Raw Food

When I first heard about raw-food - the movement to eat more organic, uncooked unprocessed food -  I was still struggling to get fully adjusted to life as a vegan. It felt like I'd climbed a mountain only to look up, see another peak in front of me, and realize I had only reached the top of a small hill. There's an inside joke with foodies about how the world's diets keep getting more radical and strict. One day we'll all just be eating fruit!

Raw food, as I later learned, is really about getting more nutrients by eating more foods in their pure, uncooked state. Simple as that! Whether you're 20% raw of 80% raw, we eat raw foods all the time - fresh squeezed fruit juice for breakfast, a salad with lunch, sushi for dinner, an apple and nuts as a snack... With this new definition in hand, raw foodism doesn't seem nearly as daunting, and it can actually be quite fun.

© Veneka Photography, 07.23.2010. All Rights Reserved.

Imagine a a lasagna made out of mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and zucchini pasta sheets. Or  heavenly chocolate cheesecake - made out of blended organic cashews, cacao and dates.

Raw food is simply some of the most inventive and multi-layered food you'll ever taste. Restaurants are popping up everywhere, from Pure Food and Wine in NYC to Cafe Green in D.C. Until it becomes more mainstream and organic fruits and vegetables are widely available, raw food is still an expensive lifestyle.

OVERALL RATING:  A

P.S. If you'd like to buy some fresh ingredients and try out some recipes on your own, this book is amazing: Raw Food/Real World: 100 Recipes to Get the Glow.






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