBERRY RIPE Berries and chocolate combine in this zesty chocolate. At Pana Chocolate, we love teaming tart fruit with our rich, raw chocolate, and these Raspberry Ripe bites get the balance just right.

Using frozen raspberries, zingy orange zest for a hit of citrus and coconut for added texture, the mix is a winner for chocolate filling and as an accompaniment to your raw desserts.

Makes: 14 bites Time: 25 minutes preparation, plus 2 hours setting time Equipment: chocolate moulds (or similar) 50ml (1¾ fl oz) coconut cream 3 teaspoons coconut oil 3 teaspoons rice malt syrup 45g (1½ oz/½ cup) desiccated coconut zest of ½ orange 20g (¾ oz) frozen raspberries 2–3 45g (1½ oz) bars of Pana Chocolate Raw Cacao

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Combine all ingredients except the raspberries in a small bowl, and mix together thoroughly.

Crumble the raspberries over the mixture and fold through gently.

Spoon the mixture into lined chocolate moulds.

Close the moulds with chocolate, then set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Once set, knock the chocolates out of the moulds.

Note: Refer to 'Making individual chocolates'. for step-by-step instructions on lining and filling moulds.

If you would prefer to roll the mixture into balls, place it in the fridge to set a little first. Once the mixture is chilled, roll it into balls and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, drop the balls into melted chocolate and roll around to coat. Once coated, use a fork to pick up each ball. Tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate.

Place the balls on a tray lined with baking paper, then refrigerate until set.

G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

CHOCOLATE QUEEN OF TARTS You can’t go wrong with a classic chocolate tart, and our version hits all the right notes. This recipe makes rich, individual tarts, perfect for a glamorous afternoon tea or an impressive evening dessert. For an extra hit of flavour, incorporate your favourite Pana Chocolate bar to make the soft mousse centre even more delicious.

Makes: 5 Time: 50 minutes preparation, plus 1 hour setting time Equipment: food processor, five 11–12cm (4¼–4¾ in) round tart tins, bain-marie Pana Chocolate bar shavings, to garnish BASIC TART SHELL 120g (4½ oz/1 1/3 cups) desiccated coconut 125g (4½ oz) nut flour 50–75ml (1¾–2½ fl oz) coconut nectar 2 pinches of Himalayan pink salt coconut oil, for greasing

Blend all the ingredients except the coconut oil until the mixture comes together.

Grease the tart tins with the coconut oil, and place baking paper on the base. Press an even amount of the mixture into each tin.

Press the mixture firmly to compact it, only allowing the shell to come about 1 cm (½ in) up the sides of the tin. While you are compacting the mixture, you will notice the oils releasing – this is a great thing!

Freeze to firm up a little, then pop the shells out. Keep the tart shells refrigerated until needed.

CHOC-MINT FILLING 45g (1½ oz) bar of Pana Chocolate Mint 3 teaspoons coconut oil 50g (1¾ oz) coconut butter, melted 120ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) coconut cream 1 tablespoon coconut nectar pinch of Himalayan pink salt Melt the chocolate and coconut oil over a bain-marie.

Pour the melted chocolate and oil into a bowl along with all other ingredients and fold gently to combine. Pour equal amounts of the filling into each tart shell, then return the tarts to the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Garnish with chocolate shavings. *12

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â&#x20AC;&#x201D; G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

Look out forâ&#x20AC;Ś

THE SOURCE BULKFOODS Everything a normal health store would have minus the packaging.

Just fill a paper bag (or bottle for liquids/oils) with the quantity you want and pay by the weight. The first branch opened in 2012 and has since snowballed into an avalanche of 30 stores across Oz with more planned. This is the future. thesourcebulkfoods.com.au

IKU WHOLEFOOD A cutting edge healthy fast food chain.

A vibrant mixture of vegan, organic cooked and raw dishes that hit the spot every time.

With 11 branches in Sydney they make for great healthy pit stops during a day of exploring the city. ikuwholefood.com

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— G'DAY VEGAN SYDNEY

Served on a

biodegradable

palm leaf

p l ate

a … t o er n g 's r at Th gan Bu ve

s i h T an

g e … r v is a ge r u B

Vegan Vibe burger at About Life.

Lentil chia seed patty, portobello mushroom, avocado, greens, tahini and a seeded wholemeal bun, served with sweet potato wedges About Life is a health store chain with 7 branches in Sydney. They all have a cafe serving food, smoothies and juices which is worth checking out as well as a daily self serve take out buffet. aboutlife.com.au

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SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

'Hygge' (pronounced 'hooga') is a Danish word that translates roughly to 'cosiness'. But it doesn’t matter how you pronounce it, it's the way you feel it!

We're going to share with you some of our favourite ingredients and recipes for that warm fuzzy hygge feeling.

And where better to start than a comforting drink...

Time Pittaya n fruit blend.

Our pink drago good as It really does taste as it looks.

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eric coTcoinumt paelm Turm d of lúcuma,

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Our blend coconut sugar cinnamon and superfood latte us for a sumptuo experience. g tic great tastin Finally! A realis ffee. alternative to co

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

Hygge Time!

Time o Arriasbtea d ground caca Gently ro lky smooth beans for a si experience. o brewed caca

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BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

S KLAMatHEMATIC ELIXIR RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

*Klamath algae 2 tsp BonPom baobab powder 2 tbsp coconut water as needed maple syrup to taste Blend all ingredients in a blender at a high speed to achieve the bubbly layer effect, then serve. Alternatively you can make it straight in your glass by stirring in all the ingredients. *Klamath algae can be substituted for spirulina or chlorella.

We find getting cosy and enjoying a nice drink can spark off creative and exciting ideas! It makes sense to support your brain and body with the best foods you can so that you can follow through from that 'light bulb moment'.

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waLNUT CacA0 MILKSHAKE RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

walnuts Âź cup

(presoaked in water for 2-4 hours,then washed and drained)

BonPom cacao powder 2 tbsp BonPom cacao nibs 1 tbsp BonPom coconut sugar 1 tbsp or to taste vanilla powder pinch Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender with required amount of water until smooth, then serve.

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

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BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Cauliflower mash

cauliflower ½ a head

nutritional yeast (optional) 1 tsp

WHITE SAGE

The burning of white sage has traditionally been used for cleansing spaces and auras or for calling on the spirit world. In the act of 'smudging' the tip of the sage bundle is lit and then put out so the embers continue to release smoke and its divine aroma.

Break up the cauliflower into small florets by hand. Process the cauliflower (in a Vitamix blender using the tamper stick) or food processor until you get a mash consistency. Add some nutritional yeast for some cheesy flavour.

CRANBERRY SAUCE

fresh or frozen cranberries ½ cup

allspice to taste

maple syrup to taste

Blend ingredients in a blender to achieve a smooth consistency. You may need to add a little water to get things moving depending on your blender.

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BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Sage's vEGAN balls RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

What would a wise hermit living in the forests of Scandinavia be eating in his cosy hut before a rune stone casting?

Meatless Balls large portobello mushroom 1

olive oil 1 tbsp

apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp

spring onion, chopped 1

fresh dill, chopped 4 sprigs

fresh sage, chopped 8 leaves

*walnuts ½ cup

*pumpkin seeds ½ cup

sun dried tomatoes, chopped 7

miso (optional) 1 tsp

*Soak the walnuts and pumpkin seeds in water for a couple of hours, drain and wash before use.

1.

Dice the mushroom, transfer to a bowl. Add olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Massage well for a few minutes then allow to marinade for half an hour. When you are ready to use the mushroom, squeeze out excess water.

2.

Process mushroom and remaining ingredients in a Vitamix (using the tamper stick) or food processor until a well combined mixture is achieved. If your sun dried tomatoes were dry i.e not stored in oil. Add a splash of olive oil and mix in.

3.

Remove mixture and shape into balls.

4.

They are delicious to eat as they are but for a better texture, dehydrate them for 6-8 hours at 46°C, turning them over halfway through. If you're not worried about keeping them raw you can bake them in the oven for 10 minutes at 200°C *12

75

BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Mellow-Yellow Chickpea Curry VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

YELLOW CURRY (SERVES 2)

coconut milk 1 can

BonPom turmeric powder 1 tsp

garam masala ½ tsp

ground corriander ½ tsp

RECIPE & PHOTO BONPOM

chickpeas, pre-cooked 400g or 1 can

Good food is not just about the taste in our mouths. It's also about the colours and fragrance that contribute to a multisensory

fresh ginger, chopped 1 tsp

experience which creates the 'warm' (hygge) feeling inside.

chili flakes ½ tsp

One ingredient we love for that feeling is turmeric. With that

cauliflower half a head (broken into small florets)

76

attracts our senses as well as our taste buds.

spinach leaves 3-4 large handfuls spring onion, chopped 1 GARNISH

gorgeous yellow colour, vibrant aroma and zingy flavour it

baby corn, chopped 3

1.

Place 'Yellow Curry' ingredients (except spinach and spring onion) into a saucepan with ½ cup water and bring to a gentle boil. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes and stir frequently.

2.

Add the spinach and spring onion. Cover saucepan allow to simmer for a further 3 minutes or until the spinach has wilted.

3.

Serve in a soup bowl with chopped fresh chili and coriander.

fresh chili to your taste fresh coriander 2-4 sprigs

*12

BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Lentil & Chia Burger VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

When you talk about food for that Hygge feeling,

RECIPE & PHOTO BONPOM

burgers have got to be there. There's something so satisfying about biting into a tasty patty covered with copious amounts of tangy sauces sandwiched between two soft buns.

Goldseanuce Tahihi bowl with ¼ cup tahini,r.

er to a sp wate eric powd of tamari and 4 tb rm tu p ts Add ½ ter! n, splash thank us la alf a lemo juice of h r until smooth and Sti

LENTIL & CHIA PATTIES (MAKES AROUND 7) 1.

red split lentils 1 cup (250g)

sprouted buckwheat flour ½ cup

BonPom chia seeds ½ cup

miso 2 tbsp

tomato puree 2 tbsp

dried oregano 2 tsp

BonPom turmeric powder ½ tsp (optional)

olive oil 2 tbsp

Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with 3 ¼ cups water. Bring to the boil and skim off any froth. Reduce to a low heat and allow to simmer gently, stirring frequently until all the water has been absorbed and evaporated (approx 20 mins) then turn off the heat. The reason for using less water than normal is because it's difficult to drain excess water from cooked red lentils as they start to disintegrate. If you're adding turmeric powder stir it in at the end.

2.

Allow the lentils to cool then place them in a mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix and knead the mixture into a well combined dough.

3.

Shape into patties about a 1.5cm thick.

4.

Bake in an oven at 200°C for 20 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Or shallow fry for 5 minutes turning over halfway through. Any leftover patties will store in the fridge for 3 days.

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77

BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Caramel smoothie

banana 2

BonPom lúcuma powder 1 tbsp

BonPom cacao butter drops 2

BonPom cacao powder 1 tsp

BonPom maca powder 1 tsp

vanilla powder pinch

dates 3

peanut butter 2 tbsp

plant based milk 1 ½ cups GARNISH

BonPom cacao paste, grated to your taste

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BonPom cacao nibs to your taste

e u l B n e Que e i h t o mo s

BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

banana 2 eberries 1 ½ cups blu 1 tbsp

ia seeds m o BonP ch

1 tsp bab powder BonPom bao tsp

powder 1 Pom cacao n -8 leaves) o B

1 sprig (5 fresh basil cups

water 1 ½

GARNISH your taste conut to esiccated co d your taste

o nibs to ca ca m o P n Bo

There's nothing like a smoothie first thing in the morning.

So quick and easy to make, they set us up for the first part of the day. We love to sip away as we work. *12

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Unicorn Bites SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

THE BITES MAKES ABOUT 13

dates 2 cups

BonPom cacao nibs 3 tbsp BonPom coconut flour Âź cup + 1 tbsp BonPom chia seeds 2 tbsp

BonPom Macachino Time 3 tbsp or to taste

peanut butter 2 tbsp

1.

Process the dates and cacao nibs with 4 tbsp water in a Vitamix (using a tamper stick) or food processor until you reach a coarse paste consistency.

2.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.

Knead the mixture until it's a well combined dough and shape into a ball. If your dough is too sticky try adding more coconut flour. If too crumbly or dry, add a little water. Note: The dough will harden slightly when left to stand or refrigerated.

3.

On a flat clean surface press the ball into a flat shape with your hands or rolling pin.

4.

Use a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the mixture. Recombine the leftovers into a ball and repeat steps 3 and 4 until there is none left.

5.

Press each cut shape in a bowl of rainbow sprinkle to coat them.

ALL NATURAL RAINBOW SPRINKLE

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desiccated coconut 1 cup

BonPom turmeric (for yellow) 1 tsp

spirulina (for green) 1 tsp

pitaya powder (for pink) 1 tsp

1.

In a small bowl mix a teaspoon of one of the above coloured ingredients with tbsp of water to form a coloured paste.

2.

Add your desired amount of desiccated coconut. Use a fork to make sure all the pieces of coconut are coated.

3.

Repeat for the other colours.

4.

Spread the coloured desiccated coconut onto a non-stick dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at 46°C for 4 hours until dry.

You can also dry them in an oven on the lowest setting.

5.

You can store your rainbow sprinkle in a jar for a week. Use it as a topping decoration for lattes and smoothies too!

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BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

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BONPOM - HYGGE TIME

Macachino

Cheesecake RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

RECIPE INES ROMANELLI - THE WILD CHEF inesthewildchef.com PHOTOS JASON SPOOR whitefoxstudios.co.uk FOOD STYLIST ANA KELLY anakellyfoodstyling.net

CRUST

CRUST 1. almonds 2 cups dates 1 cup

Process all the crust ingredients in a food processor with an S-blade.

2.

Transfer the mixture into a 9 inch loose-based cake tin. Using your fist or a measuring cup, press the mixture evenly into the base of the tin and up the side.

3.

Once ready, place it in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

1.

To prepare the filling, blend all the ingredients (minus one of the bananas) on a high speed setting, using a tamper in a Vitamix, or pulse in a basic blender, until smooth and creamy.

2.

Pour half of the filling into your shaped crust.

3.

Slice the remaining banana and arrange the slices on top of the first layer in a sunshine-ray pattern.

4.

Spoon the remaining mixture on top of the fresh banana layer; spread it evenly across the cake tin.

cinnamon (optional) ½ tsp

5.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to set.

6.

Pass a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the cake tin.

7.

Place the cake into a serving plate and garnish with a dusting of cacao powder.

