By Guest Blogger on May 1, 2012
A few years ago, I was introduced to a friend of a friend who happened to be a vegan. As a recently enrolled student at The French Culinary Institute, where meat and dairy reign supreme, I was in awe. I could never be as motivated and devoted as him, I marveled to myself. The idea of removing all animal products from my diet seemed like an impossible mountain to scale.
Fast forward three years later, and here I am, not only a proud, life-loving vegan, but a raw one at that. As it turns out, living on an animal-free and health-conscious diet is just about the easiest thing I’ve ever accomplished. After following a vegan lifestyle for close to two years, I felt a calling to take my lifestyle and health to a higher level. It is, after all, really easy to reach for the not-so-healthy vegan snacks. You’ve been there, right? The cupcakes, brownies, nachos ? I’m getting tempted just thinking about it. I wanted to go further and reach higher.
So what’s the deal with raw? Any fruit, vegetable, nut or seed is on the table in whichever way you choose to serve it. Nothing can be cooked above 118 degrees and your food is always unprocessed. The skinny is that every single whole food contains its own specific enzymes that may help us digest and absorb the nutrients in that fruit, vegetable, nut, etc. How amazing is that? By cooking the food, those very helpful, hardworking enzymes are broken down. When we don’t get these enzymes directly from the source (aka: raw food), we may develop digestive problems, nutrient deficiencies and sad immune systems.
While many people grimace at the idea of seemingly fussy parameters, it truly is the simplest approach to your health and diet. Breakfast can be as easy as a green juice or a sliced fruit salad, and a snack is as foolproof as a mixed nut trail mix with dried fruits. If you’re a foodie like I am, fear not. Raw food can also get pretty, crazy gourmet. I’m talking layered lasagnas, chocolate parfaits and spinach spanakopita, here. You can honestly eat what you want, when you want, for the first time in your life, and feel great and be at your healthiest.
Crossing over to the raw side can be an intimidating thing. Not only are you experimenting with new ingredients and “un-cooking” techniques, but your body is also getting used to the new lifestyle you’ve so consciously chosen for it. Simple recipes should be your calling card for the first couple of weeks. Transition slowly and choose to go raw until dinnertime, or aim for 75 percent raw foods each day. You’ll notice the difference almost immediately, and experience a lightness and clarity that will motivate you to keep on trucking. I like to refer to the following recipes as gateway goodies to a raw diet ? dishes that take a matter of minutes and will leave you feeling like a superhuman.
This classic soup is a great, refreshing choice during the summer months, and also makes an elegant appetizer for a dinner party or main course for an al fresco lunch.
Chilled Cucumber-Mint Soup
Serves 2 entrée portions or 4 appetizer portions
-2 hothouse cucumbers, peeled
-1 avocado
-½ clove garlic, sliced
-1 scallion, chopped (both white and green parts)
-1 teaspoon ground flaxseed
-2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
-½ teaspoon sea salt
-ground black pepper to taste
-olive oil (optional)
-sliced fresh mint for garnish
Place the first seven ingredients in a blender and cover with cold filtered water. Blend until the soup is smooth and creamy, and add more water if you prefer your soup on the thinner side.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then pour into serving bowls. Top with freshly ground black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil and thinly sliced fresh mint to garnish.
For breakfast, dessert or both ? this smoothie is whatever you want it to be. Fortified with the superfood of superfoods, cacao, anyone can be won over by this decadent treat.
Cacao Super-Smoothie
Serves 2
-2 ripe bananas
-¼ cup pitted dates (soaked for two hours)
-1 ½ tablespoons raw almond butter
-2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
-½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
-pinch of nutmeg
-almond milk
Place the first six ingredients in a blender and cover with almond milk. Blend until smooth, about one minute. Toast to your rawmazing self, then drink up!
If you prefer a thicker, milkshake-like consistency, freeze the peeled bananas first.
