How about this view right? From our chair lift less than 100m from our chalet.

Back in October, we began discussing the possibility of a snow holiday, as Pat has wanted to ski Lebanon or Iran for the past couple of years but the seasons are so short and the windows of opportunity just didn’t work in with our vacation slots.

Then when we decided to visit my home sick sister for Christmas in Paris, we thought why not check out the snow, as the world famous Alps were not too far away – well ok they were at least a 9 hour car ride from Paris, but still, it’s all relative.

Yep Manus gets a little hot in his baby carseat, so we strip him off and here he is on a quick toilet stop having a play with daddy.

Skiing in Scotland 2006

Me not being much of a skiier – I’d only tried it 3 times before in New Zealand’s North Island, Australia’s Perisher, and Scotland’s limited ski area, I wasn’t really that fussed, but Pat, was keen to try out his snowboarding skills. Well, he is a keen kiteboader and surfer so his talent translates well to the snowboard.

In the end, friends of ours, also from Saudi, got in on the idea, then at the last minute, my sister and her French husband decided to join us for a week of ski/snow/boarding action on the world famous slopes of Tignes les Brevieres.

As our holiday was planned very last minute, Pat did some finger surfing on the web and found the last place available for us to stay which slept 7 adults comfortably and included breakfast to our rooms each morning and a 3 course dinner wine included everytnight – just what you want after an exhausting day on the slopes – someone else to cook – they even offered different options for dietary requirements.

And some fun for Manus during the day  

What a luck out Chalet Chandons was. A budget conscious but not light on the service, British run establishment that offered long stays work for cheaper rent, so essentially the staff that looked after us, were also guests and usually fellow skiiers/boarders on the slopes. So after their work was done for the day they were free to hit the powder.

Even though we stayed in their other Chalet (Hattiers) it was a mere 8 minute walk to Chalet Chandon each night for dinner at 730pm where we were sat with other guests, most of whom were returning from years past.

The thing that amazed me about how this place was run, was that everyone seems to be so happy, hardworking, friendly and happy to help out. Also for a place that relies heavily on temporary seasonal staff, everything seemed to run like clockwork with the daily operations from the delivery of breakfast, cleaning of the rooms, to even the occasional routine verandah sweeping after heavy snowfall (we had 2 days of snowfall and the rest of the days were sunshine!)

So back to my virus. Since leaving Saudi the week prior, all 3 of us had been fighting off sniffles and on arrival to Paris, it turned into chesty coughs (we put it down to the travel). Then on the day we departed for the Alps, I had a slight fever, and on arrival to the snow after the 9 hour car journey, I had a crazy fever, and my aches were keeping me in bed with 3 bed covers on!! Manus survived with just a chesty cough and Pat has only started to feel the aches and pains now, but after a quick visit to the medical centre in neighbouring ski resort Val d’Isere, it was determined I had a virus and was prescribed saline solution for my nose and panadol (which I was taking already). Manus was over the worst of it, and I thought Pat has survived it as he was hitting the slopes hard from day one, whilst I stayed in bed. Will no appetite and no energy, I was relegated to watching from our chalet window until day 4! But then I made up for it!

We were a little anxious to see how a 9 month old would cope in the snow, and how much fun it would be for any of us, but rugged up right in a snow suit and thermals, he really enjoyed playing in the powder.

If you are interested in where we stayed in Tignes, check out Chalet Chandon here and chat to Nicky or Kat and don’t forget to tell them that I sent you! They were fabulous with us, and Kat even had a little boy around the same age as Manus .

Our snow gang!

I’ll be back onto the raw posts next week, I’ve got plenty in store for you in 2012!

Good morning everyone. Or rather Happy Eid, Health & Happiness كل عام وأنتم بخير و صحه و سعاده

It’s Eid time here again, Eid al-Adha to be precise. That means vacation time in the Islamic world, so even for us expats we get the same public holidays as well, which began today until next Tuesday. Whilst most of our expat friends are off on amazing holidays to Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Dublin or even home to Australia, for the first time, we decided to stay home – the compound is a ghost town. Hubs is studying and I want to get our messy house in order without social distractions, plus we have a big Christmas holiday coming up to Europe.