1.

Place ¼ cup raw coconut oil in a small, heat-safe bowl. Then place the bowl over a pan containing a small amount of hot (not boiling, but nearly) water. Stir the oil occasionally until it’s completely melted and smooth.

2.

Remove the bowl from the top of the pan and place it on an even surface.

3.

Add the remaining ingredients; stir continuously until smooth.

4.

Pour this mixture over the set cake.

5.

Add 24 carat gold leaves on top to give it a nice sparkle.

BonPom cacao nibs ¼ cup

coconut flakes ¼ cup

vanilla powder 1 tsp

BonPom goji berries 1 tsp

BonPom coconut oil ½ tbsp

water 1 tsp

FILLING

salt pinch FILLING bananas 4

BonPom cacao powder ½ cup

BonPom Macachino Time 1 tbsp maple syrup 2 tbsp

tahini ¼ cup BonPom coconut oil (melted) ½ cup

vanilla 1 tsp salt pinch MACACHINO SAUCE

MACACHINO SAUCE

BonPom coconut oil ¼ cup

maple syrup ¼ cup

BonPom cacao powder ¼ cup

BonPom Macachino Time 1 tbsp

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m o P Bon etit!

App m bonpo

.com

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DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING WORDS BY HANNAH-PHOEBE BOWEN

Ubiquitous in every healthy, vegan or Japanese food enthusiasts kitchen, we wanted to learn more about our favourite Clearspring products, so we visited their new home in Acton, West London for a cuppa and a chat.

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ç&#x201D;&#x2DC;é&#x2026;&#x2019; amazake

A traditional Japanese sweet drink made from fermented rice - it has a warm flavour, similar to Horlicks, (which makes it quite popular in the Clearspring office).

Also used as a dessert, snack, natural sweetening agent, baby food, salad dressing ingredient or in smoothies.

DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING

味 噌

mISO

A thick savoury paste produced by fermenting soya beans (and sometimes other ingredients to produce different varieties) with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae)

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For the love of miso...

Clearspring is a brand that truly captures “authenticity”,

Traditional Miso and Tamari production through fermentation in large vats made from Japanese cedar.

River stones are later piled onto the lid to press the excess liquid from the mixture

a company true to their aims, who knows their producers by name, keeps their packaging empty of claims or “buzzwords” and has achieved real commercial success. If you don’t know them already, Clearspring are a family owned company, selling only vegan products, with an emphasis on organic production, both from Japan and Europe.

The brand was conceived entirely out of the formative experiences and dreams of a young man. Aged 19, the founder Christopher Dawson “witnessed in shock the massive use of agricultural chemicals in what I thought was my pristine New Zealand” which lead him to explore what better options for the planet might be possible. He began with a series of visits to organic farms, which led him on to the study of

alternative agriculture. He quickly realised that his passion was for supporting the amazing organic farmers he had met as a student exposing and promoting them to a new audience - which he did thorough his first shop, East West Natural Foods, in Old Street, London in 1977.

But the Clearspring that we know and love today began when Dawson, a long time vegetarian, discovered miso on a visit to Japan. This fermented soybean paste, traditionally drunk as a soup, added the almost-meaty rich and savoury flavour that had been missing from his diet (and in particular, his gravy) and he made it his mission to bring this remarkable product to the UK. Whilst in Japan, he met his wife and became even more fascinated with the healthfulness of the Japanese diet, leading him to study macrobiotics. And here he found his calling, supporting farmers and food producers to convert to certified organic whilst giving them a route to market and once more exposing a new audience to a new way of living, farming and eating.

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溜 ま り

DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING

tamari

Is a gluten free version of soya sauce. It's recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China

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DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING

These days Clearspring distributes over 200 products from 14 countries in over 45 countries with the promise: “We only choose the finest ingredients which have been ethically produced and/or which are not harmful to the environment and society.

Sustainable organic agriculture and artisan food production are at the heart of the Clearspring culture. We support and protect local farmers and traditional food producer communities worldwide, guaranteeing orders for them and marketing their products under the Clearspring brand.

We promote sustainable organic and biodynamic agriculture and food production worldwide, with a fair-trade emphasis, by directly or indirectly financially aiding farmers to convert to organic agriculture.

Clearspring foods must also be made by traditional methods using timetested recipes, indeed some of the foods Clearspring labels are made using methods and recipes dating back 200 to 500 years or more.”

And it’s this absolute commitment to the highest standards that their consumers fall for over and over again.

Certainly for us, knowing this passion, this mission, this integrity, is a huge part of why we want to support the brand with all of our purchasing power.

Dawson, and his family and colleagues – a category which these days largely overlaps - are driven by the necessity in terms of environmental sustainability for the growth of organic agriculture and thus to provide the security that allows more and more small artisan producers to take the risk and make the investment involved in conversion.

The aim of Clearspring is to bring innovative, delicious, wholesome,

nutritious and sustainable foods to the widest audience, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take responsibility for their choices in relation to our planet. So the foods are not intended to only be eaten by those choosing Japanese, Macrobiotic or exclusively vegan diets but rather for everyone to incorporate.

Their approach to healthy eating is reassuringly and beautifully inclusive– there’s no demonising of foods or invocations to give things up: There’s nothing wrong with soy, just get good quality soy, there’s nothing wrong with wheat, just get good quality wheat, there’s nothing wrong with the sweet flavour, just use wholesome sweeteners.

Their shoyu, tamari, miso, tofu, udon, malt syrups and fruit purees show us and share with us a healthful and joyful way to eat. The effect the food has on our body has much to do with the way it is prepared and by focussing on honouring traditional and artisan preparations rather than cutting out or demonising, we can get nourishment and appreciate the foods of our grandparents.

New lines include their ever expanding range of European Fine Foods – a selection of products, like sauerkraut, chickpeas and red cabbage along with a range of cold-pressed oils not included in a classic macrobiotic philosophy but bridging the gap between Dawson’s food philosophy and the European consumer.

Combining the ranges we can buy our lentils, produced to Demeter biodynamic organic standards and packaged in glass, cook them into a Bolognese made using Sunflower cooking oil and a spoonful of miso for richness and served over brown rice or buckwheat noodles or gluten free, higher protein pastas.

Umami

麹 A Japanese word meaning 'delicious savoury taste'

koji The mold Aspergillus oryzae introduced to steamed brown rice - which is used in the production of miso, soy sauce, and sake through fermentation *12

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DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING

Some kitchen faves

So many Clearspring products make healthy eating so much healthier (and tastier) with minimal effort - just a quick shake, sprinkle or stir in.

A pretty and unusual addition to dishes

Unpasteurised traditional Japanese staple. Often a secret ingredient in many raw food dishes

Most addictive snack ever!

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Buckwheat based noodles

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Traditional Japanese ingredient destined for stardom in the rest of the world

What doesn't this go with?

a pretty & Tasty garnish. We like sprinkling it over salad and Guacamole

For when you want a Matcha experience without the ceremony

Not just for sushi.

You can make a healthy wrap using a nori sheet

Use in salads, stir fries and raw courgette or rainbow Noodle dishes for some rich flavour

An umami rich blend of soy sauce, kombu shiitake dashi and mirin

Top Quality Silken Tofu

DRINKING AMAZAKE WITH CLEARSPRING

Umami paste can make a dish out of pretty much anything you can think of. Like this grilled butternut squash, chili and Clearspring silken tofu on a bed of quinoa

.com

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Pho

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King, founder of CookDaily 94

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ChAtting with the

KINg King, founder of CookDaily, has taken the London vegan scene by storm with his honest approach to fast, freshly made, satisfying food. We talk about flavours, comfort food... and computer games?!

INTERVIEW BY STEVEN NICOLAIDES STREET FIGHTER ILLUSTRATIONS DAN HAVARDI PHOTOS JORDAN CURTIS HUGHES jordancurtishughes.co.uk *12

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"Food is a big part of Laotian culture. As soon as you enter someone's house, the welcome phrase is 'Have you eaten yet?'"

H S I L G N FULL E

atoes, ms, tom rown o o r h s ble, mu house b g' scram and a swirl of t 'bacon'. g 'e u f To nu ges py coco , sausa greens pped with cris o sauce t 96

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CHATTING WITH THE KING

I'm playing a computer game I haven't played since the 1990s.

A game that many kids of my generation spent way too much time playing - Street Fighter 2. My opponent in the game is none other than King, founder of CookDaily located in the trendy BoxPark, Shoreditch (a collection of repurposed shipping containers housing a street food market and pop up retailers.) CookDaily serves up yummy bowls of fresh vegan food with an International/Asian fusion theme. Each one emanating that magical secret that's also found in all good family home cooked food.

CookDaily's magic stems from the close knit and passionate team King has assembled. King doesn't refer to his team as 'staff' he calls them 'family' - and it shows. Another secret is that King simply just loves good food and the way it brings people together.

At CookDaily King has created a space that is inviting and homely.

The staff lockers are not hidden away but instead on display, adorned with hundreds of vegan themed stickers.

The walls contain artwork from friends and the graffiti style writing on the menu and 'Vegan, No blood No Bones' logo was created personally by King - a reference to his love of graffiti. After getting beaten at Street Fighter 2, I console myself with comforting bowl of vegan pad Thai and a chat.

'Sagat' - one of Street Fighter's final bosses.

His style was based on the Thai martial art of Muay Thai.

What's Laotian food like?

Similar to Northern Thailand but a bit more hardcore. We have similar things like lemon grass, sticky rice, fermented fish and papaya saladâ&#x20AC;Ś Laos flavours are more pungent and savoury. Thai flavours are more creamy and sweet, hence coconut milk. We don't really use coconut milk, that's a Thai thing.

I guess Laos is still unspoilt?

Laos is still unspoilt but it's getting a bit like Thailand now, it'll change in the next ten years. The golden years were in the 1990s. When I was a child I used to go back all the time with my mum and it was beautiful. In London I was playing football with football boots but I went there and kids were just collecting and playing with rubber bands. But it was quite cool I used to join in. They were paying games to win elastic bands. But I kind of missed the point. Because I had a bit of money coming from London I just went to the shop to buy loads of elastic bands!

How did you get into cooking?

My parents are chefs. When my dad first came to this country over thirty years ago he managed to get a job in the Gloucester Hotel, and my mum was a cleaner there. I remember as a kid I would sleep in the back of the car with a blanket for an hour when they would change shifts, so when my mum finished my dad would start his shift.

We were always surrounded by food growing up. My dad would bring home good cuts of meat, such as lamb chops and steak, so I was exposed at an early age to good food. While most of my friends were having baked beans or potatoes for lunch I was having blood pudding sausages. Food is a big part of Laotian culture. As soon as you enter someone's house, the welcome phrase is 'Have you eaten yet?'. So I kind of ran with it. My dad started renting out pub kitchens and selling Thai food and that's how it started. After school in East London we would drive all the way to Putney Bridge in West London.

I remember he was catering in a pub called the White Lion and I would do my homework there and I would help out in the kitchen doing the starters. Just putting the spring rolls and squeezing the sweet chilli sauce on a plate and I just fell in love with it then.

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How did you get into veganism?

That came from years of being in the industry of heavy meat. I started catering college at 16 straight after school, grafting there for two years learning the basics. After travelling around I came back to London 14 years later. I started exploring things like meditation and going back to my Buddhist roots. I just realised that in order to have a good meditation the body can't be heavy - heavy as in eating dead flesh. I was an angry youth back then and I didn't know what it was and now looking back I can see it was all the energy of eating dead flesh and living an unethical lifestyle, so I became vegetarian and started taking Buddhism and mindfulness a bit more seriously. I also raised my son a vegetarian and along the line veganism came in and it just made sense. The

only reason I didn't become a vegan in the beginning is because of the lack of knowledge. During my time as a vegetarian chef I relearned things, it was a new journey and when I became vegan that was it. Clarity was just there, I thought 'OK this is what I had been missing all this time'. And now it's my purpose to fly that vegan flag for London town as a vegan chef.

Would you like a chain of CookDailys around England or even abroad?

I think so, but it has to be done right. Right now we're just enjoying our time. There's been opportunities already but it has to be the right one. I don't want to just bang out branches and loose quality. I feel CookDaily is a journey and a story - and an extension of myself so I have to be true to that.

"I just realised that in order to have a good meditation the body can't be heavy - heavy as in eating dead flesh."

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i a Th

nu. me a e n th ing es o creat in a h s ing ing r di ula e to K result p o du ce, . st p mo partly h sau dish e f th ss is of fis entic eo h e On succ ersion e aut Its an v mor veg

ad P E

US O H Why do you have a retro 'Street Fighter 2' arcade machine at CookDaily?

I grew up with 'Street Fighter' - me and my brother used to play, it was a big part of my childhood.

ÂŤ 'Dhalsim' is one of Street Fighter's most unusal characters. As well as being able to breathe out fire, his punches and kicks would stretch to the other side of the screen.

Jackfruit is on trend right now. Do you like it as an ingredient?

I do like it but I find it a bit too sweet and too barbecuey. But to be honest with you when you talk about vegan versions of pulled pork the ultimate has to be Portobello mushrooms or any kind of mushrooms. Just to smoke it in a closed barbecue that's great or even just in tin foil.

Mushrooms have natural umami flavour so it just goes so well with BBQ style sauces.

What's the essence of South East Asian cuisine?

Freshness. Especially the herbs and spices.

Fragrant ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves. You put that into a soup you've got a soup within 3 minutes. Also eating together and sharing food at the table is a big part

of Asian food culture. When people come to CookDaily, I know the portions are quite filling, but if couples come and order three meals, I always give them a high five, because that's how we eat in Asia - we'll never get the same meal. If my wife and I go out we'll order different dishes because we want to try things and share.

Where do you like to eat out?

I love South Indian food, I'm from East London and there is a lot of that here especially East Ham. Just ask for your food without ghee (clarified butter). To be honest with you I love everything - Italianâ&#x20AC;Ś Chinese. I go to the authentic South Indian places - you only see South Indians eating there. So there's a good tip. For example If you go to China Town, go to where all the Chinese people are eating. If you go to an Indian place, go to where all the Indian people are eating. If you see loads of Westerners in there then you know it's watered down. There's a place I go to in China Town called Gem's Garden and she makes good vegan dumplings.

