What the Heck is Raw Food? -- Plus some resources to get you started!

Photo courtesy of my bud Aimee "The Wellness Woman." You can find the recipe to this gorgeous all Raw Bento Box here. Aimee is an amazing raw food chef and an inspiring life coach. She has also graciously agreed to do a guest post for my blog in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!



So, What the Heck is Raw Food Anyway?


The terms "Raw Food" and to a lesser degree "Living Cuisine" have been making their way into the mainstream public's consciousness recently. This is due in part to a few celebrities who've adopted a raw foods lifestyle (... Anyone  remember the hoopla surrounding Demi Moore's amazing bikini body when she appeared in the Charlie's Angels movie? Well, she achieved her svelte figure by going raw.).


But what exactly is raw food, you may be asking. Simply put, raw food consists of fresh, minimally processed and uncooked ingredients. Raw foodists are almost all exclusively vegan or vegetarian, so in this sense, raw food does not refer to raw meat and seafood. As an additional guideline, if you pick up any raw foods book (see resources list below), you'll read that food is no longer considered "raw" once it has been heated above a certain temperature -- most agree that's somewhere between 105 and 118 degrees.



So what do raw foodists eat?


Well, it's not just salads. There's an unending supply of fabulous raw food recipes out there (one of my favorites is raw, vegan lasagna). Still, leafy green vegetables, including wild greens and sprouts are usually at the top of a raw foodist's menu. Then there's a healthy dose of fruits (both sweet and unsweet), nuts and seeds, and fats/oils (avocados, coconut, olives). Some also include seaweeds and so-called "super foods" such as maca, cacao (raw chocolate) and goji berries. (more about super foods another day).


Some people do eat a 100% raw food diet. However, this is just not realistic for most (especially me), so many who are into the raw foods lifestyle eat "high raw" where they strive to eat anywhere from a 60% to 90% fresh, plant based diet.




Why would people eat only raw food?


There are many reasons why people adopt this way of eating. Many health buffs are turned on by the super high content of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients this diet offers; still, others claim this diet gives them more energy, improves digestion and makes them more conscious of where their food comes from; but the major reason people go raw is because they are facing some sort of health challenge. For instance, there are many people who have reversed their type-II diabetes and have completely come off of insulin after going raw. While training as a raw food chef, I even met one Type-I diabetic who has been able to significantly reduce the number of daily insulin shots by eating a diet high in raw foods.


Though, the biggest impetus behind people going raw seems to be Weight Loss. This is certainly true for me. Do a google search for before and after pics of people on a raw diet. There are some really amazing stories of people who have shed massive amounts of weight on this diet. One woman (Angela Stokes-Monarch),  for example, lost and kept off about 160 pounds eating this way. The reason why people lose so much weight on raw foods is because raw foods are nutritionally dense but still low in calories. Thus you can eat a lot more raw food by volume while still consuming significantly fewer calories than you would by eating cooked food. Raw food also has more dietary fiber than cooked food, which is great for weight loss since foods with fiber make you feel fuller longer.




A Diet for the Masses?


Many people think that a 100% raw food diet is too restrictive. I happen to be one of them, but I think that it is a great Healing Diet, and periods of all raw can be great after days (or weeks) of eating too much junk. (Speaking of healing diets, I will be doing 3 weeks at Optimum Health Institute in June --stay tuned for my video-blogs about my experience!)


So, even though all raw many not be for everyone, most people could stand to add a little more fresh fruits and vegetables into their diets. And if you're feeling stuck in a salad rut and want to find fun new, healthy ways to feed your family, I highly recommend you give some raw food recipes a try.

Some Raw Food Resources

The following is a partial list of some raw food resources I've found helpful over the years. Although I do not agree with every opinion in the raw food movement, I like the overall messages of the people and products below and I think they are a great resource for beginners. Still, with most things in life, I take what is good for me, learn from it, and leave the rest behind. I suggest you do the same.

The Raw Food Detox Diet, by Natalia Rose


Super accessible, with multiple transition plans to help you incorporate more raw foods into your diet...especially for those who do not wish to go 100% raw. I also really liked her "raw before dinner" recommendations.

Everyday Raw, by Matthew Kenney


This is, by far, my favorite raw food recipe book of all time! It has everything: soups, salads, snacks, desserts, main courses and more. The mango wrapper on the cover is what prompted me to buy this book, and it did not disappoint!

The Vita-Mix blender


This blender is used by professional chefs and kitchens (such as on Food Network's Iron Chef Kitchen stadium) and it's usually the go-to-gadget for raw foodists everywhere. I even know people who travel with theirs! See my glowing review of the amazingness that is the Vita-Mix here.