Which brings me to title of this post. Seeing as I am not going anywhere, perhaps I can list for you where I’d like to be, and the place that is first on my bucket list. Plus one of our friends from camp here left for NYC last night. Despite my various trips in the USA to:

Hawaii

Los Angeles

Washington DC

And Houston, Boston, Arizona and Oklahoma City, I’ve never once made it to my dream destination of  New York City.

I was in the midst of planning my first vacay there last year when I found out I was pregnant. Somehow heading to Chicago for Lollapalooza and then onto NYC didn’t seem right with a bun in the oven, so I postponed it.

Most of my friends have visited NYC multiple times and I have lived through their accounts and a bestie is also a native – I still laugh when I first met her and I asked her if she was American and she said no, she was a New Yorker.

New York City is the one place I know exactly what I would do when I arrive and I’m afraid to say, the majority of it revolves around food. Shall I indulge you with my virtual foodie tour?

• Pure Food & Wine - would be my FIRST stop of the Raw Vegan restaurant variety and no doubt one of many. The baby of the raw goddess Sarma Melngailis (co author with her then partner Matthew Kenney of Raw Food Real World), I’ve heard bookings are a must, so I would most likely book prior to leaving home just so I could wrap my tastebuds around their famous lasagna, mallomars, sake cocktails and extensive wine list.
• Quintessence – gourmet raw vegan cuisine
• Blossom - vegan cuisine restaurant
• Rockin’ Raw – raw living cuisine with a Peruvian/New Orleanean/Creolean flavour. Real soul food
• Bonobos – vegetarian and raw cafe
• Caravan of Dreams – organic vegan cuisine with raw options
• Babycakes - gluten free & vegan bakery selling the most amazing looking cupcakes and cinnamon buns
• Sacred Chow - organic vegan cuisine
• Candle 79 – NYC’s premier vegan destination
• Hangawi - vegetarian Korean restaurant
• Stogo - organic dairy free icecream
• Sullivan Street Bakery – vegan pizzas and breads
• Liquiteria  juice bar – organic Norwalk pressed to go juices
• Angelica Kitchen - organic plant based cuisine

So tell me, where is your favourite place in the world to go for food – either visited or dreaming about? I must admit, when I lived in Mexico, the food was amazing, but I wasn’t surrounded by the food we’ve come to know as Mexican, ie no nachos or burritos. I also love Thai, Italian and Indian.

Also, indulge me, have you been to New York or any of the above restaurants? I’d love your take on the city!

Our heads are a little sore over here, we had a farewell party to go to and stayed out a little later than expected, but whilst at the party I received an awesome email that I was so excited to share with you all just in time for this Fab Friday giveaway!

Regular readers of the blog will know how much I adore my Tribest Personal Blender, even as much as my lovely Vitamix. And here’s why:

• Great for travel. This baby has not only seen me through my days as a career flight attendant on the road, making sure I keep up with my green smoothies in my hotel room, but also has been on our vacation to Cuba, where green leafy veggies weren’t always available so we used fruit from the breakfast buffet blended with Vitamineral Green to keep us going through our daily salsa classes. It’s the perfect size to pack in your suitcase

• Ideal for grinding seeds and nuts for raw desserts or throwing flax into your smoothie.
• Salad dressings. Not only is this baby used every time we travel in our household (which is alot) but the Personal Blender comes in handy when making salad dressings which I do several times per week. The BPA containers with lids are also perfect for salad dressing storage.

• A new use! Baby Food! Since Baby M has begun eating solids, I’ve been using the blender to make his baby food (both cooked and raw) in batches and the power of the blades is able to provide silky smooth steamed vegetables and fruit puddings like banana and blueberries.

The Tribest Personal Blender comes with one Blending Blade,  one Grinding Blade, two 16 oz BPA Free Blending Containers, two 8 oz BPA Free Grinding Containers, one commuter sipping lid, three Regular Lids.

I even went ahead and purchased 2 more XL cups for on the road smoothie making which get plenty of use.

Lucky for you guys, you get the chance to own your own. Tribestlife have generously offered one lucky Girl on Raw reader their own Tribest Personal Blender 250 valued at $US65.25.

All you have to do is answer the following question is the below comments to go in the draw to win:

“What would be the first thing you would make with your Tribest Personal Blender?”

