What is the raw food diet?
Home KitchenYou heard the buzz. The raw food diet is gaining momentum! The audience for raw food books is expanding at a very rapid rate. This is because the Baby Boomer generation, many of whom refuse to age, is looking for answers. Another reason is that the rising cost of medical care (as well as the disappointing side effects of medications and surgery) is raising awareness among people that they should take responsibility for their health and not hire someone else to do it. charge of the health of your body. do.
Word is getting out: The raw diet isn’t just another weight-loss fad. This is the natural diet, and people who follow this diet have reversed cancer, heart disease, hepatitis, and other major illnesses, as well as minor ailments like herpes, athlete’s foot, dandruff, and even sleepwalking.
The younger generation has also caught on to this diet. Most of them come from the vegan population. They are ardently opposed to the consumption of any animal products. Many feel the next step for them is to “go raw.” Many of them see this diet as a spiritual practice, since the energy that is normally used to digest cooked food is released to go to the higher centers.
Then there are the women who also get hooked on this diet for beauty. Model Carol Alt is the best example, and she showed the power of a raw diet to create a beautiful body and maintain youth by posing nude in Playboy magazine in December 2008. Women love this diet to lose and maintain fat. weight, smooth, radiant skin, cellulite loss, full hair (sometimes even reversing gray hair!) and more.
Word is also getting out that the raw diet helps with athletic performance, gaining a competitive edge at work, mental health (breaking free from depression, schizophrenia, and more), and creativity.
But what does this strange diet consist of? Are all these raw food people eating salads and eating carrots and bananas all day? How could that provide enough calories and variety to sustain people for the long haul?
A typical vegan raw food diet consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains, and unheated (no hotter than 118 F) lentils. However, from this seemingly limited fare, a wide variety of dishes can be created, ranging from “fast food” shakes and salads to gourmet imitations of cooked food dishes. Most raw food eaters eat this way. They expand the variety of plant foods they eat, eating a wide variety of olives, or exotic fruits, for example.
A raw vegetarian could also include raw egg yolks (as long as they are organically sourced, preferably flax).
seed-fed free-range chicken), as well as some raw dairy like kiefer (available in raw dairy states like California, otherwise you have to buy from the Amish or own part of a cow or goat).
There are also those who eat raw meat, such as steak tartare, ceviche and sashimi. Marinating it overnight in lemon juice is supposed to kill parasites.
Skipping cooked foods may seem like a big sacrifice, but raw eaters don’t feel deprived once they’ve been weaned off addictive processed foods—full of sugar, wheat, dairy, MSG, table salt, aspartame, and intense spices—all which serve to hook the consumer into addiction to food. Raw food actually tastes better than cooked food, because the flavor is not cooked in the air. You just don’t need to add all those toxic spices and ingredients.
It’s easy to make a raw, whole food recipe most of us are very familiar with – guacamole is one example – just make it with whole foods instead of a mix! Or make a mix of shredded raw dried fruit, walnuts, seeds, and sun-dried raisins and apricots.
Many raw eaters use gourmet recipes that mimic their favorite cooked dishes until they get used to eating raw, after which they brag about spending no more than 10 minutes a day in the kitchen. Gourmet raw dishes often require expensive machines, like a Vitamix and a temperature-controlled dehydrator, but a lot can be done with just a blender and food processor.
Here are some gourmet raw recipes from The Live Food Factor, A Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet:
Sunflower Seed Pate
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight, rinsed
1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight, rinsed
½ cup pitted olives
2 red bell peppers
½ bunch cilantro or favorite fresh herb
1 t of Celtic or Himalayan salt
½-1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 30 minutes and cut into small pieces with scissors
Put the seeds through a blank screen of a juicer. If you don’t have a juicer with a blank screen, you can use a food processor with an “S” blade to blend them, but it won’t be as creamy. Next, blend all other ingredients in the food processor using the “S” blade.
raw caramel
Walnuts, soaked 6 to 12 hours, rinsed and drained
dates
Raw carob powder, to taste (optional)
Raw shredded coconut or shelled sesame seeds
Blend the walnuts, dates, and carob in a food processor. Blend in a food processor with the “S” blade until the mixture forms a ball that bounces back inside that machine. Remove and form balls. Roll the balls in sesame seeds and/or shredded raw coconut. These keep a long time in the freezer. Experiment with the proportions and amounts of the ingredients to suit your taste.
Deluxe Macadamia Nut Cheese
12 oz (3 cups) macadamia nuts, soaked 6 to 12 hours, rinsed and drained
1 t Celtic sea salt
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh coriander
¼ cup lemon juice
3/8-½ cup unpasteurized olive oil
Blend in food processor with “S” blade, adding walnuts a little at a time. Blend until creamy, the texture of cream cheese.
Note: For a creamier mixture, you can run the nuts through a juicer with a blank screen before placing them in the food processor. In that case, you will need about half of the olive oil! You may need to add another tablespoon or two of oil.
Blend until it has the creamy texture of cream cheese. Serve over flax crackers or use as a vegetable dip with zucchini, baby carrots, sliced bell peppers, fresh broccoli, etc.
tahini sauce
1 cup raw tahini
¾ cup unpasteurized olive oil
2/3 cup orange juice (about 2 medium oranges)
3 garlic cloves
1½ inches fresh ginger
1 tablespoon nama shoyu (optional)
1-2 t Celtic sea salt
¼ cup fresh cilantro (optional)
Blend in food processor with “S” blade, adding ingredients a little at a time. Blend until creamy. This is great with raw oriental vegetables for stir-fries or with nori rolls.
Chinese Stir-Fry “Fry”
1 foot long daikon radish
4 carrots
1 bunch of green onions
5-6 stalks of celery
½ small head of cabbage
2 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1 cup mung bean sprouts
¾ cup watercress
3 broccoli stalks
1½ cups snow peas
Raw sliced almonds or raw cashews
Sesame seeds
Tahini sauce (see “Sauces, Salad Dressings, Condiments”)
tempeh (optional)
Using the food processor, grate the daikon radish and chop up the carrots, celery, green onions, cabbage, zucchini and bell pepper. (This is a time you’ll be especially thankful for your food processor—a job that might otherwise take an hour will be done in minutes!) Put in a large bowl. Cut the broccoli florets and stir them into the mixture. Cut off the tips of the watercress and add them along with the mung bean sprouts. Cut stringy ends off peas and toss. Fold about a cup of tahini sauce. Top with sliced almonds (or truly raw, sliced cashews) and sesame seeds. Chop the tempeh and fold into the mixture.
Serves 8-10.
raw hummus
2 zucchini
¾ cup shelled sesame seeds, soaked for 6 to 12 hours, rinsed and drained
¾ cup raw tahini
¼-½ cup cayenne
½ cup celery salt
3-4 garlic cloves
1 t Celtic sea salt
¼ cup lemon juice
Blend in a food processor with the “S” blade, adding ingredients a little at a time until creamy. Serve over flax crackers or use as a vegetable dip with sliced zucchini, baby carrots, sliced bell peppers, and fresh broccoli.
With a little effort, it’s easy to transition to a mostly raw diet. After a year or so, most are satisfied with just eating. After all, nothing could be tastier than nature’s fast food!