The Naturalista: Nourishing Recipes to Live Well

Description

If you have ever felt the stress of 21st-century living wrap itself around your heart and turned to a double espresso and a faint hope that tomorrow will be better, then this book will show you how to slow down, listen to your body and find a more natural, holistic way of life. Xochi Balfour changed her life from her little London kitchen and, as The Naturalista, has been blogging about her experience of balancing and simplifing her life in harmony with the natural world. Without recourse to expensive ingredients, all-consuming cleanses or dramatic diets, Xochi has taken the principles of naturopathy and created a way of life, from a gentler way of eating to simple beauty recipes as well as bringing relaxation and mindfulness into your everyday routine. Her food is gluten- and dairy-free and predominantly plant based, but straightforward and delicious, her skincare recipes can also be made from kitchen ingredients and her techniques for everyday mindfulness can be fitted into the busiest of lives. Her recipes include power balls and energy bars, raw chocolate, sea salt and pistachio fudge, cornershop turmeric and coconut dahl and beetroot falafel as well as a gluten-free carrot and flax bread. For your body, there is a rosewater facial spray, passionfruit and papaya face mask and lavender and shea butter body lotion, while for your home, Xochi will show you the benefits of barefoot earthing and how to make your own incense. This is truly a bright and beautiful guide to natural living in the modern age.

I changed my whole life from my little London kitchen and had tremendous fun doing it; this book is what I have learned so far. Xochi's first career was as a trends journalist and freelance writer for the Financial Times and the Evening Standard before abandoning office life to set up a street food van, Rainbo. But with that life came long hours, unhealthy food and mounting stress, and a dawning realisation that she could not sustain this pace of life in the long term. Xochi enrolled at the College of Naturopathic Medicine and started writing The Naturalista blog as a means of documenting her journey back to vitality through food, natural beauty and mindfulness. With her husband Ben, Xochi travels to various teachers and workshops in the UK and beyond to delve ever deeper into what it means to live a healthy, balanced and spiritually connected life. www.thenaturalista.co.uk @xochibalfour

As we well know, the food and health industry is saturated with new gen '-free' foodies. What I like about The Naturalista is that it's not so much a strict eating plan but a way of life that she calmly follows herself - from canapes to homemade deodorant - and encourages you to follow. It's not some marketing guff; you can see in her daily apparel that she has a very free thinking, natural approach to life. Whilst I, myself, sadly have rather the opposite, Xochi does encourage me to look at happy and healthy alternatives. -- Pandora Sykes, Fashion Features Editor Sunday Times Style Xochi understands and truly lives a holistic lifestyle and her wealth of experience across the fields of nutrition, fashion, interiors and health have enabled her to have a singular vision. You only have to read her work or look at her digital channels to see the authenticity if her principles. Aside from having a beautiful - and indeed highly aspirational - aesthetic, she has the ability to express concisely and in layman's terms what many women are looking for: a more balanced (both spiritually and health-wise) lifestyle. -- Senior Fashion Features Editor at Large (Grazia, Glamour) Katherine Ormerod