The giveaway will be open until Midnight GMT Monday, 19th Sept, where a winner will be drawn randomly and announced on the blog on the following Tuesday.

Bonus entries will be given when you tweet the following and return to the comments section to say you did!

“@girlonraw & @tribestlife are giving away a Personal Blender here http://bit.ly/njFJoD”

Entries are open world wide which means if you live in the US you will receive a 110v and if you live elsewhere you will receive a 220V (the one I have). Perfect.

If you are interested in what other wonderful healthy life products (ie you’ve got to check out their latest dehydrator the Sedona. I’ve not used it but it looks pretty snazzy!) TribestLife have to offer you can sign up for their catalogue by emailing service@tribest.com or check out their website here or check www.tribestlife.com

Good luck!

As promised I’d thought I’d share with you a little of the beautiful accommodation and service we received whilst our venture up to Maleny for my Raw Food class as Kind Living Cafe.

Lucy arranged for us to stay in the picturesque and relaxing King Spa Suite at Aritsan Spa Views Bed & Breakfast for the evening following the class I had conducted so we jumped at the chance.

We left Baby M with the grandparents and enjoyed some adult only time in the luxury B & B which boasts the largest spas in Australia with outdoor views of this unique volcanic region right from your spa bath tub.

[View from the spa]

Randy greeted us on arrival and later I met his lovely wife, Maree, who would be one of the students in my class that night, and we enjoyed chatting about Randy’s Artisan wood work (hence the name “Artisan”) of which is showcased in each of the rooms from the headboard to the door frames and skirting, no detail is left untouched.

Maleny is famed for it Bed & Breakfasts and couple getaways (hence the missing baby) and although we only had one night to really enjoy our surrounds, we’ll be back for sure.

Various activities such as  hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, abseiling and kayaking are all available locally or why not stay in your room and enjoy the time spent with your loved one – oh and that spa too!

Maree and Randy offer complementary breakfast and cater to all dietary types, with Maree learning more about Raw Food cuisine through her classes at Kind Living Cafe, so it’s a wonderful option for us Raw Foodies.

Breakfast for me was a fruit plate which was so delicious and in season

Pat chose the cooked breakie.

Afterwards we took the short drive to the closeby town of Montville

And daydreamed about a move here someday

Revelling in the greenery that is such a vast difference from where we live in the desert here in Saudi Arabia.

And played silly buggers, in the country side:

checked out a winery

before hitting the European styled village for lunch

Poet’s Cafe [My favourite]

Shopping

At the village’s famous Clock Shop

It was like we had stepped out in Germania.

and picked up some fudge for our parents (babysitters!)

before racing home back to Baby M.

Better yet, have you tried to explain this to people who don’t really get the blog/social media thing and think it’s a little strange?

Haha, well I have had the chance to meet up with my virtual friends not once, but three times, including when I met my mentor Kristen,

one of my favourite flight attendant bloggers Sara on a work trip to the US,

another flight attendant group bloggy meet up here

and lastly, only a few weeks back, one of my favourite Aussie bloggers, Hannah of Wayfaring Chocolate.

Without wanting to recap her trip with what she has done so eloquenttly herself, you can go and read up on her visit from Canberra to Brisbane part one and part two.

What does that have to do with today’s post you ask?

Well after I sent the hubs on an unsuccessful motorbike ride around to the shops on camp after dinner last night to get him to find us some dairy free chocolate (preferably Lindt Madagascar), I decided to make something for us to hit that sweet spot we needed to fix.

Step in the Raw Coconut Chocolate Chilli Goji  Butter that Hannah gave me as a gift.

Yep a mouthful right?

If you’ve been reading GOR for sometime you’ll know I’m a freak for anything coconut and Hannah is a freak for chocolate so why not.

Well it didn’t stop there.

CGC (Chocolate Goji Chilli) Macaroons

1 cup of almond pulp (I used what is left after 1 serve of making almond milk, however you could use almond meal here)

1/4 cup Raw Coconut Chocolate Chilli Goji Butter – I realise MOST people won’t have this ingredient, however you could use 2 T cacao powder and 1/4 cup drippy almond or another nut butter. If you want the spicy kick of chilli add some chilli powder to taste.

1/4 cup of coconut

1 T Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder (use 1 T vanilla extract instead)

2 T agave

squeeze lemon

1 generous pinch of celtic sea salt – this is a must to complement the sweetness and spice.

