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Interview: Hayley Richards From Raw Karma

June 5, 2012

Hayley is another lovely lady who I have had the pleasure of “meeting” via the internet. She is a raw foodie, 24 and in B-School too! I asked her a few questions and here were here answers.

What business do you run?

My business is called Raw Karma. It focuses on using only raw, vegan, organic and whole food ingredients and specialises in providing raw cakes, chocolates and other raw goodies. The idea for the business arose when I thought that there is definitely a need for something of the likes here in Adelaide, as more people are becoming more conscious of their food choices. Increasing amounts of people are opting for a plant based diet as more information is arising on its’ benefits, and I believed that Raw Karma would be a helpful tool to provide the public with more wholesome and nutritious options to generic heavily processed foods. There are more ideas up my sleeve to devise some healthy catering options for children’s parties, as much of the foods kids are eating nowadays is far from ideal ! I also have a plant-based recipe blog called Karmic Kulinary which is used as a means to share my love of anything health and nutrition related as well as my raw food recipes.

Why did you decide to become a raw food vegan?

It has been a gradual process of incorporating more raw foods into my diet whilst eliminating those that are heavily processed and toxic. The transition certainly didn’t immediately happen over night. I have always possessed a strong interest in eating well, however if I take a look back to around 5 years ago now, I began eliminating particular foods such as animal products with the exception of fish and eggs, then 1.5 years ago I made the decision to exclude all animal products from my diet for health, ethical and environmental reasons. Around the same time I had also become more aware of the raw food movement, and discovered that you can make almost anything- cake, pizza, pasta with whole unprocessed plant-based foods. This was music to my ears as I also learnt of the benefits associated with eating more raw foods. Since then I have been constantly playing around with new raw food recipes whilst hoping to inspire others to incorporate more raw plant-based foods into their diets.

Do you eat 100% raw?

I eat raw foods wherever possible- I would say i’m about 80% raw. I can easily go all day on raw foods such as green smoothies, fruit, nuts, salads and in the evenings, whether or not I eat a ‘cooked’ meal depends on my mood, circumstances, what is available and if i’m feeling like something warming especially in winter. During the summer months I can go easily go days eating 100% if I decide to. I’m actually going to eat 100% raw for two weeks in June whilst I do a 30 day Bikram yoga challenge.

What do you think the biggest misconception is about being a raw foodie?

I think that there is really just a lack of understanding and awareness out there regarding raw foodism. I believe a lot of people think that a raw food diet is ‘boring’ and ‘difficult’ as they are unaware of the possibilities and benefits it can have. I am still forever learning of new ways to incorporate particular raw foods and recipes into my diet which keep me very much inspired and dedicated. It just takes an open mind and a willingness to diverge from the common heavily processed foods we are becoming accustomed to. If we take a step back and think about what raw foods really are- it actually makes a lot of simple sense that eating something as close to nature as possible is a natural part of living.

What is the number one thing you would recommend to a person who wants to improve their health?

Prepare food in advance and always plan ahead, making sure you have healthy options available to you when you’re busy and time poor because our health should always come first.

What blogs or people do you look to for health inspiration?

I follow a few inspiration raw foodies such as Megan Elizabeth, Kristina Carrillo-Bacarum and Freelee as they are a credit to the raw food movement. I also like to follow raw chefs Heather Pace and Russell James for some kitchen inspiration.

Recipe: Maca-Banana ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘Ice Magic’

(serves 2)

‘Ice cream’

4 frozen bananas

1 tablespoon maca (optional)

1 t vanilla

Throw everything into a high speed blender (Vitamix works amazingly for this) and add enough water to get the mixture moving. Blend until the desired consistency is achieved. If you don’t have a blender, a food processor could alternatively be used however you may need to scrape down the sides in between pulses.

‘Ice magic’

2-3 tablespoons coconut butter/oil

1 tablespoon cacao powder

2 tablespoon agave syrup

Melt the coconut oil in a bowl immersed in warm water.

Once melted mix in the agave and cacao until smooth.

Pour onto of the ‘ice cream’ and it will set hard. Yummmm!!

You can also add cacao nibs to the ‘ice cream’ for an extra choc-chip hit!

Karmic Kulinary- For health information and vegan recipes:

Blog- www.karmickulinary.blogspot.com

Facebook- www.facebook.com/hayleyprichards

Twitter- www.twitter.com/karmickulinary