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'CHICKN' & MUSHROO Kings hom age to heart M PIE y English fo Vegan chic od, done C kn & mush ook ro

mixed vegg

Daily style om filling w : ith potato, am of truffl chickpeas, e topped w ith puff pa stry.

ies and cre

Street Fighter II

Is a one on one fighting computer game developed by Capcom in 1991. It was hugely successful as an arcade machine and later on home console versions such as the SNES and Megadrive (known as Genesis in the USA). Key to it's popularity were the diverse characters, exotic locations, brilliant music & sound effects and the stunning graphics which although look tame and cartoonish by todays standards were revolutionary at the time. The level of detail in the range of attacks you could put together were a great innovation from anything that had come before and set the standard for all future combat and fighting games. For kids at the time it was a chance to experience the kind of unreal action seen in kung fu movies. You could control a player who would shoot fireballs from their hands, do spinning hurricane kicks, throws, flying kicks and more. The sheer fluidity and playability of the game meant players could really get into it and spend hours honing their skills learning the special attack moves and combos which were immensely satisfying when correctly applied (especially if your opponent was a friend or sibling!) Street Fighter's popularity spawned a myriad of versions, cross-overs, sequels and even a movie. The most recent incarnation being Street Fighter V released for the PlayStation 4 and PC in 2016. If you're a gaming fan especially of classic games, chances are whichever version you seek out you'll enjoy it.

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'Blanka'the i the 'Blanka', wild wildest character man of the Street of the2game.

Fighter game.

CHATTING WITH THE KING

"In Japan the craftsmanship of food is on a different level. They've got to cook rice for at least a year before they can move up" Any vegan places?

Yes from around here I pop in to see my mates at 'Fed by water' - they do great pizzas. On the weekends I go down Brick Lane market and see my friend Sara who runs 'Pomodoro E Basilico'. For the record she has the best vegan burgers in London in my opinion. She makes everything fresh even the buns so as a chef I've got to respect that. Also 'Just Fab' down the road in Bethnal Green. When I need my Chinese fix I go to Loving Hut in Archway or Edgware.

Any Japanese?

I go to a lovely little restaurant in Kings Cross called Itadaki Zen. I spent a lot of time cooking Japanese food professionally - Tapenyaki, where you cook on an iron plate in front of customers. I did that for two years.

But without the clowning around, without the Benihana style. My chef was a classical Japanese chef so we did things elegantly. I wasn't tossing eggs in my hat you know? Japanese cuisine is a big part of my journey that's why we have udon noodles in one of the dishes at CookDaily. I love Japanese food. In Japan the craftsmanship of food is on a different level. They've got to cook rice for at least a year before they can move up. Seriously all you can do for a year or two years is cook rice for the chef then you can move on to seaweed and then fish.

The things the Japanese do with seaweed is amazing.

Yes that's one thing that I learnt. For

example our house Pad Thai. Pad Thai normally has egg and fish sauce in it, but we made a vegan egg with tofu and vegan fish sauce (which is obviously a secret recipe) but it is infused with different types of seaweed because it obviously tastes salty and of the sea.

So I've used seaweed in my version of fish sauce.

Do you think authentic Indian cuisine is a bit too spicy?

Yes a lot of people say that to me 'King its too hot I cant taste the flavours' but If you're used to it like me, I can identify flavours and I like it really spicy, sometimes I can go crazy with spice. Don't forget chilli is addictive it does something to you. I really need to hit India, I'm a big fan of Indian street food, I'm a fan of their craft, the way they work in such a small space, the way they hold their knife, the small chopping boards they use, the way they chop onion - it's against all the rules I learnt at catering college, such as having a knife that rocks well, a cooks knife and a big chopping board. In India they don't even need a chopping board.

Yes so how come chili is so addictive?

It's that feeling, like when you sweat.

For me truly it makes food interesting and that's why people love Thai cuisine because Thai cuisine hits you with six flavours; sweet, sour, bitter, salty, spicy, umami - it's a big explosion in your mouth, that's why Thai food blew up so quick. And Brits can eat spicy food compared to French or Germans

because we have a big Indian food culture here. I have a lot of English customers who can handle it.

What's your favourite foods?

Food for me is more than just food.

It's part of life for me. So if you ask me what's my favourite dish. Today it would be a spicy coco soup bowl because the weather right now in London is chappy. I've got my hood on, I'm cold, my bones feel a bit cold. I need some of that spicy, coconut broth, lemongrass infused soup. So that'll be my favourite dish for now. Or I might be on that for a week. Then I might get bored of that and I'll go on pie and mash - something hearty, then after I get bored of that I might go South Indian, then Italianâ&#x20AC;Ś So it's about mood. It depends where I'm at and how I'm feeling. Also as time goes by our taste buds change. Before I never used to like bitter foods, now I'm liking bitter foods a bit more. Things like dark leafy greens that my mum grows. She grows some mad herbs in her garden like pennywort.

Your tastes change because of where life takes you. I feel that people who stick to classic favourites are quite still in life. My advice is they need to explore. Right now I love Panipuri - Its an Indian street food dish made out of shells filled with tamarind mint water that explodes in your mouth. I love that right now. On a hot summers day that would be amazing. In summer I like gazpacho soup and I'm all over raw bowls and salads. Winter? Bring me the mash potatoes and the hearty pies.

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The Logo...

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

I used to do graffiti. I took a My whole team is also vegan shiny glossy A3 paper, stuck and were blessed. Without it on the wall. Got a drippy pen having a good team behind you and wrote while pushing in.... that sees the vision it would be so difficult, but my team are vegan and we believe in the same things. After work we talk about real things like how to change the world.

Have you seen the way Japanese people slurp noodles? When I saw that I thought there's no other way for me to eat noodles now, I have to slurp!

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King Sometimes in Asia you watch the way people eat and their making you HUNGRY just by watching them eating!

My mum's Green Curry...

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

I just pimped it up by infusing and blending spinach with coconut milk to make a kind Big shout out to the people who of green smoothie. That's travel to us from why our green curry is a nice vibrant green, because far away.. people it has spinach in there. have come from

Says

Manchester.. ...Birminghamâ&#x20AC;Ś I'm humbled by that.

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a i l a m o S r o F y m r #LoveA

#lovearmy

#LoveArmyHumans

#spartanfam

#famfoods

s r a b a #Chak Inspirational founder of the Spartanfam training and exercise movement, Chaka has a powerful presence not only in the physical world but also in the digital world.

In a society full of distraction, illusion and suffering, Chaka serves as a beacon of light and truth, accelerating the awareness of humankind.

INTERVIEW BY JOANNA GREGORY PHOTOS JASON SPOOR whitefoxstudios.co.uk

y t i n u m m o C l a #TheRe

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CHAKABARS

How did you get the name Chakabars?

What does it mean?

My name is Chaka and it has various meanings in different languages. In South African, it means king or leader. In Amharic, which is Ethiopian, it means forest or jungle. In Hawaii they say, “Chaka Chaka”, which means cool but also means joke. The ‘Bars’ part is the calisthenics training that I do; the pull ups and the push ups and that sort of stuff. One of my friends, Charlie Dark, who runs a movement called the ‘Run Dem Crew’, about four years ago said that I needed a name for my social media, “you’re Chaka, you do pull ups, you use bars, so ‘Chakabars’”, and that was it. I kept it like that on all of the platforms so people know where to find me. The #chakabars hashtag I started tagging on my posts, is so that if they ever shut down my account, I could start a new one and people would know where to find me.

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Things need addressing and this cyber space was created and a lot of people live there. If you’re unable to connect with people using the modalities of communication that are popular and are being used regularly, then you can’t connect with people. And I’m a 'people person'. If you have an idea, for instance, building a hospital in the Congo that you’re going to turn into an action or a mission, then social media essentially is the power that used to be reserved for kings, queens and rulers of countries. Now I can put something on the internet and immediately I can speak to over 500,000 people, whereas before that, you had to be a ruler. And after that you had to know an editor of a TV channel or publisher of a newspaper. Now we have our own so we can speak to whomever about whatever.

CHAKABARS

How are your food choices as well as hydration levels impacting your training towards fighting to raise money for building a hospital in DR Congo?

I was eating raw foods last time I had a boxing match for about four weeks before the match. It made me a lot faster, recover a lot faster and I had a lot more energy. So I’m doing it again this time for two months and then I’m going to the Congo for two weeks before heading to Thailand for six weeks to do Muay Thai boxing every day. There it’s easier to be raw, as it’s a warmer climate. Because of modern science, we have a lot of people who group things together in

ways that aren’t necessarily properly contextualised, for instance, minerals.

Yes, minerals are all of the same family but there are different minerals; plant minerals, and human minerals.

You can’t eat a plant and become a plant. You eat a plant and then it excites your human minerals to do the jobs that they’re supposed to do. And when I’m eating all of these plants, it's making my body a lot more efficient and I’m getting a lot of extra water into my body anyway. Rather than if I was eating hydrogenated fat, a lot of salt and refined sugar. Especially myself, being of West African heritage. Where my ancestors were from, we retain a lot more salt because there wasn’t that much salt in the soil in West Africa. So that’s why you see elephants go to salt lakes, because they’re not getting it from all the vegetation. West Africans and Central Africans were predominantly vegans. It wasn’t called vegan then, until the term came around fairly recently. Also, you never found a frying pan in a pyramid. You saw from the kind of offerings they gave and the things they put in the tombs, what Africans were believed to take to their next life, and you never saw a frying pan there. During the transatlantic chattel enslavement of human beings, when West Africans were taken to the Caribbean, they were fed on a diet of salt fish, salt beef and cassava bread. And because they had muscles which retained more salt, they were getting sodium poisoning. As a West African person, if I were to eat a lot of salt, I would get illnesses of the liver a lot quicker than someone perhaps from India. The Caribbean people who worked on slave sugar plantations were having these diets of salt beef and salt fish, (the fish comes from Norway now). So today in Jamaica, their national dish is salt fish and ackee, but that comes from slavery.

And the reason they salted fish was so that they could preserve it. If you

salt an animal to preserve it and then eat it, then it is going to destroy and stop the processes going on in your organs as well. I don’t eat salt because you get salt and sugar in plants anyway. But eating more plants means that I get a lot more hydration and so for breakfast every day, I just eat fruit. I’m well hydrated and it shows in my boxing because I’m not getting cramps. When I used to box in the army, I was still eating animals then, I would get a lot of cramps in my forearms from fighting and now no cramps at all because I’ve got a lot more water in my tissues. It helps lubricate the actin and the myosin, [filaments in muscle that move].

When you get cramp, you haven’t got enough energy in your muscles and it pulls together and can’t release.

Whereas when you’ve got enough energy and you’ve got enough hydration, that movement can keep going. So hydration plays a big part.

What about wheat and other grains?

There are over 200 different types of wheat. One of the first grains that was cultivated and domesticated by the human being was a grain called sorghum and that was 8,100 years ago in Egypt. Sorghum deposits have been found in archaeological digs and excavations. The other grains I know that are ancient African grains are kamut, spelt, fonio and the other good ones are amaranth and quinoa. If I were to stick to eating those grains, then I would be eating foods that are compatible with my genotype and foods which my ancestors would have also eaten, so pre-colonial foods.

There was wild African rice, now they mainly grow white rice which is not very good for you and has a lot of arsenic in it. But because of the shelf life of grains, they sell you the grains that are unripe. Rice is ripe when it’s partially green. Beans are ripe when they are partially green. We get sold it before it’s ripe and our bodies can’t break it down properly. There’s a lot of

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"War is poor people killing and massacring other poor people who they don’t know, for rich people who do know each other but don’t massacre each other" people that say there are problems with eating nuts because of the phytic acids, but we’re sold nuts that aren’t ripe, and if they were, then we wouldn’t have that problem. A lot of the time when we go to a restaurant the food isn’t soaked or fermented. They haven’t done anything to it, just got it off the shelf unripe, boil it and give it to you.

The other thing is food combination. A lot of people don’t know when to eat, how to combine foods and what foods to eat. So this is what I’m learning about. Historically, apart from disease and infection, most of the things that cause death are dietary related. And so it shows that even today people don’t know how to eat. I live with a medical doctor, and she tells me that the amount of nutrition people intake is so small, and so pathetic that it’s not as Hippocrates said, “let food be thy medicine.” It’s ‘let modern medicine be your medicine and food just do what you want with it.’ People are actually going to restaurants with indigestion tablets because they know that they’re going to combine foods so poorly that they go in with the tablets. When you eat right you’re not supposed to have flatulence, produce gas, and have diarrhoea or constipation. It’s supposed to be smooth bowel movements without indigestion or IBS or any of these things.

Being in the army, was there a particular defining moment that sparked in you to see the truth of what was really going on there? What made you leave?

I knew that it was messed up from even the way that we were getting trained and the racism, language and sexism towards women and towards brown people around the world. Me, myself, being a brown person, I was thinking, ‘why are you calling these people ragheads? Is it just me in the room?’ Everybody in the room is in search of terrorists yet we brutalise people so that we can be brutal to them.

We criminalise people so that we can be criminal to them.

We dehumanise people so that we can do inhumane acts to them and so that we can maintain this cognitive dissonance that allows us to believe that ‘we are moral, we are the civilisers, we are better, somehow,’ and at the same time doing heinous, horrible, disgusting things to these people.

When I was nineteen and I went to Iraq as a combat solider. I was speaking to some of the people there and it really hurt my feelings that many of the guys that were 108

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dying in terms of British soldiers, were dying because they were protecting the road that was bringing in contractors and mining equipment and taking out mineral resources.

So, when you hear, ‘oh so and so that died I.E.D. (Improvised explosive device) on the road, that’s because the road was there for a business. I had my twentieth birthday out there and as soon as I got back, they were saying, “we’re going to start training for Afghanistan”, and I knew it wasn’t right. It was in that realisation that all the military is, is an oppressive war machine, where essentially you have what war is, which is poor people killing and massacring other poor people who they don’t know, for rich people who do know each other but don’t massacre each other. What they are doing is literally hypocritical. You are the head of this ‘food company’ or this ‘weapons company’ but you’re not killing people; you’re not in the field with a gun, shooting people but you’re getting people to do that on your behalf because you want to take out your competitor who also wouldn’t shoot you. It’s a real predation on the working class people and the economic instability that comes with being working class in a capitalist society. So I decided I didn’t want to be a part of that anymore.

I had to do four years minimum, and if you leave before then, you get classed as AWOL – absent without leave. A lot of guys I knew who were depressed in the army, they took drugs so that they could leave. So if you smoked weed or took cocaine, you could leave early. A lot of people tried to declare themselves as mentally ill, with post-traumatic stress, just so that they could leave. They don’t make it easy for you to leave - they own you and control you while you’re in that environment. I trained as a tank solider initially, my training cost £165,000 because of all of the instructors, all of the fuel that a tank uses, all of the lessons that we have and all of the equipment that is used. They don’t want to invest £300,000 of training into somebody over the period of a year and then they leave. I get it in terms of a business but in terms of spirituality you don’t want to be there. You would hear of women getting raped on camp. You would hear of men ‘walking free’, not convicted.

