Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

raw food

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Guest guest

_Luv_Jamiroquai, I was 100% earlier this year

but blew it at a few social gatherings. It's just so

easy drop to one's guard and sneek in some cooked

" goodies " . I guess I'm back to 80% for now.<br><br>Nature's

First Law is a great book and I'm glad you are reading

it. As it turns out, David Wolfe, one of the authors

just gave a 2 hour talk at my local health food store.

What a pleasure it was to see him and hear what he had

to say about raw food. He says that you will benefit

by increasing raw food in your diet no matter how

little the increase but for " fantastic " changes you need

to do 100% (like for 3 months or more). I also have

his new book " The Sunfood Diet Success System " where

he advocates 80%+ raw plant food and then move

forward from there towards 100%. I came close to doing it

and I really did notice changes especially " clarity

of mind " ... and there is a lot to be said for that.

He also said that doing 80% raw gets you 80% of the

results whereas 100% raw gets you 1000% of the results.

<br><br>I have not been to a health spa but I say a very

nice on on the internet in British Columbia, Canada.

It looked like a great place to relax and they

served all raw meals. If I find the link to it again I

will post it for you.<br><br>-OrionsDad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Changing from cooked to raw is hard but we were/are designed to eat

raw foods, it's the cooked foods that are unatural and toxic to us and

I we are addicted (I do see it as a drug).

 

The only thing bad about a raw diet is the b12, they say that it's

because the soil doesn't have so much as it used to so vegans need to

get supplements, methylcobalamin is best, any more advice?

 

Nigel.

 

Friday, February 02, 2001, 8:59:40 PM, anastasiastatham:

 

 

accu> Hi Nigel!

 

accu> Good for you! I believe that our physiology is designed to thrive on

accu> a raw diet of plant food. You sound like you are doing well so far.

 

accu> Good luck, love and peace from Stacey

 

accu> p.s. I shouldn't think that your body would appreciate any dead

accu> animal, raw or cooked. Nature provides everything we need within

accu> plants.

 

 

 

accu>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
Guest guest

Raw means at room temperature.

 

 

Alexandra Kafka [alexandra.kafka]

08 July 2003 00:20

rawfood

[Raw Food] raw food

 

 

 

As far as I know people who only eat raw food do not heat their food

above a certain level, so that it just gets warm but is not really

cooked. Is this true, or does raw mean really raw?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Raw means at room temperature.

>

I understand it to mean not above body temperature, thus dehydrating

(if you dehydrate) at 95 degrees being acceptable.

 

Bridgitte

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Brigitte

 

I am just trying to think of a reason for tampering with the

temperature of raw food. Sorry, I cannot think of any.

 

Peter

 

Bridgitte [syndactylcat]

08 July 2003 16:36

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] raw food

 

 

 

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Raw means at room temperature.

>

I understand it to mean not above body temperature, thus dehydrating

(if you dehydrate) at 95 degrees being acceptable.

 

Bridgitte

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Brigitte

>

> I am just trying to think of a reason for tampering with the

> temperature of raw food. Sorry, I cannot think of any.

>

I'm not talking about something to 95 degrees and eating it warmed

up. Room temperature is the way to go. I was speaking more of

transitional foods like flax crackers or cookies that some people

(like me) like to have around.

 

Wasn't sure if I was clear or not...

 

Bridgitte

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Brigitte,

 

If warming is on transitional food items, it is no big deal.

In a couple of months it will be out of your diet and doubtless far

more toxic items have been your way previously.

 

Concerning you plan of short water fasts, it is not a

good idea to have them too close to each other as you

can set up a mode in which your body looks to store food

ready for the next little " famine " to come along.

 

I do not feel the need for fasts much now but in the

past I have followed the maxim that a fast about twice

as long as the previous is comfortable but after five days or

week, I used to get the hydrotherapy. It made me feel

much better. It washes out all the toxins and debris that

might otherwise recycle through the blood and cause headaches,

fatigue and the like.

 

If you attempt a fast in a hospital or when having treatment you may

react more strongly to any medication and some is to be taken with food

only. Most proponents of fasting write that fasting is excellent for

healing

which makes the idea of combining the fast with the operation sound a

great idea. Obviously you have to defer to whoever is treating you on

that one.

 

 

Peter

 

 

Bridgitte [syndactylcat]

08 July 2003 21:14

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] raw food

 

 

 

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Brigitte

>

> I am just trying to think of a reason for tampering with the

> temperature of raw food. Sorry, I cannot think of any.

>

I'm not talking about something to 95 degrees and eating it warmed

up. Room temperature is the way to go. I was speaking more of

transitional foods like flax crackers or cookies that some people

(like me) like to have around.

 

Wasn't sure if I was clear or not...

 

Bridgitte

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Brigitte,

>

> Concerning you plan of short water fasts, [snip]

 

Hmmm, that wsn't me...

 

Bridgitte

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Sorry

 

 

Bridgitte [syndactylcat]

09 July 2003 00:06

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] raw food

 

 

 

rawfood , " Peter Gardiner " <petergardiner@e...>

wrote:

> Brigitte,

>

> Concerning you plan of short water fasts, [snip]

 

Hmmm, that wsn't me...

