Raw Foodies :)

Travisli

Travisli

Cathlete
Hey --

I am a vegetarian in the process of going raw - I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, I guess I thought it would be harder than it really is :eek: anyway, I just wanted to share that in this month's Vegetarian Times they have some great raw soup recipies. I just made the tomato soup and it is YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!! I love soup and it's 90 degrees out and I still get to enjoy it!!!

Have a wonderful day!

Travis
 
Hi, Travis!

I've been eating mostly raw since March (going from vegan to raw vegan).

I didn't renew my subscription to VT, so I don't think I'll get that issue (wouldn't you know it, every time I cancel my subscription---and I've subscribed and let my subscription lapse and resubscribed several times since I first subscribed in 1977!--they put in something interesting!)

What are the recipes for and who are they from? (I have many, many raw-food recipe books, and probably have the same recipes or something very similiar in one of them).

I agree that raw (at least THIS time I've tried it!) is easier than I thought it would be. I've dabbled several times over the years, but didn't stick with it, and this time I had decided to go 'raw until dinner,' and ended up being almost all raw most of the time since. It made it easier that it's summer, with all the fresh fruits and veggies available (and with me off work so I have more time to experiment and learn new techniques and try--and create as well--new recipes).

My latest favorite creation: a mixed nut/seed milk using almonds ( about 1 c. after soaking and dehydrating), sunflower seeds (about 1/2 cups after soaking and dehydrating), about 1/4 c. soaked/dried sesame seeds, and about 1/4 cups brazil nuts, with 2 T agave, one vanilla bean (chopped up) and about 1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt, in enough water to hit the 8 cup mark in my Vitamix. Blended till smooth, then strained (I used the pulp in a cracker recipe that I also tweaked a bit!).
 
Hi Travis. I gotta ask, . . how do you do it? Do your boys eat veggi too or do you have to make different meals? It seems going raw would take a whole lot of discipline, . . which I know YOU could do but I would have a much harder time. I know I've said it before but I'll say it again, . . your success story still continues to inspire me.
 
Hi there, Kathryn!

On the topic of going Raw in general, I have a couple of questions. First, why do raw vegans leave out beans? What is that all about? Also, I suffer from constipation...uh, and I have a Green Smoothie every day (about 32-40 ounces worth..). What could I add to them that would help with it?

Thanks...again...alllllllot~deb
 
dmd said:
Hi there, Kathryn!

On the topic of going Raw in general, I have a couple of questions. First, why do raw vegans leave out beans? What is that all about? Also, I suffer from constipation...uh, and I have a Green Smoothie every day (about 32-40 ounces worth..). What could I add to them that would help with it?

Thanks...again...alllllllot~deb
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Hi, Deb!
Some raw fooders eat sprouted beans, but the starches in beans are hard to digest, even after soaking and sprouting, so they are recommended in small quantities only, or as the exceptional cooked food.


For the green smoothie, try some chia gel: about 1 Tbsp of chia in 1 cup water, whisk, let sit about 10 minutes then whisk again. Let it sit for about 1/2 hour, then used 1-2 Tbsp per serving of smoothie. Also, the magnesium in greens like kale should help with constipation.
 
Hi!

Thanks Kathryn,

I suspect that when you mean Chia, you mean chia seed? Is it easy to find? Whole Foods? Online better? Is this the only way you use it? Thanks~deb
 
Not a raw food person, but there is a new restaurant in NYC that does raw food that looks amazing! It's called Pure Food and Wine. A little expensive, but they have a $70 five-course tasting menu option. I'm going to go at some point because the menu just looks too good not to!!
 
NY25 said:
Not a raw food person, but there is a new restaurant in NYC that does raw food that looks amazing! It's called Pure Food and Wine. A little expensive, but they have a $70 five-course tasting menu option. I'm going to go at some point because the menu just looks too good not to!!
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I think that's the one my NY friend loves, she was telling me all about it. She took her folks when they visited and her dad was less than thrilled. He looked at the menu and said "I can't get a meatball?" LOL.
 
dmd said:
Thanks Kathryn,

I suspect that when you mean Chia, you mean chia seed? Is it easy to find? Whole Foods? Online better? Is this the only way you use it? Thanks~deb
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Yes, chia seed.
You can sometimes find it in natural food stores, but I usually get it online from various places ( www.naturalzing.com , www.sunorganicfarm.com and others).

You can use it pretty much the same way you use flax, such as soaking it (whole or ground) and using it as a base for dehydrated crackers. You can also use it in puddings, dressings, or anything that needs a thickener. Just make sure that you either use the gel, or take the seeds with a lot of water, as it can absorb up to 9x its weight in fluids, and if you don't have enough fluids with it, it can absorb the fluids in your digestive tract and lead to dehydration. (the gel, on the other hand, is a good way to hydrate the body).