 Online Raw Food Shopping 

 

Most things I need I can get at a regular grocery store, at my local health food store or Whole Foods. However, when I need a specialty item or just feel like treating myself to a tasty treat, The Raw Food World is where I go. It's my online stop for raw goodies and natural/health items for my home.


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Çoban Salatası (aka Shepherd's Salad)

So this is another very traditional Turkish dish. I love it because it is so simple to make, yet still so delicious. It's a perfect spring or summer dish, pairing cool crunchy cucumbers with sweet and succulent tomatoes. It's so light; so refreshing; and so tasty. The folklore/history behind this dish is that shepherds, while out all day tending their flocks, would pick a bit of this and a bit of that..basically, whatever veggies were available out in the fields, and that's what they would eat while working. And well that's where the name comes from..as shepherd is "Çoban" and Salatası is, you guessed it, salad. There really is no set ingredient amount for this, so I'll just tell you how I made it last night.


Çoban Salatası (aka Shepherd's Salad) - Serves 4


2 cucumbers ( I seeded mine, but I don't usually)
4 roma tomatoes --or 2 large regular tomatoes (Again,  I seeded mine, but I don't usually)
1/4 onion, chopped or minced - I used red -but use whatever you like
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped (or minced) parsley
1 garlic clove, minced


Chop cucumbers and tomatoes, mix with remaining ingredients. Let rest at least 15 minutes so flavors combine. Serve.


Tip (1): I always like this dish a little on the lemony side. I've also had it made with more of an accent on the olive oil. So, if you don't want yours as lemony as I like mine, try increasing to 3 Tbs of olive oil.


Tip (2): I was in the mood for a chunkier salad last night. Generally, the veg in this dish are chopped a little finer than what I did. Have fun and play around - and make it however you like. This really is an easy-to-make,  fail proof dish.


Cheers!


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Choco-Berry Smoothie - Recipe

Speaking of smoothies for dessert, here is a creamy, cool treat that's guaranteed to satisfy your cravings for both sweet and chocolate. Normally, my chocolate smoothies have a lot of "crazy" specialty ingredients like maca (purported to balance hormones), spirulina (a vitamin and oxygen rich blue-green algae) and/or low-glycemic, plant-based sweeteners. This smoothie, however, is the most basic of the chocolate smoothies I make at home - and it includes ingredients that anyone should be able to find (or already have on hand). Don't be scared off by the combination of chocolate and spinach. The spinach adds a kick of vitamins, without a bitter taste, and honestly, you can't taste the spinach in it at all. 

So, if you're not above sneaking healthy things into people's food, this smoothie recipe is a great one to try - and, if your loved ones are down with trying something new (assuming most people don't pair chocolate and spinach), all the better!


For those who don't know me, you should know that I'm my own biggest food critic, so believe me when I say - this one is me approved - It's oh so good.


Choco-Berry Smoothie


Method (makes one large or two small servings)


1 cup non-dairy milk (soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, etc.)
1 banana
1/2 cup baby spinach, packed
2 Tbs cocoa powder (or raw, cacao powder)
1/4 tsp vanilla (extract or powder)
1/2 cup frozen berries - I usually go for cherry or cranberry
6 pieces of ice
 - optional  - add 1 tsp honey or agave nectar if your berries are tart


Place ingredients in blender in order listed. Blend and serve.


I hope you enjoy this, another great smoothie recipe, from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman. If you tried & liked this recipe, I'd love to hear about it. I'd also like comments/suggestions if you did something different. Either way, sound off in the comments section below!

Sweet Pea and Greens Soup - A Green-colored Recipe - Just in time for St. Patrick's Day

I do not like a lot of Raw Food soups. For some reason, a lot of them just don't do it for me. However, this, by far, has become one of my favorite raw (or cooked) dishes, period. When I'm short on time and we're super hungry, this is one of my whip-it-up-real-quick meals. It's super easy and very filling.

The bright green color of this soup might appear somewhat shocking at first, but hey, people seem to delight in ingesting all manner of shocking green things on St. Patty's day. So now seems like a perfect time to introduce my Sweet Pea and Greens soup. I was inspired to create this recipe several years ago when I tried a similar soup from "Real Simple" magazine. Theirs was a chilled sweet pea and watercress soup that included sour cream. I liked the soup, but I absolutely detest sour cream (lest it be on a chip); besides, I really wanted to make a vegan version of this. So I started making mine with plain soy milk. But then, I really wanted to make a Raw Food version of this. After lots of tinkering. I found that the fat from the oil gives it PLENTY of creaminess and the apple cider vinegar gives it an amazing cooked flavor, reminiscent of the cooked version that we're all so used to.

While I like things green, I also felt it needed a bit more color contrast. So, I like to serve it with a corn relish that I came up with (recipe below).  This soup is also great with toasted pita crisps or Mexican spiced flax crackers (our favorite).



