What Is Raw Food?
Raw food can be as simple as picking a tomato and eating it in it’s purest form. We have lost our connection with nature through civilisation and with this loss came many diseases, related to this era. We started cooking our foods, freezing, canning, preserving. Now we are even eating out of plastic because we don’t have the time to cook anymore. So here is your first reason to eat raw; you won’t have to cook anymore! But you will reconnect to nature, yourself, your health, your life and work. You won’t have to spend hours in the kitchen and yet have delicious, nutritious meals that will reveal your new lifestyle.
Raw food is organically grown vegan food that hasn’t been heated above 108°F or 42°C. When you cook food, all its enzymes and most of the minerals, vitamins and amino acids are destroyed. By eating food uncooked, you will receive all life vital nutrients in their full power. You will be eating food that is still containing all its completely intact nutrients.
This is why you gain new energy after only a few days. The body doesn’t need to make immense efforts to produce enzymes to digest, simply because raw food contains loads of alive enzymes which start up the digestion right after consumption. You won’t feel tired as usual after a cooked meal, you won’t need a nap to recover from eating, but you will feel energized and ready to continue your day with new energy.
Not all raw foods are a live foods though and the difference is very simple. A nut or a seed can be raw, but it needs to be soaked or sprouted to activate the enzymes and turn it into alive food.
Adding living foods to a raw diet is essential for optimal health. These are the foods that make you come alive through their young, boosting energy. After a meal with living foods you won’t feel like taking a nap but enjoy going on with your day.
So soaking and sprouting is a very important and fun part of your raw food lifestyle. You don’t need much space, it is very easy, exciting and it is an inexpensive.
It doesn’t take long before you start noticing changes within your body and spirit. In only a few weeks you will feel rested when you wake up, need less sleep, you will be in a better mood, be able to concentrate better, be more alert and experience more clarity, have more endurance and a better performance generally. Raw and alive foods regulate your body functions by enhancing hormone levels such as serotonin and dopamine in the brain. This is why raw food not only changes your body, but also your life. When you feel better and happier you can do what you really want to do.
Many people have their specific mind images about raw food. But don’t hang on to those because raw food is so much more than that celery stick or carrot in your fist. As with cooked food, there are infinite recipes that will make your mouth water just by thinking of them. These recipes can be just as attractive, beautiful, sexy and are even more tasteful than their cooked versions.
Another preconception might be that you won’t have the scents around while preparing food. But nothing is less true. Cut and juice a lime, tear up some basil or cilantro, grate fresh ginger and you will be overwhelmed by rich aroma’s. When you prepare a raw meal, sensual scents will fill your kitchen. When you make a sauce, you will smell sauce, as if you were cooking. A raw kitchen in action smells fresh and surprisingly intense.
Which foods are included in a raw diet?
- Alive foods such as sprouted seeds and grains, fermented drinks and foods.
- All organic, unprocessed, pesticide-free, GMO and preservatives- free vegetables and fruits
- Sprouted legumes and beans
- Nuts and seeds
- Dried fruits
- Edible weeds and flowers
- Mushrooms
- Herbs
- Wild edibles
- Superfoods
- Seaweeds and algae
- Seasonings as ginger and chili
- Flavorings such as vanilla extract
- Natural sweeteners such as Stevia , Lucuma or Agave Nectar
- Tea’s
- Pure water
Which raw dishes can you make?
You can make a raw version of every cooked recipe. Once you know how to use the properties of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds to create the effects of food you were used to eat, a new culinary world will reveal itself to you. The variety is endless. Some examples of what you can make are:
- Raw soups by using a blender or hand mixer. They can be just as creamy, spicy or savory as cooked soups.
- Milk made of raw nuts or seeds. Made in one to a few minutes, delicious and without health threatening issues.
- Raw muesli for breakfast made of raw nuts, seeds, raisins, dates and fruits of your choice.
- Green smoothies or fruit smoothies.
- Sushi’s, nori rolls without meat or fish. They are the best!
- Rice, made of shredded cauliflower or jicama, any white vegetable which gives the texture of rice.
- Spaghetti or tagliatelle made of long vegetables. They have the same al dente feeling. You hardly notice the difference.
- Lasagna made of zucchini instead of pasta.
- Hamburgers of nuts, seeds and herbs taste so much better than their origin
- Dressings and dip sauces of nuts, herbs and seasonings.
- Vinegars of cold pressed oils, raw apple cider vinegar and herbs.
- Breads of vegetables, seeds and herbs, crackers.
- Sprouted bread.
- Snacks such as all kinds of flavored chips, made from kale or sliced and dried vegetables, your favorite cookies.
- Raw tortilla wraps, green leaf wraps.
- Thai, Indian, Mexican, Japanese, Italian Raw dishes.
- Salads, seaweeds salads.
- Noodles made from kelp.
- Desserts such as ice creams, chocolate mousse made of avocado and raw chocolate are heavenly.
- Raw pie and cakes made of raw chocolate, cheese pies of berries, bananas or lime.
- Raw chocolates that can’t be compared with any others.
- Alcohol free cocktail drinks will give you a kick.
- Juices of any vegetable or fruit you have laying around.
If you want to live (high) raw, you will want to…
- Buy all your vegetables and fruits with an organic farmer that you can trust so you aren’t eating any pesticides anymore and have the most nutritious food. It makes a lot of difference for your energy level and health!
- Find a supplier with raw quality brands or a store where they sell truly raw products and superfoods.
- Make a nice staple of all you need to stay raw.
- See to it that you always have enough vegetables and fruit available.
- Start sprouting different sorts of seeds and build up a system so you never run out of these living foods.
- Soak and dry nuts so you have them to hand when you decide to make a recipe with soaked nuts.
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