Everything that is a problem in society, you go into the army and it’s amplified like it’s on steroids. The racism was crazy. At one point myself and some of the other Caribbean soldiers were in a room one night and we had literally thirty

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gangs, who when they got drunk, decided that they were going to come in and attack us, shouting all kinds of racial slurs outside the door. So we were in there with knives waiting for them to come into the room. These are guys that we were working with earlier that day! The women that were getting raped were being blamed for being in the guy’s rooms. And the classism; the officers have five or seven course meals and the soldiers get a sandwich sometimes.

It depends, if you’re on exercise, everybody eats the same thing. At lunchtime the soldiers would go to the ‘scoff house’ – the cookhouse and go and have their one meal or what they could afford and officers go to the officer’s mess and they get silver spoon dining.

How would you wish to see the interdependent relationship between mankind and the animal kingdom change in the decades to come?

I would like there to be some sort of return to reciprocity.

Where we don’t just take, where there’s some sort of eco system and not the ego system that’s been created through 110

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profit margins for people who don’t really care about what’s going on in the environment. Ten thousand years ago, wild animals were 99% of the biomass on the planet and humans were 1%. Ten thousand years later, humans and animals that humans own are 98% of the biomass of the planet and wild animals are 2% of the biomass of planet.

I was watching a short video about how they introduced fourteen wolves back into Yellowstone national park, and in them doing so; it completely changed the health of the park because the deer stopped eating as much grass. But there’s thousands of deer in the park and it wasn’t that they stopped eating as much grass because they were being eaten by the wolves; it’s because it changed the way the deer moved. So the deer stayed out of the valleys and it allowed the valleys to grow back because that’s where they would get attacked by the wolves. And so because of this, the grass was able to grow back and because of this the trees were able to grow back as the grass was then holding the soil together and so the trees were growing in the river banks and it changed the way that the rivers flowed. They

CHAKABARS

"When you allow nature to be as it should be - with a balance, then things will get better" stopped meandering sharply and went smoother and straighter. And because of this, the beavers came back and started damming the river which then provided another eco system because the trees grew back and the beavers like to eat trees. So it just shows that when you allow nature to be as it should be - with a balance, then things will get better. If you disrupt nature for farming of cattle, for growing soya to feed animals, for mining and all these things and to use in an inefficient energy system, then you’re going to upset the balance and you get what we’ve got now, which is parasitic cities living off the countryside and the countryside and wildlife that can’t cope anymore.

I don’t like any city. I don’t like London. They don’t work. They are big viruses. If you look at what has been going on politically and economically over the last 34 years we are at a point where we can’t see our way out of where we are now. With a finite amount of energy resources, and as the population increases it's only going to get worse. For selfish reasons, before I get too old, I want to be able to go to a country of my choosing, live in the countryside, grow my own foods and live a simple life. I’m realising more and more now that money isn’t success; happiness is success. If you research online, a professor called Peter Wadhams, he’s a leading climate change expert who lectures at UCL, and you see what he’s saying about the most conservative predictions about where our planet is going. In terms of: people can’t stop eating meat or people won’t

stop driving cars. I haven’t done any research into it yet but the £5 notes just changed and it’s plastic and it’s like 'what are you doing'? It’s made from burning fossil fuels! So what you gonna do? Move away and create a better life. So I think, to summarise, I would like to return to balance.

What keeps you up late at night, thinking? What’s on your mind?

The more that I read, the more that I realise humans are complex and the systems that we’re in now, there’s no big change coming. At the moment we have a choice as a human species between business as usual, the approach that we’ve been doing for the last fifty years after the second world war, or a complete change of what we perceive as success; as pertaining to being able to have a future, because right now we don’t have a future. Or the future that we have is very limited and that keeps me up at night. It makes me think that there’s so many people who are being controlled by relatively minor and stupid things, mainstream media being one of them and at the same time they’re not actually doing research into things that keep us alive, one of them being a climate that is able to sustain us because we’re not putting forty billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year. And this is causing the positive feedback loop, which is causing the planet to heat up and as the ice is melting in Greenland and the ice is melting in Antarctica, we’re having sea levels rising. And because of this we are having less refreezing of ancient ice

and because of this the ice-albedo effect isn’t happening anymore (where the sun’s rays hit the ice and snow).

We’re having less snow as well, so the rays aren’t going back out into the atmosphere anymore. They’re staying on the planet and everything is getting warmer and this is significantly going to affect crop production in the next ten years.

The way that we are using energy at the moment is very inefficient and the reason why it’s very inefficient is because of the profit margins of large corporations. They won’t release the patents that they have on the advanced solar, wave and wind technologies. The same companies that own these are thinking ‘what are we going to make money from?’ So that’s what keeps me up late at night.

What are you reading now and what do you recommend as essential books to read within society?

Well, in order to know how to go forward, you have to know where you came from and at the moment I’m reading a really good book called ‘The Cambridge Book of World Food History’ So, it basically tells you where all food came from. That’s how I know about the sorghum and the various grains. It’s an amazing book because it tells you about the geographical influences of how we ate and why we didn’t eat certain things and why we eat the things we do now.

Another good book is ‘The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity.’ It talks about food combination really well.

At the moment I’m reading books predominantly about nutrition. There’s

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another amazing book called ‘African Holistic Health.’ When I took my personal training course for instance, I was taught about nutrition from a Eurocentric perspective. This book teaches food from an Afrocentric perspective, whereas, the 'Dao of Health, Sex and Longevity' teaches food from an Oriental perspective. So when I read books, I try to read books not just telling one part of the human story. I want to know what the Indians were eating, the Chinese were eating and the South Americans were eating.

My flatmate is actually getting some really cool books at the moment because her heritage is Hispanic and Mayan and she’s from Mexico. So she likes chia seeds, amaranth, she loves cacao and guacamole. She’s a doctor and we’re actually going to write a

book together which will be really cool.

Reading the book ‘The Cambridge Book of World Food History,’ you actually realise how many foods that we actually take for granted today, actually came from Mexico and South America. Like potatoes from Lake Titicaca in Peru. It’s funny how quickly a culture can change and then people think it has always been that way, but it hasn’t always been that way. For instance: people eating bacon for breakfast, that’s only literally been around for fifty to sixty years because of Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud. But Africans, Indians and Europeans aren’t eating what they’re supposed to eat; nobody’s eating what they’re supposed to eat anymore because of money and profit margins. Yes, a third of India

"Read, because that’s your freedom.

Read a book and you leave the place that you’re in"

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is vegetarian and that’s 400 million people, nearly the same amount of all the Europeans combined in the world total, but Pakistan eats every single day thousands and thousands of lambs because they think in a reference to the Quran they’re supposed to eat lamb. Whereas, you look at the Hunza people who don’t really eat meat, instead they eat organic raw fruit (especially apricots), fermented foods, vegetables, apricot kernels, sprouted pulses, nuts and grains. Many of them live to be over 100 and cancer is unknown there. It speaks for itself, but when you aren’t presented with this information and you’re just told to eat bacon in the morning and you’re just told to eat cereal, then you’re going to have a problem in terms of knowing what to eat, when to eat, how to eat

CHAKABARS

and why you eat what you eat. A lot of us aren’t healthy and so it’s difficult to solve a problem with the same thinking that created it. And that thinking is profit and ignorance.

For those incarcerated or on a deviant path within society and also for those facing oppression, what message of guidance would you give them?

I’ve worked in some prisons and no human is ever supposed to be locked up. Before Europeans got to Africa, there weren’t prisons in Africa. You might get indentured servitude, like ‘you did this, you might have to go and work for this man for two years,’ but you get fed, you can still see your family; it’s not like slavery, it’s like you made a mistake and now you are either exiled or you have to go and work for this person. I don’t think any human or any animal is ever supposed to be locked up. Apart from if they decided they want to shoot up a school every other day, obviously.

When it comes to protecting people from predators; I don’t know why humans think that it’s okay, for instance to swim in the sea every single day and then create this fear myth about sharks, yet we kill 100 million a year and sharks

kill only around 8 people a year. We should really look at what we are doing, why we’re doing it and why we think we can do it. I don’t really think humans are supposed to live next to wild animals that are predators. In Africa they put a fence around their village or house with the thorny part of the acacia tree. If you are going to live in close proximity to wild animals, you should cage yourself in, not cage them in.

For those people in prison all I can say is, try and read because that’s your freedom. Read a book and you leave the place that you’re in. The nutrition in prisons is terrible, and no wonder people foster mental illnesses because nutrition is the base upon which we are able to form our reality. If I gave you now a container of sugar and container of salt and said 'right, eat this,' by this evening you would be very sick and your mind would then show that.

My friend made some amazing vegan mince pies with his partner recently. He was feeling lonely the other day and we kind of joked with him about it because when his partner wasn’t there he went to a supermarket and bought some of their mince pies. Those mince pies had forty three ingredients in them and the ones they made together had

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"I feel that now, I’m doing work that is work of the soul" five! There was 29 grams of sugar in each mince pie and a can of coke has 35 grams of sugar. If you want to cause yourself mental illness then that’s what you’re going to do.

A lot of people don’t realise what they’re eating, so that’s why people have problems of the mind.

For people facing oppression, be it sexism, racism, classism, any of the ‘isms’ and systems that are set up against them, try and read and find your way out of it.

Read, meditate and try and get the best food you can.

Spiritual experiences – do you feel like you are helped by ascended masters, ancestors, spirit guides?

I feel that now, I’m doing work that is work of the soul.

Trying to save the lives of children who are relatively recent from the spirit world and are literal representations; manifestations of ancestors before, makes me feel like my purpose in time and space is important. It makes me feel

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like I’m doing something good. It’s difficult to explain with words because it’s a feeling, like when I’m in DR Congo and I’m in an orphanage with twenty youths and I’m teaching them about what to eat and I’m being told at the same time that whatever I’m teaching them they can’t afford to eat because they’re using the land to grow these foods to export to Belgium, France and all these other places. But then I’m telling them I’m going to come back and I’m going to buy you land which you’re going to farm and I’m going to help farmers to plant seeds and grow these foods I’m talking about, it makes me feel really good. I went to Congo, I said I’m going to help this hospital, and then I’ve come back and raised the money and we’re going to help this hospital.

So for me spirituality is intrinsically linked to what you do on this plane; in this realm. So if you don’t do anything in this realm, I don’t think our ancestors would be too happy with us if we acted all apathetic and then we go back to our

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ancestors and they ask, “what were you doing for that time when you were in that form?” So the deepest spiritual experiences I get are in nature, with children and with wild animals. Because we are nature; we negate nature. We have all of these men who tell us that we are supposed to destroy nature which is what God created, whatever you believe God to be. Be it a higher intelligent energy or a man or a woman or whatever. We destroy nature at the same time as protecting what man made in God’s name from the nature that’s destroyed. That’s a paradox and there’s a disconnect of spirituality from there. So I think my spirituality is a

return to source; a return to traditional foods. Essentially West Africans were farmers. I want to learn how to farm. So that for me is a very spiritual process.

But it’s very difficult to be spiritual in a city disconnected from where we came from.

What do you want to talk about?

I think that it’s important for people to learn that the body is designed within circadian rhythm with the sun.

We’re the only animals that eat fruit in the day and have sex at night and we need to stop doing that. You’re supposed to be in harmony with the sun and solar cycles. At the moment

a lot of women are in harmony with the moon and lunar cycles but men have 10% more water and women have 10% more fat. Fat is an earth element, and water through gravity, is what is supposed to be controlled by the moon. So if women have their cycles linked up to the moon, why do men not have their cycle linked up to the moon If that's what it’s supposed to be? No, it’s supposed to be that we’re linked up with the sun and we’re supposed to sleep at night, get up when the sun rises and then we’re supposed to start our day of food.

Our day of food should be one that nourishes us, not because we’re eating

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#famfoods

"You don’t see animals doing poor food combination. That’s why I think animals are more intelligent than us, because you don’t have to tell a mouse what to eat." food because we’re emotionally ill.

Not because we’re eating food in poor combinations. Your body doesn’t care if you’re ignorant, it doesn’t care if you don’t know that salt is not food. Yet we are teaching children that sugar and salt and all these things are foods and we give it to them every single day.

These people are our technologies; these are our next beings which are essentially here to rule the planet.

And if they’ve been raised on a diet of salt, fat and sugar, I don’t understand how they’re going to be able to have any healthy thoughts when they’re eating unhealthy foods. So I think we really need to be more conscious and aware of what we’re eating, when and why and learn about the phases of eating. Like the alimentation period where you’re supposed to be taking on nutrients from twelve in the afternoon until seven in the evening and the assimilation period between seven in the evening until four in the morning, in which time we shouldn’t be eating because it then disrupts process of taking nutrients into the body. And then four in the morning until twelve in the afternoon being the elimination period, which is why we should get up in the morning and eat fruits because

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fruits are the most cleansing of foods and if we can’t cleanse our body of the toxins that have accumulated, then this is how we get cancers, diabetes and a mucus build up. So I think people should not only be aware of what they’re eating but of when they’re eating and then why they’re eating.

Does it serve the ancient laws of the great truth? Is this food doing justice to my body? Am I being truthful to my body? Is it a balanced relationship or is it a slave and slave-master relationship to my food? A lot of the time we eat because we’re told to eat and when to eat by people who don’t know how to eat. They just tell us when to eat and how to eat so they can make profit, which is really nonsensical.

I started a hashtag on Instagram called #famfoods for all the people who are eating healthy, we try and post what we’re eating and share food stories and learn what to eat and how to eat from each other. I think that is very important and that we have these iPhones, this Wi-Fi, all of these devices and all these technologies but I think that we’re misusing them.

We use them a lot of the time in a narcissistic fashion. For instance, we use our devices to show people what

we’re eating but not why we’re eating it and not when we’re eating it. Many of us are still combining a protein with a starch but a protein is broken down by pepsin and starch is broken down by amylase. So if you combine the enzymes pepsin and amylase together they cancel each other out and none of the food gets broken down. So whether or not you’re eating a sweet potato and a cashew-nut-something, those things don’t combine well. You don’t see animals doing poor food combination. That’s why I think animals are more intelligent than us because you don’t have to tell a mouse what to eat. It’s never read a book to find out what to eat, yet we have to do that because our parents don’t know, because their parents don’t know, because their parents don’t know.

