Rock 'n' Raw

On the Asian Menu

Many people snack on apples, and they are raw. So, the concept of raw food is not completely foreign. We all know that we should eat more fruits and vegetables each day, which is also not a new or unfamiliar concept. Yet when someone says they eat only raw food, it used to send shivers down the spines of the "normal" folks. 

This movement towards eating more locally grown whole vegetarian foods for health as well as for the well-being of the planet. A major movement within this food revolution is a rapidly growing health trend known as the raw-vegan diet. The raw-vegan diet is similar to the vegan diet—a diet that excludes meat and dairy—and adds the additional caveat that all food should be eaten raw.

The raw-vegan diet consists of fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains and legumes, seeds and nuts. Raw-vegan food is considered to be more healthy because of its living enzymes. The enzymes in foods aid in digestion and are destroyed at 118 degrees of heat. Therefore, in order to digest cooked food, your body has to use its own metabolic enzymes, which takes energy from your body and leaves you feeling sluggish. The heating of food past this level also depletes the food of vitamins and minerals, which is why cooked food is thought to lead to excessive food consumption in the body's attempt to gain adequate nutrition.

According to Jinjee Talifero, co-author of The Garden Diet, "Not only does cooked food contain extremely limited nourishment, but it also contains numerous toxins. Scientists in Sweden recently discovered that heated carbohydrates contain a known toxin which renders water to be classified unfit for drinking when it contains this toxin in far smaller quantities."

Because of all these reasons, the raw-vegan diet is reaching large proportions, and is moving from the fringe to the mainstream via numerous retreats, restaurants and books. Roxanne's, a 5-star restaurant in the Bay Area, is attracting the attention of some of the top chefs around the world for its all-raw haute cuisine, and the trend will only continue to grow.

Source:http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/rawfood9.htm

Principles of Offering Raw Cuisine:
• It's all about the ingredients. With dishes that focus on purity of flavor, starting with top-quality materials is key. Whenever possible, use seasonal fruits and vegetables picked locally.
• Get to know your equipment. Eating raw doesn’t need a stove, but it doesn’t mean you can hand-make it. The most useful tool is a dehydrator, which gently heats foods at temperatures far lower than most ovens. Basic and indispensable, it comes in handy for concentrating flavors and for producing crackers, "cheese" flakes, and the other ingredients. Juicers, blenders, sprouting equipment and food processors are other must-have equipment for raw foods.
• Don't be daunted. Raw-food novices should bear in mind that once you get the hang of making the components, they become simple pantry staples.
Source: http://www.epicurious.com/features/articles/raw/trotter