Trying cashew kale chips for the first time  

Funny flight story (‘funny’ because it’s behind us ;-))…

It took 4 flights, 4 taxis and 43 hours to arrive at my parents’ Sungate 11:11 in Vilcabamba, Ecuador.

The connecting flight to Madrid was a total dream with a 10 months old. I inquired both at Heathrow and at Madrid airport desks about a good seat for Lake and I for our remaining 12 hour flight to Guayaquil and was assured with great certainty that the flight is looking empty, that there will be no one next to us and that after take-off we will even be able to change to a four-seater row!

Soooo we board the flight with confidence, find our seat and spread all the toys, snacks and bags across our isle seat and the empty window seat next to us. Then 5 minutes before take-off, people start piling in! PILING IN!

And so many of them, some with 5 bags each, some with caged cats, some with caged dogs. It was like watching a movie, because that’s how surreal it all looked.

At this stage, I’m still pretty optimistic about the extra space on this flight, I almost don’t notice the man telling a cat woman behind us that she’s seated in the wrong seat and needs to move herself, her cat and all four of her bags next to me and Lake.

I start to panic trying to work out how to keep the baby happy while I gather aaaall of our belongings to fit in a tiny space underneath my feet (anyone with kids knows just how much you need for a 1 hour walk, let alone a 43 hour journey!).

Lake senses my panic and starts to get squeamish, meanwhile the cat woman keeps saying something to me in Spanish. If you were to mute this whole scene, it probably looked a little like an over exaggerated version of charades, where she is gesturing for us to transfer to a window seat so that she and all of her stuff wouldn’t have to.

Then as everyone is loudly fussing and climbing over each other to get to their seat and competing to fit what ever they could into tiny overhead lockers, the cat woman starts climbing too and in the midst of throwing her bags onto the seat next to us (I’m still collecting our toys), she manages to bang Lake on the head with her cat’s cage.

Then the crying begins! By this stage it’s not only Lake crying either…

I grab my upset baby and me, shoot over to see a flight attendant, she helps us find a better seat, helps us make the dreadful transfer and just as I start to settle, she tells us there’s an even better seat. I’m a mixed bag of skeptical, pleased, annoyed and hopeful, but I go alone with it. She is right, the seat is much better and there is now a whole empty one next to us!

We are good to go at last.

We are buckled in, Lake on my lap strapped to my seatbelt, I catch a breather (and a few smiling faces that have just witnessed our musical chairs episode), everyone is in their seats, cabin crew have completed the prep for take off and are now nowhere to be seen as they disappear behind the curtains to take their seats. Relaxed in my seat, I’m about to begin my ‘take off meditation’ but before I close my eyes, I gaze over the tv screen:

“Enjoy your flight to Quito”…  Quito?? OMG!

I turn to an Ecuadorean man across the isle: “Quito?”, “Si, Quito” he smiles. “Noooooo!”

I practically tear the seatbelt off of me and Lake, swing her over my shoulder and jump out from our seat like a ninja turtle!

The “surreal movie” continues, except I’m no longer the one watching it, everyone is watching ME! In this movie, I’m the crazy woman with a baby over my shoulder, running towards the front of the plane yelling “excuse me, excuse me, I need to be on a flight to Guayaquil, my dad is there to meet his granddaughter for the first time!!!”

A flight attendant pops out from behind the curtain, explains that two flights were combined at the last minute and that the first stop is Quito but I get to transfer there onto Guayaquil and still arrive on schedule. I walk the walk of shame all the way back to our seat with everyone cheering and smiling my way, but I tell myself it’s because I have such a cute baby and nothing to do with the entertainment that her crazy mother just provided for a plane jam-packed full of spectators.

Moral of the Story?… Do not make fun of crazy people, one day they might be you. (And don’t call cat lovers ‘cat woman’, that’s not very nice.)

I must’ve invented my first recipe when I just turned 14 years old, but it wasn’t delicious. It didn’t get better with age. It was rather unsightly too. It also caused much pain for years to come, but at the same time, it was the recipe that made me.

This recipe involved a combination of teenage hormones, stress in my body caused by a near fatal car crash and a morphine overload pumped into me at the hospital, which I turned out to be severely allergic to…

What I got was an entire back full of hideous, giant, repulsive acne, which I was too freaked out to lay a finger on myself, let alone have anyone know the real reason I preferred to sunbathe only my front or why I loved long sleeved dresses so much even in scorching hot weather or why I needed a sick-day as soon as the school announced a swimming event.

It was hard enough being a teenager, but having to hide was pretty damn depressing.

