Joy of Raw Food
I am not an expert in raw food diet or nutrition, but I can share what I have learned and experienced through eating raw food and socializing with raw foodists. I am still kind of new to the world of raw food. In 2004, I met a woman who was really into raw food. She was working at a raw food café in Santa Fe, New Mexico, so I visited this place and ordered a salad. What they served was very simple salads, not complicated, gourmet raw food. At that time, I thought that raw foodists were simply eating raw vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I felt it was a boring thing to do, but I was dead wrong. I bought a raw food recipe book at this café, but I never used it for 5 years. In 2009, I somehow decided to go to a raw food potluck party and picked up this raw food recipe book sitting on my book shelf because I had to bring something to this party. I made raw tomato soup for the first time and became ecstatic when I tasted it. I also tried different kinds of raw food at this potluck party and finally learned how deep the world of raw food was. I started going to raw food preparation classes, bought more recipe books, and spent a lot of time preparing raw food. I learned that I could make pies, pastas, vegan sushi rolls, crackers, cheesecakes, ice cream, etc. with raw materials. At first, I only used a regular blender and a food processor to prepare raw food. Later, I received a dehydrator and a Vitamix for Christmas and my birthday. Then I began to make more “Gourmet” kind of raw food with these great tools. I have some background in studio arts. Making raw food is definitely a form of art. I really enjoy the creative side of raw food and its taste. It is simply delicious. I entered the world of raw food because of its taste and aesthetic aspects, not for health reasons.
Later, I found out that many raw foodists started eating raw food to heal their serious physical conditions. There are many people who overcame hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cancer, traumatic brain injury, MS, etc. by eating 100% raw food. Since I was already completely healthy, I did not really think about the health benefits of raw food at the beginning. The basic idea of raw food diet is that you eat “live food” without “cooking” the food over 118 degrees Fahrenheit (Or somewhere around 110- 120 degrees…There are different theories around the temperature.) so that valuable nutrition such as enzymes, vitamins, and minerals are still intact. Eating raw food also gives you tons of dietary fibers, so it cleanses and detoxifies your system. Many raw foodists look younger than they actually are maybe because they get a lot of antioxidant, vitamins, minerals, etc. by eating live food. I also noticed that I never gain weight by eating raw food. I love sweets and often make raw desserts. Since a lot of nuts and coconut oil are used, raw desserts are very rich and satisfying. Yet, they do not make you fat. They are also cholesterol free! While socializing with raw foodists, I have met at least three people who healed cancer by eating 100% raw food without chemotherapy or radiation therapy. I have also met someone whose brain cells came back after a traumatic brain injury by eating raw food. These are just amazing and inspiring stories. We can actually heal ourselves by eating delicious food!
Easy Recipes
Raw almond milk
A cup of raw almond (soaked for 4-6 hours)
4 cups of water
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (cold pressed)
¼ cup maple syrup (Maple syrup is not raw, but many raw foodists use it. You can also use stevia, erythritol, coconut nector/crystal, or raw honey. Raw agave is not a healthy option...)
1 teaspoon vanilla
A little bit of sea salt
Put all ingredients in a blender and mix them for 1.5 min. Strain through a nut bag or cheesecloth to get the pulp out. (You can use the pulp for delicious stuff later!) If you use a vitamix, only mix them for 1 minute.
My original smoothie
1 apple
½ carrot
A few slices of ginger
5-6 strawberries
½ cup of baby spinach
2 cups of raw almond milk
Chop an apple, ½ carrot, and strawberries. Put all ingredients in a blender and mix them for 1.5 minutes. If you use a vitamix, only mix them for 35 seconds.
Raw Chocolate Pudding (I modified a recipe given by my rawfoodist friend.)
1 avocado (ripe)
2 bananas (ripe)
A few slices of papaya (ripe - most papaya grown in Hawaii is genetically modified, so I usually avoid it.)
½ teaspoon raw cacao nibs
4 tablespoons raw carob powder
4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
¼ cup raw maple syrup or other alternatives listed above
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix them for 2 minutes. This is delicious and addictive!
