A Raw Foods Primer

What are Raw Foods?

Raw means more than just uncooked and unheated. Raw foods are “Nature’s finished products; they are ready to be consumed, as is”(Graham 233).

After all, a sweet peach needs no help from us to be sweet.

Raw foods are also known as living foods, life foods, sun-fired and sun foods. Whatever you choose to call it, raw foods, with everything left intact, are the healthiest foods we can feed our bodies.

Raw foods include fruits, vegetables, greens, sprouts, nuts, and seeds.

The Two Approaches to the Raw Food Diet

When it comes to raw foods, eating can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it.

Some raw food books say you need a high-power/high-speed blender, food processor, spiralizer, mandoline, dehydrator and oh yeah, a good set of knives, in order to get started. Others will have you soaking and sprouting seeds, grains, and peas on a regular basis.

While there is nothing “wrong” with having a fully equipped kitchen or soaking and sprouting, these lifestyle habits can be expensive and foreboding for newbies and even laborious for the experienced.

So before you buy your first spiralizer or soak a chickpea, you should understand the two main approaches to raw foods. They are LOW-FAT RAW and HIGH-FAT RAW. HIGH-FAT RAW includes your nut-seed pates, guacamole with flax crackers, oil-based salad dressings and other raw food items that may be hard to digest because they contain too much fat. LOW-FAT RAW includes your fruits, greens, vegetables, and small amounts of nuts, seeds, and fatty fruits.

These two approaches are not necessarily in opposition to one another, but it’s important to know the difference between the two, especially if you plan on successfully eating raw for a long period of time.

LOW-FAT RAW recipes…
• contain 5 or less ingredients.
• contain 5% fat or less.
• can take less than 5 minutes to make.
• follow food combining principles, and are therefore easier to digest and assimilate.
• require little to no equipment.

HIGH-FAT RAW recipes
• contain 5 or more ingredients.
• Can take more than 5 minutes to make.
• contain way more than 5% fat (usually 40%-60% of the calories are from fat).
• generally ignore food combining principles.
• require more equipment.

A diet high in fat, whether raw or cooked is not good for the body.

So, whether you are considering a 100% raw foods or simply increasing your consumption of raw and living foods, you will be happier and healthier for it.

Graham, Dr. Douglas N. 80/10/10 Diet: Balancing your Health, Your Weight, and Your Life, One Luscious Bite at a Time. Florida: FoodnSport Press, 2006.

NC21 Raw Food Demo

Greetings NC21!

I am excited about our upcoming Workshop on August 15th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.!

Please come hungry! So, feel free to start your day nice and easy with lemon water (fresh-squeezed, of course), or some sweet hydrating fruit.

I will do my best to squeeze in as much enlightening and fun food knowledge and delicious demos as I can within the 2 hours.

Cuke N Date Sandwiches

So simple. So delicious. Do I even need to write this recipe?

This recipe comes from Your Natural Diet: Alive Raw Foods

Medjhool Hors d’oeuvres Ingredients

Soft medjhool dates
Slicing cucumbers

Instructions:
1. Pit the dates and slice in half.
2. Slice the cucumbers into thin discs. Optional: peel the skins first.
If the skins are waxed, peeling is mandatory.
3. Place the dates halves on the cuke slices.
4. Serve on a party platter, with or without tooth picks.

Valine's Fruit Tacos

This is a fun and easy to make recipe.

Filling:
2 mangos, diced
1 banana, diced
1 apple or pear, diced
1 cup red grapes, diced
1-2 cups spinach, minced

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl and then spoon the mixture onto lettuces leaves.

Shells:
1-2 heads of romaine lettuce

Chop the bottom off of the lettuces leaves and clean well. Be sure to check the leaves for those tiny bugs, especially if you purchased organice lettuce. Spoon the mixture on top of leaves and serve.

I like this recipe because it is so versatile. You can change all of the filling ingredients to your liking. You can even put the filling on top of a bed of mixed greens or spinach and enjoy it all as a salad. Any mild tasting green works great, such as red or green leafs lettuce. Fruit and greens are a great combination!

NOTE: Avoid adding any fats. I used to add hemp seeds or flaxseed meal to my fruit recipes, but I have since learned the fruits don't combine as well with fat. If interested, read more about proper food combining at http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/.

Discounts Available!

I'm excited to announce two new discount opportunities!

You may volunteer your home and your workshop is FREE! NOTE: Kitchen/Food Prep area must meet certain requirements

Or, invite a friend and get 50% off. Bring two friends, and your workshop is FREE!

This discount does not expire.

Workshop Dates for Spring!

Spring is here and Summer is just around the bend.

Now is a good time to replenish the body with living enzymes and vitamins from fresh and uncooked veggies and fruits.

Here are the available dates…

Living Foods for the Adult Beginner - $95/person

Saturday, June 13th, 2009, 3-6 p.m. (3-hour seminar), and
Sunday, June 20th, 2009, 2-5 p.m. (3-hour seminar)

New to living foods? In this workshop, you will learn the benefits of living foods. You will learn the basics of the raw food kitchen and have opportunities for hands-on food preparation. Please arrive hungry and ready to eat, because you will be sampling delicious meals throughout.

Live Mylk, Juice and Smoothie Workshop - $25/person

Sunday, June 14th, 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. (1 ½ hour workshop), and
Sunday, June 21st, 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. (1 ½ hour workshop)

Attendees of this workshop will learn how to prepare delicious and satisfying fresh juices, milks, and smoothies, and compare the pros and cons of juices and smoothies. You will learn also about the powerful green smoothie, a much revered beverage in the raw food world. Please bring an empty container with a tight lid that can hold a fluid liter of smoothie to take home.

For more information:

call - 949-0147
e-mail - valine@allthewaylivefoods.com