The Complete Book of Raw Food, Second Edition: Healthy, Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine Made with Living Foods

606 Pages·2010·3.1 MB·English

by  Julie Rodwell

Contents
Preface
Introduction
Why Raw?
PART I: THE RAW KITCHEN
Chapter 1: The Right Ingredients
In the Pantry • In the Fridge • Stocking Up
Chapter 2: Essential Tools
Basic Tools • Not-So-Common Tools
Chapter 3: Juicers and Juicing
Choosing a Juicer • Using Your Juicer
Chapter 4: Sprouting and Greening
Getting Started • Seed Preparation • Choosing a Sprouting Location •
Rinsing and Draining • Harvesting • Storage • Sprouter Care • Greening •
Grasses
Chapter 5: Dehydrating
Using an Electric Dehydrator
Chapter 6: Advice from the Pros
The Balance of Five Tastes • Tips on Presentation • Tips on Ingredients •
Tips on Soaking • Tips on Flavoring Dishes • Tips on Techniques • Tips on
General Food Preparation
PART II: RECIPES
Chapter 7: Salads & Dressings
Chapter 8: Soups
Chapter 9: Snacks & Sides
Chapter 10: Smoothies, Shakes, & Juices
Chapter 11: Bread, Crackers, & Chips
Chapter 12: Raw Milk & Cheese Substitutes
Chapter 13: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner Entrées
Early Bird Specials
Italian-Style Favorites
Platos de Mexico y España
Asian Delights
Other Classic Entrées
Chapter 14: Spreads, Sauces, & Dips
Chapter 15: Cookies & Other Sweets
Chapter 16: Pies & Cakes
Chapter 17: Ice Cream & Puddings
PART III: APPENDIX & RESOURCES
Raw Food Glossary
Suggested Reading
Meet Our Chefs
Services & Supplies
Resources
Acknowledgements
Many people helped to create both first and second editions of The
Complete Book of Raw Food. First and foremost are the chefs and product
manufacturers who contributed their recipes and expertise.
Julian Huerta, a new contributing chef in the second edition, also served
as an assistant editor and played a major role in bringing the second
edition to fruition.
Special thanks go to raw chefs Eddie D. Robinson and Lillian Butler, who
gave their time so generously and prepared recipes for the initial photo
shoot.
Special thanks also to Dr. Ellen Cutler for contributing the Foreword.
For updates on individual chefs’ programs and publications, contact each
of the featured chefs (see Biography section).
Preface
Dr. Ellen W. Cutler is the nation’s leading authority on enzyme
therapy and the founder of BioSET, an innovative healing system
that combines the use of enzyme supplements with other
complementary medicine disciplines to treat a variety of chronic
illnesses and achieve optimum health. Author of The Food Allergy
Cure and MicroMiracles: Discover the Healing Power of Enzymes,
among other books, Dr. Cutler resides in Marin County, California.
As a doctor who has worked closely with patients and their eating habits
for over 20 years, and as someone who has been eating a raw food diet
for seven years, I am excited to introduce the revised, second edition of
this important book, The Complete Book of Raw Food. My research has
shown that it is the enzymes in food that hold the key to health and
weight loss. And an easily accessible, ready source of enzymes is
available in a raw food diet (enzymes are basically raw food
ingredients).
Why are enzymes so important? Well, we’ve all heard the saying, “You
are what you eat.” But the real bottom line is: “You are what your body is
able to digest.” Good digestion is the key to getting the full nutritional
value from your meals, staying healthy, and keeping off unwanted
pounds. The truth is, no matter how closely you watch what you eat and
limit your calorie consumption, you cannot maintain a healthy weight if
your digestive system isn’t functioning properly.
Digestive stress from allergies and food sensitivities not only leads to
weight gain, but contributes to numerous chronic medical conditions,
including cardiovascular problems, cancer, type 2 (adult onset) diabetes,
osteoarthritis, and sleep disorders. And an inefficient digestive system is
more common than you may realize—today, 20 million Americans are
dealing with some kind of digestive problem.
Let’s take a look at the main causes of digestive stress and how the
enzymes in a raw food diet can improve digestion and help you shed
excess pounds and maintain a healthy weight … for a lifetime.
WEIGHT-LOSS STRATEGIES THAT HAVE LED US ASTRAY
These days, everyone seems to be climbing on the nutrition bandwagon.
Books and articles offering dietary advice abound, and health food stores
are thriving. The trouble is, much of the available information is
contradictory and inaccurate at best—and potentially harmful at worst.
Working with thousands of patients over the years, I’ve seen almost
every weight-loss strategy known to humankind—low-fat diets, high-
protein diets, low-carb diets, diet pills, semi-starvation diets, liposuction,
and all kinds of exercise programs for fat loss. While all of these methods
can enable you to lose pounds in the short run, none of them really
addresses the underlying causes of excessive weight gain: a poor
digestive system.
When the digestive system can’t properly break down foods due to an
insufficient supply of enzymes, our bodies run low on key nutrients. In
response, we begin to crave the foods that supply the missing nutrients.
We eat more but are still undernourished and keep gaining weight.
Because poor digestion is at the root of our weight woes, no diet will be
truly effective unless it involves enzymes available in raw food meals.
We may drop some pounds, but the loss won’t last.
Let’s take a look at some of the specific benefits of raw food eating and
how it can lead to a better digestive system.
EAT RAW … YOU WILL CONSUME LESS SUGAR