Sweet Pea and Greens Soup


3 cups frozen peas, thawed
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup Kale or Watercress - with stems removed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 tbs shallot (can substitute with spring onion)
1/2 garlic clove
dash of cayenne
Lemon wedges for garnish

Blend until completely smooth. You can use either a food processor or blender. Add more water if you like a thinner soup - it will get thicker the longer it sits. Chill for 30 minutes or serve immediately (How I like it). To serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Place 2 Tbs of corn relish on top and serve with a side of lemon wedges - which are great squeezed on top. Enjoy!
- Serves 3

Tip: Make sure that you remove the stems from the greens, as including them will make your soup too bitter. Both Kale and Watercress can have pretty strong flavors (more so than, say, spinach) but the sweetness from the peas and the citric acid from the lemon balances out any bitterness from the greens. Watercress in the soup will give you a spicy, peppery flavored soup, while the kale will  give you a somewhat milder flavored soup.

Corn Relish

1/2 cup fresh corn, cut from cob (or frozen, thawed)
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper (or can substitute with seeded tomatoes)
dash salt
dash pepper
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve on top of Sweet Pea and Greens Soup. 

I appreciate and look forward to your feedback. I hope you will try the soup and let me know what you think!


Peace and Greens, from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman

Banana, Apple, & Greens - Smoothie Recipe

I had some teeth pulled last week, so I've been taking it easy and loving up lots of soups and smoothies lately. This one, my husband came up with. It's super simple and pleasingly sweet. He made two versions - Yesterday's was made with soy milk; today's was made with water in place of the soy. As you can imagine, one was much creamier than the other, but they were both equally delicious in their own little ways.

 Banana, Apple, & Greens - Smoothie

1 banana
1 apple
1 cup baby spinach, packed
2 cups plain soy milk (or nut milk if you wanna make this a "Raw Food" smoothie)
4 pieces of ice
an open mind & love (yes, my hubster did write these 2 ingredients down : )


Blend and Enjoy!
- Serves 2



Coming this week on the Diary of a Smart Black Woman:

• Juices vs. Smoothies - and what's the nutritional difference?
• Brussel Sprouts - a recipe you'll actually like!
• Guavas and Greens - a juice recipe
• Sweet Pea Soup - a surprisingly delicious Raw Food recipe

Garden Vegetable Tofu Scramble - Recipe

Tofu is a staple among many vegetarians and vegans. Derived from the soybean, tofu is an excellent source of protein for those eschewing flesh. Some doctors even recommend tofu and other soy products to help combat high cholesterol.

I have to admit, it can be a bit challenging to make tofu taste good, but I think this is more an issue of texture rather than one of flavor. By itself, tofu has virtually no flavor. It pretty much takes on the flavors of whatever seasonings and veg it is combined with, thus making it an extremely versatile culinary ingredient.

There are a lot of versions of Tofu Scramble out there, and as the name suggests, this dish is meant to mimic scrambled eggs. When I first got married, I was still a vegetarian and I used to feed my husband all manner of "weird" vegetarian foods. While he was put off by some of them at first, he immediately became a tofu convert the minute he tried this dish. This is, by far, his favorite tofu dish, and he swears it tastes just like real scrambled eggs. Although I'm not sure I'd go that far, it does taste pretty darn good.

Garden Vegetable Tofu Scramble

1 Tbs + 1 tsp - Olive Oil
1/2 red onion, cut in 1x1/2 inch strips

1 container Firm Tofu
1 1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 red bell pepper, cut in 1x1/2 inch strips
1/2 bunch broccolini

1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Prep Work: Drain the tofu and then pat it dry with a paper towel (or kitchen towel). Note: You may need to squeeze the tofu between the towel if it is retaining too much water. Next, slice the block of tofu into 1 inch-wide pieces, while still holding the block together. Then, cut the block in half. You should have approximately 10 pieces, or 2 rows of about 5 pieces. Squeeze each piece in your hand, mashing it until the tofu is about the same size as cooked scrambled egg pieces. Set mashed tofu aside.

Heat a large skillet or pan on medium-high heat. Slice the red onion. Put olive oil in pan and saute onion about 1 minute. Toss in mashed tofu. Sprinkle turmeric and mix until all tofu in pan is yellow. Let fry for about 3-4 minutes, stir (or flip with a spatula) and let fry 3 to 4 more minutes. Your tofu should be getting browned (but, obviously, not black).

After tofu has browned, stir in red bell pepper. Cut off about 1/2 an inch from the bottom of the broccolini and discard the ends. Cut the broccolini into 1 inch pieces. Stir broccolini into pan, then immediately add the garlic powder and salt. Stir and let cook for 1 or 2 minutes more. In total (not including the prep work), it should take no more than 12 to 15 minutes to cook this meal.

