I am man, and as man, I must watch football. I love my nachos, chips, wings and pizza, but that’s the kind of talk that got me to where I was in the first place. So, what can I munch on instead while yelling at the tv for the next 3-4 hours?

One of the things I like about going raw is the fact that you need to think ahead when it comes to eating, and I’m quite horrible when it comes to planning for anything. So, being temporarily more organized is a plus. You also need to have a have an idea of how much raw food you have in the house because if you run out, you don’t want to be tempted by some other non-raw alternatives. Snacking is healthy when it comes to eating raw because you really don’t have large meals for lunch and dinner and I’ve actually found myself becoming less hungry. (one of the great benefits to doing this is your body is chemical free, and the chemicals in most non-raw foods actually make you crave more food… non-raw food is extremely addictive and it’s done on purpose). The other thing you need to plan ahead for is the prepping the meals in general… you need to know what ingredients to use in your dishes. And, if you want to “cook” a raw food dish, you’ll have to use a dehydrator.. And if you use dehydrator, it’s going to take a good amount of time for “cook” a finished dish. So, you normally you need to plan at least a day ahead for cooked raw meals, because some raw meals take 4-12 hours to dehydrate.

Hey, I thought you couldn’t cook, veggiebro?

You can’t “cook” food the traditional way, beautiful people, so instead you dehydrate the food. Raw food has to be dehydrated using a temperature of no more than 104 degrees. So, yes, it takes a long time to “cook” anything at that rate, but by dehydrating food at that temperature, it doesn’t destroy any of the nutrition and enzymes within the food…  So, if you’re going raw for real (like, f’ real, f’ real), get a dehydrator (I’ve actually heard there are now stoves that have built in dehydrators. And, if you are buying a dehydrator, from my experience, the more you pay for quality, the faster your food will “cook.”) But, back to football… what am I eating?

I prepped some celery stalks, brocolli, and carrot sticks. Still missing the naughty food factor. Luckily, earlier in the week I bought some sweet potatoes, so I decided on sweet potato chips.

Ingredients

• 3-4 Sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tbsp of Himalayan sea salt
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp of paprika
• 1 tbsp of chili powder
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne
• 1 tbsp of cumin
• 1 tbsp of onion powder
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 2 tbsp of agave nectar

Instructions

• Slice the sweet potatoes into slices as thin as you can get them (use a spiral slicer or something like that)
• Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour them over the sweet potato slices
• Spread the slices on the racks of your dehydrator for about 8-12 hours (WHAT!?!) No I’m not joking… but it’s WORTH IT!

After the chips done (if you want soft chips. take them out early, if not, let them stay in until crispy like potato chips), take them out, freak out your friends by telling them you’re on a raw food diet, explain to them how you no longer eat cooked food because you want to look fabulous and live forever, and share a chip with them. It may change their lives.

Most of the sushi you see (the individual rolls of sushi pieces with a seaweed wrap) are called Norimaki. Inside-out norimaki, with the rice on the outside and the seaweed on the inside is an American thing. I’ve seen a good number of custom sushi recipes here in the US, like barbeque sushi, sweet potato sushi, cheese steak sushi, even sushi with cream cheese and sausage. (honestly, whatever tastes good mixed together with rice is pretty much a decent sushi roll… but someone needs to break out and do some soul food sushi… chicken and waffles roll, anyone?)

Oh, yeah, this is a site about raw food… stick to the subject, veggiebro.

Anyhow, like i said earlier, I’m starting to mix up my foods a bit more. It’s dinner time and my daughter asks me to buy sushi for her from the local Sarku Japan (bleah)… but, I’m going to do her one better. I’ll break out the Daddy Rolls make her some sushi instead… and, I’ll make myself some as well… heck, yeah! And I thought ahead and bought everything I need. For rice, I’ll be substituting chopped cauliflower. (Just so you know ahead of time, I’m not an artistic sushi maker… my first sushi rolls always look like crap. My sushi looks better the more I wrap, but first ones look terrible. But they still taste good.)