You could probably do an online search for 'chia recipes" and find some ideas. René Oswald has a video clip on youtube.com about chia seeds (as well as other interesting raw-food clips).
 
NY25 said:
Not a raw food person, but there is a new restaurant in NYC that does raw food that looks amazing! It's called Pure Food and Wine. A little expensive, but they have a $70 five-course tasting menu option. I'm going to go at some point because the menu just looks too good not to!!
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The owner (Sarma Mengalis (sp?)) has two raw-food recipe books out with many of the recipes from the restaurant.
 
Kathryn! I'm so happy to know you're a raw vegan -- I may be hitting you up with questions before long. I too started with the "I'll go raw til dinner" thought and figured I would just eat something vegetarian at dinner -- but truthfully I only did that 4 days and then I found myself just eating raw for dinner.

I have not purchased a dehydrater yet, but it's on my list -- :) I need to get a couple more cookbooks to help me when I get into a rut with the food - so far though I'm happy. My mother has been a raw vegan since she was diagnosed with cancer about 8 years ago -- she is cancer free without chemo or any treatment really and she chalks it all up to her diet. I find it hard to argue with her. What are your favorite raw cookbooks?

My mom gave me Carol Alt's most recent book "Raw 50" and everything I've tried has been wonderful.

Janie, NO, my boys do not eat what I eat. I make multiple meals. But ever since I adopted a healthier lifestyle I've made multiple meals. "Clean" was not in my kids or ex-husband's vocabulary. Now my boys at least eat healthier just not vegetarian and definitely not raw. . . yet. I haven't given up on them though ;)

Kathryn I forgot to say when I get home I'll tell you where the recipies are from -- there are 4 of them. One I'm going to try tonight is a mushroom walnut soup . . .
 
Travisli said:
What are your favorite raw cookbooks?
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I have a LOT of raw cookbooks (though I can't really call them "COOKbooks," LOL, so I usually refer to them as "recipe books"), and I like a few recipes in many different ones (like some from "Raw Food, Real World") but I guess my favorites would be:

Ani Phyo's "Ani's Raw Food Kitchen" (she also has quite a few videos on Youtube) http://www.amazon.com/Anis-Raw-Food...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248130969&sr=8-1

Jennifer Cornbleet's "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People" http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Food-Made...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248131042&sr=1-1 which doesn't use a dehydrator or complicated recipes

René Oswald's "Transitioning to Living Cuisine": http://reneoswald.com/book.html I bought this after I'd already read around three dozen books on raw foods (maybe more?), but I still learned some new tips and tricks and useful info. It has an excellent 7-level program for transitioning from not-raw to 100% raw (with low fat: high fat is one of the pitfalls I see with a lot of recipe books). René also has quite a few videos on youtube.

Cherie Soria's "Raw Food Revolution Diet" (which got me re-interested in raw foods). http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Food-Revo...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248131373&sr=8-1 Though I did try an apple/kale soup that supposedly 'everyone loves,' and it was horrid! I can't imagine that using a Granny Smith apple would have made it so (the recipe doesn't indicate what type of apple to use).

Kristen Suzanne ( www.kristensraw.com ) has several recipe books out that are good, but they are small, and if you total the price, expensive. Each one has the exact same first 25 pages or so, and maybe about 50-80 recipes (though the "Holiday" one has only 26!). They are also available as downloads from her site.

There are also quite a few new raw books coming out soon (by the end of the year), including two new ones by Victoria Boutenko (whose knowledge I have mixed feelings about), and "Becoming Raw" by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina (who wrote "Becoming Vegan" and "Becoming Vegetarian" and collaborated with Soria on her book).

Carol Alt's book is one I don't have (the idea of raw meat and dairy recipes in it was a bit of a turnoff). How much of it is vegan?

I also have quite a few raw-food DVD's (I'm a visual learner, and it's fun to feel like I'm taking a 'live class' with the instructors. I did take a one-day class with the "Sisters in raw," who used to live in Illinois, but now live down south, but return to the area here once a year or so to give classes. They said they'd be back this fall, so I might take another class with them...actually more for the fellowship of others in the area interested in raw food than for the actual recipes and techniques, which I've learned a lot of already).

This was pretty much my 'summer project,' LOL!

I'd love to take Soria's classes at Living Light Culinary Institute, as a 'raw vacation,' but it's a bit pricey for me.



You have a wonderful resource in your mother, and I would think she probably knows much more from her 8 years as a raw fooder than I do from my few months as one!
 
Kathryn thanks for the recipie book suggestion.

My mother is a great resource, however, it is sometimes nice to get ideas and suggestions from other people -- you never know what you'll learn.

The Carol Alt book does have a few meat and dairy recipies but I haven't tried those (obviously) -- the breakfast recipies are my favorite.

