I guess we’ve all been there. That moment when, despite all of our best intentions… cue south London accent of someone I used to know... ‘the wheels fall off and everything like that’. Yes. They. Did.

I had given away my raw snacks. I was perusing Wholefoods in Richmond. I could have bought something healthy but instead I bought cookies.

‘They are delicious’, I enthused to Karen, trying to justify my purchase.

So delicious that I had eaten all 12 by the following evening.  OK, in many ways I did well to make them last so long but really…with everything I know about how cooked food makes me feel, I still did it. I ate those cookies.

I justified it to myself.

I eat pretty clean all the time.

I deserve a little treat.

These were not junk cookies… oh no.

These were very up market cookies.

They weren’t even cheap cookies.  Does this resonate with you at any level?

But they probably had more refined white sugar in them than I’d eaten in a long long time.

I woke up the next day and I’m not joking when I say that it took me two and a half hours to get up after waking. The pain in my hips was excruciating. I was doubled over.  Ziggy and Patch were unimpressed that their breakfast was late and I lost a chunk of my life that I will never see again whilst I creaked around the house bent over like a hairpin.

My intention of spoiling myself had indeed met its objective. Spoiled? I was well and truly ruined.

I had cookie remorse.

So I made a big sugar free green juice and vowed to myself that next time I feel like grazing, I will stick to what my body knows is best.

But it’s really blooming tricky when you’re a foodie and you love LOVE food.  The body and mind don’t often see eye to eye.

I see all these tempting treats and I WANT THEM.

I spend a lot of my time making (and teaching) raw versions of them so if you’re a foodie like me, we can have our cake and eat it.

But it’s no good knowing how to make the most delicious raw plant based food on the planet unless you have it with you when you need it.

Don’t spoil yourself like I did and don’t let it ruin your day.

Be forearmed. Try making these ultra-yummy raw chocolate hazelnut butter cookies. You can keep them in your handbag for when you don’t want to spoil yourself.