Cristi Young is a New York City-based writer and chef who is inspired by love, books, vegetables and chocolate. She can be found dishing about health, wellness and cooking on her blog, where all appetites for life are welcome.
Photo credit: Luke Chan
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By Tracy Piper on March 19, 2012
I was introduced to the Ann Wigmore Health Institute in Aguarda, Puerto Rico, in December 2010 by a dear raw food friend. While I went kicking and screaming, having to leave my office for two weeks, it ended up being the best thing I’ve done. I loved it so much I returned there in the summer, and I just returned from another two weeks there this holiday season. The institute taught me so much about the living food lifestyle and its differences and similarities to the raw food lifestyle and how important they both are to us.
What’s the difference?
Living foods and raw foods both contain numerous enzymes; but in living foods, the enzyme content is much higher. For example, raw, unsprouted seeds and nuts contain enzymes in their “dormant” state. To activate the enzymes in seeds and nuts, they must be soaked in water for a period of time. Once the seeds and nuts begin to sprout, the enzymes become “active” and are then considered a “living food.”
Both raw and living foods are not heated . Any food heated over 115 degrees F destroys the enzymes in the food. Actually the degradation of enzymes begins at about 105 degrees F. All foods that are cooked are devoid of enzymes, and the molecular structure of the components of the food changes as well. So to sustain life and get the life-force energy of foods filled with high enzymatic and nutrients activities, one must eat raw foods in combination with living foods.
Why are enzymes important to us?
Enzymes assist in the digestion of food. There are three classes of enzymes:
· Metabolic enzymes, which run our bodies, organs and tissues
· Digestive enzymes, which digest our food
· Food enzymes, from raw food, which start food digestion
Enzymes are important because they assist in the digestion and absorption of food. They are catalysts that allow cells to metabolize carbohydrates, proteins and fats. They are also responsible for the respiration in cells and converting proteins into usable energy. If you eat food that is void of enzymes, your body will be undernourished and unable to utilize the nutrients from the food. This causes toxicity in the body.
Raw food is filled with multiple enzymes that aid digestion. In fact, the digestion of the carbohydrates, proteins and fats in raw food begins in the mouth at the moment that the plant cell walls are ruptured from mastication, thus releasing the food enzymes within.
Does cooking destroy enzymes?
Yes, yes and yes. As hard as it is to hear and accept because we have been cooking for centuries, this process devoids us of precious enzymes that help maintain our health. Disease and cooking originated simultaneously in the world. For instance, animals who only eat raw are healthy because their food intake in the jungle or wilderness is filled with enzymes. We have never heard of an elephant or a lion in the jungle getting a heart attack or suffering from arthritis. Better yet a gorilla getting breast cancer. Our domesticated animals eating processed food or the cooked food we give them are now facing the same disease as we are.
We know that heat destroys enzymes, but another amazing fact is that enzymes work harder at slightly warmer temperatures than they do at cooler ones. An experiment performed by Dr. Edward Howell involved soluble potato starch placed into two dishes with water and saliva added to each. Saliva contains an enzyme called amylase. One of the dishes was placed in an 80 degree F room, and the other was placed in the refrigerator at about 40 degrees F. The experiment showed that the starch at room temperature digested more quickly, while the one in the refrigerator was practically stagnant. If the room was at 100 degrees F, the enzymes would do the work at four times the rate than at 80 degrees F. The experiment showed this continued up to 160 degrees F, and then the enzymes wore out and could no longer do any of their duties. So keeping the temperature lower than 115 degrees F is beneficial but not so low as to stagnate its energy potential.
There is a fixed amount of enzyme potential in everyone. The enzyme bank account we are born with diminishes over time if it is not subsidized by incoming enzymes and can also diminish due to different conditions and the lifestyle of the individual. By eating foods with their enzymes intact as in raw and living foods, along with supplementing the cooked food being digested with exogenous food enzymes, we are able to eradicate abnormal and pathological aging.