Eventually I learned to come to terms with what I thankfully didn’t need to look at, as it was going on behind me. I simply figured that it is what it is and it’s never going to go so I’ll just plan my life, my road trips, holidays, sports I played and even friends I spent time with- around how easy it is to hide my back.

This went on for many many years. And then I discovered raw food!!

Waamp waamp waaaaamp…

You thought I’d have something new to share, right? Aha- that I do, and I want to tell you my secret in person!

I’ll be doing just that at 2 epic events this May…

TOPIC | Sexy Glowing Skin (skin expert panel revealing their top tips and secrets)
LOCATION | Tanya’s at MY Chelsea
TIME | 7pm-9pm, Monday 9th May
FEE | £25, includes green juice, limited seating, book here>>

Really hope I’ll see you at one or both of the events! They are both very different and will be jam packed with incredible eye opening info on what is going on inside your body, what is causing the issues and how to clear them (and your skin) for good.

My own secret, which I’m going to reveal to you is so good, I usually save it for my retreat attendees only. This time I decided to share it in my classes too, since this year’s retreat is still under question…. but if for some reason you can’t make it or live too far away, let me know in the comments below that you’re keen to read about how I healed 12 years worth of awful skin. If there’s enough interest, I promise to write a post for you guys!

A while ago my mum Skyped me and said that she heard a voice in the night telling her that she will write a book which will change the lives of many and that it will be called ‘The Return from an Irreversible Past’…

Today, tears streaming down my face, I’m holding this book.

The pride I feel goes beyond my own comprehension.

I’m not so fast at reading in Russian after living in English speaking countries now for 20 years, but this story is so good, pages can’t be turned fast enough. Each word contains so much light, lessons, bravery, love, hurt, betrayal, risk and truth, that you can’t help but see a little reflection of yourself in every character.

The best part is that while mum (Elena Alekseeva- Master of The Month- in English or Russian) revealed each chapter to dad, my sister and me, she was just as eager to read it herself… The entire book was channeled in her Vilcabamba energy portal, where the plot unfolded and new chapters were revealed.

Yes- channeled- my amazing mama is the carrier of this light.

If like me, you were crazy about ‘Anastasia’ by Vladimir Megre, ‘The Return from an Irreversible Past’ will simply blow you away.

It is based on real life of Russian folk and a girl whose only family, her dearest and beloved witch mother, vanished into the woods. When this girl gives birth to a baby daughter, she is soon to learn of her child’s extraordinary gift, which had us all worrying, crying and laughing way beyond the final page.

For now, this book is only available in Russian and I have the VERY FIRST 10 copies ever printed!

I’m keeping 2 and sending one to the cover designer Natasha Bu, but for a lucky 7 – you can now grab a copy for only £18 + postage.

Grab it while you can, because if the PayPal button doesn’t work- it means the books are gone:

…Not that she will ever be forgotten, but today is Polly Noble’s birthday and I just returned from Ecuador where I spent a beautiful week with her entire family.

Two years ago she invited me to her birthday party, but I was with my parents, sister and her husband (who was also born on 11/11) in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. Last year, when she was celebrating on 11/11, I was again in Ecuador at this time running my annual Raw Food & Soul Adventures retreat. This time, Polly exclaimed “That’s it! NEXT year, I’m coming with you!”

She’s a powerful little one…

Indeed this year she came with us. She may not have been there in her body, but she was absolutely there, she even brought with her every single person she loved more than anything in the world- her mum, dad, brother, sister, their other halves and her 7 months old nephew, who Polly got to meet and enjoy just before she passed.

One night at the retreat, I couldn’t get to sleep, so I stayed up preparing for the next day’s activities and making energy balls for everyone, when Polly showed up. I’ve never had this experience before, so it was as odd for me as it may sound to you right now.

We had the most real conversation and for a brief hour, I felt like I had my friend back. She told me about how proud she was of her dad eating raw food, drinking green juice and trying yoga. She told me how impressed she was with her beloved mummy, who hasn’t been further than Germany for her fear of flying, but is now in South America, doing all the things Polly loved to do. She told me to look through at specific photos I took of her sister and her boyfriend and point out to them the condor and the butterfly next to them, as that’s how she showed up to photobomb them. She couldn’t find the words to express how proud it made her to see her perfect brother, now being the perfect father. And if she had another opportunity to choose a brother, that couldn’t be her own, she’d want it to be her precious nephew Freddie. And if she had another opportunity to choose a mother, that couldn’t be her own, she’d want it to be her sister-in-law Michelle. She promised that if she came back, it had to be to her own family and asked me to tell them not to worry, because she would return as the healthiest version of herself.