Place all ingredients in a food processor until sticky enough to form into balls, then roll em on out then pop one in your mouth. The rest I put in the fridge.

The great thing about this recipe is they do not need dehydrating. And it’s a great way to use up your almond pulp.

They came out with just the right amount of chocolate sweetness, with a hint of chilli and to be honest I couldn’t even taste the goji, so if you were trying to replicate these at home, then use the suggestions I have made and don’t worry too much about the lack of goji

Will make 10-12.

I do love to use my cookie scoop or you could use your hands.

Thanks Hanns, I do wish I could send ya one! But only one!

When I was in Singapore last week, I caught up with fellow Matthew Kenney Academy (formerly 105degrees) alumni and buddy, Sandra for lunch.

(That’s Sandra behind me)

We were the only international students in our group – me from Saudi/Australia, and her from, yep, you guessed it, Singapore!

I was thrilled to be invited to check out Sandra’s culinary academy Fresh Food Academy on my visit before we sat down for lunch.

The studio itself  brought back fond memories of our month long adventure we spent in Oklahoma City last April becoming raw chef qualified here:

So much so, I was immediately planning my move to Singapore

The visit culminated in a double serving of ginger and orange kombucha, made by the lady herself.

She even gave me a scoby to get me started on my own batch! Can’t wait!

Doesn’t look pretty though.

Sandra will be starting classes up in the near future, so link up with her on the Fresh Food Academy facebook page here or her website here. And if you do, tell her that I sent ya!

Watch This: Want an easy way to clean your blender? My pal Tess from Healthy Blender Recipes demonstrates a fool proof way here

Tomorrow I’ll be back with the winner of Sybille’s Salads ebook.

**All photos of this post taken on my iPhone as we left our big camera at home

Hi everyone! How are you all going?

Sorry I’ve been AWOL but you cannot imagine how much busier a holiday home to your family here in Australia becomes when you have a little person to introduce to everyone.

But rest assured, I’ve got loads of posts to update you on when we get back to Saudi next week (:() , but in the mean time, last night I headed to the only raw food night I know of in Brisbane at Cafe Checocho with this lovely lady.

Ames of Raw and Peace from Northey Street Organic Farm Markets, has been running raw food Monday nights out of Cafe Checocho in Brisbane’s West End for the past 10 months but decided to close the doors for the time being as of last night. So I was priveledged to be there for her first night and her last.

Citrus Slaw

Plate of dips and breads/crackers

Brocolli and Sesame Salad

Have I heard of a hairbrush?

We ordered a few plates of mains and desserts and shared them amongst the four of us.

Pistachio & Fig Pie – my fave

Strawberry Cream Pie

Ames is a really talented lady and will be offering Raw Food Classes in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide next month, starting with a class this Saturday 3rd September (click here for Tastes of Spring Brisbane)in Brisbane.

You can keep up to date with Ames stuff on her facebook page here. Oh and if you do, tell her I said hi. I’m a big fan

Love my Aussie Boost Juice juice – I had the Two & Five Juice oranges, apple, carrots,

piece of celery, beetroot & a Vita Booster

Weird! But kinda good :S

A whole aisle of organic foods like quinoa, nutritional yeast, baby food etc, despite the white processed sugar on the end of the aisle

Greens galore!

So much organic produce!!!

Aloe vera

Agar agar – my thinking: this is IRISH MOSS

Love dried chillies

Wish I knew what mushrooms/funghi these were…maybe a tonic tea could be made with them?

Regular readers will know…I LOVE coconuts! I could swim in their water and build a house of the coconut meat

De-husking the coco’s

Garden Mall

Petronas Towers they were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101, but remain the tallest twin buildings in the world – Source

Also really sad to hear of Amy Winehouse’s death, may her torment now be over.

I’m still here in Dubai, holed up with my gal, making and enjoying some really clean eats.

Yesterday I was a crazy lady and I headed over to the Mall of Emirates on a Saturday when everyone and their nanny was there! (my friend lives closer to Dubai Mall which I much prefer but thought I’d check out Mall of Emirates for a change of scenery – this is where the Ski Dubai indoor ski slope is at too!)

After a morning smoothie, I met another friend of mine for lunch at Chop Chop.

