One of cookery author Sophie Miller’s first memories is cooking with her mother and grandmother. “I have always loved cooking and watched my mother making her wonderful creations from a very young age. I wrote my first recipes for my sister when she went to college and needed some easy recipes she could make herself out in the big bad world.” Sophie eats a gluten-free diet, which she mostly makes from her own vegetable patch, and she loves to cook and bake vegan goods for her best friend. Here she talks about her passion for food and how to eat healthy and gluten-free the easy, non-bland way.
“There are many benefits to gluten-free cooking. Reducing the intake of processed foods and replacing them with wholesome, natural ones helps with sensitivities/allergies/intolerance by alleviating or eliminates physical and mental symptoms. In my case, gluten was causing severe bloating and affecting my digestion. I found that my sleep pattern improved immensely when I stopped eating wheat, and I also noticed I had more energy and no discomfort after eating.
The benefits of a gluten-free vegan diet are the same as gluten-free, but you are eliminating any animal product, including dairy. I am not vegan but, after researching causes of congestion and constant flu-like symptoms, I came across studies claiming about 75 percent of the world’s population is genetically unable to digest milk and other dairy products properly. Other studies also mentioned dairy as an instigator in congestion and flu-like symptoms. Having suffered with sinus and congestion problems for as long as I can remember, I decided to reduce the amount of dairy I was consuming, and started this process by changing from cow’s milk to unsweetened almond milk while also eating more fresh vegetables and fruit, which is essential to a raw food diet.
As mentioned in my Raw Food Good Mood book, trying to go fully raw straight away will cause some fatigue and headaches, as you will start to have withdrawals from sugar, caffeine etc. I recommend starting with one raw meal per week, then one fully raw day per week. With the warmer weather underway, I plan to increase my raw food days to three or four per week. My brain is definitely working harder, I feel more energetic, and my skin is clearer and brighter. The process of cooking foods destroys some of their enzymes, vitamins and nutritional properties, whereas these are responsible for supporting healthy digestion and help fight chronic diseases. The raw food diet provides a number of significant health benefits, these include:
Improved digestion and nutrition absorption | Increased energy levels and relief from chronic fatigue | Potential healthy weight loss | Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke | Relief from food allergies (eggs, wheat, soy, sugar, etc.) | Reduced food cravings, especially for sugar and carbs | Improved eating habits and other healthy lifestyle changes
With amazing benefits like these, you can see how the raw food diet has gained so much popularity in recent years.”
Rawesome Recipes Description:
Sophie has published more than 30 books with more in the pipeline, including a Queen Bee’s Kitchen Collection Cookbook she hopes to release this summer. “I constantly look up different types of recipes, especially gluten-free ones, as I have been wheat free for two years now. I re-create recipes to make them wheat and gluten-free but also bland-free!” See these on her food blog. Sophie lives in the country with her husband, six dogs, two horses and six chickens!