 

Bridgitte

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
Guest guest

Well, I think raw foods are Ok. I love eating raw vegetables:)

 

Noel

 

 

 

 

Message: 7

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 08:31:15 -0000

" Stephen " <tanan603

Raw Food

 

Hello Guys

What do you guys think about " Raw Foodism " and is there one among

you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

i think it is alright if that is what you are into.

i like many of my veggies raw and eat plenty

of seeds and nuts, but i am not interested in

doing it 100%.

i'm always interested in trying new recipes,

and this includes raw food recipes, so if you

have some delicious dishes you want to share

here, please do. The list has several raw foodists

in the membership and many more like myself

that enjoy trying new ideas for meals. i look

forward to your future postings on this subject.

 

Summer is a great time for raw; too hot to cook!

 

~ pt ~

 

The songs of our ancestors are also the songs of

our children.

~ Philip Carr-Gomm, 'The Druid Way'

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~~~~>

, " Stephen " <tanan603>

wrote:

> Hello Guys

> What do you guys think about " Raw Foodism " and is there one among

> you?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be a new trend maybe?

there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called "pure food and wine".. they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... the menu is on their website www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and gourmet -- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend along...it was one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my friend expected some nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally impressed and more than willing to go back

"zurumato" <zurumato wrote:

 

 

http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness and a Long Life? By Lynda StrahlMy new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner. After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles, they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and unusual—meal to pass my lips in a very long time.For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good deal better than it sounds.There was also a scrumptious

salad that would have made a satisfying meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple and walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre I have ever made myself.It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What’s more, it emerged that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling, broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related activities.Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be known, living foodists.Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?It didn’t take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the thinking behind this unusual regime. “It’s quite simple,” she explained. “Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the food, especially protein. Most of it

is either completely destroyed or rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs your food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins.” Her conclusion: “Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of what you eat.”This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensible and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful, how come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?“It’s a matter of degree,” chipped in Douglas. “You’re healthy because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you were a living food vegan.”“And then there’s the enzyme question,” said Marcia, warming to her thesis. “The fact is that every type of food naturally contains exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested. Heating food above a certain

temperature kills the enzymes, which means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digest the food in question.“But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract and it takes longer to pass through your system.“There’s also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked food will keep you young.”She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same could be said for this humble reporter.In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About

half of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of vitamin C, she said. It’s true that in most cases, you would need to cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.But Wait, It Gets WorseAs if all this wasn’t depressing enough, Douglas went on to say that cooking can actually make food toxic. “Heating fats is especially bad because it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are.” (For those of you who don’t, free radicals are unstable molecules believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related illnesses.) “Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immune system and therefore an inability to fight infections,” he added enthusiastically.“There’s another point

Douglas forgot to mention,” said Marcia, with the air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. “Washing the dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We never have to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease.”So What are We to do?I came away from my neighbors’ house feeling good about the meal I had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so fervently.Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justice of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be one lifestyle change too many for me.Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to people who know more about these things than I do. But I’m still not fully

convinced.One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generally low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.And then there’s the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into a tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.It’s true that there are some

excellent raw food recipe books on the market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I’m not sure they would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longer term.Meet Me Part WayIt seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I’m not prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but adding a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushrooms just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing your potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfa sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nuts and seeds to just about

anything edible.While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually and keep it balanced. Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The raw food stall at the Vegan Fair looked like a feast - it looked

healthy, smelled delicious and was very colourful.

 

I wonder how the cobbler was made as cobbler is usually cooked.

 

Jo

 

 

 

, " zurumato@e... " <zurumato@e...>

wrote:

> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html

> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness

and a Long Life?

> By Lynda Strahl

>

>

> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to

dinner. After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan

principles, they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and unusual—

meal to pass my lips in a very long time.

>

> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It

was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the

main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of

Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of

some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to

be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut

squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good

deal better than it sounds.

>

> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a

satisfying meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A

apple and walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre I

have ever made myself.

>

> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this

splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had

been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a

skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it

emerged that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of

boiling, broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related

activities.

>

> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be

known, living foodists.

>

> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?

> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the

thinking behind this unusual regime. " It's quite simple, " she

explained. " Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the

food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed

or rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs

your food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins. " Her

conclusion: " Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional

benefit of what you eat. "

>

> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did

she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensible

and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do

so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful,

how come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?

>

> " It's a matter of degree, " chipped in Douglas. " You're healthy

because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you

were a living food vegan. "

>

> " And then there's the enzyme question, " said Marcia, warming to her

thesis. " The fact is that every type of food naturally contains

exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.

Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which

means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to

digest the food in question.

>

> " But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact

combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the

stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract

and it takes longer to pass through your system.

>

> " There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of

enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more

rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked

food will keep you young. "

>

> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my

hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they

looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same

could be said for this humble reporter.

>

> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also

clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About half

of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of

vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need to

cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you

lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens

rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our

gullets.

>

> But Wait, It Gets Worse

> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say

that cooking can actually make food toxic. " Heating fats is

especially bad because it generates free radicals, and you know how

nasty they are. " (For those of you who don't, free radicals are

unstable molecules believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular

level and thought to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular

disease and age-related illnesses.) " Cooked food can also lead to a

weakening of the immune system and therefore an inability to fight

infections, " he added enthusiastically.