So it’s about educating yourself so that you can live a longer life because being healthy isn’t about living forever, it’s about not taking forever to die and I think that’s what we all want to be. Animals also don’t snack. You never see a lamb or a sheep get up at midnight and eat something and go back to sleep because they eat what they’re supposed to eat, when they’re supposed to eat.

Calisthenics/boxing photos were taken at the weekly free training sessions in Notting Hill which were created by Chaka as a positive response to violent stabbings in the area.

Spartanfam are a community organisation that aims to make fitness fun.

spartanfam.com spartanfam chakabars *12

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PEGASUS CANDY ALDERSON candyalderson.co.uk

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THE EMBRACE OF SURRENDER JAN BETTS janbettsart.com

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THE PEACOCK SPECTRUM LOUIS DYER louisdyer.com

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ETERNAL LOUIS DYER louisdyer.com

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SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

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SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

Are you part of the Trybe?

INTERVIEW BY STEVEN NICOLAIDES

Imagine coming across the UBER or Quiqup apps when they just came out. Well that's how I felt when I randomly met IIkka Salo the co-founder and CEO of the Trybe app recently. There's just some apps that have their finger so firmly on the collective pulse that they make you feel they've always been there. Users can find people in their area who prepare delicious home cooked meals that can be either picked up or delivered to you. Also visa versa for any budding chefs, stay at home parents, bloggers or just foodies who would like to make an income from their passion it provides a great platform. The fact users can also search by dietary requirement is also a bonus!

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TRYBE

Where did the idea for Trybe come from?

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From left to right: Co-founder and CEO Ilkka Salo, Co-founder and CTO Simo Tuokko and Co-founder and COO Leo Wuoristo

It was about a year and a half ago. I lived in the ground floor flat of a Victorian conversion in Queen’s Park. It was getting late, probably ten in the evening, the weather was cold and rainy.

I had the option of either cooking myself, which entailed walking to Tesco in the rain, or ordering takeout. I have been eating restaurant food almost daily for years, and decided that I will go and buy some groceries despite the rain.

There was an Indian family living in the upstairs flat, and I met the mother of the family in the main hallway on my way out. She was polite, as always, and asked me how I was doing.

I told her that I am well, although I really was not inspired to go to Tesco in the rain. She then told me that she has too much of the vegetable curry that she had made, and offered that to me.

I hesitated a little bit as I really didn’t know the family that well.

I then looked out of the door, and the rain was getting really heavy. I turned back to the lady and said ‘OK, after all, I would really love to accept your offer, but only if you allow me to pay for the curry.’ She first refused, but I pulled a five pound note from my pocket and she silently accepted it. She went upstairs and brought me a plate of curry. That happened to be the best curry I have had in my entire life.

On the following week, I was travelling to Helsinki, my former home town, and met Leo, now Trybe’s Co-founder and COO, to catch up.

I told him about my experience, and as a lover of the authenticity of street food he became immediately excited. The idea for Trybe was born.

What has the feedback been like so far for cooks and people ordering food?

Overwhelmingly positive. We have been surprised that the collection option has been more popular than delivery. Our assumption was that there are many people who are longing to connect with others in their neighbourhoods, but we would not have expected that this group is bigger than that opting for delivery. Trybe has always been a movement by people for people, and not driven purely by efficiency as meal delivery often is. We can probably have the food delivered as quickly as UberEATS for example, but it seems that time-saving and convenience are not the primary reasons why people use Trybe. It's interesting to think that many of our customers have actually changed their habits by starting to order Trybe instead of buying takeout or ready meals. The community apparently has "stickiness" in it which is also proven by the high number of repeated orders by returning customers. The cooks love the idea of being able to sell their food from their own home without any up front investment and the hassle of getting a market stall, not to even mention opening a restaurant which also entails a full time commitment. Also many supper club hosts and home chefs who have hosting dinners in their own have told us that they prefer the possibility to connect with other people and sell their food without other people actually entering one's home which can be sometimes an intrusion.

try.be

Do most of your customers have dietary requirements e.g gluten free, vegetarian, vegan?

Just over a half of our customers have dietary requirements, either due to health/nutritional reasons or because of their ethics. Many of the cooks prepare vegan dishes.

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A VIR IDIA N NUT R ITI O N GU I DE

10

reasons to visit your local health food store

If you've ever examined a food label, worried about the chemicals in your face cream or questioned the environmental impact of your washing up liquid - then, chances are, you will find plenty to interest you in a health food store.

1 Range

2 Quality

With tens of thousands of different natural products to choose from, health stores are a one-stop shop for everything natural, ethical and environmental.

4 Exciting

3 Knowledge Allow trained and knowledgeable advisors take you through the vitamin maze and develop the ideal programme of nutritional supplements just for you.

5 Specialist

New Products

Regular events and an eye for new product selection ensures that customers always have a fresh reason to visit. Ongoing research by manufacturers ensures that new products are being released every month.

6 Compassion At the heart of the natural health community in your town, health stores are often family-run businesses proudly serving the local population.

8 Environment

Staying local to do your shopping reduces your carbon footprint and will also save you fuel!

www.findahealthstore.com *12

Wholefoods, organics, raw foods, allergy-free foods, vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, sports nutrition, essential fatty acids, cruelty-free bodycare, environmental-friendly household cleaners AND recycled paper products all under one roof.

Where else would someone take you by the hand, offer a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear, a knowledgeable mind and a kind heart?

7 Community

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Health food store owners are true gate-keepers ensuring that nothing poor quality or unethical reaches the shelves.

9 Experience Ask in-store about Acne, Allergies, Children's Health, Digestion, Energy, Fatigue, Hair, Skin & Nails, Heart Health, Joint Mobility, Memory, Menopause, Men's Health, PMS, Sleep Disorders, Sports Performance, Urinary Health, Weight Control,Women's Health & much more. Don’t be embarrassed, we’ve been asked before - and helped!

10 Charity

Health food stores stocking Viridian products are part of a charity donation programme which has so far seen more than £250,000 handed over to charities including Friends of the Earth, NSPCC,Woodland Trust, RSPB, Save the Children and many more.

A V IR ID IA N N U T R I T I O N G U I D E

What’s in a supplement?

Here’s a selection of popular supplements we picked up in a supermarket.

We’ve checked the small print...

Gelatin, Sorbitol Syrup, Palm Oil, Beeswax.

Magnesium Stearate, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Sucrose.

Maltitol, Sucralose, Bovine Gelatine, Carmine, Carnuba Wax. Dicalcium Phosphate, Titanium Dioxide, Purified Talc, Sugar, Sucrose, Mannitol, Magnesium Stearate.

Sorbitol, Anti Foaming Agent (Polysorbate 60), Aspartame, Acesulphate K, Mannitol.

Magnesium Stearate, Titanium Dioxide.

Gelatin, Glucose Syrup, Sucrose, Insoluble Polyvinylpyrrolidon, Magnesium Stearate, Polysorbate.

Gelatin, Shellac, Titanium Dioxide, Talc.

Di Calcium Phosphate, Tartaric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Glucose, Sucrose, Talc, Brilliant Blue, Fractionated Vegetable Oil, Glucose Syrup.

Dibasic Calcium Phosphate, Glyceril Tristearate, Magnesium Stearate, Cross-linked Cellulose Gum, Titanium Dioxide, Sucrose.

Glucose Syrup, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, Sucrose.

Viridian Nutrition vegan capsules, available at specialist health stores.

No binders, fillers or excipients.

Purity Matters

at Viridian Nutrition Did you know that up to 50% of a tablet is made up of binders, necessary to hold the tablet together?

For most people this is just an irritating fact, but for people who are hyper allergenic, this can be a real issue. Would you add magnesium stearate, stearic acid, shellac, talc or colourings to your meal, in the way you’d sprinkle over salt or pepper? Neither would we. By making our capsules, liquids and powders as pure and simple as possible, avoiding all the nasties, we have shown that it is possible to make a range of nutritional supplements acceptable for the majority of people.

Guaranteed passion

We are passionate about: • 100% active ingredients • No nasty additives • UK manufacture • Green business practices • Supporting the community • Organics • Non-GM • Non-irradiated

Find out more or find your nearest health food stockist *12 at www.viridian-nutrition.com

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Should I worry ? ? ? about additives?

Did you know that 50% of a tablet is made up of glues, known as binders, to hold the tablet together? For most people this is just an irritating fact, but for people who are additive sensitive, this can be a real issue.

There is a wide range of fillers, binders, lubricants, disintegrants, coatings, colours and flavours (collectively known as excipients) legally allowed in food supplements. Check the label next time you’re buying yours.

1 Titanium Dioxide Titanium dioxide is frequently used as a bright white pigment in numerous products from paint to sunscreen and also in pharmaceutical drugs and vitamins supplements, ensuring a consistent white colour throughout the product. It is famously used to create the white lines at Wimbledon, and was even used to paint the exterior of the Saturn V rocket.

2 Shellac Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes, which are dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, glaze and wood finish. Shellac functions in supplements and pharmaceuticals as a high-gloss varnish.

3 Magnesium Stearate Magnesium stearate - chemical formula Mg(C18H35O2)2 - is often used as a filler or as a lubricant in the manufacture of pharmaceutical and vitamin tablets, capsules and powders, preventing ingredients from sticking to manufacturing equipment. When produced by soap and hard water, magnesium stearate forms a white solid, widely known as ‘soap scum’ or ‘bath-tub rings’. It is important to note that magnesium stearate does not provide a useful source of nutritional magnesium.

Purity Matters at Viridian Nutrition Would you add these excipents to your meal, in the way you might sprinkle over salt or pepper? Neither would we. By making our capsules, liquids and powders as pure and simple as possible, avoiding all the nasties, we have shown that it is possible to make a range of nutritional supplements acceptable for the majority of people. Here at Viridian Nutrition, we choose to avoid all of these additives, preferring slow manufacture and allowing colour variations from batch to batch and season to season.

Find out more or find your nearest health food stockist at www.viridian-nutrition.com

A helpful guide...

Should I take a multivitamin?

Start here...

Are you in love No Do you eat 5-7 portions of Yes with your GP? fruit & vegetables every day?

Do you smoke or drink regularly?

Seriously?

Yes

Are you a goat?

Yes

No No

Yes

No

Yes

Are you following a restrictive diet?

No

Yes

Are you: pregnant, planning to get pregnant, or planning to get someone else pregnant?

No

Are you vegan or vegetarian?

No Do you eat 6 portions of oily fish a week, No or spend several hours outdoors in the warm sun?

No

Yes

Yes

Are you a timetraveller from the 1940s?

(When nutrient content in fruits and vegetables was 4 times what it is today)

Yes

Yes

Do you avoid processed foods and eat only organic, non-GM, No non-irradiated foods?

Yes

A multivitamin might be wasted on your incredible combination of genetic good fortune and superior lifestyle!

No

Wow!

Does your boss encourage regular sick days?

Yes

No

you DEFINITELY need to consider taking a multivitamin!

This extremely helpful guide was produced by the quirky marketing team at Viridian Nutrition Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet.

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

ubUd

Q

Q

Bali WORDS BY STEVEN NICOLAIDES

Surviving the crucible of one of Bali's most famous towns. Exploring its alternative community, and feasting on its many vegan & raw food treasures 130

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Water Palace There is a weekly traditional dance and gamelan performance here as well as at the Ubud Palace *12

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Ubud Sari Organik

Campuhan Ridge Walk

Ubud Water Palace

Jl. Ra ya Ub u

d

Bali Vegan Warung Jl. Ra ya Ub

ud

Clear Cafe *

Earth Cafe

Jl. Hanom

Raw

an

Paradiso

Jl. Mon

key For

est

Soma

bawan

The Seeds of Life

Jl. B

isma

Moksa

Traditional Art Market

Jl. Jem

Wayan's Juice bar

Alchemy

Ubud Palace Jl. Gootama

Jl. Raya Penestanan

The Blanco Renaissance Museum

Atman Kafe * KAFE

Vegan

Jl. Su

griwa

Temple Art

Also serves * dairy/meat

Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary

200 meters

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The Yoga Barn

Sage

Agung Rai Museum of Art

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For the last 5 years I'd heard so much about Ubud.

So many of my friends had travelled there either up close to the monkeys and explore the Indiana for a short holiday or extended stay and some Jones like temples and structures in the forest. Yet even continuing to work as a 'digital nomad'. I not so far from the Monkey Forest there are dogs heard incredible things about Bali - opulent vegan suffering in the streets ignored by tourists as they restaurants built from natural materials serving shuffle by. Do they not deserve to be worshiped too? the best raw food in the world, luxurious but Thankfully there is an animal charity operating in Bali affordable accommodation, friendly people and called BAWA (Bali Animal Welfare Association) with 'ecstatic dance' events & conscious parties. Well, two shop locations in Ubud. They do a good job of after finally getting to Bali and spending 11 days in looking after Bali's neglected animals. On my last Ubud I have to say the stories are all true, but that day in Ubud, with my ride to the airport booked and doesn't mean there isn't trouble in paradise. Ubud paid for I decided to donate most of my remaining is a bit of a 21st century version of Goa, India. Just Indonesian Rupiah. like Westerners established alternative, holistic wellbeing and veggie enterprises there during the 1970s, a new generation has done something similar Ubud is a town that revolves around spiritual in Bali. Ubud was once a peaceful inland cultural activities such as yoga, healing and ecstatic dancing. centre, traditionally home to artists and farmers and So as expected the food is also focused on wellbeing up until the mid 1990s was still relatively unspoilt. and raising consciousness, often with ingredients Today the main streets of Ubud are struggling to sourced from local organic farms. Generally speaking cope with an almost daily influx of tourists being the quality of plant based food ranges from OK to dropped off by coaches for day trips and excursions. incredible. The very best of the bunch being The Locals that line the main roads always seem to be Seeds of Life, Alchemy and the Sakti dining room offering you a taxi, excursion at Fivelements. Though the TOURISTS FLOCK HERE TO or scooter hire. If you are other eateries are definitely GET UP CLOSE TO THE seen walking at any time of worth visiting. In terms of day or night someone will MONKEYS AND EXPLORE design and ambiance many yell out "Taxi?". I'm glad Uber restaurants are spectacular THE INDIANA JONES LIKE has stared operating in Bali and welcoming, particularly TEMPLES and hopefully that will phase the breathtaking Sakti dining this out. Ideally the current room at Fivelements, exactly system needs some regulation the kind of exotic tropical with kiosks that visitors can go to if they actually feel you would expect for Bali. The most desirable want a taxi. On the plus side you are never far away spots inside the restaurants are the cosy den like from a relatively cheap ride and you'll definitely nooks or mezzanines which have low tables and soft need to get out of town to see some of Bali's sights floor seating. You'll often see someone draped over and beaches. Ubud itself is a small place, you can brightly coloured cushions in the corner with their walk around it in less than an hour, but not always smoothie in one hand and tablet or phone in the enjoyable due to hoards of scooters either whizzing other. around or parked along the busiest roads of Monkey I hope you like tempeh because there's lots of Forest, Hanoman and Raya Ubud. The parts of the it in Bali. Even if you're not a fan you might find map (see left) covered in colour are still very nice and yourself warming to it as I did. Tempeh is produced peaceful, interspersed with rice paddies and nature. by fermenting soy beans with spores of the fungus Another drawback for me was the sight of neglected Rhizopus oligosporus which is then pressed into a or sad looking stray dogs. Animal welfare is a global cake. The freshness and quality is superb, which is issue, particularly in Asia, but the sad irony is that to be expected as the process of making tempeh Ubud's most famous attraction is the Monkey Forest actually originated here in Indonesia. It's often where wild macaques are held sacred by locals and used as a filling in a sandwich/burger or served on looked after and fed daily. Tourists flock here to get skewers as a substitute for chicken in satay.