Raw Sushi Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 package nori seaweed wraps
• 1 cup of cauliflower
• 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• Himalayan sea salt to taste
• Thin slices of carrots
• 1 Avocado, cored and sliced thinly
• 1/4-1/2 of a cucumber
• Bean sprouts (optional)
• Cayenne pepper (optional)
• Pickled ginger (you know, the pink leafy stuff you normally get with sushi – optional)
• Tamari for dipping

Directions

1. Put the cauliflower and vinegar in a food processor and chop until grainy.
2. After chopping, shake a little sea salt into the cauliflower.
3. Lay a nori wrap on a flat surface and spread a layer of the cauliflower mixture to the edge on about 3/4 of the wrap
4. Near the edge, place a row of carrots, avocado, cucumber and bean sprouts on the cauliflower mixture.
5. Tightly roll the sushi mixture from the edge where you’ve placed the veggies.
6. Once you’ve completed the roll, seal the edges with a little water (almost like an envelope)
7. With a really sharp knife, cut the roll about every inch or so.
8. If you want a little more spice, you can shake a little bit of cayenne pepper on the rolls. (just a little)
9. Put some tamari in a bowl, grab a roll with a slice of pickled ginger, dip it in and enjoy.

Nice! Here’s a pick. Like I said I will not win any artistic sushi competitions, but I will win on taste, darn it!

Enjoy and stay raw, beautiful people!

For the “taco shells”, we will use romaine lettuce. It’s a long leafy lettuce that wraps quite nicely around foods due to its natural shape.

For the “meat”, we’ll use ground nuts and other spices. Toppings are easy because most taco toppings (except sour cream and certain olives) are mostly raw. Thus, nut meat! (keep your minds out of the gutter, folks… this is your health). You’ll need a food chopper/processor of some sort as well.

Ingredients

• About 3-4 leaves of romaine lettuce
• 3 tbsp of Water
• 3 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup of Raw Almonds
• 1/2 cup of Raw Cashews
• 1 tsp of Chopped Garlic
• 1 tsp of Cumin
• 1 tsp of Himalayan Sea Salt
• 2 tbsp of Cilantro (fresh is better if you can)
• 1/4 cup Red Onion
• Chopped Tomatoes (optional – or you can use a fresh salsa, not from the bottle, but fresh)

Instructions

1. Take the nuts (almonds and cashews), water, olive oil, cumin, sea salt, garlic, cilantro, and about 3/4 of the red onion and put them in your food processor.
2. Mix until the nuts are ground a little bit finer for about 20-30 seconds.
3. You may need to try a little bit first to make sure it taste to your specifications. (PS, don’t go crazy with the cilantro… unless you love for cilantro) Add some more salt and cumin if need be.
4. Spoon out and spread the nut meat over the romaine lettuce leaves.
5. Sprinkle the remaining red onions over the nut meat mixture.
6. Add tomatoes or fresh salsa, and dig in!

And that’s it, folks! Raw tacos!

PS: Weight check-in. I’m down another half a pound! 160 > 157. Cruising along and feeling great!

It got this recipe from an Ani Pho raw food cookbook, who is highly regarded as a top-notch, world-class raw food chef with several great books in print. This recipe is for Avocado Cups. So, here’s how we do it…

Ingredients:

• 1 Avocado
• 1/4-1/2 a Cucumber
• 1 Tomato (or you can slice up a cherry or grape tomatoes… I like them sweet and this is what I added to the recipe)
• 1-8-1/4 Red Onion (depends on if you have someone to kiss at night… added this too)
• 2 Tbsp of Chives (fresh or dried)

Topping

• 1 Tbsp of Braggs Amino Acids
• 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp of Crushed Garlic
• 1/4-1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

Instructions

1. Pit and dice the avocado into squares and place into a bowl. (Don’t discard the avocado shells)
2. Shave the cucumber and dice the shaved part into squares and add to the avocados
3. Dice the tomato and onions add to the tomatoes and cucumber
4. Chop the chives up (if need be) and add to the mixture.
5. Take the mixture and spoon them into the avocado shells
6. Next, mix the last 4 ingredients in a bowl well, and pour the topping over the avocado mixture.
7. Eat up!

I love dates. I love the taste of them. I love the sweetness they provide me when I’m going raw, because if you were/are a big consumer of sugary products (and most of us were as kids, and perhaps as adults… candies, most morning cereals, specialty drinks from starbucks, “fruit” juices, breads, milk… well, pretty much everything has sugar in it… I could go on for a while), you’ll find yourself craving something sweet every once and a while. And dates, much like apples, pears, watermelon, bananas or any other sweet fruit (even carrots sometimes taste sweet after you’ve gone raw for a good amount of time) can fulfill your desire for something sweet.