>

> " There's another point Douglas forgot to mention, " said Marcia,

with the air of one poised to deliver the clinching

argument. " Washing the dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living

food diet. We never have to contend with large oven dishes loaded

with burnt-on grease. "

>

> So What are We to do?

> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal I

had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so

fervently.

>

> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a

radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six

years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned

vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the

justice of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist

would be one lifestyle change too many for me.

>

> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to

people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still not

fully convinced.

>

> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food

regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generally

low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like

mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are

partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat

and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron

and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.

>

> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are

both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into

a tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere

culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing

lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And

think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a

house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.

>

> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on

the market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure

they would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the

longer term.

>

> Meet Me Part Way

> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm not

prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I

have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That

seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in

choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my

meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?

>

> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but

adding a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced

mushrooms just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing

your potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of

alfalfa sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can

add nuts and seeds to just about anything edible.

>

> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we

can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods

whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually

and keep it balanced.

>

> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great

resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and

Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The

Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think there have been rawfoodists for many decades, but it does

seem to be gaining popularity.

 

Jo

 

, ank_art <ank_art> wrote:

> i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be a

new trend maybe?

> there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called " pure food and wine " ..

they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... the

menu is on their website www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and

gourmet -- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend

along...it was one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my

friend expected some nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally

impressed and more than willing to go back

>

> " zurumato@e... " <zurumato@e...> wrote:

>

> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html

> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness

and a Long Life?

> By Lynda Strahl

>

>

> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to

dinner. After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan

principles, they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and unusual—

meal to pass my lips in a very long time.

>

> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It

was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the

main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of

Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of

some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to

be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut

squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good

deal better than it sounds.

>

> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a

satisfying meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A

apple and walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre I

have ever made myself.

>

> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this

splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had

been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a

skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it

emerged that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of

boiling, broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related

activities.

>

> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be

known, living foodists.

>

> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?

> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the

thinking behind this unusual regime. " It's quite simple, " she

explained. " Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the

food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed

or rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs

your food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins. " Her

conclusion: " Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional

benefit of what you eat. "

>

> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did

she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensible

and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do

so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful,

how come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?

>

> " It's a matter of degree, " chipped in Douglas. " You're healthy

because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you

were a living food vegan. "

>

> " And then there's the enzyme question, " said Marcia, warming to her

thesis. " The fact is that every type of food naturally contains

exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.

Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which

means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to

digest the food in question.

>

> " But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact

combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the

stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract

and it takes longer to pass through your system.

>

> " There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of

enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more

rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked

food will keep you young. "

>

> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my

hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they

looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same

could be said for this humble reporter.

>

> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also

clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About half

of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of

vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need to

cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you

lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens

rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our

gullets.

>

> But Wait, It Gets Worse

> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say

that cooking can actually make food toxic. " Heating fats is

especially bad because it generates free radicals, and you know how

nasty they are. " (For those of you who don't, free radicals are

unstable molecules believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular

level and thought to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular

disease and age-related illnesses.) " Cooked food can also lead to a

weakening of the immune system and therefore an inability to fight

infections, " he added enthusiastically.

>

> " There's another point Douglas forgot to mention, " said Marcia,

with the air of one poised to deliver the clinching

argument. " Washing the dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living

food diet. We never have to contend with large oven dishes loaded

with burnt-on grease. "

>

> So What are We to do?

> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal I

had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so

fervently.

>

> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a

radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six

years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned

vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the

justice of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist

would be one lifestyle change too many for me.

>

> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to

people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still not

fully convinced.

>

> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food

regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generally

low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like

mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are

partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat

and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron

and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.

>

> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are

both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into

a tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere

culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing

lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And

think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a

house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.

>

> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on

the market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure

they would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the

longer term.

>

> Meet Me Part Way

> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm not

prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I

have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That

seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in

choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my

meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?

>

> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but

adding a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced

mushrooms just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing

your potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of

alfalfa sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can

add nuts and seeds to just about anything edible.

>

> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we

can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods

whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually

and keep it balanced.

>

> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great

resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and

Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The

Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

>

To send an email to -

 

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Jo-

 

I think most of the raw food cobblers are food-processed fresh fruits with a mix of nuts and dried fruit as a topping... just from browsing recipes

I'm curious about this kind of diet, but it seems like you need a food processor, dehydrator, juicer, etc, etc to make any recipes that are online or in (un-)cookbooks

heartwerk <heartwork wrote:

The raw food stall at the Vegan Fair looked like a feast - it looked healthy, smelled delicious and was very colourful.I wonder how the cobbler was made as cobbler is usually cooked.Jo , "zurumato@e..." <zurumato@e...> wrote:> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness and a Long Life? > By Lynda Strahl> > > My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner. After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles, they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and unusual—meal to pass my lips in a very long time.> > For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress

soup. It was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good deal better than it sounds.> > There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a satisfying meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple and walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre I have ever made myself.> > It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's

more, it emerged that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling, broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related activities.> > Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be known, living foodists.> > Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the thinking behind this unusual regime. "It's quite simple," she explained. "Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed or rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs your food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins." Her conclusion: "Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of what you eat."> > This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat

a sensible and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful, how come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?> > "It's a matter of degree," chipped in Douglas. "You're healthy because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you were a living food vegan."> > "And then there's the enzyme question," said Marcia, warming to her thesis. "The fact is that every type of food naturally contains exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested. Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digest the food in question.> > "But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up

your intestinal tract and it takes longer to pass through your system.> > "There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked food will keep you young."> > She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same could be said for this humble reporter.> > In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About half of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need to cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you lose that much of the

good stuff, but unfortunately that happens rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.> > But Wait, It Gets Worse> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say that cooking can actually make food toxic. "Heating fats is especially bad because it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are." (For those of you who don't, free radicals are unstable molecules believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related illnesses.) "Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immune system and therefore an inability to fight infections," he added enthusiastically.> > "There's another point Douglas forgot to mention," said Marcia, with the air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. "Washing the dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We

never have to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease."> > So What are We to do?> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal I had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so fervently.> > Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justice of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be one lifestyle change too many for me.> > Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still not fully convinced.> > One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly

because they are generally low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.> > And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into a tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.> > It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on the market, full of

ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure they would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longer term.> > Meet Me Part Way> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm not prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?> > For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but adding a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushrooms just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing your potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfa sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nuts and seeds to just about

anything edible.> > While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually and keep it balanced. > > Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you would need the processing machines and juicers. From

what I saw at the weekend you would need to combine, in different

ratios, the juice and the pulp from various fruits and vegetables to

make the dishes they had.

 

Jo

 

, ank_art <ank_art> wrote:

> Hi Jo-

>

> I think most of the raw food cobblers are food-processed fresh

fruits with a mix of nuts and dried fruit as a topping... just from

browsing recipes

> I'm curious about this kind of diet, but it seems like you need a

food processor, dehydrator, juicer, etc, etc to make any recipes that

are online or in (un-)cookbooks

>

>

> heartwerk <heartwork@c...> wrote:

> The raw food stall at the Vegan Fair looked like a feast - it

looked

> healthy, smelled delicious and was very colourful.

>

> I wonder how the cobbler was made as cobbler is usually cooked.

>

> Jo

>

>

>

> , " zurumato@e... " <zurumato@e...>

> wrote:

> > http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html

> > The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health,

Happiness

> and a Long Life?

> > By Lynda Strahl

> >

> >

> > My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to

> dinner. After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan

> principles, they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and

unusual—

> meal to pass my lips in a very long time.

> >

> > For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It

> was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the

> main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of

> Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of

> some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first

to

> be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut

> squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good

> deal better than it sounds.

> >

> > There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a

> satisfying meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade

A

> apple and walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre

I

> have ever made myself.

> >

> > It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this

> splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten

had

> been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a

> skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it

> emerged that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of

> boiling, broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related

> activities.

> >

> > Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be

> known, living foodists.

> >

> > Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?

> > It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the

> thinking behind this unusual regime. " It's quite simple, " she

> explained. " Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in

the

> food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed

> or rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also

robs

> your food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins. " Her

> conclusion: " Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional

> benefit of what you eat. "

> >

> > This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how

did

> she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a

sensible

> and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and

do

> so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful,

> how come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?

> >

> > " It's a matter of degree, " chipped in Douglas. " You're healthy

> because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if

you

> were a living food vegan. "

> >

> > " And then there's the enzyme question, " said Marcia, warming to

her

> thesis. " The fact is that every type of food naturally contains

> exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be

digested.

> Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which

> means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to

> digest the food in question.

> >

> > " But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact

> combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So

the

> stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract

> and it takes longer to pass through your system.

> >

> > " There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of

> enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the

more

> rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked

> food will keep you young. "

> >

> > She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my

> hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they

> looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the

same

> could be said for this humble reporter.

> >

> > In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also

> clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About

half

> of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent

of

> vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need

to

> cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you

> lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens

> rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our

> gullets.

> >

> > But Wait, It Gets Worse

> > As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say

> that cooking can actually make food toxic. " Heating fats is

> especially bad because it generates free radicals, and you know how

> nasty they are. " (For those of you who don't, free radicals are

> unstable molecules believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular

> level and thought to increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular

> disease and age-related illnesses.) " Cooked food can also lead to a

> weakening of the immune system and therefore an inability to fight

> infections, " he added enthusiastically.

> >

> > " There's another point Douglas forgot to mention, " said Marcia,

> with the air of one poised to deliver the clinching

> argument. " Washing the dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a

living

> food diet. We never have to contend with large oven dishes loaded

> with burnt-on grease. "

> >

> > So What are We to do?

> > I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal

I

> had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so

> fervently.

> >

> > Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a

> radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to.

Six

> years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I

turned

> vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the

> justice of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist

> would be one lifestyle change too many for me.

> >

> > Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to

> people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still

not

> fully convinced.

> >

> > One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food

> regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are

generally

> low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like

> mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are

> partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat

> and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out

iron

> and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.

> >

> > And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are

> both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles

into

> a tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere

> culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing

> lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And

> think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with

a

> house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.

> >

> > It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on

> the market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not

sure

> they would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in

the

> longer term.

> >

> > Meet Me Part Way

> > It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm

not

> prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but

I

> have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet.

That

> seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in

> choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany

my

> meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?