Ubud's Vegan Scene

IN THE FOREST

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art e h y m o t n i "I looked or" o d e l t t i l a and saw

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Bali's spiritual magic

and rituals that are not in their highest interests and actually counter productive. Ancestral problems also seem to weigh the society down. They have their own kind of Gazing out of the window during my taxi journey from social problems here just as the rest of world have theirs. the airport in Denpasar to Ubud I was wondering why Manifestations from thought seem to occur much more David Bowie wanted his ashes scattered in Bali. I pass quickly in Bali - both good and bad. Any blockages which workshops along the road with stunning examples of intricate traditional stone carvings which are so indicative can be caused by past traumas, repressed emotions or limiting beliefs which stop one from attuning to this kind of Bali and are highly attractive to me and I imagine most of high frequency may come to the surface for clearing. of the millions of tourists who come here each year. As I This was something I was about to experience first hand. soaked up the pink and orange hues of the setting sun Just a few days into my stay, stores of grief, heart ache I could feel the 'Bali Spirit' I had heard so much about. and insecurities I never knew where there came out. After As I made contact with Bali's energy I felt a subtle day a few days I was curled up in a ball on my bed in a state dream like message it wanted to communicate with me. of frustration. I looked into my heart and saw a little Out of the window I could see the physical hustle and door. Intuitively I knew this was what is often referred to bustle of locals weaving though traffic on their scooters, as 'the little space of the heart' or 'sacred heart', which many with a wife and child hanging on behind them. I is located at the very core of our hearts. I was going was almost gasping at the dangerous manoeuvres they through a deep energetic clear out. Later that evening were performing, often veering centimetres away from as I dined out at Clear Cafe, still feeling as fragile as a other vehicles. Overlaid onto this physical scene of newborn baby, I received a clear sign and confirmation of traffic I could see a spiritual traffic. I felt that the finer this. Like many places in Asia, guests are encouraged to levels of reality are more integrated in Bali. I could see remove their shoes at the entrance. The spirits ascending upwards from MANIFESTATIONS restaurant had a numbering system to cremation ceremonies and energy keep track of who's shoes were who's moving up and down various levels FROM THOUGHT and I drew number 108 from the basket. that reminded me of the tiered SEEM TO OCCUR Then it struck me. There are said to be temples Bali is famous for. All the 108 energy lines in the human body while the local people completely converging to form the heart chakra. at peace and aligned. I'm sure it's QUICKLY IN BALI This is one of the reasons why Buddhist that mental peace which allowed prayer beads, called malas have 108 beads. I received an them be navigating safely through what to outsiders even more amazing synchronicity later on in the evening. would be, chaotic situations. Even on roundabouts when Whilst I was settled and enjoying my meal a gecko decided hundreds of scooters are trying to get by with no rules to fall on my head! Before I knew what happened it ran of the road there aren't any accidents and everything down my left arm onto the diner table then across my seemed to flow without too much stress. Spirituality is an accepted part of life in Bali, the Balinese follow a principle plate and off out of sight as quick as a flash. There are major heart energy channels which run from our hearts of Sekala-Niskala, meaning that we all live equally in two down our arms. Personally I feel that our limbs are created worlds; the seen or conscious world - Sekala, and the out of heart energy. Similar to trees, it's the energy of love unseen or psychic world - Niskala. Balinese Hinduism, and the desire to reach and create more love from the which is a combination of existing local beliefs and Hindu suns energy which creates branches. It's interesting how influences, is the official religion of the island of Bali and is at odds with the rest of Indonesia which is Islamic. There one of the first symptoms of a heart attack is a pain in the arm. I knew straight away the reason why I was suffering are around 20,000 puras (temples) on an island just 90 in Bali was because my heart energy wasn't flowing as miles in length and 50 miles wide. There always seems it normally did. The rainforest is a master at clearing out to be some ritual, ceremony or offering going on. The air the heart. The pulsating rhythm of the forest life force is always thick with the smell of incense and the streets calls out to our own rhythm and invites us to match its are covered in Canang sari (daily offerings) consisting of intensity. little palm leaf trays of flowers and dried leaves offered Though I found some of my days trying in the intensity to Hindu Gods. It's this daily ritual coupled with the of Ubud my nights were the opposite. I felt so nurtured I alchemical energies of the rainforest that makes Bali such found my spirit automatically floated up to higher planes a great place for transformation. However I do feel there of reality. Lucid dreaming is also easier here and dream is a lot of wasted energy by the Balinese on superstition

MUCH MORE

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Temple Gate

This type of covered temple entrance is called a Paduraksa or Kori Agung. There are many similar examples in Ubud. This particular one is located in Jalan Bisma - Ubud's most peaceful road. *12

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Seeds of Life time can feel as real as waking time. In that respect it makes great value for money travelling to Bali. Twice the amount of time to explore...

I spent my last day in Bali at The Seeds of Life restaurant and had a fascinating discussion with it's founder Ben Richards as he shared some of his experience and wisdom in nutrition and healing with me. I discovered Ben has a background as an advanced Holographic Kinetics practitioner (a dream time healing based on ancient Australian aboriginal understanding of the universe) a healing modality I've had a lot of respect for ever since I attended a talk given its founder Steve Richards in London. Our spiritual discussion was overheard by another diner at the restaurant - a young light worker called James R Milne also from Australia (synchronicity alert).

James was travelling the world healing energy grids at important and religious sites. He intuitively sensed I needed an energy healing. He offered me a quick healing and after I agreed his eyes rolled upwards and he dived into an altered state of consciousness, he leaned across the table with his eyelids flickering and proceeded to clear any remaining issues and blockages I had as easily as dusting off a blanket. What a strange sight it must have been, me with my eyes closed and James making motions in the air, seeing time lines and singing light language tones over me. But this is Ubud and this kind of stuff happens all the time here. Auras and energy bodies are a real thing in Bali and they're just as important as our heavier 'physical' bodies.

Being slightly attuned to this sort of thing myself I could tell that what I received was 'the real thing'. I left for the airport - lighter, relived, happier than I'd been for months and glad I got to experience the in-depth healing side of the Bali spirit I'd heard so much about.

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3 Bridges

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Accommodation

Airbnb is the way to go in Bali. Spectacular rooms and entire villas can be yours for the same price as sleeping on a strangers sofa in LA or London. Those staying long-term tend to go for something a little out of town where its more peaceful and cheaper then drop in when they want.

Most Balinese families live in compounds where separate pavilions are built around a central garden. Rooms or villas within these compounds comprise the most common listings for stays in or around Ubud. Some of these rooms are more like boutique hotels and you could also have your own luxurious outdoor bath and shower. If you're in a group it's wise to rent a whole villa like most of the long stay travellers in Bali do.

Frangipani Flowers, Smell like heavan

Digital nomads might be interested to know Roam (www.roam.co) have opened up in Bali and are located behind Alchemy restaurant. Roam is an international network of co-living spaces with superfast Wi-Fi and work space provided.

What do you mean my lunch cost 60,000 IDR?!

The prices of things will be in the thousands but don't worry the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is practically worthless compared to the pound. ÂŁ1 = 16,759 IDR. The average meal at a vegan restaurant will be between 30,000 - 60,000 IDR (thousands are always abbreviated to K for convenience) so 60K for a meal may sound a lot but it works out at ÂŁ3.58. If you think that's cheap, a meal at an eatery locals would visit would be even cheaper at around 10K. In fact it's so cheap in Bali I often bought two meals for dinner, especially as portion sizes tend to be small.

Getting Around

Lotus Flower

Everybody in Ubud seems to be on a scooter. They can be rented cheaply enough, but Ubud isn't the place to learn if you have no experience riding one before. The roads are just too busy for beginners. Though some have managed it (learning outside of town on the quiet streets).

Taxis are everywhere and cheap, in fact everywhere you go someone will try to offer you a taxi. But do agree on a price before you set off. Uber has also started operating in Ubud.

Ubud is small enough to get around on foot, just beware that there may not be a sidewalk in some places or gaping holes in others with no proper street lighting at night, so keep your whits about you.

Getting to Ubud

The airport is located in Denpasar, the islands largest town. From here you can get a taxi to Ubud which is 30km away. The journey should take around 30 minutes at off peak times but during rush hour (morning and evenings) at least an hour.

There are no direct flights to Bali from London so you'll have to stop off or change somewhere. I recommend either Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia or Singapore. Both are fantastic cities with regular flights to Bali and have plenty of food options for the health conscious and vegan traveller.

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Alchemy

Jalan Penestanan Kelod, 75 alchemybali.com Don't miss: the 4 meter long salad bar Every raw food teacher or alternative nutritionist seems to have passed by here since Alchemy launched in 2011 as Bali's first 100% raw food restaurant. Alchemy's global reputation has turned it into a pilgrimage spot for raw food enthusiasts.

Inside it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be and there's even enough space for a small store (selling jewellery, superfoods and wellness products) and smoothie bar. I like how they've kept their food offering quite simple, just 8 mains, the star for me is the spinach mushroom quiche.

I also recommend the lunchtime salad bar where you can build your own salad bowl for 65k IDR. You start with a bed of fresh lush leaves grown on Alchemy's own organic farm, with your choice of 4 toppings and salad dressing. There is a choice of dressings but I don't know what the other dressings taste like because I couldn't get over the delicious lemongrass ginger dressing and ordered it every time!

r e v o L Alchemy Salad

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filled t u n o Coc

ate l o c o h C Raw by

Alchemy

Soma

Jalan Dewi Sita somabali.com Don't miss: the group jamming sessions Ubud's most community orientated spot. This huge sanctuary is built around a shady courtyard and has a chilled out vibe. It's the kind of place you can find a quiet corner and sit with a tea or raw cake and relax for a few hours. There's a range of musical instruments that guests are welcome to play and there are regular group jamming and singing sessions which are popular with Bali's alternative community.

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Clear Cafe

Jalan Hanoman, 8 clearcafebali.com Don't miss: the vegan nasi campur and the chaka maca...

Clear cafe is a favourite stop for the Instagram wanderlust travellers. I can see why, as soon as you enter there is a positive affirmation written in flowers on the ground... "You are beautiful". (There's photo opportunity number one right there). The space inside is beautiful, and those sky blue weathered tables just scream 'take a picture of your food on me!' The menu here is endless, covering everything from raw, vegan, vegetarian, Western, Asian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, macrobiotic and even seafood for some reason. I can save you the trouble of trying to find the best dish buried beneath all that. It's the vegan version of an Indonesian staple 'Nasi Campur' (tofu & tempeh skewer with satay sauce, fried tempeh & tofu, potato cake, Bali curry soup, homemade sambal and steamed rice). It's what Indonesian food is all about and what you came here for.

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Yoga Barn

Jalan Hanoman, 80571 theyogabarn.com Don't miss: Ecstatic dance events and weekend Indian food buffet Yoga Barn is perhaps Bali's most famous yoga centre.

The Garden Kafe is at the entrance. A wooden staircase takes you down lower tiers to an open area and the beautiful main studio which looks like it's wearing a giant thatched sombrero. Yoga Barn hosts a popular ecstatic dance event every Friday night and Sunday lunch times. Ecstatic dance is different from regular 'raves' in that everyone is gathered with the intention to reach a higher state of consciousness and bliss feeling through movement. The music - which is usually more alternative, ethnic and sensual than popular electronic music, starts very slowly to ease people into it, then it builds in intensity and tempo, and that's when the euphoric feeling hits! At the end there is a meditation to ground and absorb the high vibes. I was lucky to catch local popular ecstatic dance DJ Lo Qi before his world tour.

Indian t a e n a c u o all y Buffet Note: To get tickets for the ecstatic dance events you'll have to cue up as soon as they go on sale which is a couple of hours before the event.

g n i c n a D c i t a efore, Ecst b d e v o m r e v e n e v ' u o y e k i l e v o e r o M f e b t a e w s r e v e n e v ' u o y e k i l Sweat *12

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s r e g r u B Purple i l a B n i g n i are a th

Earth Cafe Jalan Goutama Selatan earthcafebali.com Don't miss: the digital counter that displays how many green juices they've served so far...

Founded by Liat Solomon, a trained nutritionist and macrobiotic educator, Earth Cafe is just one part of a vegetarian empire in Bali called Down to Earth Bali which includes other restaurants and health food stores and even the worlds first vegan cinema 'Paradiso Ubud'. Earth Cafe is Ubud's most western style veggie cafe with a menu full of global influences - from Balinese black rice porridge to pizza and falafel. Come here when you want something familiar or bigger portions. The tempeh tuna pocket sandwich I had late one night was immense compared to the usual Balinese portions.

There's also a cute health food store downstairs.

Perhaps when their green juice counter hits 1,111,111 everyone will spontaneously reach a rapturous state and ascend into the heavens on waves of ecstasy.

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at e c i v r e s Table Paradiso

Paradiso

Jalan Goutama Selatan earthcafebali.com The worlds first organic, vegan cinema!