Tip (1): I like to use broccolini because it is quite tender and quicker (for me) to cook and digest than regular broccoli. However, you can use regular broccoli florets if you can't find any broccolini, but you will probably need to cook it a bit longer.

Tip (2): There are several types of tofu out there. Whatever brand you get, make sure that you choose tofu that says "Firm"or "Extra Firm." Do NOT get "silken" tofu (not even the firm kind). It has a soft and mushy texture and will not work in this dish.


I hope you'll give this dish a try. Tofu scramble is easy to prepare and is a great-tasting way to introduce newcomers to tofu.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup - Recipe

I love making soups and usually pride myself on making excellent bowls of the stuff - even when I'm inventing something on the spot. That being said, the following recipe is delicious, but I think I'm going to tinker with it a bit more so that I, at least, will think it's amazing. I LOVE sweet potatoes

 (me, eating a sweet potato in China)

and personally, I think they're rather underrated. Not only are they great in sweet and savory dishes, but they're good for you as well. They're an excellent source of Vitamin A (beta-carotene) and Vitamin C - both of which are powerful antioxidants which may help in ridding the body of cancer-causing free radicals.

Previously, I've made a version of this soup combining sweet potatoes with a couple of carrots. Next time, I'll definitely add carrots again as they made for a sweeter tasting soup as well as a brighter, prettier color. I also prefer the sweet potatoes roasted whole in the oven before I add it to the soup, as this makes for a denser, sweeter flavor. However, this method takes more time, whereas the recipe below took no time to prepare and was ready to eat in under an hour.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

1/2 red onion, diced
3 medium or 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/8 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp curry
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp dried parsley
2 vegetarian bouillon cubes
1 tsp soy sauce (tamari or nama shoyu will work too)
6 cups water
Juice from half a lemon
1/2 cup baby spinach, chopped or chiffonade

Method
Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in large pot. Saute onions and all herbs and spices until the onions are tender. Stir in: sweet potatoes, bouillon cubes, soy sauce, and water. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and simmer at medium high until sweet potatoes are tender - about 40-45 minutes. Transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth. Transfer back to pot. Stir in lemon juice and spinach and immediately remove from heat.

Serve and Enjoy!

Tip - Up the pretty factor on this soup by garnishing the center of the soup with more chopped spinach or a pinch of your favorite sprouts.

Creamy Green Love - Smoothie Recipie

This is my all time favorite green smoothie. I'd recommend it to even the meekest at heart. It's sweet, has a bit of protein, and most importantly it's green! I hope some of you are brave enough to try it because it's quite delicious.

This is a great way to get greens into your diet - even if you don't like them. Spinach is, by far, one of the mildest greens and that makes it a great green for beginners to start off a regimen of juicing and smoothie-ing. Besides the fact that I've had an ongoing culinary love affair with spinach, it also has great nutritional benefits. It has a healthy dose of the antioxidant Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Calcium and yes, even Protein.

Creamy Green Love - Perfect for Two (or for one really hungry soul)

1 1/2 bananas
1 cup baby spinach, packed
1 1/2 cups soy milk (or nut milk) - these are both great sources of Vegan protein
6-8 pieces of ice

optional (though I usually always include both)
- 1/4 tsp (or more) cinnamon
- 3 dates or 1 tbs honey - if you have a penchant for sweeter things, which I do

Place liquid in blender first, followed by other ingredients. Blend and enjoy!

Tip (1): If you do not have a high-power blender such as a Vita-Mix or Blendtech, you may need to add a bit more soy/nut milk (or water) in order to get your blender going. If so, it may help to blend the ingredients without the ice first, and then blend in the ice last.

Tip (2): This recipe (and loads others) taste great with frozen bananas. You'll also find that you need less ice. Just grab a bunch while they're ripe, peel them and stick them in a bag or freezer safe container. They are great to just have on hand. Frozen bananas make creamier, thicker smoothies, and not to mention - a great Vegan Ice Cream! But, that recipe's for another day.

Tip (3): There are numerous reports/studies claiming that cinnamon can help regulate blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for Type II diabetics. Supposedly, it can slow the rate of sugar absorption into the bloodstream, so you don't get a sugar crash later. Disclaimer: Although I'm studying to get a doctorate, it won't be the medical kind. I am in no way suggesting that it's safe for diabetics to go sugar crazy as long as they pair it with a sprinkle of cinnamon. What I am saying is that, personally, as a non-diabetic, I enjoy adding cinnamon for the taste as well as the potential sugar regulating benefits.

So, I hope some of you will give my green drink a try. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Peace and Greens, from the Diary of a Smart Black Woman