Radiance - The Juice Cleanse Co.

With Easter just around the corner we have had our feelers out on ways to 'healthify' this traditionally indulgent holiday. Easter is a wonderful time of year for all the family! Why not try these deliciously virtuous and nutritious goodies to keep you feeling good and yet satisified? Healthy shouldn't mean you have to miss out, where's the fun in that?

One of our favourites is the MULU Organic Raw Chocolate Easter Egg. This solid raw chocolate egg is exactly the sort of thing we hope to find on our Easter Egg hunt this year. It also has the added bonus of looking just like your traditional Easter egg.  No one will realis the difference! 

We are also loving the raw creation from The Raw Chocolate Pie Company.  It's a delicious raw chocolate shell filled with a healthy mix of goji berries and cranberries. 

Booja Booja is a perennial favourite and we think they alway win the award for most gorgeous packing with their stunning handpainted eggs.  Choose from an array of their delicious truffles. 

We absolutely love the Cacao Macaroons from Cru8. Although technically they aren't an Easter egg they are sort of round so we think we can squeeze them in. 

It's Meat Free Week from the 23rd-29th March and we think it's the perfect opportunity to embrace trying out some new veggie recipes.  Whether you're vegetarian or not there are so many amazing recipes to try and vegetarian food has come a long way from the old perceptions of boring brown rice and lentils.  It's time to see veggie food for the amazingly colourful and innovative option that it's now become.  

I thought we'd start the week by name checking some of our favourite recipe books and blogs:

David and Luise Frenkiel created one of the most incredibly lust-worthy food blogs around, Green Kitchen Stories, and they now have two cookbooks as well.  Great recipes with stunning photography.

Sarah Britton is another food blogger we love with her blog My New Roots.  Again her photography is exceptional and we love her ethos.  Her cook book is launching in April.  

Ella Woodward's blog and book Deliciously Ella are an amazing source of inspiration.

Yotam Ottolenghi is an incredible chef and we love his books, Plenty and Plenty More. 

Our friend Julie Montagu, known as 'the Flexi Foodie' just released her first cook book, Superfoods. Lots of inspiration for squeezing in some healthy food into a busy life. 

Rose Elliott is a long-term champion of vegetarian cooking - she has many books, but her Best Of Rose Elliott The Ultimate Vegetarian Collection is a great edit of all her recipes.

For raw food inspiration we love Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis, The Unbakery by Megan May and also Tanya Maher's website, Better Raw.

We hope this gives you a bit of inspiration. Stay tuned for some meat free recipes during the week. 

We recently caught up with Jane Gottschalk co-founder of JAX Coco and mother of 5 children 

What is your personal recipe for staying healthy?

Trying to get enough sleep, regular and varied exercise and plenty of hydration.

Do you have any health regimes or rituals that you consider a must-do?

I try to balance the PH levels of my body by making sure I have a regular intake of alkalizing foods and drinks. I always start the day with warm water and freshly squeezed lemon juice followed by plenty of (JAX) coconut water throughout the day.

Exercise and keeping fit is key to a busy lifestyle and proper hydration is an essential partner to this. I try and get out to do some form of exercise after the children leave for school at 7am. We are lucky to live near a beach and hills which have great hiking trails so I take the dogs and loose myself in nature and thought before the madness of the day kicks in.

A power fruit and vegetable juice with a base of coconut water to replenish the body’s essential electrolytes and powders such as linseed and flaxseed is the perfect breakfast along with an espresso with a teaspoon of coconut oil to boost metabolism.

How do you find all-important 'me time' while raising 5 children?

It's about creating conscious pockets of decompression. For me, this is based around animals, in particular my dogs. Animal therapy is the best way to release stress and pressure in any form. I take them to the beach, on long walks or just sit with them in the garden. Life now is revolved so much around our mobile devices and being constantly in virtual contact with others which is both essential for work and in some respects keeping in contact with friends at home when living in a different country and sharing our different experiences.

There are certain times in the day that I switch everything off and focus on being present in the moment, pausing to reflect and clear my head after work and before the kids come home. These are invaluable moments and go a long way to filling up the energy reserves.

Which 3 things would we always find in your fridge?

JAX coconut water, a decent white Burgundy and some homemade green vegetable soup for when I’m on the go.

How does juicing fit into your diet and do you have a favourite juice combination?

I have to be alert, energetic and able to juggle many balls at the same time on a daily basis with a limited amount of sleep. Eating poorly or conveniently just makes me sluggish, tired and unable to function so I have had to change my diet completely. I rely on juices packed full of nutrients and added powders which fill me up and coconut water throughout the day.

My favourite juice combination (albeit not the tastiest) is a combination of coconut water, celery, spinach, coriander, ginger, apple with lemon to taste. I also add boosters such as  linseed, chia seeds and flaxseed.

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As well as their delicious range of coconut waters, JAX now also offer an amazing certified organic coconut oil. We love JAX as they are the only coconut brand to own their own plantation, giving them complete control over the entire production process.