Kisane is like sunshine on tap! Her energy is positively radiant. She is a qualified chef from Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, raw food author and speaker. Kisane founded Realistically RAW you and I had to privilege of interviewing this pioneering #healthhero. Her story is truly inspiring and, her knowledge in nutrition immense.
How did you discover raw foods and super foods?
My journey started well before I learned about raw food or super foods. 🙂 When I was young I was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and put on a lot of medication, next I was put on a disability pension. The medication made me drowsy & lazy and my eating habits got worse and worse, for almost 10 years, until I was overweight, unhappy and frustrated with life. Eventually I was completed fed up and I started looking for other new answers, what my Doctor was telling me wasn’t giving me the life I knew I deserved.
My search led me to cognitive therapy, healthier eating choices and exercise. I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands, I stopped taking my medication and I was off! As soon as I started making food changes I started to feel better, think more clearly and lose weight. In one year I lost 38kg… You can imagine how much better I felt!
Actually I felt so great I wanted to understand HOW food made such a difference to my mood. So I started to study, a lot, every health course that struck a chord with me. As I studied I followed the path from clean eating, to vegetarian eating, vegan eating, to whole foods and eventually plant based raw foods (and superfoods). I discovered that these foods are the foods that provide optimal health and longevity!
Best health tip?
Small changes lead to big results! If you are not where you want to be health, wellness or weight wise, simply pick one action that will move you in the direction of your healthy living dreams! Stick to it until it’s a habit and then pick another!
Many people ask me which change should I start with? Avoid processed foods full of chemicals, additives and pesticides… Start choosing foods that you come from the earth verses foods that come out of a packet.
Do you have a healthful morning ritual?
YES! I love my morning routine! It goes like this; hug time with my partner Roe, body brush, oil pull, lemon water, apply DoTERRA essential oils, meditate, walk&/yoga, journal or list three things I am grateful for, read 5 pages of a book and have a healthy raw green breakfast! It may sound like a lot, but to began by adding one thing at a time! It is the perfect way to set myself up for a successful day!
Who are your health inspirations?
There are so many people who have affected and shaped my journey to health, many of them are not famous, or widely known but people who shared with me what they learned through their own experience and supported me as I tried it… It’s those every day friends, teachers, and health practitioners that kept me on track on the tough times! This is why I love to support every day people who blog and share their truth!
You recently completed studies in America, can you tell us more?
It might be obvious from my answer above, I love to learn! AND…I love to share. The more I shared, the more questions people asked me. This led to my business Realistically RAW you and sharing the tips and tricks to creating healthy but delicious gourmet raw food. Although I had done some study in raw culinary arts, the USA boasted the only accredited raw food school and I wanted to make sure that the information I was giving was top notch!
So I enrolled in Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, spending 3 months in a teeny tiny town in California called Fort Bragg. The courses I covered included FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods, Sharpen Up Your Knife Skills, Essentials of Raw Culinary Arts, Science of Raw Food Nutrition I, Associate Chef and Instructor Training, Food Styling, Ethnic Flavors in Recipe Development, RawFusion Spa Cuisine, Raw Event Catering and Elegant Entertaining, Pastry Arts—Unbaked!, Science of Raw Food Nutrition II, Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification, Science of Raw Food Nutrition III, Advanced Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification AND Pastry Arts—Unbaked!™ Level II…
It was a fabulous and eye opening experience, I have to say one of the best decisionsI have ever made! NowI can share what I’ve learned here in Oz!
Do you have a fav recipe you can share with us?
Just one??? *lol* Pad Thai, Tacos (but you can get the recipes on my website), so here’s a new one that I created at Living Light – they taste just like real Mint Patties! These pictures where even taken as part of our class!
Mint Patties & After Dinner Mints
Dark Chocolate Mint Patties:
(Makes 8 mint patties and 10 small mint chocolate bites)
You can make the chocolate mixture on it’s own as a tasty after dinner treat or form the patties to eat a bigger dessert!
TIP: You could easily add a little more mint oil to this recipe if desired.
Ingredients:
Mint Filling
1 cup dried coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tbs Coconut Magic coconut nectar
4 drops DoTERRA peppermint oil
Chocolate
1/4 cup raw cacao butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
2 tbs coconut nectar, more for sweeter tastes
2 drops DoTERRA peppermint oil, optional
Extra Recipe:
Mint leaves
Make the filling: Place coconut in your blender and pulse until it is fine cut. Do not over process or it will turn into coconut butter. Add coconut oil, nectar and peppermint. Pulse to combine. Take 1 tbs of mixture and press into mini cheesecake pans (with removable bottom) to form 8 small round patties. Chill until set.
Make the Chocolate: Melt cacao butter and coconut oil in dehydrator (105F or 40C) or carefully over hot water. Whisk in cacao powder, nectar and essential oil. Keep the chocolate mixture warm and runny by sitting the bowl in a second bowl of warm water. DO NOT GET WATER IN YOUR CHOCOLATE MIXTURE.
Assemble: Remove the mint patties from the fridge and dip into the chocolate mixture. Place them on a wire rack over a tray and place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge and dip a second time to ensure even coverage, put back on the rack and place in the drudge until ready to serve (minimum 1 hour).
Extra Recipe:
Use the left over chocolate to form after dinner mint bites. Using a squeeze bottle filled with the chocolate mixture, squirt a little into the bottom of a small silicon tray. using a gloved finger line the entire mould around the edges and place in the fridge to set. Once set, add a chopped mint leaf to each mould and then cover with remaining chocolate. Refrigerate until set again, minimum 30 minutes.
Recipe by Kisane Appleby
Find more of Kisane here..
http://www.realisticallyrawyou.com
http://www.mydoterra.com/realisticallyrawyou