I ordered the same salad I had in Bahrain a couple of weeks ago, but this time it was twice the size for the same price. Alright!

Since my eats have been much cleaner I’ve not been eating as much, so for the rest of the day I munched on cherries and a couple of bananas and called it a day!

Today I woke up and made another smoothie. 

• Almond milk
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1 T coconut oil

Lunch was my favourite ever salad!

• Rocket (Arugula)
• Baby Spinach
• Shaved Fennel
• Ruby Grapefruit
• Lemon Love Dressing (available in my free ebook by signing up here)

Dinner was a part raw/part cooked easy to throw together pasta

Julienned zucchini ‘pasta’ RAW – used my mandoline as I didn’t pack my spirooli/spiraliser

Topped with a jar of spicy pasta sauce that I added fresh mushrooms and capsicum and heated on the cook top.

Time for Dessert!

Strawberries & Chocolate

Used the recipe from here but added a bit of water for a thinner consistency.

IT WAS A HIT!

I’ve got 3 more days here before hubs arrives then we are off to Kuala Lumpur, so I’m trying to think of more raw food delights to spoil my friend. Any suggestions?

Being Active: Today I had the chance to hit the gym for the first time in over a year and I felt like it was my birthday being able to get out and have some time for me. Baby M was having  a nap so my friend was happy to watch him whilst I hit the treadmill (the humidity here is shocking right now) and I did some weights and came back feeling a million dollars. I’m sure I’ll be feeling it tomorrow though. What’s your favourite way to get moving?

Hope you liked the first in the EASY series, coming at ya every Monday. Don’t forget to put down your feedback and/or experiences as we go along. We can keep each other motivated along the way.

Yesterday we packed up our lives for the next 5 weeks of being on the road.

Random sidenote: Love my new Ergo – so does my back!!!

First stop Dubai

As my dad says, “Considering the amount of time his mummy has spent on a plane you would expect excellent behaviour….”

I’m chilling with my girlfriend here in Dubai for a week, then hubs and I hit up Kuala Lumpur to visit some friends, then it’s onto Australia. So exciting.

Today I’m thinking of shopping for food supplies as I’ve brought some kitchen equipment (never leave home without it!) to raw-i-fy my friend. She has recently gone vegetarian so I’m excited to show her some dishes. I’ll share with you next post with what things I’ve brought on the road with me.

Right before I left Saudi, however, I made a very quick, easy and tasty cracker (by accident).

I’ve not worked with whole flax seeds before, I usually mill them into a flour/meal to make breads or throw into smoothies, but I’ve never been a big fan of their ‘flaxy’ taste in dehydrated products.

I was soaking the seeds to make into a more complex recipe then when I came back, I had realised they had turned into a jelly.

With a major hankering for cinnamon lately, I elected for a sweet cracker version.

They didn’t disappoint. I finished off the whole lot within hours of them being complete in the dehydrator.  I had to force myself to save a little for hubs to taste test. To which he exclaimed “You could use these for dips and stuff!”. Totally!

Try to always use use golden flax (brown tastes nasty) and it’s been noted not to consume flax if pregnant or breastfeeding (doh for me! Only just realised this AFTER I had it). Apparently flaxseed can act very similarly to the hormone oestrogen however there is no known clinical studies on the risk to pregnancy.

Oh and warning, eating too much of this stuff may make you F-A-R-T

Easy Flax Crackers

(makes one dehydrator tray)

1/3 cup golden flaxseeds

1 cup of water

add ins (cinnamon, maple syrup, sea salt, cumin, curry, garlic, herbs etc)

Place flaxseeds in a large bowl and cover with water for 4 hours.

The water will become like jelly.  Decide on add ins. This time I chose 3 T maple syrup, 1/2 tsp sea salt and lotsa cinnamon.  Mix thoroughly.

Spread mixture on paraflexx sheet to about 3-5mm thickness and dehydrate for 2 hours on 140′ then 8 hours for 110′. If you don’t own a dehydrator, use greaseproof paper on a shallow baking tray and bake on lowest heat setting with door open til they are crunchy.

I didn’t score mine so when they were crispy I simply broke them up into irregular pieces.

Then EAT!!!

Maybe I’ll have to come up with some easy raw dips to make for a savoury version? Any ideas?