Sit back on the comfy sofas with your yummy vegan food, smoothie or a stainless steel bowl full of non-GMO popcorn finished off with Himalayan salt and olive oil. Spare a thought for all those still stuck in the matrix paying triple the price for toxic junk food and acidic drinks. *12

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The Seeds Of Life Jalan Gootama, 2 theseedsoflifecafe.com Don't miss: that ground shakingly good raw moussaka, the tonic elixir bar at the back and the 'Flower of Life' mural upstairs by Fransesca Love Artist

The Seeds of Life serves Ubud's most accomplished and satisfying raw food. Their lasagne is easily the best raw lasagne I've ever had - warmed gently in the dehydrator it has a proper thick cream on top just like a lasagne should. When I thought it couldn't get any better than that their raw moussaka raised the bar even higher and was literally 'Earth shattering' - in the middle of eating it there was an earthquake! There are some other treasures to try here too. Check out their FRESH spirulina grown in Bali. This is a treat you'll never forget as fresh spirulina tastes nothing like the dried powder. It has a soft creamy consistency and tastes like cream cheese! You can buy it in packets from the fridge if you want to try it neat. They also use the fresh kind in recipes and smoothies. Speaking of smoothies their smoothie jar presentations are stunning, especially the pink 'SOL jar'. Tourists would frequently stop and stare with food envy. That's what you call a 'show stopper'.

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s d e e S d e x i M r a B y r r e B &

Dehydrated BANANA

Chia Seeds

Pitaya

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Sakti Dining Room at Fivelements

Puri Ahimsa, Mambal, Abiansemal, Badung Regency fivelements.org Raw & cooked vegan food nirvana Although 15 minutes drive from Ubud I had to include it on the list for the simple reason that if you travelled to Bali and didn't visit this magical place you'll regret it! You'll struggle to find a vegan restaurant in the world that looks better than the Sakti Dining room at Fivelements.

To dine here in this sustainably designed, cathedral of bamboo is an unforgettable and blissful experience. On one side of the restaurant are lush tropical ponds and gardens and the other side the flow of the sacred Ayung river. Gentle and uplifting music plays softly in the background and if you happen to explore the rest of the gardens and pavilions at Fivelements resort you'll find the music follows you around like an entourage of angels playing their harps. It is in fact no miracle, there are discreet hidden speakers strategically placed. This place feels like a tropical version of Rivendell from Lord of the Rings. Often luxury wellness resorts are beautiful on the surface but a bit sterile and soulless - not here. Fivelements has soul because it's all about healing the soul as well as the body - incorporating the wisdom of traditional Balinese healing with innovative wellness concepts. In addition to the usual spa treatment packages you'll find meditation, deep bodywork, prana energy healing, ceremonies and chakra balancing. As you would expect, dining here isn't as cheap as in Ubud but I feel it's worth it for the memories you'll take with you.

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ger

Raw Bur

Mousse

SYMPHON

Y OF CACAO

, White Chocolate Ice Cream

Layer Cake

Berry Parfait

Truffle *12

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Sauce , o t a A Z m Z o I T arillo , RAW P t bread , Chili m a T , e l a p fl ap Almond m Cheese , Pine Crea acon B Cashew t u n o c , Co Avocado

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RAW LASAGNE

Ricotta Cheese , ew sh Ca , a ar in ar M r Tomato Ginge Chili Sambal aw R , e ak iit h S o, st Pe b Asian Her *12

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m o o R g n i n i Sakti D s t n e m e l e v i F at 150

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Satay Skewers

B

RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE RECIPE NAMA namafoods.com PHOTO JASON SPOOR whitefoxstudios.co.uk

SAUCE

almond butter 150g

SAUCE 1.

(can be replaced by any other nut or seed butter, but the best results will be achieved with either almond or peanut)

tamari 20ml

SKEWERS

garlic powder ½ tsp (can be replaced by ½ garlic clove)

1.

Semi dehydrated veggies - a mix of mushrooms, peppers & onions work very well.

2.

Marinate the veggies in a bit of sesame oil and lime and dehydrate until tender (if you don't have a dehydrator, you can just use marinated vegetables or oven bake them slightly).

3.

Assemble the skewers, alternating pieces of each vegetable you have chosen. Serve with the sauce and dig in!

onion powder ½ tsp

chili ½ tsp

coconut meat 100g

water 100ml

coconut sugar 5g

lime juice 5ml

(add more to taste)

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sesame oil 10ml *12

Blend all the sauce ingredients together until smooth. Mix well before serving if the sauce has been made in advance. If you prefer a less thick sauce you can always add a bit more water.

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

Singapore Noodles

y RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE RECIPE NAMA namafoods.com PHOTO JASON SPOOR whitefoxstudios.co.uk BASE courgette noodles or kelp noodles chopped veggies fresh peas, shredded carrot, red pepper, dehydrated onion, thinly sliced chilli, chopped coriander (or micro coriander) SAUCE

sesame oil 125ml curry powder 10-15g (to taste) tamari 5ml ginger powder ½ tsp lime juice 5ml

onion powder 1 tsp

maple syrup 5ml

1.

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and toss with the noodles and chopped vegetables making sure they are covered well.

2.

Serve once the noodles have softened slightly.

The kelp noodles take about ½ an hour to soften while the courgette would be almost instantly softer after adding the sauce.

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Carrot-SunflOweR

M

Chorizo Tacos RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE RECIPE EVERGREEN ORGANICS evergreenorganics.qa

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CARROT-SUNFLOWER CHORIZO *raw sunflower seeds 120g

1. Add the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined and broken down. The chorizo should still have a little texture.

oil cured black olives, 100g

chopped

2. Place on dehydrator trays and dehydrate for 6 hours, flipping after 3 hours

3. Break up the chorizo in an airtight container and refrigerate

carrot, grated 300g

miso 30g

corriander leaves, 20g chopped extra virgin olive oil 12.5g

cumin, ground 8g

MANGO SALSA 1. Combine all the ingredients at least 1 hour before serving.

garlic, minced 6g

smoked paprika 5g

sea salt 5g

CASHEW CREMA

paprika 2g

1. Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth. If necessary, add a little bit of water and/or apple cider vinegar to attain the appropriate fluidity.

fennel seed 2g cayenne pepper 1.5g

black pepper, ground 1g

allspice, ground 1g *Sunflower seeds should be weighed and then soaked for 4 hours

MANGO SALSA

PREPARE THE CHORIZO

mango, finely diced 250g

2. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate

2. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate.

TACO BUILD Endive or lettuce leaves Carrot-sunflower chorizo Mango salsa

red onion, finely diced 40g

Pickled radishes

Pickled jalapeños

lime juice 40g

coriander leaves, minced 7g

garlic, minced 5g

sea salt 0.5g PICKLED JALAPEÑOS & RADISHES

jalapeño 50g

sliced 2-3 mm thick

radish, 40g sliced 1 mm thick

apple cider vinegar 100g

rice vinegar 80g

agave nectar 80g

Cashew Crema Coriander leaves 1. Depending on the size of the endive or lettuce leaves, place 1-2 tablespoons of chorizo onto a leaf.

2. Top the chorizo with 1-2 teaspoons of salsa, 3-4 slices of radish, 2 slices of jalapeños, a drizzle of cashew crema, and 1 or 2 coriander leaves.

3. Repeat and eat.

sea salt 5g

CASHEW CREMA *cashews 90g water 50g apple cider vinegar 40g

sea salt 1g *Cashews should be weighed and then soaked for 8 hours

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RECIPES

Mixed Herb Pesto RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

RECIPE MADE IN HACKNEY madeinhackney.org PHOTO PATRICIA NIVEN patricianiven.com

Pesto is so quick and easy to make, you can use a wide variety of herbs and any nuts or seeds you have around. For an 'activated' pesto you can soak the seeds overnight to deactivate the enzyme inhibitors in the seeds. We love using sorrel and pumpkin seeds but it's totally up to you! Swap the herbs out for nettle, sorrel or kale and it will still be delicious.

PESTO

mixed herbs 100g nuts or seeds 50g small garlic clove 1 apple cider vinegar 1 tsp

olive oil to taste

sea salt pinch

black pepper to taste

1. For conventional pesto toast the nuts/seeds in a dry pan on a high heat for three minutes shaking frequently and leave to cool. If making a raw 'activated' pesto strain the pre-soaked seeds and turn onto a bread board to dry.

2. If you're feeling strong crush the garlic with some sea salt in a mortar and pestle. Alternatively add to a blender and blitz.

3. Add the nuts/seeds to the mortar and pound, or to a blender and blitz for 30 seconds.

4. Finely chop the herbs and either add to the mortar and pound, or add to the blender and blitz.

5. Gradually add the olive oil until a loose but textured paste.

6. Add pinch of sea salt and pepper to taste.

7. Spoon into a sterilised jar and keep in the fridge for two weeks, topping up with olive oil when necessary.

8. For a more savoury taste add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast flakes when you are pounding or blending the herbs.

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“I can’t believe it but this green slime actually tastes alright you know.” This high culinary praise was offered by 15 year-old Chantel. She was participating in a six-week Hackney Take Away cookery course at Made In Hackney, the UK’s only eco-community kitchen. Chantel and her school peers were learning to make healthy versions of their favourite take-away foods. The ‘green slime’ was mixed herb pesto made for Italian week.

Despite initial protests – everyone in the class cleared their plates.

Made In Hackney is the UK’s only eco-community kitchen with an “unapologetically progressive” food policy of local, seasonal, organic and 100% plant-based. They work with a hugely diverse range of community groups in need from low income families to people with long term health challenges, vulnerable young people and marginalised community groups such as newly arrived migrants and the traveller community. Their aim is to give people the practical skills, knowledge and inspiration to eat healthy, affordable food that’s good for people and planet.

They also offer a programme of masterclasses in topics such as Gourmet Raw, Raw Desserts, Gluten Free Baking, Nut Cheese, Live Cultures & Ferments, Eat To Beat Candida and Eating For Optimum Health. The funds raised from these specialist classes they plough back into delivering their free classes with community groups in need. Recipe for ‘green slime’ is opposite. Enjoy.

To find out more about their work or to make a donation visit their website at www.madeinhackney.org

BASE

almonds 1 cup

(soaked 2-4 hours)

desiccated coconut ½ cup

sunflower seeds ½ cup

dates 2 cups

pink salt or sea salt pinch

vanilla powder ¼ tsp CREAMY SUPERFOOD FILLING

lúcuma powder ½ cup

pine pollen ¼ cup

maca powder ¼ cup

maple syrup 1 cup

vanilla powder 1 tsp

pink or sea salt pinch

lemon essential oil 3 drops

melted coconut oil 3 tbsp

(food grade)

cashews 2 ¾ cups

almond milk 1 cup

filtered water ¾ cup

white miso 1 tsp

maple syrup ¼ cup

vanilla powder 2 tsp

lúcuma powder ¼ cup

melted coconut oil ½ cup

activated crushed nuts

melted cacao butter 6 tbsp

y Superfood

Cheesecake

RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE RECIPE BY ALEX BEER feedthesoul.co.uk

Place in the fridge while you make the filling and to get yourself a cup of tea.

1.

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews thoroughly. Blend all the ingredients together except the coconut oil and cacao butter. When the mixture is nice and smooth slow down the speed of the blender and slowly pour the oil and butter into the mixture, blend so that it is well combined.

2.

Pour on top of the base and set in the fridge overnight or if you really want to speed things up, pop in the freezer for a few hours until it is set.

1.

Blend all the drizzle ingredients together; pour into a squeezy bottle or jug.

2.

Take cake out of the tin carefully and cut into slices.

3.

Now have fun to decorate however you like, letting your inner child go nuts!

Drizzle and sprinkle.

CREAMY SUPERFOOD FILLING

spirulina crunch

(food grade)

pink or sea salt pinch

2.

(optional)

lemon essential oil 4–6 drops

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until combined and sticky. Line a square cake tin (30cm by 20cm). Press the mixture into the base firmly and evenly.

calendula flowers

wheat grass powder 2 tbsp

1.

DECORATION

(soaked 2-4 hours)

young coconut flesh 2 2/3 cups

BASE

LEMON DRIZZLE

spirulina granola

TO FINISH

t e s s o P o g n a M & y r r e b p s a R

RECIPES

RAW | VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE SERVES 4 PEOPLE

RECIPE & PHOTO HARRIET EMILY harrietemily.com

MANGO LAYER Tiana's cooking coconut butter 2 tbsp

(Deodorised coconut oil)

cashews ½ cup (75g)

plant based milk ½ cup (125ml)

maple syrup ¼ cup (60ml)

mango 1 cup (200g) turmeric powder ¼ tsp RASPBERRY LAYER

Tiana's cooking coconut butter 2 tbsp

(Deodorised coconut oil)

cashews ½ cup (75g) plant based milk ½ cup (125ml) maple syrup ¼cup (60ml) raspberries 1 cup (150g) beetroot powder ¼ tsp METHOD

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1.

First, make the mango layer. Add the coconut butter into a pan on a low-medium heat and stir until melted. Then pour it into a blender with the maple syrup, turmeric, milk, mango, and cashews. Blend until smooth.

2.

Then, pour the mixture into 4 small glasses, and place them into the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up.

3.

Next, make the raspberry layer. Add the coconut butter into a pan on a low-medium heat and stir until melted. Then pour it into a blender with the maple syrup, beetroot powder, milk, raspberries, and cashews. Blend until smooth.

4.

When this is done, remove the cups containing the mango layer from the freezer, and pour the raspberry mixture on top of them. Then, move them into the fridge for about 3-4 hours or the freezer for 1-2 hours to set.

5.

When the possets have set, remove them from the fridge/ freezer and allow them to stand for 5-10 minutes. Then, add any toppings you like to finish and serve.

SALAD

PREPARING THE FRIED BEANCURD

cucumber ½

1.

Cut store purchased fried beancurd into bite size.

2.

Heat up a frying pan and sautĂŠ the fried beancurd pieces until they start to turn golden.

3.

Turn off the heat, add 1 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp of agave nectar, make sure all beancurd pieces are evenly coated;

4.

Place the fried beancurd pieces in a side dish to cool down

1.

After preparing the fried beancurd and vegan Youtiao, cut all the fresh ingredients into bite-sized pieces; mix all ingredients in a salad mixing bowl. Pour in the pre-made rojak sauce, make sure all ingredients are well coated. Finally pour in a generous amount of crushed peanuts & again give everything a good stir

2.

I added pomegranate seeds to garnish but that's it, you just made a delicious bowl of Rojak.

3.

