After being told by doctors that her PCOS was incurable, Stephanie Jeffs took matters into her own hands by radically changing her diet, which naturally cured her PCOS and resulted in her losing over 9 stone and feeling great in the process. Now a raw food nutritionist, Stephanie Jeffs talks to us about the benefits of eating raw, how to take steps towards a better diet and her top tips for healthy living.

What inspired you to live by a raw food diet?
I started exploring a raw food diet following an initial period of juice fasting. The results of juice fasting just blew me away – I felt incredible and I was losing weight, so it made sense for me to eat in the best way possible after that to maintain – and get more – results. Eating clean was completely new to me; even though I was a vegetarian my diet was full of dairy, processed foods and very little home cooking.

Why do you think that a raw food diet is beneficial over other ways of eating?
Aside for the fact that you are giving yourself the best nutrition possible by eating a plentiful diet with foods in their natural state, I think that eating a diet high in raw foods is the EASIEST, QUICKEST, SMARTEST way to eat. Eat foods as they are - or a quick chop, juice or blend and your food is ready. It is the ultimate fast food experience!

What is your typical daily diet?
This varies every day but I always like to start the day green. I have a Green Monster, which is what I call a green powder blend - I use Beyond Greens shaken up in a litre of water, sometimes with some aloe vera. It’s really important to me to focus on flushing my system out and keeping it clean, ready to absorb all those nutrients.

Breakfast is always a juice or a smoothie. I just work with what I have in the fridge - there is never a typical recipe. If I am in the mood for bananas (which is often!), then I make a smoothie using bananas, water, Udo’s Choice Oil Blend and vanilla. That’s such a beautiful breakfast smoothie for me.

Lunch can be a raw recipe if I am creating in the kitchen – I love my raw noodle soups, spaghetti and dehydrated crackers with salads. Supper always starts with a juice followed by a raw or high-raw plate. I am currently very in love with aubergines and am putting them into everything. I recently perfected my cauliflower hummus recipe so there’s been a lot of that for supper lately as well.

How can people begin to make steps towards a raw food diet?
A great question because we are all so different and there is no one way that is going to suit everyone. Juicing is a GREAT way to start ‘going raw’ for most people - because I haven’t met anyone yet who hasn’t found a way to enjoy it. Some like to start fruity and some like to start veggie – either way, as long as you are STARTING to juice that’s an amazing first step.

You don’t even need to do a full-on juice fast to see amazing results. Replacing one meal a day with a big freshly-pressed juice works wonders and over time you start to crave cooked foods less and your body just wants more good stuff to go in. Keeping a vibrant and well-stocked fruit bowl is another awesome way to give yourself a constant fast food supply.

Do you think good health shows on the outside?
Without a doubt. Anyone who eats a great diet usually has glowing skin; it’s the first place to detox and results really do show. People notice. Within just a few days of smart, clean, raw eating your eyes will start dazzling, your skin will be glowing and you just won’t be able to wipe the smile from your face! Over time the whole body begins to regain its balance.

What are your top tips for healthy living?

• Live in the moment
• Love yourself
• Enjoy what you do
• Make the best food choices available to you
• Move your body more than yesterday
• Care less what others think

How did you discover Udo’s Choice and what has been your experience with it?
I was first introduced to Udo’s Choice Oil Blend on a retreat some years ago. At first, I wondered why on earth you would want to put oil into a smoothie - it seemed counter-intuitive to me. Once I became more aware of the nutritional benefits of this quality oil and the role of essential fatty acids, I was hooked. I panic now if I don’t have Udo’s in the fridge.



Stephanie’s Frothy Vanilla Milk Smoothie recipe

Ingredient - (serves 2):
2-3 ripe soft bananas
2-3 cups filtered water (or coconut water)
1 vanilla pod
2-3 teaspoons of Ultimate Oil Blend

Method: 
Simply blend using my favourite blender and devour.

Interview by Jenni Retourné from Style with Substance.