Now, here’s the kicker.

I’m allergic to dates… and all other dried fruits…

Well, I WAS, until I went raw for the first time.

Now, I’m not asking you to try this… nor am I promoting this in any way, but I got over my food allergy to dried fruit by going raw the first time around, and now, I can eat dried fruit without a problem. In the past, my allergic reaction to dried fruit was really bad… potentially fatal. My throat would close up, my chest would get tight, I would get nauseous and pretty much just throw up anything in my stomach. When I did a raw food fast the first time around, I wanted to move beyond simply snacking on raw foods and eating salads. I wanted to prepare foods and make meals like raw burgers and breads, breakfast bars, pretty much raw versions of anything I made with cooked recipes. But, I found a lot of the recipes I researched used dates or other dried fruit. The first recipe I tried with dates was a raw ketchup recipe (it was a decent recipe, but I didn’t really care… I really missed processed ketchup… notice I didn’t say REAL ketchup… you know, the red stuff made with sugar, salt and high fructose corn syrup). I was about 2 weeks into my raw food diet when I really felt the need to try some different recipes. I blended up the other ingredients and added the dates, just like the recipe suggested, gave it a taste and waited for my allergic reaction to kick in.

Nothing. Not a sniffle. Not a twitch. Not a dry heave. Nothing. And it didn’t taste that bad either.

So, I picked up a date and gave it a sniff. My allergies in the past were sensitive enough to be triggered even by the smell of dried fruit. No reaction at all. I decided to really tempt fate and nibble off a bit of a date. And to my surprise, I tasted the sweetness of a date for the first time in my life without having an adverse reaction. After finishing off the date, I tried my luck at eating a raisin and later a dried cranberry. I didn’t like the taste of either of them but I didn’t throw up or have any difficulty breathing. I had to ask myself, “what happened? How is it possible that I was suddenly no longer allergic to dried fruit?” That’s when I realize what eating a raw food diet was doing for me. I think my body was no longer busy fighting the chemicals from processed and cooked foods I was putting in my body and it was able to focus on other things like fighting food allergies. Like I said, I’m not telling you to try this, but I’m just letting you know this actually happened to me.

Some raw food enthusiast believe when you’re eating cooked and processed food, it isn’t really food in the truest sense of the word because it’s devoid of nutrients that your body needs, and you are, in a sense, poisoning your body. The human body really only has the capacity to break down actual food, and everything else is simple waste that either gets deposited by your body or retained by your body in the form of fats and other items which are bad for internal and intestinal health… and since you’re potentially poisoning yourself, your body isn’t receiving enough raw nutrients to be able to fight off basic things like allergies or basic sickness (since I was eating fairly healthy before I went raw, I never related my dietary habits to my resistance to disease, but I hadn’t been sick for close to 3 years… I went through flu season last year without a sniffle at all or any medication) And, from what some raw food nutritionists believe, if you eat poorly long enough, your body will stop managing your sugar levels effectively and potentially leave you more susceptible to other diseases like diabetes and cancer (some have reported a raw food diet even helps with autism). This is actually the basis for chronic illness treatment at places like the Gerson Institute.

So, what am I saying? Personally, I do not know if a raw food diet can cure cancer or any other chronic disease. Diabetes, sure, a raw food diet can definitely help, or if you have any other intestinal health issues, consuming food with a high nutritional value can really help. All I know is what was working for me. And that I’m no longer allergic to foods that used to affect me. And my body can endure some pretty highly contagious environments (kids both had strep throat last year during my raw food diet and I didn’t get sick at all…). But, if you’re feeling tired all the time or you’re feeling generally unhealthy or stressed, think about what you’re putting into your body and ask yourself if it really is good for you. And if you know it isn’t, you should figure out a way to stop eating it, because there are most likely long term effects on your body you may have never even considered.

By the way, did I mention I love dates?

P.S. Still raw. Down another 1/2 pound. 160 down to 158 so far.

Coconut Cake (9”, 12-16 servings)

9 cups oat flour (ground oat groats or rolled oats)
2 cups nuts pecans or walnuts (chopped fine)
3 cups shredded coconut
1½ cups agave nectar
1 level tablespoon ground cloves
Water as needed (about 2 cups)
1/2 pineapple pulsed (in food processor)

In large bowl, combine oat flour, nuts coconut, pineapple, cloves and agave nectar. Mix well. Add water while kneading the mixture. The batter should be moist but not runny. If too much water is added let stand for 15-20 minutes. Form dough into two large balls. Press each dough ball into a spring form pan.

