Raw Living Cuisine

Raw Food Cuisine
Photo by Ella Olsson on Unsplash

What is it?

Plants-based foods in their original, un-heated (uncooked) state are considered raw and alive. Raw food may include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, grains and legumes in sprouted form, seaweed, microalgae (such as spirulina and chlorella, etc.), and fresh juices. These live foods (living foods) contain a wide range of vital life force nutrients (ie. vitamins, minerals, amino acids, oxygen) and live enzymes. Their nutritional properties are essential to the proper maintenance of human bodily functions.

Who are the "Raw-foodists"?

"Raw-foodists" (also called "Rawists") are those who thrive on live food energy. Raw foodists consume a diet of mostly un-cooked whole plant foods, usually at least 75%, though some say 100% is the only true path. Some contemporary famous raw foodists include raw chef Juliano, actress Demi Moore, and raw food book author, David Wolfe.

Raw food enthusiasts proudly proclaim their break from an "addiction" to cooked and processed foods. They tell us that incorporating a few uncooked meals each week is a good start that will bring immediate changes to the body to feeling better and having more energy. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can still find easy to prepare whole and rawfood recipes at your local health foods stores and natural food markets. For anyone interested in making the jump to a 100% fully raw food diet, it is recommended that you take time to research the various foods that you can eat in their raw state, understand their unique qualities, and spend time learning with teachers and nutritionists. Going raw is a learning experience that requires patience and listening to the body's needs. Over time, a live food diet may help a person achieve a more sensitive body system, and the body will be more sensitive to what it wants that's good for it (as opposed to one's ego/mind). Many 100% raw-foodists claim to experience increased energy, deeper states of meditation, and a long and healthy life.

Why go Raw?

The benefits of going raw-vegan are boundless. Rawfoods are easy to digest, and they provide the maximum amount of energy with minimal bodily effort. Studies have shown that living foods have healing powers that can alleviate many illnesses such as low energy, allergies, digestive disorders, weak immune system, high cholesterol, candida, obesity and weight problems (weight normalization), etc.. Research and real life experiences have also shown that a person can prevent the body's healthy cells from turning into malignant cancerous cells by consuming mostly a raw food diet that includes whole organic foods!

What's wrong with cooked foods?

Heat changes the makeup of food. Some believe that foods which have been heated lose all of their life force (chi), and their beneficial enzymes are destroyed (although research has shown that some vegetables actually have more utilizable nutrients once cooked, like tomatoes). The digestive system has to work harder and longer to process most cooked foods to get nutrition and energy from it. Once cooked, food can lose up to 85 percent of its nutritional value. Raw foodists call that "dead food." Since we are essentially what we eat, consuming the dead energy of dead foods make our bodies feel heavy and stagnant.

Try eating a raw food diet and see if you can tell the difference! Maybe incorporate sprouts in your meals or salads to add fresh and vital nutrients to your raw diet.

The sprouting process brings out many live enzymes and nutrients in the germinated seeds, legumes, and grains which in turn makes them easy to digest.

Sprouts are living foods that are full of pure vitamins and minerals, rich in chlorophyll, and a great source of plant protein.

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