> >

> > For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but

> adding a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced

> mushrooms just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing

> your potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of

> alfalfa sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can

> add nuts and seeds to just about anything edible.

> >

> > While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw,

we

> can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods

> whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually

> and keep it balanced.

> >

> > Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two

great

> resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art

and

> Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The

> Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

>

>

>

>

> To send an email to -

 

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

while, I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet.

it makes sense that the less processed, the more nutrients something

has got.

howerver, it isn't feasable, for me to go entirely raw,

being that I love roots. yams, potatoes, and beans, rice, too much.

and they have valid nutrients when cooked.

I dont' see how one could possible eat those raw.

 

 

, ank_art <ank_art> wrote:

> i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be a

new trend maybe?

> there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called " pure food and wine " ..

they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... the

menu is on their website www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and gourmet

-- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend along...it

was one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my friend expected

some nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally impressed and more than

willing to go back

>

> " zurumato@e... " <zurumato@e...> wrote:

>

> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html

> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness

and a Long Life?

> By Lynda Strahl

>

>

> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner.

After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles,

they proceeded to dish up the most delicious—and unusual—meal to pass

my lips in a very long time.

>

> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It

was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the

main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of

Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of

some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to

be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut

squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good deal

better than it sounds.

>

> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a satisfying

meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple and

walnut cobbler—vastly superior to anything of that genre I have ever

made myself.

>

> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this

splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had

been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a

skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it emerged

that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling,

broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related activities.

>

> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists—or, as they preferred to be

known, living foodists.

>

> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?

> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the

thinking behind this unusual regime. " It's quite simple, " she

explained. " Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the

food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed or

rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs your

food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins. " Her conclusion:

" Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of what

you eat. "

>

> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did

she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensible

and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do

so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful, how

come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?

>

> " It's a matter of degree, " chipped in Douglas. " You're healthy

because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you

were a living food vegan. "

>

> " And then there's the enzyme question, " said Marcia, warming to her

thesis. " The fact is that every type of food naturally contains

exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.

Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which

means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digest

the food in question.

>

> " But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact

combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the

stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract

and it takes longer to pass through your system.

>

> " There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of

enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more

rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked

food will keep you young. "

>

> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my

hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they

looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same

could be said for this humble reporter.

>

> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also

clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About half

of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of

vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need to

cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you

lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens

rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.

>

> But Wait, It Gets Worse

> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say that

cooking can actually make food toxic. " Heating fats is especially bad

because it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are. "

(For those of you who don't, free radicals are unstable molecules

believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought to

increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related

illnesses.) " Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immune

system and therefore an inability to fight infections, " he added

enthusiastically.

>

> " There's another point Douglas forgot to mention, " said Marcia, with

the air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. " Washing the

dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We never

have to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease. "

>

> So What are We to do?

> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal I

had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so

fervently.

>

> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a

radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six

years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned

vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justice

of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be one

lifestyle change too many for me.

>

> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to

people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still not

fully convinced.

>

> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food

regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generally

low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like

mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are

partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat

and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron

and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.

>

> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are

both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into a

tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere

culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing

lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And

think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a

house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.

>

> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on the

market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure they

would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longer

term.

>

> Meet Me Part Way

> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm not

prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I

have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That

seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in

choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my

meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?

>

> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but adding

a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushrooms

just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing your

potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfa

sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nuts

and seeds to just about anything edible.

>

> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we

can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods

whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually

and keep it balanced.

>

> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great

resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and

Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The Sunfood

Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

>

To send an email to -

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw potatoes. She

would wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.

 

Jo

 

 

while, I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet.

it makes sense that the less processed, the more nutrients something

has got.

howerver, it isn't feasable, for me to go entirely raw,

being that I love roots. yams, potatoes, and beans, rice, too much.

and they have valid nutrients when cooked.

I dont' see how one could possible eat those raw.

 

 

, ank_art <ank_art> wrote:

> i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be a

new trend maybe?

> there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called " pure food and wine " ..

they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... the

menu is on their website www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and gourmet

-- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend along...it

was one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my friend expected

some nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally impressed and more than

willing to go back

>

> " zurumato@e... " <zurumato@e...> wrote:

>

> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html

> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happiness

and a Long Life?

> By Lynda Strahl

>

>

> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner.

After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles,

they proceeded to dish up the most delicious-and unusual-meal to pass

my lips in a very long time.

>

> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. It

was creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came the

main attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture of

Portobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted of

some interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first to

be spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternut

squash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good deal

better than it sounds.

>

> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a satisfying

meal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple and

walnut cobbler-vastly superior to anything of that genre I have ever

made myself.

>

> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from this

splendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten had

been raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of a

skillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it emerged

that my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling,

broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related activities.

>

> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists-or, as they preferred to be

known, living foodists.

>

> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?

> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on the

thinking behind this unusual regime. " It's quite simple, " she

explained. " Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in the

food, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed or

rendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs your

food of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins. " Her conclusion:

" Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of what

you eat. "

>

> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how did

she explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensible

and balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and do

so without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful, how

come I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?