I looked at the VT raw soup recipies and they don't give credit to them coming from a cookbook -- they are all very simple. The tomato one is simply tomatos, agave and olive oil and fresh basil blended and then topped with chopped tomatos.

My favorite soup though is the creamy carrot soup on this page:

http://www.rawbc.org/raw_soups.html

SOOOOOOOOOO good. If you like carrots that is :)
 
When I first started going raw I tried all kinds of things. I have lots of un-cook books because I like cookbooks in general for inspiration. I look at various websites (Gone Raw is a favorite for recipes). Gradually I just ended up going the simple route with a complicated recipe as a special treat.

Breakfast = Green smoothies - mostly the same everyday with some seasonal fruit changes. Basically mostly green stuff (kale, spinach, parsley, celery, carrot) with citrus (lemon or kumquat) and maybe some fruit. (I'm very light on the fruit). For liquid I usually use green/white tea that I've let 'brew' overnight

Lunch/Dinner = Salad - whatever is seasonal. I work long shifts so I take 2 'buckets' to work. I pack them the night before (I also pack my VitaMix for the morning smoothie). I have small containers from REI that I pack my dressing in as well. I pack the fruit on top of the salad for convenience and just take it out before adding the dressing. I also pack whole fruits to eat throughout the day.

After Work/workout = depends. Leftovers (marinated kale, raw dish, whatever), Steamed veggies (lately a lot of squash and asparagus). If my workout is weights I will try to have something with more carbs (sweet potato, ezekiel pasta). This is usually a very light meal

Snacks - kale chips, sweet potato chips (both done in the dehydrator, although there are some yummy 'cheesey' kale chips you can buy), vegan snack bars. My favorite snack bars are Lara Chocolate Coffee (my mid-morning coffee break lol) and the Organic Food bars (vegan and raw vegan versions). I limit myself on the bars as it's very easy (for me) to overeat on these. I also limit myself on starchy carbs. Almost no grains (ezekiel pasta maybe once a week, manna bread 1-2 times a week) because they love me too much :p

I'm not 100% raw but I get very close most days. And even my 'cheat' days are vegan.
 
babindy said:
there are some yummy 'cheesey' kale chips you can buy)
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I've bought the cheesy kale chips, and really like them! But I decided that since I'd been playing around with raw techniques, and the ingredients for the chips are listed on the package in descending order of weight (as on all packages) I could figure out how to make them myself for a lot cheaper (one of the fun things about making raw foods!)

Here's my recipe:

1 bunch kale (I used curly kale, but dino would work as well, and might even give a better consistency. I haven't tried it though.)

Remove the stem, and tear the kale into big pieces (about 2-3 inches square). Put in a large bowl.

Blend together until very smooth:
1 cup cashews (could use pine nuts, or a combo, or maybe even macademia, though they are pricier)
juice of 1 small or 1/2 large lemon
1-1 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast powder (more if using flakes)
1 Tbsp nama shoyu
1 T chopped onion or about 1/2 tsp onion powder
about 1/2 tsp sea salt

(taste to see if you like it. It should be 'almost salty enough' and "just about cheesy enough" but not 'just right,' as the flavors will concentrate in the dehydrator.)

Pour about 1/2 the sauce on the kale. Kneed and 'massage' the sauce into the kale well, until the kale starts shrinking down, then add the rest of the sauce and keep kneeding until the kale becomes even more dense (this keeps it from being too light and 'flakey' when dry).

Spread on dehydrator sheets and dehyrate until desired consistency (I like it really crispy/chewy).

(You might need to experiment a bit. It took me three times to get the method down right. The first time, I followed somebody's recipe for the cheese sauce, and made sure there was a LOT of it on each leaf. I also didn't really massage it, but more like spread the sauce on the leaves--as one recipe I found said to do. That ended up a weird consistency and didn't taste as good as my cheese recipe. The second time, I didn't massage the kale much, so it ended up a little lighter and flakier than I liked, but it still tasted really good!)

Enjoy!
 
kathryn said:
I've bought the cheesy kale chips, and really like them! But I decided that since I'd been playing around with raw techniques, and the ingredients for the chips are listed on the package in descending order of weight (as on all packages) I could figure out how to make them myself for a lot cheaper (one of the fun things about making raw foods!)
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There's a recipe on the Gone Raw site as well. I make them sometimes. I tend to cut back on the nuts and add more veggies (carrots, celery in addition to the red bell pepper). It gives them a different consistency but still good. I tend to over-dehydrate mine and they end up melt-in-your-mouth. I need to remember to pull them earlier :cool:

btw some of my favorite raw recipes (on that site) are for catsup (to go with jicama fries) and the mango chili sauce. mmm mmm good!
 
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