Icing

6 cups shredded coconut (set aside two cups)
1 cup coconut meat (from young Thai coconut)
4 cups water
1 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons psyllium powder

Blend 4 cups shredded coconut, and remaining ingredients in high speed blender until creamy. If too watery add a little more shredded coconut.

Remove 1 cake from spring form pan and place on a plate (this is your bottom layer). Spread Icing on bottom layer of cake. Remove other cake from spring form pan and place on top of bottom layer. Ice the top layer of cake, spreading icing along the sides of cake. Top with shredded coconut.

Raw Jerk Nut Meat

1/2 cup Sunflower seeds
1/2 cup Raw Walnuts (soaked in water for 2 hours prior
2 sprigs Scallions – finely chopped
1 clove Garlic – pressed
1 sm. Tomato – chopped
1/4 cup Carrots – grated
1/4 cup Red pepper – chopped (optional)
1/4 cup Orange – juiced (optional – for taste)
1/2 tsp. Fresh or dry thyme – chopped
1 tsp. Jerk Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Mild curry powder
1/2 Avocado – diced (optional – adds creaminess)
1 tbs. Olive oil
1 tbs. Nama Shoyu (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Process nuts in a food processor or homogenize in Champion Juicer with blank plate.
Place ground nuts in a bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Nut Milk

1 cups almonds – soaked
2 cups water
2 tsp. unsweetened carob powder
4 dates – to sweeten
1/2 tsp. vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Combine almonds and water in blender, blend thoroughly and strain. Combine
remaining ingredients with almond milk and blend.

Walnuts and Dates Cookie Recipe
This is a quick and easy recipe for a raw vegan “cookie” from just three ingredients. Just whip together in the food processor and enjoy! You won’t believe how yummy (and easy!) these raw vegan cookies are! Be sure to use raw and living ingredients for these cookies to be truly raw. You can use just about any kind of nuts, as long as they’re raw.

*1 cup raw walnuts, cashews or pecans – soaked in water for at least 2 hours or overnight
* 1/4 cup raw carob powder (optional)
* 1 cup whole pitted dates
* 1 tablespoon of raw honey (use regular if you can’t find raw in your local store
Preparation:
Process all ingredients in a food processor until fine and sticky. Shape into balls and enjoy!

If you can’t get the mixture to hold together, add a few more raisins and a tablespoon of water.

Mock Salmon
A delicious pink pate with a hint of salmon flavor! I eat this all the time on top of a large salad with a vinaigrette dressing. It’s such an easy pate to prepare and oh so delicious!

2 cups walnuts
2 stalks celery
1 large red bell pepper
1 large scallion
1/2 -1 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Serving suggestions: This can be served on a plate as is, over a salad, rolled up in a green leaf, or spread on crackers.

Be it regular exercise or a reduction in calories, there is always some risk involved when changing diet and lifestyles.  If you have health issues (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc) you may need to talk to a doctor before drasticly changing your diet  Please note the disclaimer below**.

Most people can not get through a challenge like this without real commitment.  We live in a society that is totally oriented around cooked food. There are so many foods out there that are so delicious. The first thing your body does when you quit eating them is your body and your mind goes into shock and it realizes “I can’t eat that anymore. I can’t go to my favorite restaurants anymore”.  However, there comes a time when you have to take control of what you put in your mouth and change for the sake of your health and wellness.

The Basics of the Challenge:

For 30 days you will challenge yourself not to eat anything that has been cooked over 120 degrees of heat.  You will drink water or tea.

There are thousands of raw foods to choose from but most fall into one of three categories:

Veggies: tomatoes, cucumber, avocados, corn, peppers, jicama, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, chard, kale, carrots, beans, peas, celery, beets, sprouts…

Fruits: mangos, papayas, bananas, pears, grapes, apples, oranges, watermelon, cantaloupe, plums, peaches, apricots, berries, pineapple, coconut, guavas, grapefruit…

Raw, un-roasted Nuts/Seeds/Sprouts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, soaked nuts, soaked or sprouted seeds, soaked or sprouted wheatberries…

You can eat AS MUCH AS you want WHENEVER YOU WANT!   All of the water, fiber, and nutrients will fill you up.