>

> " It's a matter of degree, " chipped in Douglas. " You're healthy

because you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if you

were a living food vegan. "

>

> " And then there's the enzyme question, " said Marcia, warming to her

thesis. " The fact is that every type of food naturally contains

exactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.

Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, which

means that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digest

the food in question.

>

> " But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exact

combination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So the

stuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tract

and it takes longer to pass through your system.

>

> " There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount of

enzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the more

rapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cooked

food will keep you young. "

>

> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew my

hosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet they

looked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the same

could be said for this humble reporter.

>

> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking also

clobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About half

of B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent of

vitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need to

cook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before you

lose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happens

rather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.

>

> But Wait, It Gets Worse

> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say that

cooking can actually make food toxic. " Heating fats is especially bad

because it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are. "

(For those of you who don't, free radicals are unstable molecules

believed to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought to

increase the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-related

illnesses.) " Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immune

system and therefore an inability to fight infections, " he added

enthusiastically.

>

> " There's another point Douglas forgot to mention, " said Marcia, with

the air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. " Washing the

dishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We never

have to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease. "

>

> So What are We to do?

> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal I

had eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded so

fervently.

>

> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was a

radical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Six

years later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turned

vegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justice

of their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be one

lifestyle change too many for me.

>

> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked to

people who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still not

fully convinced.

>

> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw food

regimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generally

low in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet like

mine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw are

partly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eat

and deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out iron

and calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.

>

> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia are

both excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into a

tasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mere

culinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizing

lunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. And

think how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with a

house full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.

>

> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on the

market, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure they

would provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longer

term.

>

> Meet Me Part Way

> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm not

prepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but I

have resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. That

seems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem in

choosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany my

meal. Why not take that idea just a little further?

>

> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but adding

a sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushrooms

just before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing your

potatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfa

sprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nuts

and seeds to just about anything edible.

>

> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, we

can surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foods

whenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it gradually

and keep it balanced.

>

> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two great

resources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art and

Spirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The Sunfood

Diet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).

>

To send an email to -

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yucky!

 

That's one veggie I cannot eat raw.

 

BB

Nikki :)

 

, " Jo Cwazy " <heartwork@c...> wrote:

> When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw

potatoes. She

> would wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.

>

> Jo

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL Nikki - I've never tried. It just doesn't appeal.

 

BB

Jo

 

 

> Yucky!

>

> That's one veggie I cannot eat raw.

>

> BB

> Nikki :)

>

> , " Jo Cwazy " <heartwork@c...> wrote:

> > When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw

> potatoes. She

> > would wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.

> >

> > Jo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isnt there some minute amount of poison in raw green potatoes?

 

The Valley Vegan................

 

Gormod o ddim nid yw dda Too much of anything is not good Jo Cwazy <heartwork wrote:

When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw potatoes. Shewould wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.Jowhile, I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet.it makes sense that the less processed, the more nutrients somethinghas got.howerver, it isn't feasable, for me to go entirely raw,being that I love roots. yams, potatoes, and beans, rice, too much.and they have valid nutrients when cooked.I dont' see how one could possible eat those raw. , ank_art wrote:> i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be anew trend maybe?> there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called "pure food and wine"..they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... themenu is on their website

www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and gourmet-- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend along...itwas one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my friend expectedsome nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally impressed and more thanwilling to go back>> "zurumato@e..." wrote:>> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happinessand a Long Life?> By Lynda Strahl>>> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner.After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles,they proceeded to dish up the most delicious-and unusual-meal to passmy lips in a very long time.>> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. Itwas creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came themain attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a

gorgeous mixture ofPortobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted ofsome interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first tobe spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternutsquash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good dealbetter than it sounds.>> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a satisfyingmeal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple andwalnut cobbler-vastly superior to anything of that genre I have evermade myself.>> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from thissplendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten hadbeen raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of askillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it emergedthat my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling,broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and

related activities.>> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists-or, as they preferred to beknown, living foodists.>> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on thethinking behind this unusual regime. "It's quite simple," sheexplained. "Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in thefood, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed orrendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs yourfood of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins." Her conclusion:"Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of whatyou eat.">> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how didshe explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensibleand balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and doso without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful,

howcome I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?>> "It's a matter of degree," chipped in Douglas. "You're healthybecause you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if youwere a living food vegan.">> "And then there's the enzyme question," said Marcia, warming to herthesis. "The fact is that every type of food naturally containsexactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, whichmeans that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digestthe food in question.>> "But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exactcombination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So thestuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tractand it takes longer to pass through your system.>> "There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount ofenzymes in

our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the morerapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cookedfood will keep you young.">> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew myhosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet theylooked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the samecould be said for this humble reporter.>> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking alsoclobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About halfof B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent ofvitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need tocook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before youlose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happensrather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.>> But Wait, It Gets Worse> As if all this

wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say thatcooking can actually make food toxic. "Heating fats is especially badbecause it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are."(For those of you who don't, free radicals are unstable moleculesbelieved to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought toincrease the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-relatedillnesses.) "Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immunesystem and therefore an inability to fight infections," he addedenthusiastically.>> "There's another point Douglas forgot to mention," said Marcia, withthe air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. "Washing thedishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We neverhave to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease.">> So What are We to do?> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal Ihad

eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded sofervently.>> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was aradical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Sixyears later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turnedvegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justiceof their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be onelifestyle change too many for me.>> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked topeople who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still notfully convinced.>> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw foodregimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generallylow in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet likemine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw arepartly offset by the fact that it limits the

types of foods you eatand deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out ironand calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.>> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia areboth excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into atasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mereculinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizinglunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. Andthink how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with ahouse full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.>> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on themarket, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure theywould provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longerterm.>> Meet Me Part Way> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in

order here. I'm notprepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but Ihave resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. Thatseems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem inchoosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany mymeal. Why not take that idea just a little further?>> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but addinga sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushroomsjust before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing yourpotatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfasprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nutsand seeds to just about anything edible.>> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, wecan surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foodswhenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it

graduallyand keep it balanced.>> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two greatresources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art andSpirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The SunfoodDiet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).>>>>>>>> To send an email to - >>>>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes I think the green is slightly poisonous whether it is raw or cooked.

 

Jo

 

-

peter hurd

Friday, September 30, 2005 9:28 PM

Re: Re: Raw Food

 

Isnt there some minute amount of poison in raw green potatoes?

 

The Valley Vegan................

 

Gormod o ddim nid yw dda Too much of anything is not good Jo Cwazy <heartwork wrote:

When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw potatoes. Shewould wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.Jowhile, I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet.it makes sense that the less processed, the more nutrients somethinghas got.howerver, it isn't feasable, for me to go entirely raw,being that I love roots. yams, potatoes, and beans, rice, too much.and they have valid nutrients when cooked.I dont' see how one could possible eat those raw. , ank_art wrote:> i've seen a bunch of articles about raw food lately -- soon to be anew trend maybe?> there's a raw food restaurant in nyc called "pure food and wine"..they opened last year and apparently are doing great business... themenu is on their website www.purefoodandwine.com -- pricey and gourmet-- i went a few months ago and dragged a meat-eating friend along...itwas one of the absolute best meals i've ever had! my friend expectedsome nasty tofu-laden goulash, but was totally impressed and more thanwilling to go back>> "zurumato@e..." wrote:>> http://www.satyamag.com/sept05/strahl.html> The End of Cooking: Is a Raw Food Diet the Key to Health, Happinessand a Long Life?> By Lynda Strahl>>> My new neighbors, Douglas and Marcia, recently invited me to dinner.After assuring me that the menu would accord with my vegan principles,they proceeded to dish up the most delicious-and unusual-meal to passmy lips in a very long time.>> For openers, they served a delectable chilled watercress soup. Itwas creamy and flavorsome, and I can taste it still. Then came themain attraction, a mock meat loaf, made of a gorgeous mixture ofPortobello mushrooms and almonds. The supporting cast consisted ofsome interesting looking vegetables, one of which I took at first tobe spaghetti but which turned out to be made of shreds of butternutsquash with a light garlic dressing. Believe me, it tasted a good dealbetter than it sounds.>> There was also a scrumptious salad that would have made a satisfyingmeal in itself. And for dessert, my hosts served a grade A apple andwalnut cobbler-vastly superior to anything of that genre I have evermade myself.>> It was only when I was sitting back, feeling replete from thissplendid repast, that the truth sank in. Everything we had eaten hadbeen raw. Not a single item had ever made the acquaintance of askillet, saucepan, roasting tin or dutch oven. What's more, it emergedthat my hosts only ate raw food. They eschewed all forms of boiling,broiling, frying, roasting, baking, stewing and related activities.>> Douglas and Marcia were raw foodists-or, as they preferred to beknown, living foodists.>> Why Would Anyone Want to Eat Like That?> It didn't take much prompting to get Marcia to expound on thethinking behind this unusual regime. "It's quite simple," sheexplained. "Cooking destroys or degrades most of the nutrients in thefood, especially protein. Most of it is either completely destroyed orrendered useless by prolonged exposure to heat. Cooking also robs yourfood of its enzymes, plus most of its vitamins." Her conclusion:"Going raw is the only way to get the full nutritional benefit of whatyou eat.">> This gave me pause. What she said seemed to make sense. But how didshe explain all those folks like me, who take care to eat a sensibleand balanced diet, manage to get our full ration of nutrients, and doso without shunning the stove? If a raw food diet is so wonderful, howcome I, for one, manage to keep healthy without it?>> "It's a matter of degree," chipped in Douglas. "You're healthybecause you are a vegan. Think how much healthier you would be if youwere a living food vegan.">> "And then there's the enzyme question," said Marcia, warming to herthesis. "The fact is that every type of food naturally containsexactly the right mix of enzymes needed for that food to be digested.Heating food above a certain temperature kills the enzymes, whichmeans that our bodies have to generate the enzymes they need to digestthe food in question.>> "But the body is simply not equipped to produce the exactcombination of enzymes you need to digest every kind of food. So thestuff takes longer to break down; it clogs up your intestinal tractand it takes longer to pass through your system.>> "There's also a belief that we only produce a finite amount ofenzymes in our lifetime, and the faster we run out of them, the morerapid the aging process will be. So there you are: Avoiding cookedfood will keep you young.">> She certainly scored a home run with that last point. I knew myhosts were both approaching the swamplands of middle age, yet theylooked no older than the average college sophomore. If only the samecould be said for this humble reporter.>> In full flow now, Marcia went on to talk about how cooking alsoclobbers many of the vitamins contained in our daily fare. About halfof B vitamins are lost as a result of heat, as is some 80 percent ofvitamin C, she said. It's true that in most cases, you would need tocook the foods at high temperatures or for long periods before youlose that much of the good stuff, but unfortunately that happensrather often with the typical dishes most of us throw down our gullets.>> But Wait, It Gets Worse> As if all this wasn't depressing enough, Douglas went on to say thatcooking can actually make food toxic. "Heating fats is especially badbecause it generates free radicals, and you know how nasty they are."(For those of you who don't, free radicals are unstable moleculesbelieved to cause tissue damage at the cellular level and thought toincrease the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and age-relatedillnesses.) "Cooked food can also lead to a weakening of the immunesystem and therefore an inability to fight infections," he addedenthusiastically.>> "There's another point Douglas forgot to mention," said Marcia, withthe air of one poised to deliver the clinching argument. "Washing thedishes is a heck of a lot easier with a living food diet. We neverhave to contend with large oven dishes loaded with burnt-on grease.">> So What are We to do?> I came away from my neighbors' house feeling good about the meal Ihad eaten, but uncertain about the arguments they had expounded sofervently.>> Ten years ago I struggled hard to become a vegetarian. It was aradical move for me, and one which needed a lot of adjusting to. Sixyears later, I went through a similar period of turmoil when I turnedvegan. Douglas and Marcia were halfway to convincing me of the justiceof their cause. But I felt that becoming a living foodist would be onelifestyle change too many for me.>> Since that evening, I have read up on the subject and talked topeople who know more about these things than I do. But I'm still notfully convinced.>> One friend, a professional nutritionist, told me that raw foodregimes do tend to be healthy, but mainly because they are generallylow in fat and high in fiber. But so is a balanced vegan diet likemine. My friend went on to say that the benefits of going raw arepartly offset by the fact that it limits the types of foods you eatand deprives you of certain important nutrients. He singled out ironand calcium as possibly being problematic in that regard.>> And then there's the question of variety. Douglas and Marcia areboth excellent cooks and could probably turn a clump of nettles into atasty dish. (In fact, I feel sure they have.) But what about mereculinary mortals like me? I doubt that I could serve up appetizinglunches and dinners day after day in a stove-free environment. Andthink how much harder it would be for a living food homemaker, with ahouse full of hungry little living foodists to keep fed and happy.>> It's true that there are some excellent raw food recipe books on themarket, full of ideas for tasty uncooked meals. But I'm not sure theywould provide enough recipes to keep my taste buds happy in the longerterm.>> Meet Me Part Way> It seems to me that a sensible compromise is in order here. I'm notprepared to go cold turkey and give up cooked food completely, but Ihave resolved to increase the proportion of raw food in my diet. Thatseems like an easy thing to do. After all, I have no problem inchoosing a side salad in place of a cooked vegetable to accompany mymeal. Why not take that idea just a little further?>> For example, how about continuing to eat soups and stews, but addinga sprinkling of shredded carrot, chopped broccoli or sliced mushroomsjust before serving up? Or what about boiling and mashing yourpotatoes as you have always done, but mashing in a handful of alfalfasprouts before it reaches the table? And of course you can add nutsand seeds to just about anything edible.>> While most us might find it too difficult to go completely raw, wecan surely all benefit by finding ways of eating more raw foodswhenever the opportunity arises. Just remember to take it graduallyand keep it balanced.>> Lynda Strahl is a freelance journalist, based in Seattle. Two greatresources for exploring living foods are Living Cuisine: The Art andSpirit of Raw Foods by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Avery) and The SunfoodDiet Success System by David Wolfe (Maul Brothers).>>>>>>>> To send an email to - >>>>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If one isn't eating organic, I won't touch a raw diet with a ten foot pole.