Raw Food Recipe Books
I use these two recipe books (below) all the time. Everything I tried was successful and delicious. I also get a lot of great recipes from local raw food classes and my raw foodist friends. You can find many recipes online, too.
Raw Food Primer by Alex Ferrara
This is the recipes book I bought in New Mexico
Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenney
There are many photographs in this book. Looking at beautifully done raw food (especially, desserts!) is very inspiring.
Where to Buy Raw Food Materials
Of course, you can buy fresh vegetables and fruits at any grocery store. I cannot get everything I need at one store. A grocery store in my neighborhood has a relatively large organic veggies and fruits section and a huge bulk food section, so I shop at this store most of the time. However, they do not carry some raw food materials I often use such as raw cacao powder, raw carob powder, raw shredded coconuts, nama shoyu (raw soy sauce), etc. You can find these materials at Whole Foods or other natural food stores, but my raw foodist friends say that some of the products labeled "raw" at these stores are not completely raw. Now I am more careful about this and buy "real" raw products at reliable stores.
Tools Needed for Raw Food Preparation
(1)Blender (a must have item for raw food diet….preferably a vitamix, but you can live with a regular blender)
This (left) is a picture of my Vitamix. Before I received this as a gift, I was only using a Hamilton Beach blender. This Hamilton Beach blender has been working for more than 9 years... I recommend it for people on a tight budget. A regular blender is good for making smoothie, raw salad dressing, raw soup, etc. There are less expensive heavy duty blenders (somewhere between my Hamilton Beach blender and Vitamix...) such as Blendtec or Ninja blenders. I have used a Blentec blender as well, but nothing beats a Vitamix. It's very powerful and you can make really creamy raw cheesecake, raw ice cream, raw chocolate moose, etc. You can see examples below. I also have a small, single-serve blender for traveling. (I have 3 blenders...) If I'm away from home for a few weeks, I can't survive without a blender!
(2)Food Processor (a must have item for raw food diet)
Again, I am using a Hamilton Beach Food Processor (left). It is very affordable and works well. I can make raw chocolate pudding, raw chocolate walnut cakes, etc. I am quite happy with this. However, some raw foodists prefer high end food processors. Since I've never used an expensive one, I simply don't know the differences... (sorry) You can see both affordable one and high end one below.
(3)Dehydrator
A dehydrator is not necessary for basic raw food, but you might want to have one if you are interested in more complicated, gourmet kind of raw food. You can make raw crackers, pancakes, pies, breads, cookies, or even calzones without "cooking." It takes a long time to dehydrate these items...sometimes a few days. Usually, I start preparing at night and put "wet" materials in the dehydrator and go to bed. Some items will be ready the following morning. I might have to continue dehydrating to make some other items, but I can just go to work or shopping. You don't have to wait in front of the dehydrator for hours. It's really fun for me to wait and see the outcome. It will cultivate your patience, too... Most raw foodists use Excalibur dehydrators because they work very well.
My dehydrator is also Excalibur 3500 (left). It has 5 trays. I absolutely love it! However, there is another one with 9 trays. If you want to dehydrate a lot of things at the same time, the one with 9 trays might be handy. You can the details of both products below.
My dehydrator is also Excalibur 3500 (left). It has 5 trays. I absolutely love it! However, there is another one with 9 trays. If you want to dehydrate a lot of things at the same time, the one with 9 trays might be handy. You can the details of both products below.
(4)Ceramic Knife
This (left) is my ceramic knife. A ceramic knife is not necessary for raw food diet, but it is nice to have one. When you cut raw veggies and fruits with this, you feel like you are cutting the air. This makes chopping much more fun. Mine is 5 inches long. It's perfect because I have very small hands. There are larger ones as well.
(5)Spiral Vegetable Slicer
Again, this is not necessary, but it would be convenient and fun to have one. Actually, I do not have one. You can make zucchini or onion noodles with this.
