A nutrient-rich diet of raw fruits and vegetables often gives you a special glow, was the word from natural health practitioner Fiona Couper-Smith.She is to host a workshop at the Reefs next week on how best to incorporate raw fruits, vegetables and nuts into your diet.“I went to Wales to study aquaculture. It was fascinating but it wasn’t quite right for me. To take a break from science, I took a fun course in aromatherapy.”That course took her life in a different direction and she became interested in natural health therapies.For the past 20 years, Mrs Couper-Smith has practised reflexology, massage, stone therapy and reikki.Her interest in raw foods dates back to 1997 when she was offering healing treatments to people on a retreat. She helped out in the kitchen and was exposed to different ways of food preparation.“We were doing fasting using a variety of raw juices,” she said. “You just feel so amazing afterwards.”Eighty percent of her diet is typically raw food.“I am trying to be more conscious of eating more energy-rich foods, and of staying away from animal products,” said Mrs Couper-Smith. “I am pretty much vegetarian, but I do eat some fish. I don’t label myself because as soon as you put yourself in a box you start to fluctuate.”One of the challenges of maintaining her lifestyle here has been getting the right ingredients.“When I lived in England we would get boxes of organic produce regularly delivered to our house,” she said. “You can source things over there very easily. Here, you have to be a bit more organised. I am still finding my way. You can find some really good things in the supermarket if you know what you are looking for [and] there are nice farmers’ markets, and I also shop at Wadson’s Farm in Southampton.”It’s not hard to transition to a raw foods diet, but it does have a few challenges, depending on your goals and health concerns, she said.“The main thing people say is ‘I don’t have the time’. Many people are used to just prepping something and putting it in the oven. You don’t have to have fancy equipment, but there are some basic things you will need, like a juicer. You need a masticating juicer with a single auger [drill bit]. My juicer is an Omega single-gear juicer. The fruit is pushed through a screen. You also need a blender and some good knives. The knives makes things easier as you often have to chop fruits and vegetables. You can also have a dehydrator to warm things to a certain temperature.”She said some people dive into a raw foods diet, and then fall right back out of it.“Some people start incorporating it and do it more and more as their taste buds change. They often find their likes and dislikes change. The most important thing is you don’t want to be 100 percent raw and not happy, stressed and not enjoying it. You just want to be doing as much as you can.”She and her husband Geoff have a five-year-old son, Jake, who enjoys eating — some — whole foods.“He likes wheat grass juice,” she said. “He does like sprouted mung beans. It is getting children to try things. You can’t force them. He doesn’t eat salad but he probably will when he is older. He eats a lot of beans. When he was a baby I would purée his baby food and then put quinoa in it because that is an easily absorbed protein. I make ice cream from frozen bananas and one of my family’s favourite desserts is my raw applesauce cake pudding. The base is made from almonds, dates and apricots. The top is apples. The flavour will vary depending on what kind of apple you use. I also add lemon juice and apple juice. You need the lemon juice or it will oxidise. You can make it in a food processor but it is not as fine as using the masticating juicer.”Mrs Couper-Smith’s workshop is on Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Tickets are $60.She will cover kitchen equipment, the benefits of a raw foods lifestyle and how to sprout and grow wheatgrass. She will also demonstrate how to make nut milks, banana ice cream and applesauce cake pudding.“My goal is to introduce simple and easy changes people can start to make in their life to open new doors; informed lifestyle choices that will improve their general health,” she said.l For more information telephone the Reefs on 238-0222 or e-mail fionacoupersmith@gmail.com.