30 Days of Raw Food

Delivered from evil?

I'm looking at a casserole dish with chunks of sweet potatoes, baby carrots, garlic cloves, onions, rosemary and olive oil. All things I'm allowed to eat.

Until I put in in the oven.

I'm having some trouble with that, with believing that the food before me becomes toxic when I cook it. I understand that cooking food causes it to lose some of its nutrients. But toxic? Processed foods, yes. Sugar, yes. Dairy and caffeine, maybe. But a roasted sweet potato or carrot is not good for me? If I were to eat all the foods I'm eating now, but I cooked some of them, would I feel less energetic? Would I be more prone to cancer or other disease? Would I actually stop glowing?

The science on this varies. You can find many a website to support a yes or no answer to my questions. Most of it is complicated and difficult to understand. So I'm going to do what I always do when this experience is over.

I'm going to go with my gut.

Maybe I'm having trouble with this concept because this weekend was the first time I really, really wanted something else to eat. Like Eric, I'm bored. Willpower came heavily into play while preparing food for my family, and I felt hungry for the first time, although I'll admit that was probably more psychological then physical. I kept thinking, "The toast I eat is flourless. It has spouted organic grains, no sugar, no preservatives, nothing bad for me. So why can't I have it?"

I didn't give into temptation, but it's the first thing I'm eating on April 30. With raw honey.

Day 22: Yawn

It's Day 22, and I'm bored.

I've been striving all along for variety, and I've tried avocado gazpacho, raw marinara sauce, raw pesto, chickpea hummus (bleh), mock salmon pate (good, but rich thanks to the walnuts), various salads and dressings, and, on Saturday night, stuffed red peppers (an experimental recipe involving mushrooms, garlic, jalapeno, spinach, green onions, cilantro, tomato and cumin).

I've learned how to select and cut up a pineapple. My knife skills with fruit and vegetables have vastly improved. I learned that asparagus tastes pretty good raw, if you marinate it for a while in olive oil, lemon juice and salt. I've learned a lot, actually. And today I'm bored with all of it.

It's not about the vegetables though. In fact, the thing I most want to eat is a batch of veggie enchiladas that I found a recipe for last year in this cookbook. Naturally, they're not raw. But you'd better believe that's what I'll be making eight days from now.

The smoothies hit the newsroom

There's been a lot of talk about green smoothies on this blog. It's  been a staple breakfast for all three of us, and I know for me, it'll continue to be after these 30 days.  A little kale and celery, a little frozen fruit and bee pollen? That's a little glass of heaven, right there.

But people have been skeptical about our sludgey-looking drinks. They can't taste all that good, can they? We decided to let them find out for themselves, and  see how the green smoothie fares under the scrutiny of the Courant newsroom.  Here's a video of our taste test.

Raw Foodies Featured on Morning TV

Eric, Cindy and Joann appeared on the Fox 61 Morning Show with Logan Byrnes.

Drinking the Kool-Aid?

You're glowing. You're radiant. Your hair has a sheen.

These are the comments I'm getting from my colleagues, friends, family. Not since I was first pregnant 17 years ago have I received so many comments about my appearance.

I'm not buying it.

When I look in the mirror, I see a slightly skinnier me. That's it. I still have the skin, hair and wrinkles of a 52-year-old woman. I'm OK with that, but I'm wondering what everyone is seeing ...

...Or imagining.

These comments are all coming from people who know I am on this diet, so perhaps there is a certain expectation that these changes will occur. Raw-food proponents do claim that you will look and feel better eating this way, that your skin will be healthier, that you will lose weight. I do have more energy, and if losing 10 pounds has improved my appearance, I guess I can accept that.

It's not that I'm not a believer. Eating more raw foods has to be good for you. But I can't help but think it's probably too soon to have reaped any major health benefits or changes in appearance.

So not until I start glowing in the dark will I be impressed.

Cravings, I've had a few

But then again, too few to mention. This is a blog, though, so here they are anyway.

Actually, one of the most frequent questions people ask, aside from what I can eat, is what I miss eating.

Truth be told, there is definitely food I hanker for, and it's not what you might think. It's the little stuff.

I miss popcorn. When I went last week to see the Rolling Stones concert movie, "Shine A Light," the scent of popcorn was wickedly enticing.

I also miss tortilla chips. Eating guacamole with celery stalks, or a spoon, just isn't the same as that satisfying, salty crunch you get from a good tortilla chip. And when the chips are a little warm? Perfect. (I have seen recipes for raw chips, but I haven't had a chance to explore them yet.) For that matter, I sort of miss eating tortillas, too.

Cheese is another one, both on its own and as a condiment. I love a salad sprinkled with a little crumbled blue cheese.

And then yesterday, the warm weather ushered in a new tantalization: the smell of a cookout. Meat, veggie kabobs, corn -- it's all delicious off the grill.

On the other hand, though, there are plenty of raw enticements, too. I have a container full of raw fig newtons generously supplied by SJB (from a recipe she invented), and they're even better than the real thing.

Chia, sans pet

Joann did a great job of describing the workshop that we went to last weekend, but she left out my favorite new discovery -- CHIA GEL!

Our host, George Parker, passed around a small sample of what looked like watery tapioca pudding. He was talking about something, but I was gazing into the glass, wondering whether to swallow the runny liquid with dark, minute globs of something. But I heard the words almond milk and tapioca, two delightful flavors, so I took the plunge.
Delicious! Better than tapioca, because it was guilt-free.
Then I heard him say how good chia seeds were for me, something about omega fats and hydration and tremendous nutritional and medicinal qualities, so I looked it up when I got home.

Apparently, the Aztecs used chia seeds. They are loaded with calcium and protein, have a good ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 (I have no idea what that means) and slow down the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar (making them a potential aid for diabetics). They do more, but you get the picture.