The beauty of this dish is that there are no rules. Instead, you are encouraged to add your personal touch with a few additional extra ingredients. In Singapore, it is a celebrated local dish that really reflects the cultural diversity of the country.

pineapple 1

mango 1

green apples 2

Vegan Youtiao

soy sauce 1 tbsp agave 2 tbsp

pomegranate seeds (optional) 1 small cup ROJAK SAUCE (used like a salad dressing)

plum sauce 2 tbsp or balsamic reduction

tamarind 1 tbsp

plant based syrup 2 tbsp (I used agave nectar)

chili (optional) 1 stalk

ASSEMBLY

fried beancurd 8 pieces

1 piece

(Chinese dough fritters)

toasted peanuts 2 tbsp (I used a mixed of peanuts & cashew)

&

g

'Rojak'

Singaporean Fruit Vegetable Salad VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

RECIPE & PHOTO BY RUBY PENG wanderlustruby.com

SERVES 2-3 PEOPLE

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Pina Colada Nana Nice Cream VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE

RECIPE MARGIE BROADHEAD madebymargie.co.uk

NICE CREAM

bananas, peeled and frozen 2 pineapple chunks 1 cup

coconut milk (from the fridge) 1 cup

desiccated coconut 1 cup TOPPINGS fresh pineapple, coconut shavings & coconut cream METHOD Blend it all up until thick and creamy

Get a taste of the tropics with these recipes, close your eyes and you can almost feel the sand between your toes.

Refreshing and delicious. Complete bliss! The recipes are nice and simple which allows you to get creative with the presentation. Think scooped out pineapples, papayas and coconut halves for a completely tropical vibe.

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Recipes from: 'Guilt-Free Nice Cream'

by Margie Broadhead (Hardie Grant, £12.99 ) Photography © Jacqui Melville

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

Double Chocolate Salted Caramel

Nice-Cream Lollies VEGAN | GLUTEN FREE MAKES 6

RECIPE MARGIE BROADHEAD madebymargie.co.uk

NICE CREAM

bananas, peeled and frozen 2

coconut milk, chilled (thick part only) 500 ml (17 fl oz)

vanilla pod, seeds scraped 1 or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Incredibly indulgent and creamy, with a layer of salted caramel, these lollies are encased in rich dark chocolate. Whip up a big batch of these and serve them for pudding after a dinner party – people absolutely love them. Mind you, that’s only if you can bear to share them...

maple syrup 1 tsp METHOD SALTED CARAMEL

coconut oil, melted 125 ml (4 fl oz)

maple syrup 120 ml (4 fl oz)

For the nice cream, blend the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Pour the mixture into your popsicle moulds, add a popsicle stick into each and place in the freezer for 3–4 hours or overnight, to set.

2.

Make the caramel by blending all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy.

3.

For the chocolate shell, melt the ingredients in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan that’s half full of simmering water until well combined. Leave to cool.

4.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Take the pops out of the freezer and run the moulds under warm water. Don’t use hot water or the pops will melt and won’t hold their shape! Firmly pull up on the sticks and carefully remove the pops from the mould. Dip the pops in the chocolate, then arrange on the tray. The chocolate should harden straight away. Spread the caramel evenly over each pop then put them back on the tray and freeze for 10 minutes. Once hardened, dip them in the chocolate again. Freeze for 30 minutes to set. Sprinkle with sea salt before serving.

almond butter 120 g (4 oz/ cup)

1.

vanilla extract 2 tsp sea salt a pinch or 2 CHOCOLATE SHELL:

dark chocolate (min 70% cocoa) 300 g (10 oz)

coconut oil, melted 80 ml (3 fl oz)

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Some say that we are what we eat. Others; that we are what we think. With a name like Food For Thought, it’s clear that this independent retailer is open to both these concepts, in embracing a far wider philosophy.

With two branches, one in Kingston and the other in Guildford, this award-winning store (Best Independent Retailer 2016) caters for everyone in the Surrey area and beyond!

The historic Market place in Kingston Upon Thames has been home to a street market for over 800 years.

FOOD FOR WORDS BY THÉRÉSA HEDGES

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THOUGHT Doing things differently... *12

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food For Thought spreads its roots far and wide… It encompasses an holistic view of food, health, fun and just a little spirit of Ubuntu.

Often people walk in with a shopping list; often they walk in armed only with their curiosity. Nobody walks away disappointed. They are because we are.

Often described as a kind of Aladdin’s cave, the shops are home not only to the tried and trusted brands (we all crave a little familiarity in the comfort blanket of our food cupboards), but also to new, innovative and exciting products from smaller, independent companies. The common element: they all share the ethos and ethics of the store itself.

Take a tree for example: the further it spreads its roots, the more stable that tree becomes, and the greater the benefits of it are – the more life it can offer shade, shelter, and support to. And, like a tree, this two-store powerhouse is keen to support the upand-coming, the innovative and the

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just plain stroke-of-genius companies out there. These companies are the hidden heroes of healthy innovation; the ones that you’d be hard-pressed to find in the majority of independent stores, let alone the mainstream ones.

Brands we stock and support: When asked to list healthy, mindful foods, pizza doesn’t generally tend to get mentioned. It’s also one of those contentious foods that can be as delicious as it is problematic.

That’s all about to change. For good.

Promoting three particular Goods: “Good for you; Good for the planet, and Good for the Animals we share this world with…”, One Planet Pizzas produce hearty frozen pizzas that look (and taste) homemade. Comfort food heaven for vegans - and anyone that just loves pizza! With traditional pizzas, animal-based products, high fat content – all are things that may cause issues, either for health or conscience.

You won’t find anything but pure, clean ingredients in these pizzas.

Their reputation, like their reach, is spreading gradually, but it is definitely spreading, with European distribution in their sights within the next two years. They are rapidly gaining a global following on Instagram. Food For

Thought is one of their most vociferous fans!

Food For Thought is like that friend who always gets your jokes and is always there for you when things get rough. Or even when things go smoothly. Basically, they’re always there for you. Staff are constantly updated with their technical knowledge. Always friendly, always helpful. Always on the nose with information on the latest arrivals! Need a recommendation for breakfast, lunch or supper? They’re your first port of call.

One popular newcomer (particularly to gluten-free pasta lovers) is Nomad Health Pasta. Healthy and homemade – that’s Marianna and Keith’s philosophy around their awardwinning range of gluten free, ancient grain pasta (they’re also really nice folks!). Theirs is a way of thinking that echoes Food For Thought’s and is a thread that runs through all the small independent companies that the store supports.

Wilde Nuts, producers of Nuts In Ya Mouth have created (amongst other nut-based wonderfuls) a range of delicious (and filling!) raw granolas.

Despite the light-hearted name, this

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

FOOD FOR THOUGHT GUILDFORD Giving out free organic breakfasts and teas to customers as part of WAKE UP TO ORGANIC is a company that’s serious about its products, and its credentials. With a number of decades experience of working with nuts in all their many forms, Mai Lindberg, owner of Wilde Nuts, put it all together in her range of raw products. All with health, nutrition and simplicity in mind. As she puts it: “Natural. No nonsense. Raw. Wholesome. In touch with the earth.”

That’s the company’s commitment and they are sticking to it.

The aptly named Nourish are all about openness too. They offer not only a range of gorgeous macaroons, but a selection of healthy, well-thought out recipes on their sumptuous website. In step with the Food For Thought philosophy, they’re not just there for the momentary pleasures in life, but to support an overall healthier outlook.

But all things are in balance. Food is healing, food is fun. Food brings people together. And it builds bodies.

Reflecting this, another company supported by the store is Revolution Foods. They produce (amongst other super superfoods) a range of carefully and deliciously crafted raw sport and protein powders. Suitable for omnis, vegetarians, vegans and raw vegans

alike. The range is also organic, sugarand gluten-free and locally produced in the UK. That’s another factor that is high on the store’s list of priorities – keeping it local! (something to note – Food For Thought was one of the first, if not the first independent store in Surrey to sell raw vegan products over ten years ago) But, understanding that we live in this global village, do these independent companies just offer selective access? No! All of them offer an online service too.

Ultimately, Food For Thought is not just one tree on its own – it is part of an orchard. An Eden of health and awareness, and above all, community.

Spreading the word throughout the local community, Food For Thought gets involved in a number of local events every year.

Wake Up to Organic – Celebrating the most important meal of the day is perhaps one of the easiest messages to get across. Serving up delicious breakfasts (all free) is a wonderful way to not only promote an organic lifestyle, but to get the public to understand just how simple making small changes can be. And what could be simpler (or tastier) than freshly

made, hot artisan coffees and teas and a range of delicious cereals and fruit, often made from recipes developed by talented staff members and fellow foodies.

The store has also flown their Independent flag high during recent nationwide celebrations of independent stores.

Organic September is not only an awareness-raising campaign, but an opportunity to gleefully share all manner of organic products with a curious public. Often, it’s products that people may never have tried before that are on offer (in more ways than one). How often have you wanted to try something but never taken that step, just in case you didn’t like it? Sometimes products aren’t just a purchase, they can feel like a commitment! So often, customers can be found gleefully purchasing items that, until only a few minutes previously, never knew existed or hadn’t quite gotten around to trying before!

Part of the store’s ethics came into play nearly a year ago when they began to pioneer seasonal fruit and veg, always organic and as local as possible.

The range surprised many people,

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ABOVE: Revolution foods LEFT: Food For Thought - Guildford NOMAD HEALTH PASTA award-winning range of gluten free, ancient grain pasta

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including everything from local apples to enormous aloe vera leaves! Things like this give us a timely reminder that everything has its moment and those moments are best taken promptly.

A strawberry in September may be convenient, but you can’t beat the smell, vibrancy and taste of one whose time is right. There is a season to everything, and the store is working hard to help realign those off-key seasonal clocks.

And talking of seasons, it’s food as well as fun that the store offers… At Halloween and Christmas, staff dress up and the place becomes a hive of face-painting activity. Now, while it’s fair to say that the younger customers enjoy it, it’s often the adults that walk away with some great designs! It offers everyone a great opportunity to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life outside, to relax and just have some (colourful) fun!

Very often, new customers will come to Food For Thought knowing that they are facing challenges. Some may have to change their eating choices, due to allergies for example.

There’s nothing quite like seeing that person walk in thinking that food life is over, that there’s nothing left that they can eat, and seeing the very same person walk out of the shop half-an-hour later armed with a whole arsenal of new knowledge, renewed confidence and, more often than not, a bagful of goodies that they can actually eat!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ONE PLANET PIZZA: The UK's first frozen vegan pizza. Food For Thought were the first London stockist

It’s not just about the food (though it’s impossible to enter into either of the shops and not be blown away by the sheer amount of products and lines available). It’s about choice.

But here’s just three things that are immediately obvious when you walk in with a need to know: • There are a range of offers that change every month, all illustrated with beautiful posters • Informational posters are also on display and available to the public • There is direct access to many of the companies and suppliers ensuring a ready stream of expert knowledge, alongside that of the staff

Charities

Even the smallest detail has been considered – When it became law to charge for plastic bags, the store began to use only compostable bags, with the charge going towards charitable causes. Two organisations that have benefitted from this are Surrey Wildlife and the Starlight Foundation. Over £1,200 has been raised for these charities in 2016 alone and the work continues!

And it’s not just the charities that the store gets involved with. Food For Thought is an active sponsor of local Vegan / Yoga festivals in both Kingston and Guildford. The tree is not only deep rooted, but it has many boughs and branches, all ready to support and help others build their future.

Other Business tie ins

Food For Thought has run a number successful events with the Organic Wine Club. They offer a range of organic, gluten-free and vegan wines suitable for even the most discerning palate. Their wines contain no added sulphites, known to be a major trigger in a lot of wine-related allergic

Freshly made smoothies by master superfood mixologist Tim Michell (far right), a regular face at Food For Thought

reactions, such as asthma and migraines. They’re all about being informative: their website even includes a useful glossary of terms pertaining to their products. Customers have called their wines ‘stunning’, ‘utterly delicious’, and, as one person so succinctly put it, ‘true passion always wins’.

To be consumed with a clear conscience and a clear head (within reason, of course!).

In-store events

Every day is a mini-fest of some sort. There’s always something going on. In-store activities happen seven days a week. And every day is something different. There are demos for hardware, like Vitamix blenders; ideas that showcase different ingredients and always, always something tasty to sample.

But the activity doesn’t stop at foods. Health and nutritional advice is regularly available from top advisors from companies such as Viridian and Terra Nova.

The shops have within the past year extended their opening times to 6pm, which has gone down well with customers who now have even greater access to everything the store has to offer.

As the name of the shop implies, it’s not just about food.

A lot of thought goes into every aspect of these shops. The shops are at the centre of their respective communities, drawing in the familiar faces and the new. And it’s not just about community – it’s about family. Walking into either of these shops, one immediately feels a part of this crazy, caring extended (and forever extending) family. From bumps to babies, toddlers to teenagers, we see the people around us grow up with us. They are as much a part of the life of the shop as we are part of theirs. And that family is just getting bigger. Welcome to the Food For Thought family tree. *12

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Editor & Design Steven Nicolaides

Contributors Alex Beer feedthesoul.co.uk

BonPom bonpom.com

Evergreen Organics evergreenorganics.qa

Hannah-Phoebe Bowen

Harriet Emily harrietemily.com

Ines Romanelli inesthewildchef.com

Joanna Gregory smileyjoforever.blogspot.co.uk

Jason Spoor whitefoxstudios.co.uk

Made in Hackney madeinhackney.org

Margie Broadhead madebymargie.co.uk

Nama Artisan Raw Foods namafoods.com

Pana Chocolate panachocolate.com

Ruby Peng wanderlustruby.com

Stefanie C. Haslberger

Thérésa Hedges facebook.com/TheresaHedgesAuthor

casiegraphics.com

Enquiries papillon@lucuma.co.uk

: Front, back & inside cover art and numerals by STEFANIE C. HASLBERGER casiegraphics.com Stefanie is a London and Munich based illustrator and artist, passionate about nature, veganism & synchronicity.

'PERSIMMON SMOOTHIE'

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@lucumamagazine

lucuma.co.uk © Lúcuma No part of this magazine can be reproduced without our permission

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Information in Lúcuma is for information only and no part of it is a substitute for health diagnosis, care or treatment. Lúcuma and its contributors, editors and related parties are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken by any person, organisation or any party on basis of reading information, stories contributions or advertisements in this publication, website or related product.

'COCKATOOS NIGHT' STEFANIE C. HASLBERGER

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'KIWI SMOOTHIE'

SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS OF ATLANTIS

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ANT L P E GAZIN

A THIS MMAKE YOU WILL NGRY!!!

HU

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POTEN

£8