Shazzie is a raw mom whom I am thrilled to share with all my raw moms:

Shazzie was born in 1969 and is from the UK. At the age of 16 she became a vegetarian and was an ethical vegan 2 years later. At the age of 30, Shazzie became a raw foodist for health reasons. For almost four years she ate an exclusively raw vegan diet, then, during pregnancy, she ate some cooked food due to cravings and sickness. She spent a long time happy at 95%, but recently went back up to 100% raw, and is loving it even more than before!

Becoming a raw foodist was an intrinsic part of her journey towards mental, spiritual and physical freedom. She’s written four books: Shazzie’s Detox Delights, Detox your World, Evie’s Kitchen: Raising an Ecstatic Child and Naked Chocolate: The Astonishing Truth About the World’s Greatest Food, co-authored with David Wolfe, and two ebooks: Ecstasists Anonymous and Raw Britannia.

In 2004, Shazzie gave birth to her beautiful daughter Evie. Evie is also a raw foodist, and was full-term breastfed, unvaccinated, co-sleeps and is as natural as someone can be in the UK! Shazzie has appeared in the media on numerous occasions. Though she’s a committed full-time mother, she still speaks at some events. I discovered Shazzie from stumbling upon her blog which she wrote everyday for 9 years well before blogging was popular! With similar parenting styles and uber optimistic outlooks, we have become lovely friends. I have always been totally inspired by her refreshing candidness, humour and unique perspective- she is such an ORIGINAL!

Before going raw, she was overweight, depressed and just ‘lost’ as she puts it. And now she is living the life of her dreams and teaching by example hundreds of thousands of others how to do the same. Unlike alot of other raw teachers out there many of whom do not have children, Shazzie really knows what she is talking about, and tells it like it really is as a raw mom.

Tell me about your latest project and why raw moms would be interested:
Sure, Love! I wrote Evie’s Kitchen because I was asked to by countless women who wanted to raise raw children but didn’t have a comprehensive guide book on how to do it. There are so many people who actively promote the raw food diet, and most of them don’t have children. They can give theories but not first-hand advice. There was definitely a gap in the market, well more like a big crack! I wrote it because I wanted to introduce raw foodism alongside other natural parenting methods, as it should be.

So I’d love to give you one of the 180+ recipes that’s in Evie’s Kitchen. If this tickles your small one’s tastebuds, then you know where to find more:

Joe’s faked ecstatic beans

100g soaked pine nuts
50ml olive oil
50g goji berries, soaked and drained
½ red pepper
4 sundried tomatoes
2 dates
¼ teaspoon of paprika

Soak the pine nuts and sundried tomatoes in water for at least twenty minutes, then drain and rinse.

Pitt the dates. Blend everything apart from the pine nuts in a high-speed blender.

Pour the sauce over the pine nuts, mix and serve as is, or put in a dehydrator for half an hour or so at 115°F/46°C to enjoy warm. (If you’re in a hurry, or don`t have a dehydrator, you can warm it gently in a pan on a low flame, stirring all the time and testing with your finger until it becomes hand hot.)

What is the main benefit you have noticed since you have gone raw?
Everything! Literally, from how I look to how I feel! I was in such an emotional, physical and spiritual mess before. I knew I was all wrong inside, and didn’t know why, then when I found out about raw food it all made sense. And raw food leads on to so many other things, it gives you this clarity and realigns you with your higher self enough to only ever do what’s 100% right for you. I didn’t have a clue what was right for me before, I just did what I thought I was supposed to do, even though I knew that wasn’t right either. I am eternally grateful to raw food, yoga and plant spirits for giving me myself back.

What is the main benefit you feel your daughter experiences being brought up raw?
Evie was breastfed until she was four, and full-term breastfeeding is really important for all children. She rarely gets ill, and when she does, she recovers quickly. I’ve never had to take her to the doctors with an illness. Evie is extremely right-brained, which is clearly a result of her raw diet. She’s psychic, empathetic, loving to the extreme and very, very funny. The way she connects with adults is astounding, she looks them right in the eye and really checks them out! There’s not a shy bone in her body, she’s really good at stories, and seems to know far too much for someone her age.

What would you say is the biggest obstacle you face being a rawmom?
Getting it right with very little information out there. I’ve seen too many raw kids suffer with malnutrition, and I couldn’t understand why, when raw food is supposed to be the best diet ever! I spent four years diligently researching childhood nutrition from every angle as I was raising Evie. I got the final pieces of crucial information into Evie’s Kitchen just before it went to print, and am fully satisfied that I got it all in there for other parents to make use of. You shouldn’t have to research that much, but when there’s nothing out there substantial enough about raising raw kids, and when there are all these ill, skinny, toothless raw kids, then you have no choice. Secondly, I’ve been a vegan for 22 years and having looked at all the nutritional information surrounding veganism from a child’s perspective, I introduced a few organic free range eggs into Evie’s diet after she stopped breastfeeding. God, that was hard! But you know what? Evie isn’t me, and I have to do what I feel in my heart is right, and not impose my belief systems upon her.

How have you triumphed in the face of that obstacle?
With getting it right, first in Evie, now in Evie’s Kitchen. I’m so glad I’m an obsessive writer and researcher! With much thought and research, I started adding eggs to Evie`s diet. We’ll soon be living in a place where there’s the opportunity to get some rescued chickens and give them loads of love and space to roam. I’ll feel a lot happier about her having their eggs because the animal industry is just too horrible. I don’t want her to be part of that, but I do want her to be nutritionally complete. I won’t compromise her health for anything.

What is your biggest/best tip for mom’s who are new to raw and want to feed their kids this way?
It’s different for children who aren’t being raised raw from birth, as they have their tastebuds set up for a specific group of foods that they’ve been exposed to. I cover this in Evie’s Kitchen, because it’s an increasingly pressing subject.

First, don’t make a child go raw overnight unless he wants to, or is ill! The best way I know of is to alter the drinks first. Make fresh juices, adding as much green juice in there as possible before you get the “yuck” face pulled at you. Make almond mylk with a little bit of Salba/chia in it, and add two Ortho-Bone Vegan capsules to it if the child is still growing. Sweeten it with dates or raw agave nectar. Have an abundance of crudites cut up in the fridge for snacking. Marinate julienned vegetables in tamari, apple cider vinegar and cold-pressed oil and serve with their normal food. Make fruit puddings, and other ecstatic foods. OK, that’s not one tip, is it?

Best tip: take it very slowly, and don’t punish your child if they don’t like your raw meals. I always say to Evie “I spent a long time making it so please just taste it three times and if you don’t like it I’ll make you something else.” I believe I learned that tip from YOU, Shannon! It normally works.

With your 20-something Goddess looks its hard to believe you are turning 40 this January. If I could ask you anything, it would be, do you realise how special and beautiful you are?
Gosh! I’m really grateful for that. Thank you, Shannon, but look who`s talking! I do know I’m controversial! LOL; It’s all perfect. Knowing there are people committed to living their truth and passion everyday, and sharing it with others just like you are, really blesses me. I hope you realise how special and beautiful you are, too!

Bliss you, all your raw moms,
Shazzie (www.shazzie.com)