• Frozen fruit and dried fruit without sulfur and sugar is ok too.
• Beans and legumes that can be soaked and eaten are fine too.
• Fresh and dried herbs and spices – these add the flavoring variety to your food.
• Salts – these can bring mineral nutrients to your diet if you use sea salt, miso or nama shoyu, Bragg Liquid Aminos, or Himalayan salt
• Oils – be sure to source your oil from a reputable place, and choose virgin cold-pressed olive oil, refrigerated flax oil, and refrigerated hemp oil.
• Vinegar – apple cider vinegar is considered to be the best because it is high in malic acid, aiding the digestion of proteins.
• Raw  Cacao, Cocoa and carob, and raw honey – choose both from quality sources, organic, and store in airtight containers for freshness.
• No traditional bread: There is some raw bread out there and some Whole Foods stores sell it.

No seafood, no milk, no processed sugar, no red meat, no pasta…just raw fruit, veggies, and uncooked nuts, seeds, and grains.  You can blend them, chop them, and marinate them.  Make smoothies with bananas, mango, and spinach.  There are lots of options.

You may find in the beginning that you want to use traditional salad dressings, traditional honey and other condiments to help add flavor to your food.  That’s ok.  Just try to stay as raw as possible and don’t over use these non-raw helps.  Eventually you want to replace them with raw substitutes.

Challenges: Boredom, Food Prep,  and Cravings

Many people are faced with boredom when considering a raw food diet.  They feel like there is nothing to satisfy their sense of play and enjoyment because the options are so limited.  To that I say the health benefits and weight loss are worth more than having the option to go to 50 different restaurants or fast food establishments.  When you are free from the constant thoughts of what to eat and what not to eat that dieters face, life is so vibrant that you won’t miss the food.

One of the keys to success with raw food is planning for your meals in terms of buying groceries and carrying food with you to work and when you go out so that your won’t be tempted.  You’ll want to get an insulated lunch bag so that you can have raw food on hand at all times.

You’re going to go through cravings and withdrawals, because no matter what you eat, if you’ve been eating it for years, that is the food your body is used to eating. And the moment you change that diet your body is going to crave the food its been eating because that is the foot that your body is literally made up of.  You are strong, and you can commit to making this healthy change for just 30 days.  If you eat something cooked, dust yourself off and commit to eating raw from then on.  It’s a challenge…so it’s going to be hard.  It’s about TRYING not being perfect.

Diet Coke, Sugar, and Coffee Detox: You may experience detox symptoms if you are using these “foods” regularly.  You may have headaches and the feeling that you are coming down with a cold.  That is my experience and it passes in a few days.

Recipes

There are a lot of websites dedicated to raw foods that have free recipes.  Most raw food books provide them or you can get an actual raw foods cookbook.  You can find raw food books in most major book stores and online.

• goneraw.com my favorite recipe site
• www.living-foods.com/recipes/
• www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/raw-food-recipes.html
• www.fromsadtoraw.com

————————————

** PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER CAREFULLY COMMITTING TO THE 30 DAY CHALLENGE. The information presented through this World Wide Web site is presented for educational purposes only.

Because there is always some risk involved when changing diet and lifestyles, the author is not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences that might result. Please do not apply the information on this website if you are not willing to assume the risk.

If you do use the information contained on this website without the approval of a health professional, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but the author and webmaster assume no responsibility. The information presented through this World Wide Web site is not medical advice, and is not given as medical advice. Nor is it intended to propose or offer to propose a cure for any disease or condition. Before starting any medical treatment, please consult your physician.

DIRECTIONS
Process nuts in a food processor or homogenize in Champion Juicer with blank plate.  Place ground nuts in a bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Source: Mojo Juice Club

I’ve really been inspired by the Before and After photo section of Raw Food Talk.  Oh my goodness, in just 4, 5, 8 months these people look like they’ve been on Extreme Makeover.  Seriously, this is they inspiration I needed to hold on to my commitment to Raw Foods.

I also watched 2 videos yesterday that were very, very helpful.

7 minutes to RAW

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMrhvki5oW4]

Raw Guru Tonya Kay on eating and emotions

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3rvrHUZXX0]

Fat deadens the nerves so you don’t have to feel…that’s why it’s comfort food.  Did you know that???  I was like “wow”