Honestly Healthy alkaline eating: Before I begin…

I know what you’re probably thinking: “Oh, Rachel’s one of those many delusional women who make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight.” Well, just hear me out. Bear with.

What I am going to try, dear friends, is alkaline eating, as recently popularised by Natasha Corrett of Honestly Healthy and loved by many a celeb. It’s not going to be a diet, I’m hoping it’s going to be the start of a lifestyle change.

Honestly Healthy is all about alkaline eating. I won’t explain eeeeeverything here as I’m so not the expert, but basically an alkaline diet is “one which avoids ‘acid forming foods’ such as dairy, meat, sugar and coffee and replaces them with plant foods and wholegrains.”

If you’re going to try and have a bit of a health overhaul, why not give it a go in January when there’s so much encouragement and inspiration around?

The trouble is though, it can be hard to know where to start, can’t it? Quitting sugar, eating vegan, cutting out gluten, 5:2, Atkins… All the choices are a little overwhelming.

Sure, you could just attempt to eat healthier and exercise more, but I find it can actually be easier when you have a specific regime to stick to.

Natasha Corrett - Telegraph pic

I’ve been aware of Honestly Healthy for some time: a good friend is a fan of the books, I’ve read interviews and seen interesting-looking dishes on my Instagram-feed. The first book was actually published back in 2012 which is – golly – three years ago now!

It wasn’t until a couple of days ago, however, that I decided to try alkaline eating myself.

In classic post-Christmas media style, a detox feature about Honestly Healthy appeared in the Telegraph. Naturally, I read it with keen interest. And by that I mean fingers-in-ears at the kitchen table as my family bustled around making their breakfasts and playing with the dogs.

While weight-loss is a result of alkaline eating for most people (and who amongst us wouldn’t like to shift half a stone?), there’s another benefit that caught my eye and ultimately made me decide to give it a go: improved skin tone.

For Natasha, alkaline eating balanced her hormones, resulting in her acne disappearing.

I don’t exactly shout about it, but my skin is not good. In fact, it’s been bad for a long time. A loooooong time. I’ve tried nearly everything a doctor can offer but to no avail. My skin basically hates me, it’s getting worse and knocking my confidence every day.



So, what with there being no time like the present, I ordered the first Honestly Healthy book (the third, Honestly Healthy Cleanse, comes out tomorrow!). I also couldn’t resist a spot more research, and, rather encouragingly, I found lots more testimonials from acne-sufferers who’d solved their skin problems through alkaline eating. Amazing!

Equally amazingly, my book was delivered by good old Amazon the day after I placed my order, despite having chosen free 3-5 day delivery. It’s little life wins like that, isn't it?

Anyway, the book looks fabulous. All the food looks insanely good, there’s tons of interesting info and it’s all super inspiring. Sure, I’m going to have to source and purchase a few snazzy, healthy (weird) ingredients, but that’s to be expected. And to be fair there are far fewer of what I deem weird ingredients than certain other healthy cookbooks (naming no names…)

My plan is to eat the Honestly Healthy way for January, but I know it isn’t going to be easy. Having decided I'd start on January 1st I've spent the last few days on December eating all the bad food in the house. And thanks to Christmas, there's a lot. Oops.

Essentially, for January I shall have to try and avoid caffeine, alcohol, dairy produce, meat, sugar, wheat and gluten, and processed foods. I know. When the month is up, we'll see. Hopefully I'll be converted for life!

Between you and me, I've still got SO much Christmas chocolate left. I guess I'll just have to eat, like, one Lindor a week. No-one give me any chocolate until 2017 mmm kay?

Pleasingly though, Natasha recommends following the alkaline pattern of eating 70 per cent of the week and then relaxing about the other 30 per cent, which seems a lot less daunting.

An Honestly Healthy creation - yum! (pic from moveyourframe blog)

I know where I’m going to struggle though:

• Tea – oh tea, I don’t know how to get through a day without you. I’m just going to have to make you with almond milk and learn to love you.
• Chocolate – although one can make many a chocolatey healthy treat using cacao and whatnot, sometimes all you want is a slab of creamy, sugary milk chocolate. 
• Burgers – I don’t even eat them that often but SWEET LORD I love burgers! Thanks goodness I'm not a huge meat-eater, but I do enjoy the occasional chicken curry or ham sandwich.
• Bread – BRRREEEEAAAAAAD!
• Coke – I know how bad fizzy drinks are for you, yet I continue to consume them in a big way. Always diet, natch, as if the lack of calories makes them OK. MUST GIVE THEM UP!
• Yoghurt – I blimmin' love yoghurt. At breakfast, for pudding, in smoothies. Never mind, I’ll have to splash out on things like CoYo and hope I love them too.
• Peanut butter – I cried a little bit inside upon reading that peanut butter is a highly acid-forming food. It’s going to be seriously hard to wean myself off my beloved PB, but I have to try. Maybe almond butter could fill the void…

The thing is though, I know my body will adjust. The more you consume all of the above, the more you crave them. It’s all about training your body, readjusting your habits and creating a new lifestyle.

Another concern of mine is being awkward when invited to friends' or social events. It’s so common to follow specific diets these days (I swear half the population is gluten-free), but I think I’ll just remember 30% of the time I can relax the alkaline rules a bit (HIYA, PEANUT BUTTER!)

Seeing my housemates eating creamy, cheesy sausage pasta bakes will undoubtedly kill me – I really struggle from food fomo – but I’ve got to be strong. I hope that by thinking about the potential improvements to my skin I’ll be able to stick to it better than previous healthy eating attempts.

I am so making these carrot and halloumi patties (pic from moveyourframe blog)

It’s undoubtedly going to be a more expensive way of eating, but I’ve just got to consider it an investment in my health. And hey, I love a good challenge.

Whenever I go through phases of healthier eating I always feel so much better in myself, somehow more in love with the world, and generally happier. Srsly. I have no doubt that will happen as I attempt to eat the Honestly Healthy way.

So wish me luck, lovely people! You know I’ll keep you posted with my endeavours. If you’re not already, follow me on Instagram where I’ll undoubtedly share any particularly good healthy creations.

I would laaaave to hear about any of your experiences with Honestly Healthy, alkaline eating or general healthy eating. Do let me know!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope every single one of you has a happy, healthy, prosperous 2015. I feel good about 2015. We can do anything, you guys. Let’s all achieve our dreams!