At least a good % of the pesticides and other " harmful " chemicals end up

washed away from blanching, etc. in canned, frozen and other packaged goods.

 

Lynda

-

" Anouk Sickler " <zurumato

 

Friday, September 30, 2005 11:57 AM

Re: Raw Food

 

 

> while, I am trying to incorporate more raw food into my diet.

> it makes sense that the less processed, the more nutrients something

> has got.

> howerver, it isn't feasable, for me to go entirely raw,

> being that I love roots. yams, potatoes, and beans, rice, too much.

> and they have valid nutrients when cooked.

> I dont' see how one could possible eat those raw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My gramma used take some fresh from the garden, peel them (they weren't

Yukon golds but they were yellow, probably some heirloam type), cube them,

cube up some cucumbers, chunks of tomato, slices of red onion, some oil and

vinegar, salt and pepper, fresh parsley and let them sit in the fridge to

get nice and " pickled " and they are yummy!

 

Lynda

-

" earthstrm " <nikkimack

 

Friday, September 30, 2005 1:19 PM

Re: Raw Food

 

 

> Yucky!

>

> That's one veggie I cannot eat raw.

>

> BB

> Nikki :)

>

> , " Jo Cwazy " <heartwork@c...> wrote:

>> When Peter was about five one of his friends used to eat raw

> potatoes. She

>> would wait for them to be peeled and then sit there munching them.

>>

>> Jo

>>

>>

>

To send an email to -

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...