The Complete Book of Raw Food (2 page)

R
aw food: Maybe you’ve heard about this type of vegetarian cuisine on television or read about it in newspapers or magazines. Raw food restaurants and cafés are springing up all across the country and it seems that raw food is the next big cuisine.

But what exactly do people on a raw food diet eat? How is it prepared? Why would anyone want to eat that way? And—most important—How does it taste?

You’ll find answers to all of those questions in this book.
The Complete Book of Raw Food
is filled with the collective wisdom and experience of the world’s leading raw food chefs. They offer their advice about everything that concerns a raw food diet, from what ingredients to buy, to how you can prepare delicious meals full of nutritional benefits. Not only will you find what may be the largest collection of raw food recipes in print—more than 400 in all—you’ll also learn about the tools you need to prepare them, and how to make your raw meals taste and look delicious.

If you’re worried that 400 raw food recipes means 400 recipes for salad and carrot sticks, you’ll be delighted to find recipes for savory dishes such as Savory Neatballs with Tomato Sauce by Mary Rydman, Layered Portobello with Thick Pine Nut and Sesame Cream by Julian Huerta, Full Monty Raw Soup by Maya Adjani, Avocado Burritos by David Wolfe, Super Broccoli Quiche by Shazzie and desserts including Chocolate Chia Cookie by Peggy Kenney, Mud Pie by Rose Lee Calabro and Creamed Strawberry Pie by Karie Clingo.

But before we head into the kitchen, let’s start with some raw food basics. Raw food—sometimes called living food—is plant or animal food that has not been heated above (about) 115°F. Raw foodists believe that when heated above this temperature, the enzymes in the food are destroyed or denatured, and cannot provide the same nutritive value. A new section in the dehydration discussion
of
Chapter 2
, based on research by Mary Rydman, explains the heat/not-to-heat issue in more depth.

Many people who follow a raw food diet are also vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarians eat no flesh foods (meat, fish, poultry). Vegans choose to avoid all animal products and byproducts, such as eggs, dairy or honey. Many, but not all, raw fooders are also technically raw vegans.

Everyone knows that fresh fruits and vegetables are nutritious. But raw fooders have additional reasons for “going raw.” Following are some of them.

• The food is in its natural state, allowing the body to derive more nutritional benefit from it. Live enzymes and vitamins offer best nutrition.
  

• Eating an organic raw food diet allows the body to release toxins. Many raw fooders believe that the diet can lead to better health and even eliminate disease.
  

• Eating a raw food diet will almost always lead to weight loss for those who need to lose weight—without the feelings of hunger and fatigue that accompany most diets.
  

• People who eat a raw food diet experience improvement in their skin. They also have more energy and often start to look younger.
  

Do you have to be a vegan to eat raw food? Of course not! You don’t even have to be a vegetarian. In fact, there are very few people who eat a 100-percent raw food diet. Many people who consider themselves “raw fooders” eat a diet composed of 50 to 100 percent raw food.

The Complete Book of Raw Food is for anyone who wants to eat more fruits, nuts, and vegetables and prepare them in exciting new ways.

If you want hundreds of delicious vegetarian recipes, dig right into
Part II
, where you’ll find recipes for every course, from Salads & Dressings to Snacks and Entrées to Desserts including Pies & Cakes, even Ice Cream.

If you want to learn more about the raw food lifestyle, turn to
Part I
. There you’ll learn how to stock a raw kitchen, how to use some of the common tools raw fooders rely on, and how to make every raw dish look and taste like a gourmet creation.

Part III
is full of useful information, including biographies of our raw food chefs, a suggested reading list, and a resources section that lists Web sites and companies that sell ingredients and equipment.

S
o what exactly do raw fooders eat? As you can imagine, lots and lots of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts and seeds.

There are many familiar foods in the raw kitchen: Apples, bananas, and lemons; carrots, cucumbers, and peppers. But you’ll also find many foods with unfamiliar names such as nama shoyu, Celtic sea salt, flaxseed, and Bragg Liquid Aminos®. Here’s a basic introduction to some of the foods you find in the raw kitchen—along with some helpful advice from our chefs about how to use and store them.

The raw pantry is full of staples, including dried fruit, grains and legumes, seaweed, oils, and herbs and spices. All of these foods need to be kept in airtight containers and stored out of direct sunlight (for more, see
Food Storage
).

The Raw Kitchen

DRIED FRUITS

apricots

dates

figs

mangoes

pineapple

raisins

GRAINS

buckwheat

kamut

oat groats

quinoa

LEGUMES

black beans

chickpeas

lentils

mung beans

soy beans

SEEDS

flax

pumpkin

sesame (unhulled)

sunflower

DRIED SEAWEEDS

aramé

dulse

hiziki

kelp

nori

wakamé

OILS

coconut oil

cacao butter

cold-pressed virgin olive oil

flaxseed oil

grapeseed oil

hemp oil

SEASONINGS

nama shoyu

Bragg Liquid Aminos

Celtic sea salt

NUTS

Brazil nuts

cashews (not always raw)

filberts

peanuts

pine nuts

walnuts

almonds

cacao beans