I went to Whole Foods to get some, but they wanted $25 for a small container, probably about a pound's worth. No matter how good they are for me or how good they taste, I'm not paying that, but I found organic, raw chia online for about $5.49 a pound, depending on how much you buy.

I have 5 pounds on the way, and I plan to make them part of my family's diet.

In the meantime, thanks to Joann, I have some sitting in almond milk in my fridge, waiting for tomorrow's breakfast smoothie, but I'll be sure to take a big swig and savor that tapioca consistency before I dump them in.

Hummus Without Chickpeas? That's Crazy Talk!

But indeed, at the raw workshop this weekend, George Parker made a delicious hummus that replicated the taste of my favorite dip -- and not a chickpea in sight.

The secret ingredient? Zucchini. I know -- who'd have thunk it, right? But by peeling away the green skin, the fleshy white of the vegetable makes a good base that mimics the look of hummus. I didn't do a great job of writing down every recipe (sorry!), but I did make sure to take this one home with me:

Ingredients
2 zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 cup raw tahini
1/2 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
1/3 cup cold-pressed olive oil
1/4 cup chopped olives (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

Preparation
In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients and blend until thick and smooth. For thicker hummus, refrigerate tahini or add ground sesame seeds.

Culinary Delights

As Cindy mentioned in an earlier post, she and I attended a really informative raw foods demonstration in Andover on Saturday, led by certified raw foods chef, George Parker.

George has been raw since the 1970s and has trained with some of the leaders in the raw movement through the years, including Chef Chad Sarno, a pioneer in raw cuisine.

The four-hour demo was done right in George's house, about 15 of us clustered in his kitchen watching as he prepared all sorts of raw delights -- buckwheat and hemp milks, a green smoothie, raw pizza, broccoli and "cheese" (made with a base of blended nuts) and the delicious avocado and kale salad that Cindy posted. (Easy to make and really tasty. I made a large bowl of it Sunday night, and it'll be a staple meal for the next week, and very likely beyond these 30 days).

Some of the foods that George made were more of the gourmet variety -- dishes with a culinary flair that take some time or dehydration, as in the case of the raw pizza (made with a soaked buckwheat crust) or the raspberry crepe (made with blended bananas dehydrated into a sort of fruit leather).

Delicious as they were,the more gourmet-type dishes aren't particularly practical for me to make, especially since I don't own a dehydrator, and don't have any plans to. But the larger point for me was seeing how creative you can get in a raw kitchen. You learn to look at textures and tastes of foods a little differently, and see how playing around with some soaking and blending or unexpected food combinations can yield some surprisingly good meals.

I walked away from the demo not only with a happily full belly, but with a lot of great information, new ideas and some sound advice about how to approach a raw lifestyle.

And probably the biggest thing I've been chewing on is something that George said, essentially about simplicity. Even though he makes a mean raw pizza and has all the know-how and equipment to make complicated raw cuisine, he said the bulk of his own diet is salads and greens and smoothies. When people first jump into raw, they often initially experiment with some of the gourmet stuff and hit up the nuts and nut butters and fancier fare. That's what I did, anyway. And that's one reason I think I've had some shockingly high grocery bills. But as you move into it, he said, "You'll actually end up eating higher on the scale, eating more salads and greens, which will cut your costs down."

(Now, I know when some people hear "salad" they think deprivation. But he's not talking wimpy lettuce and a cherry tomato. He's talking a complete meal with dark,leafy greens like kale or spinach, hemp seeds, sea vegetables and avocoados. Eat one of those sorts of salads and tell me you don't feel satiated).

That's all to say, I've decided to approach this week with some simplicity. And so far, so good. Using Sunday as a prep day to do my grocery shopping and make some dressing and salads in advance has done wonders for my sanity. Winging it day-by-day was a little crazy-making.

Anyhow, I'll leave you to salivate over these photos of the great dishes we sampled.

Sinfully delicious. I'd never have guessed this crepe, stuffed with a creamy nut-based filling, was made with dehydrated bananas.

I've been missing the crunch of a cereal, and this hit the spot. Granola, made with buckwheat, pumpkin seeds, goji berries and mulberries.

The raw pizza, before heading into the dehydrator for a little bit. It was totally delicious, and really close to the real thing.

Raw broccoli and cheese? Indeed. I had two helpings.

At the halfway mark

Yesterday marked the halfway point in our raw-food experiment, and despite my day-to-day grumbling about various aspects of eating raw, it's gone by pretty quickly so far.

I've been mightily heartened by the support and encouragement we have received, both from friends and many colleagues and from people following along with the blog and posting comments. The recipes and exhortations have been a big help.

By the same token, though, the occasional bursts of zealotry from some quarters are off-putting. For example: Maybe it's time to rethink my values and qualities as they relate to food. Beg pardon? Or, coffee is a drug. Well that's just wrong. It's the seed from a little red berry that is harvested from plants, dried and roasted.  (Maybe you're thinking of caffeine, which is a naturally occurring stimulant in coffee?)

Point is, that's the kind of  judgmental nonsense that dampens enthusiasm for undertakings such as this one. I probably speak for all three of us when I say that we're not doing this for outside approval from rawer-than-thou snobs. This is a test to see whether a raw lifestyle is practicable for Eric, Cindy or Joann, and that makes it a very individual, very personal endeavor. 

Glen put it in context in an e-mail he sent to us last night after a conference-call interview with  Dhrumil from We Like It Raw. Glen noted that "raw food is not the end all," then continued, "Living a life with great relationships, a fun job and some raw food or no raw food can also create happiness and longevity. Your body tells you what is best if nothing else learn to listen to your body."

That's the best advice I've heard so far.