What are the functions of enzymes in the body?
Life as we know it could not exist without enzymes. We must thoroughly chew our food so that the enzymes are able to fully work and break the food particles down into tiny structures capable of supplying our body with nutrients. Enzymes also aid in making new bone, nerves, muscles and glands. The enzymes work directly with the liver and all the other eliminative organs to store excess food. They are used for every function that goes on in the body. Eating raw and living foods is essential to our health, since nature provided them with an abundant supply of enzymes to get the job done. Last but not least, enzymes also breakdown toxins and waste material for elimination.
Some Important Enzymes
Amylase: Breaks down carbohydrates in the mouth from starches to simple sugars.
Hydrochloric acid (HCL): Found in the stomach and mainly responsible for the break down of solid food into a semi-solid liquid called chyme. The chyme then leaves the pylorus area of the stomach and enters the duodenum of the small intestines where more enzymes are released via the pancreas and bile from the gallbladder to further breakdown the molecules. If one drinks while they eat, they will dilute the HCL and enzyme activity, making digestion more difficult and less efficient.
Trypsin and chymotrypsin: Both from the pancreas, they work together to break down proteins into amino acids.
Lipase: Also from the pancreas, lipase is an enzyme that converts fats into fatty acids and triglycerides.
I hope this information is helpful to you and encourages you to have two thirds of your meals raw or living.
For more by this author, visit thepipercenter.com/blog/.
Photo credit: Kevin Dooley
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By Guest Blogger on July 14, 2011
Raw food is a plant-based diet consisting of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouts, fermented foods, seaweed, live water, herbs and more. By definition, raw food is not heated above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw food includes lots of fresh dishes and also foods that can be made in a dehydrator. Crackers, breads, cookies and things like kale chips can be made in a dehydrator. However, if you don’t have one, you can still make so many raw meals such as raw burgers, wraps, pasta and smoothies to name a few. Foods that have been heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit still have their enzymes and nutrients intact, and this is very important. No mineral, vitamin or hormone can do any work without enzymes.”
By including more raw food in your diet, you can help your body by providing it with a rich source of enzymes, vitamins, minerals and water. It is important to note that as we age, the amount of enzymes that we have in our body decreases, so raw food should be a key part of our diet. Eeating a diet rich in raw and living foods can help prevent degenerative diseases and support healing at a cellular level. Raw food is often used as a tool for cleansing our bodies and getting rid of the toxins that we have accumulated from our environment.
Truth be told, I don’t just eat raw food for the enzymes and the nutrients; I eat it because it is the purest form of food and it tastes amazing. Raw food is full of texture and flavor. The simple fact is that when I eat raw food I feel an increase in energy and mental clarity. My skin and hair start to look healthier and my face glows. The raw food that I put into my body shines through to my outer appearance. I feel more connected to myself and others. I feel more connected to my spirituality. I also experience better digestion, weight loss and decreased cravings.
Ten tips on how to introduce raw food to your family
1. Revamp your salad.
Eat more salads. Revamp them and include different types of vegetables in your salad. Don’t know where to start? Introduce kale, sprouts, parsnip, seeds and seaweeds into your salads. Flax and chia seeds are great for you and a source of omega-3. Use avocado as a dressing and find out how yummy a salad can be.
2. Make a green smoothie or juice.
Green smoothies and juices are loaded with nutrients and are a quick, fun way to add more raw vegetables and fruits to your diet. Create a wonderful vitamin- and mineral-rich drink in under 10 minutes.
3. Make a raw dessert or treat.
This is a great way to get your family excited about raw foods. You can replace a lot of not-so-healthy ingredients found in the traditional store-bought desserts, ice creams, chocolates and treats. Instead, try making something at home that is filled with wonderful flavor, and your family will be hooked.