AT THE TOP OF VILCABAMBA AND POLLY THE BUTTERFLY AS PER ABOVE.

Can you imagine me then having to tell this to her family the following day? I probably lost 3kgs of weigh bawling my eyes out with Polly that night, then 3kgs more telling my own parents in the morning. Yet she chose me as a messenger, so I got the strength from above. From Polly herself, no doubt.

On the last night of the retreat, when everyone showed up wearing white for our closing cacao ceremony (more like a cleansing ceremony, because white represents purity, release and starting over), Polly shows up again. This time she came to my mum and asked for her help in cleansing her soul so she can leave this plane and get ready for a new life. She was always impatient, but the thought of returning to her family sooner than later turned her into a joyful hopeful kid again and even though my mum has never met Polly in person, she saw her as an excited little girl, doing swirls and cartwheels, giggling while saying that she’s ready to ascend as soon as possible.

The time and place were an auspicious combo of synchronicities, as the most unique draw about my parents’ land is that it happens to have an ascension portal and this very day in Ecuador happens to be the day of all souls (or remembrance day).

It was of course entirely optional for others to attend this special good-bye ceremony for Polly, but as the team that everyone has become over the retreat, no one even blinked an eye at the decision and even got to connect and release their own family and friends who have recently passed.

The experience was equally as beautiful and uplifting as it was overwhelming, overpowering and… hot! My Lord we got hot. Now this was a time of day when Vilcabamba becomes chilly, having a rainforest type climate, so we are usually cosied up inside over a hot cup of tea, but not during what we got up to! The presence of our loved ones was indisputable.

We then went on to celebrate by eating high-vibration raw chocolate, drinking hot almond cacao lattes and playing African drums on our large outdoor balcony, from which all you can see is the moon in the sky and the fireflies in the distant trees.

Just moments after 8pm when we were winding down anyway, we got a confirmation of how much light work we really did produce…

The gate bell began  ringing persistently and looking at the time, we enjoyed a joke about this being the cops. It was mainly a joke because partying to techno music goes on nearly every night in Vilcabamba until the roosters start to crow, but here we were away on our own private land and getting asked to stop being naturally happy without being under influence (or even music for that matter) at a time when many families haven’t even started eating their dinner. We still don’t know whether any of the far away neighbours complained but the dark forces work in various ways to disrupt such intense and pure light.

And with that, I recall a wonderful quote our birthday girl once posted on her social media:

“DON’T LET SOMEONE DIM YOUR LIGHT, SIMPLY BECAUSE IT’S SHINING IN THEIR EYES.”

Shine on friends.

Love you,

Tanya

P.S. Here is the tribute I wrote to Polly in a recent Get Fresh! Magazine. Just click the image to enlarge it. x

I can hardly believe it, but the dream I’ve been busy building since for ever and working on tirelessly with the best team in the world for the last five months, has just been realised.

I have a cafe! With my own fricken name on it!!!

It’s been so full on that I don’t remember the last time I sat down or even slept for more than 5 hours, but today… today is different.

I finally got a chance to sit on our comfy cafe banquettes, looked around at all the beautiful natural walls full of living plants, observed the hardworking team happily chatting away and then overheard a customer on the phone:

‘I found the perfect new spot for us! Meet me in Chelsea, at Tanya’s.’Then suddenly, it sunk in.
This is the real deal.
These are real customers.
These are real people who really love raw food. My raw food!
These are real chefs who can make my recipes to my standards and perfect them to theirs.
These are real mixologists, who are as passionate about incredible cocktails as I am about quality, superfoods and life.
This is my new family. And they love coming to work and promoting the healthiest lifestyle ever.
This is my new home, my new office, my new happy place.

One day I will figure out how to put so much gratitude, joy and emotions into words, but for now I am happy sitting here breathing in what love created. 

It was built for you, so I invite you to do the same. If you are anywhere near London, stop by and say hello. We are open 7 days a week 7am-11pm (apart from Sunday and Monday when we close at 4pm). 

Our menu offers a variety of breakfast items, including rawtella un-toast and dehydrated fruit crepe, pour over coffee, cold-pressed juices, smoothies and liver flush shooters. Our lunch menu has an even bigger selection and includes multi-layered lasagne, detox salad, soft shell tacos with marinated oyster mushroom meat, pad thai and organic natural wine. Then come four- you can enjoy a shared platter of nachos or cheesecakes and chocolates, as well as our superfood cocktails made only with the top quality, vegan and organic spirits mixed with cold-pressed juices and superfoods.

Here’s more: www.TanyasCafe.com

I can’t wait to see you! Now we have a meeting spot 

With Love,

x Tanya