If you’re venturing into raw foods you should probably know that some foods might not be best when eaten raw.
Yes, I might be surprising you with this information but the reality is that there particular classes of raw foods that should probably be cooked and sprouted, in some cases.
To find out what they are, watch the following video:
If you are looking to get more energy from the foods you eat, asking the people around you for suggestions might send you in some pretty interesting directions. I asked a few people that I know, but who don’t know about my love affair with everything raw, to give me some pointers on how to get more energy from my diet.
Let me tell you, their suggestions were downright horrifying. I heard about the benefits of binging on junk food and high sugar snacks before athletic endeavors; I was told that diet really didn’t matter, and it was all about getting enough sleep; I was even told that maxing out your caffeine levels was a relatively safe and positive way to gain energy without much effort. One guy that I know, who is in amazing shape by anyone’s definition, told me that the best way to gain additional energy from what you eat is to eat pretty much nothing but the processed junk that the in-mall “vitamin” stores sell. Oh, that and pizza and beer.
Now, that last one really blew me away. This guy is young, of course – he’s in his mid twenties. He’s a weight lifter, and as such, has exactly zero cardio. He says he doesn’t care, because in his opinion, cardiovascular health is for people who come out on the wrong side of the “fight or flight” complex. He reasons that he doesn’t ever have to run – he’s big enough to win any fight.
But I think this young buck is missing some pretty important information. Sure, he’s young now and he can load up on junk food and burn it off quickly. But he will get older, and as he does, he’s going to find that he’s not going to get the same amount of energy from that style of eating that he once did. Not only that, he’s going to start doing some serious damage to his body – the kidneys, liver and heart, to be precise about it.
In the interests of easing my fears about this friend, I sat him down and told him all that I had learned about eating a raw foods diet. About how it can help you to keep the weight down that you want kept down, but build up the muscle weight you want. How it can give you energy better than any supplement. How it will revive your system and make you feel as though you have started anew, every single day.
I told him, you need to start on an energy diet plan. If not for yourself, then do it for me, your friend. If it works, you can thank me later. If it doesn’t, you can mock me until the end of time. But try it for a few months, and tell me what you think. Drop the booze, and drink the smoothies. Forget the pills, and pop veggies into your mouth instead. Forget pizza – eat something fresh and raw and delicious.
He’s only been on that track for a week, and you know what? Even he is surprised at how good it feels. I have a feeling that within a few months, the raw food diet is going to have a very dedicated weight lifter swearing by it.
The concept of eating a specialized diet like the raw food diet might send some people to the conclusion that you have far too much time on your hands. After all, when you eat whatever you want, you have the choice to make a complex and complicated meal if you have the time and energy to spare, but if you are in a rush, you can always grab a bite to eat as you zip from here to there. Simplicity is always an option when your selection is endless; but when you are “limited” to a raw diet eating plan, you will forever be pre-planning your meals, and working your fingers to the bone to keep yourself properly fed, right?
As is the case with a lot of things, the raw diet can look a lot more complicated from the outside than it actually is in real life. Sure, you can spend a few hours whipping up complicated and intricate meals for your raw eating plan, but if you are pressed for time, there are plenty of simple raw food recipe ideas out there.
With summertime now upon us, there is no better time to experiment with some of these simple, tasty and cool recipes, leaving you with more time to spend with family out on the back deck, while still enjoying some great meals that will satiate that fickle summer hunger.
A great example of a raw food recipe that sounds very complex but is actually quite simple is a summertime favorite, cold watermelon soup. This delicate dish is great for summer evenings, and will wow your guests without overwhelming you in the kitchen.
To make, simply combine a cup of watermelon flesh per diner in a blender with half a cup on sliced fresh mango, two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice, two teaspoons of freshly chopped mint, half a teaspoon of freshly ground ginger and a pinch of ground cardamom. Blend until smooth, and chill for an hour prior to serving. Garnish with a fresh mint leaf, and prepare to answer questions about the prep time for longer than it took to actually make the dish itself!
Another great summertime dish is guacamole, but most store bought varieties include tons of dried and dead spices, preservative chemicals and added flavors and colors. When done right, a raw guacamole does not need any help for color or taste, and makes a great dip for fresh veggie plates.
All you need are two or three large ripe avocados, three medium sized cherry tomatoes, a lime and a handful of fresh cilantro. Chop the cilantro, juice the lime, coarsely chop the tomatoes, mash the avocados with a fork, and combine all of the ingredients together. Pop the dish, covered, into the fridge for an hour if you can, but be warned: this guacamole is so good, it is almost impossible to keep out of it for a full hour. The longer you can wait to dig in, the better the flavors will be able to meld together, but don’t fret if people want to dig in immediately.