4. Make a new recipe once a week.
If you have a family that is eating cooked food, it may take a period of adjustment to include more raw foods. Plan to make a new recipe once a week. This way you will build up your raw repertoire and give everyone an opportunity to try new dishes. If they have a favorite cooked meal, try to make a raw version for everyone.
5. Subscribe to raw food blogs and e-zines.
These can provide you with recipes, where to buy raw food and support you along the way, and they are free. Most raw food enthusiasts are very passionate about their food and freely share their recipes. Most of them will answer your questions.
6. Pick a theme for you meals.
This is one of my favorite tips. Since I am trying to feed everyone and don’t want to spend forever in the kitchen making tons of dishes, I pick a theme. Let’s just say that I am making my husband some cooked pad thai over some rice noodles. I will make a raw dressing for his pad thai. That way I can use it for my raw pad thai. I will also use the same vegetables in both the raw and cooked versions, and this will shorten my time in the kitchen.
7. Get the children and your partner involved.
Go to local markets and get your children involved in picking fruits and vegetables. The whole family will be much more interested in raw food and what they are eating if you include them. My daughter loves working in the kitchen mixing dishes or putting away groceries. When we spend time together in the kitchen, we can talk about the new vegetables that I bring home. I often tell her why they are good and what they can be used for.
8. Find a local raw food group or restaurant in your community.
Often people who eat raw food may partake in monthly potlucks. If there is no group like this in your community, do what I did and make your own. You don’t have to be an expert or know a lot about raw food to do this. This will provide you with a community of like-minded people, and an opportunity to share and learn. Also, search to see where the closest raw food restaurant is and try it out.
9. Reorganize your pantry.
Make a list of new things you will need to buy. Most raw books have a pantry list in it. Start to look for raw sweeteners, nut butters, coconut oil, seaweed, herbs and seeds. Start moving these new things into your kitchen. Before you know it, you will have included a lot of new foods and raw staples into your kitchen, and you will purchase less of the unhealthy choices. I buy a lot of staples from my local health food store where they have a bulk section. This is great if you are on a budget.
10. Make your own.
Make your own dressings, sauces, condiments and drinks. This will allow you to include the freshest and best ingredients in your family’s meals. You will be able to reduce the amount of processed foods that you use, and you will find how amazing your own versions taste. My family now prefers raw dressings and sauces because they are so full of flavor.
I hope I was able to inspire you in some way and wish you the best on your raw food journey!
Sasha Campbell is passionate about health and raw foods. She is currently enrolled in David Wolfe’s “Raw Nutrition Certification Course,” is studying nutrition at the BodyMind Institute and is certified as a life skills coach. Sasha is also working on a raw e-book and runs a local raw food group.
Photo credit: SweetOnVeg (recipe for raw chocolate pudding)
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By Jennifer Reilly RD LD on June 24, 2011
As a dietitian and cheerleader for all green and life-extending foods, there’s one food I absolutely can’t wrap my fork around: raw broccoli. I eat kale right from the stalk and down wheatgrass shots with an ear-to-ear smile. But when it comes to broccoli, it’s got to be steamed, roasted or sautéed. So the question arises, am I killing my broccoli, and is it even worth it if I can’t juice or chomp it in its raw form? What actually happens during the cooking process, and are foods better raw or cooked?
Cooking does have advantages. It reduces or kills toxins that would otherwise be problematic in our systems. For example, the toxicity of aflatoxins found in peanuts is reduced by 45 to 70 percent when they’re roasted (note that they never go away completely). Kidney beans and soybeans can’t be sprouted because they’re toxic raw. Cooked and chilled, however, these beans make a charming salad.
Cooking improves the digestibility of some veggies and legumes and, therefore, increases the wealth of healthy chow we can enjoy. The availability of sulfur-containing amino acids is increased in cooked soybeans. Cooked potatoes are easier to digest, taste better and are still full of plenty of cancer-fighting vitamin C. And thanks to cooking, we can easily benefit from an eggplant’s potent cancer-fighting antioxidants nasunin and chlorogenic acid, which not only scavenge free radicals and protect cell membranes from damage, but also aid in reducing “bad“ LDL cholesterol. Eggplant isn’t toxic in its raw form, it’s just incredibly fibrous and fairly challenging to eat.
