Just 2 hours from busy London city and you are in the most serene country side and a different country!

We found a tractor!

I am blown away by this image, as I took it without a person in sight, but looks like nothing stops an angel.

Geri's  country house has literally every sporting equipment and game imaginable.  Fun!

I love to fly. I love to jump. And I don't mind a bit of trampolining action. Not one bit!

Who needs a caption, when you can see this with your eyes.

I think I may have taken about 100 shots of every angle and still I could take 100 more.

Nights are for movie watching by the fire.

The house has 7 bedrooms and sleeps 15 people, you can rent it! Ask me for Geri's contact details.

The room that saw the most action- we juiced our wild edibles, ate dehydrated snacks and chatted for hours.

Country side meets Nature meets France. All in one cosy, beautiful house.

Some friends saying hello.

Paris Plage is just over an hour drive away!

Apart from NZ, this is by far the most active beach of kite surfing, biking, swimming, running, playing and horse riding I've ever seen.

And something equally as fascinating in my books was this! Our ride back home... under water, through the ocean from France to England, inside EuroTunnel. Incredible!

Describe your typical day of eating and drinking.

This is a pretty typical day with the addition of some cooked beans or quinoa a couple of times a week, a cooked vegan meal in a restaurant on weekends and some gourmet raw foods prepared by our students at lunch.

6am: 1 cup jasmine green tea
7am: 12 ounces warm water with lemon
8am: 3 ounces E-3 Live Brain-on
9am: 12 ounces fresh fruit smoothie (orange juice, bananas, blueberries, peaches, kale and VitaMineral Green )
10am: green juice (kale and other leafy greens, cucumber, celery, apple, lemon, parsley)
1pm: full meal salad bar (spring mix, sprouts, tomatoes, shredded root vegetables, veggie kraut, 1/2 avocado, seaweed, pumpkin seeds, vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast, dressed with Liquid Gold (see page 151, The Raw Food Revolution Diet)
3pm 12 ounces water
4pm 12 ounces water
5pm: 12 ounces water
5:30pm: My favorite Vitality Soup with chopped tomatoes (see recipe below)
7pm: 12 ounces water infused with peppermint oil and or ginger juice


What (or who) inspires you to eat well and stay healthy?

I inspire myself. I want to be the best that I can be so I can set an example for others and show people what is possible if you take care of yourself.


What is your biggest weakness when it comes to food and how do you deal with that?

I don’t have any food addictions. I am addicted to feeling good. And, I am not afraid of eating cooked food when I want it and it serves me – I eat well chosen water-cooked foods like steamed broccoli, legumes, and quinoa, which are health promoting and add to my enjoyment. I do not consider it a weakness.


Complete these sentences...

Improving your diet is an ongoing journey.
Staying healthy while travelling is something that takes planning and determination.
Detoxing is important from time to time.
Immunising is not for me.


What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you?

“You will never know what an inspiration you have been to me.”


If you got to keep only 3 of your belongings- 1 thing from your kitchen, 1 thing from your garden, 1 thing from your bookshelf - what would they be?

My favorite chef knife. The rich soil I have spent years building.  My most recent book, Raw Food For Dummies, which I coauthored with my husband, Dan Ladermann. It was a labor of love that people tell us is making healthy living easy and delicious for them! Our goal in writing it was to give people everything they need to make tasty raw food meals for themselves and their families. We included how to travel raw, how to find restaurants and other raw food enthusiasts, how to set-up your kitchen and I even created a 31-day meal plan with advanced preparation instructions, so it reminds you when to soak the oat groats to make the oatmeal in time for breakfast! It’s the compilation of my years of experience and the most complete raw food book ever written.


Why do you believe that life is Better Raw?

I advocate a whole food, plant-based diet that is fresh, ripe, organic and mostly uncooked. Some water-cooked (steamed or braised) vegetables, legumes and non-glutinous grains are more health promoting than some raw foods that contain condensed fats and sweeteners. A balanced, health-promoting diet can contain some water-cooked foods (not fried, baked, grilled or sautéed), providing that nutrient dense raw vegan foods make up the majority of the diet. Whether cooked or raw, I recommend nutrient dense foods that are delicious (or people won’t eat them). My goal is to make food that is both healthy and delicious.


Our Master of the Month shares her favourite raw food recipe...





1 cup orange juice
2 cups stemmed and chopped kale or other dark leafy greens
1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped
1⁄4 cup fresh parsley, basil, or dill weed
1 tablespoon light miso
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1⁄2 teaspoon garlic, crushed (1 clove)
1⁄2 green onion, chopped
1⁄2 avocado, peeled and pitted
Filtered water as needed for desired consistency

- Combine the orange juice, kale, cucumber, herbs, miso, lemon juice, garlic, and green onion. Blend the mixture until smooth.
- Add the avocado and blend again — no more than 1 minute — until smooth.




For more about Cherie Soria and the amazing Living Light International, take a tour around http://rawfoodchef.com.

To see Cherie LIVE in action, check out her UK event in September! I am definitely not missing this opportunity and have my ticket already! Come on by and say hi to me too...

Whether you are looking to unwind, recharge, cleanse your mind and spirit, take your soul on an adventure, breathe in the purest air, alkalise by marvelling at perfect nature, nourish your body with the most flavoursome and nutritious organic meals, learn how to prepare all the healthy raw foods or experience what the real Valley of Longevity is all about… there is no place on earth, like Vilcabamba to satisfy all of your senses and dreams.

This November, a carefully selected group of people will get an opportunity to experience the ultimate Raw Food & Soul Adventures Retreat. Read on for more details and apply at the end>>

Happy Summer Solstice!

On this longest day of the year- the lemon juice is on tap, the tomatoes are flavoursome, the shallots are sweet, and the lettuces are crisp. That spells SALSA to me!

What goes with salsa? What doesn't go with salsa?

Tacos seemed like a swell idea to me, but since at this time of the year I try to spend as much time outdoors and as little in the kitchen, I went on a quest to make the quickest lazy taco, which requires the least prep time, no dehydrating time and maximum tastebud satisfaction...

The result are these mini lazy taco bites. The 'lazy' bit sounded like the best description, because I just popped all the salsa ingredients in the blender and whizzed them into a sauce instead. Hee hee.




For the raw vegan taco meat
marinated mushrooms (see below)
1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked
1 cup walnut, soaked
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp coriander
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

For the marinated mushrooms
2 large portabello mushrooms, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced

For the lazy salsa sauce
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked (keep the water)
2 shallots
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 lemon, juiced

For the taco shells
small gem lettuce heads
optional: avocado

- First and preferably at least 4 hours before, put all the sliced mushrooms into a bowl and stir in tamari and lemon juice, then set aside to marinate. At the same time put the pumpkin seeds, walnuts and sundried tomatoes (note there that both the taco meat and the salsa require sundried tomatoes) into separate bowls, cover with pure water and leave them soaking.

- After 4-8 hours you can transfer all the taco meat ingredients into a food processor and process until desired consistency.

- Transfer the salsa ingredients into a blender along with some of the water which the sundried tomatoes have been soaking in, and blend to a sauce.

- Peel the leaves off of the gem lettuce, load them with taco meat and spoon some salsa sauce over the top. It's ready to eat! The tacos are never quite complete with a little guacamole however, so for the lazy version- just pop a slice of avocado on top of the taco and dig in!