For years, you have heard about how you should be eating ten servings a day of fruits and vegetables in order to get the most out of your everyday diet.
But ten sounds like such a large number, especially when most of us only eat three meals a day. Where can we fit in those extra seven servings?
It is too much to snack that many times in a day, so many people simply dismiss the ten servings suggestion as a great idea – for someone else. Maybe professional athletes or fitness gurus can get to ten servings of raw foods a day, but not a normal person, right?
But what most people forget is that a serving is not a meal all by itself. A serving is simply one portion, which can be part of a meal along with many other portions. So eating ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day can be as simple as having three servings within each meal, with one small snack later on in the day.
For example, breakfast offers you plenty of opportunities to have more than one serving of fruit. You can have a banana for breakfast, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, and a handful of blueberries. Or, if you are really in a rush, you can combine all three servings into a fresh morning smoothie. Combining some fresh greens like spinach in a food processor along with pears, apples or kiwis will give you a great meal you can drink on the go, and provide you with a great selection of your daily requirements of fresh raw foods.
At lunch, you can easily create a delicious salad that will give you at least three servings of fruit and vegetables. Rather than settling for a simple green salad, mix it up depending on the seasons. In winter, some sliced carrots will help to keep you full and satisfied; in spring, enjoy the first batch of peapods; in summer, cool things down with a mix of citrus fruit segments; and in the fall, you can use squash or avocado to give your salads some seasonal weight.
Dinnertime will allow you to be just as creative, and still get in a ton of fruits and vegetables. If you want, you can use a veggie as the main course – a squash can be eaten right out of the peel, or you can slice it out into a raw pasta. If you prefer to have a different type of main course, you can still use fruits and vegetables both on and beside the main item.
For example, if you have cold-smoked salmon, you can use citrus to further “cook” the fish, or you can wrap the fillet in thin slices of butternut squash. Beside it on the plate, you can have a fresh vegetable medley that will give you an extra serving. And of course, for dessert, a bowl of mixed berries, or a raw seasonal fruit tart should be enough to give you all ten servings of fruits and vegetables in a single day, without feeling like you have forced it.
Hello beautiful people! This week’s Eating for Energy recipe of the week is Alkalizing Cucumber Soup. I decided to start with a soup recipe because I’ve never tried a raw soup before. I’ve always suspected that I wouldn’t like them, and I finally had a reason to test that theory. Plus, I had all the ingredients on hand, and it looked pretty easy.
Ingredients:
(For recommended amounts see Eating for Energy page 234. Sorry, but I can’t divulge all of Yuri’s secrets!)
Makes two servings.
The directions say to throw everything into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. I had my doubts about how well avocado would do in my blender, but I figured I’d just follow the directions to start with and adjust if needed. So, I threw everything into the blender and turned it on low. Sure enough, the blades created a vertical tunnel. All the ingredients got pushed to the sides and just sat there.
So, I transferred everything to my mini food processor. This worked better, but not great. It took longer than expected and left the cucumbers chunky.
Using the amounts of ingredients recommended in the book, I ended up with a goo closer to the consistency of a dip than a soup, so I added more lemon juice, altogether about twice as much lemon juice as recommended.
The end result was a delightful minty green colored soup with dark purple flecks. Very pretty. (I would have taken a picture, but that’s not my forte, and it probably would have done more harm than good.)
Now, comes the most important part: the taste test!
In a word: pleasant.
I didn’t have very high hopes for this recipe after it took so much longer to make than I expected. I thought it would take about 10 minutes to just throw it all into a blender and blend it up, but it took more like 50 minutes. I originally thought it would be not great but good enough to make when I needed something quick, and since it wasn’t so quick …
However, I was pleasantly surprised. It has a very light, refreshing taste and goes down easy. I thought the dill would overpower the cucumber, but no. My daughter Ali liked it even more than I did, which is surprising since she doesn’t like cucumbers. The aftertaste is the best part. After I got done with it, I didn’t drink any water for quite some time because I didn’t want to wash the lingering taste away.
My 8-year-old son Michael said, “Yuck! … but it goes away quickly.” Meaning, he didn’t like it, but that was easy to deal with because it didn’t stick around in his mouth for a long time.
Changes I will make next time:
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I will definitely make this again, and with these changes, I expect it will take only 10 minutes to make.
Next week, Blueberry Morning. See you next week!
– Terri
My name is Yuri Elkaim. I'm the author of Eating for Energy and here to inspire you to "eat alive" to help you live your healthiest and most energetic life ever!
This blog is dedicated to healthy eating, raw foods, and ultimate vitality for life! Be sure to say "hi" in the comments. Talk to you soon - Yuri.
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