Heat actually boosts the levels of beta-carotene and lycopene available in fruits and vegetables by breaking down cell walls and increasing the body’s ability to access the nutrients bound to the walls. Beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body and is found in orange, yellow, red and green leafy vegetables. It plays a role in the prevention of cancer and heart disease, helps your immune system, reduces high blood pressure, and can even protect your skin against sunburn. Lycopene, which gives tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit and apricots their red color, is increased two and a half times in cooked foods. Lycopene is best known for its role in prostate cancer prevention, but it’s also helpful in reducing “bad” LDL cholesterol (just like eggplant … veggie ratatouille anyone?), and preventing osteoporosis, skin cancer and even breast cancer.
On the downside, cooking does have certain disadvantages. Water-soluble vitamin C is highly unstable and is easily oxidized, destroyed by heat and dissolves in cooking water. This is why vitamin C levels drop by about 10 percent after two minutes of cooking.
Cooking also destroys digestive enzymes, which may be essential for optimal health. While we naturally make gobs of digestive enzymes, it can only help to get a few spares in the foods we eat. For example, when it comes to broccoli, raw is actually better than cooked (Nooo!) since heat damages myrosinase – an enzyme necessary for the production of sulforaphane, a precancerous cell ninja destroyer. And while heat may increase the beta-carotene availability in carrots, it also destroys their polyphenols, which are strong antioxidants that reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Looking to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight? Raw fruits and vegetables tend to be more advantageous when it comes to healthy weight control since they contain fewer digestible calories per pound than cooked veggies, and may increase your resting metabolism.
The verdict? A mix of raw and cooked foods is ideal. Some experts recommend at least one pound of each per day. Juice veggies that you may not enjoy raw so you can get the benefit of their life-giving and fully intact digestive enzymes and nutrient powerhouses. Mildly steam or sauté certain veggies from time to time to make them more palatable and richer in antioxidants like beta-carotene and lycopene. Avoid lengthy cooking times, heavy frying or deep-frying, and excessive boiling, which drastically decrease the vitamin C content of foods, and produces unsexy free radicals in the case of frying and deep-frying. And finally, shred that raw broccoli and add it to green salads and wrap sandwiches. It’s not so bad!
Photo credit: Darwin Bell, jacqueline-w
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By Kris Carr on October 27, 2010
Calling all armchair chefs!
I could fill a dang library with the number of raw and cooked recipe books I’ve picked up over the years, and there are certainly some chefs who have knocked my socks off more than others. It’s not easy to choose only five in each category, but here are some of the most accessible (and delicious) books I use on a regular basis. And remember, get crazy sexy free and gutsy in the kitchen, don’t feel chained to the ingredient list or instructions. Add your own jazz to the recipes. Your taste buds are uniquely yours. Listen to them. When you do, creating healthy meals will be fun and nourishing for your body and soul. Oh and, let us know about your favorite raw and cooked recipe books in the comments!
Raw
1. I Am Grateful: Recipes and Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude by Terces Engelhart
Terces and Matthew Engelhart have created six righteous raw food restaurants in California. As an extension of their Café Gratitude restaurants, the Engleharts started the Be Love Farm, where they live in community and practice a sustainable lifestyle while growing food using the biodynamic method. This rockin’ philosophy on life and food has been infused into Terces’ amazing raw food book, which is packed with easy-to-follow recipes that have names like “I Am Luscious” raw chocolate smoothie and “I Am Bountiful” bruschetta!
2. RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine by Matt Amsden
Matt Amsden switched to a raw food lifestyle overnight after hearing an interview with David Wolfe. Since then, he has opened Euphoria loves RAWvolution, a groovy live food café, which also features lots of raw food and raw living goodies. Matt’s book, RAWvolution, caters to all levels of experience and gives readers an inside look at his own raw food transition. His tips will get you on your way to success in the kitchen even if you don’t have fancy tools!
3. Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes by Ani Phyo
Ani Phyo puts mama earth first with her raw food lifestyle. Her dedication to healthy whole foods started early while growing up on an organic farm. Today, Ani is sharing her mouth-watering recipes through her numerous books and live raw demos across the country. She’s even developed living food vegan menus for Carnival Cruise Lines, Adidas headquarters, STOMP and Whole Foods Markets!
4. Living Raw Food: Get the Glow with More Recipes from Pure Food and Wine by Sarma Melngailis
Over the course of her career, Sarma Melngailis jumped from the world of finance to French cuisine to raw food. Currently, she is the owner of raw food mecca, Pure Food and Wine in NYC. In “Living Raw Food,” Sarma takes us inside the Pure kitchen and gives us the key to everything from their smoothies to elegant raw entrees.
5. Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen
Time and time again, I return to Alissa’s book. It’s my raw recipe bible! She’s been eating raw and teaching others about live food goodness since 1986. Alissa took her raw food passion a step further by opening Grezzo restaurant in Boston and creating the Living on Live Food Program for aspiring chefs and educators. Alissa’s new book,”Raw Food for Everyone,” will be on shelves October 28!
Cooked
1. The Candle Cafe Cookbook: More Than 150 Enlightened Recipes from New York’s Renowned Vegan Restaurant by Joy Pierson, Bart Potenza, Barbara Scott-Goodman
After winning the lottery, my dear friends Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza started Candle Café and later, Candle 79. These vegan NYC gems will delight your palate whether you’re a veggie lover or a steak and potatoes kind of gal. The founders of Candle have loaded their cookbook with to-die-for recipes that will make your kitchen (and belly) sing with delight.
2. The Conscious Cook: Delicious Meatless Recipes That Will Change the Way You Eat by Tal Ronnen
You may know Tal Ronnen best from preparing the menu for Oprah Winfrey’s 21-day vegan cleanse, catering Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s vegan wedding, or making the first vegan dinner at the U.S. Senate. The amazing meals that brought his work to these prestigious tables are at your fingertips in Tal’s cookbook. Find out what the fuss is about by bringing Tal’s recipes to life in your home.
3. The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
Colleen founded Compassionate Cooks to debunk myths about vegan/vegetarianism and empower individuals to make informed decisions about the food they eat. Compassionate Cooks provides veggie education through workshops, cooking DVDs, lectures and podcasts. Perhaps one of the most delicious ways Colleen raises awareness is through her cookbooks! The Vegan Table offers recipes perfect for everything from a kid’s party to a holiday feast. Her new book, “Color Me Vegan,” comes out in December 2010!
4. Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero
Isa Chandra Moskowitz created the Post Punk Kitchen show with her pal Terry Hope Romero in Isa’s tiny Brooklyn apartment in 2003. These vegan how-to cooking webisodes caught on like wild fire and led to their kick ass cookbook, “Veganomicon.” There are over 250 recipes inside this treasure including some soy-free, gluten-free, and low-fat options.
5. The Gluten-Free Vegan: 150 Delicious Gluten-Free, Animal-Free Recipes by Susan O’Brien
Look no further if you are facing celiac disease, fibromyalgia or food allergies. Allergy sufferer and gourmet chef, Susan O’Brien, wrote this cookbook to provide tasty alternatives for those facing health challenges or just seeking a healthier lifestyle. Easy breezy recipes that’ll meet your dietary needs and personal tastes are only a book away!
Peace & bon appétit!
Kris Carr
P.S. An oldie but goodie honorable mention is The Angelica Home Kitchen: Recipes and Rabble Rousings from an Organic Vegan Restaurant by Leslie Mceachern.
Photo Credits: Yvestown
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