Bottom line: there is far too much refined sugar in our diet. The average
American eats 156 pounds of sugar per year. In fact, table sugar and soft
drinks are two of the top four sources of carbohydrate intake in the U.S.
Excessive sugar is not only a big factor in our national weight crisis
but also contributes to many side effects and diseases such as
hyperactivity, highs and lows in blood sugar, depression, and restless
sleep. This is as true for children as it is for adults.
Sugar is addictive, both physically and emotionally, making it the
number-one ingredient in “comfort foods” such as cookies, candies, and
ice cream. Food manufacturers capitalize on this by pouring sugar into
their products, including foodstuffs that we would never expect to
contain sugar. Even if we manage to avoid the biggest offenders, we are
still getting sugar from less obvious sources such as ketchup, salad
dressings, and even potato chips! From a purely nutritional perspective,
sugar contains no fiber, no nutrients, and no enzymes. Basically, it’s
nothing more than empty calories. Eating sugar instead of wholesome,
nutritious raw foods fills you up without providing any food value,
thereby taking the place of necessary nutrients needed to repair and
maintain the body. (This is especially true for children, who have such
small stomachs.) And because sugar interferes with the absorption of the
nutrients you do take in, it contributes to both malnutrition and weight
gain. For our bodies to function optimally, they require very little sugar.
It’s best to get your sugar from organic fruits and certain organic raw
vegetables such as carrots and sugar beets, which have healthy amounts
of fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and other nutrients mixed in with their
sugar content.
EAT RAW … YOU WILL CUT DOWN ON GRAINS AND CARBS
Most people have trouble digesting carbs, and its quite possible that you
are one of them—without even knowing it! Although the types of foods
that challenge the digestive system vary considerably from one person to
the next, in my experience, carbohydrate intolerance is a much more
likely contributor to weight gain and obesity than protein/fat
intolerance.
Another culprit is grains. In my practice, I have found that the
majority of people have great difficulty digesting grains. In spite of this,
we continue to view grains as dietary staples, even though research has
shown that they may be behind many incurable chronic illnesses. I know
from my own research and clinical experience that most people with
chronic illnesses do much better once they eliminate grains from their
diets.
Personally, I haven’t eaten grains for more than 25 years—and I am
not deprived of any key nutrients. In fact, people routinely comment on
how healthy and energetic I am, and how I seem to thrive on less food
and less sleep than most.
Eliminating most grains from your diet can do wonders for your
waistline, promoting rapid, significant weight loss.
THE BOTTOM LINE
A raw food diet (combined with a carbohydrate digestive enzyme) will
gradually minimize your cravings for grains, as well as other sugars and
starches. You won’t even feel as though you’re missing anything from
your diet! Once my patients adopt a mostly raw food diet and enzyme
therapy, they usually tell me, “I can’t believe it—this is the first time in
my life that I don’t crave foods!” And they usually notice that difference
within 48 hours.
As enzyme therapy and a raw food diet coax your body toward a
naturally healthy weight, you will find that those pounds that seemed to
be a permanent addition to your midsection will melt away
permanently. As a bonus, you’ll feel more vital and energetic than before
because you are finally getting adequate nourishment—all because your
body is breaking down food and assimilating those essential nutrients
abundant in raw foods. The answer to permanent weight loss is that
simple.
When you eat an assortment of raw food items such as what is
emphasized in The Complete Book of Raw Food you will notice energy and
vitality unlike you had ever imagined, as well as better sleeping habits
and mood and a permanent svelte torso. So what are you waiting for?
Jump right in!
aw food: Maybe you’ve heard about this type of vegetarian cuisine
Ron television or read about it in newspapers or magazines. Raw food
restaurants and cafés are springing up all across the country and it seems
that raw food is the next big cuisine.
But what exactly do people on a raw food diet eat? How is it
prepared? Why would anyone want to eat that way? And—most
important—How does it taste?
You’ll find answers to all of those questions in this book. The Complete
Book of Raw Food is filled with the collective wisdom and experience of
the world’s leading raw food chefs. They offer their advice about
everything that concerns a raw food diet, from what ingredients to buy,
to how you can prepare delicious meals full of nutritional benefits. Not
only will you find what may be the largest collection of raw food recipes
in print—more than 400 in all—you’ll also learn about the tools you
need to prepare them, and how to make your raw meals taste and look
delicious.
If you’re worried that 400 raw food recipes means 400 recipes for
salad and carrot sticks, you’ll be delighted to find recipes for savory
dishes such as Savory Neatballs with Tomato Sauce by Mary Rydman,
Layered Portobello with Thick Pine Nut and Sesame Cream by Julian
Huerta, Full Monty Raw Soup by Maya Adjani, Avocado Burritos by
David Wolfe, Super Broccoli Quiche by Shazzie and desserts including
Chocolate Chia Cookie by Peggy Kenney, Mud Pie by Rose Lee Calabro
and Creamed Strawberry Pie by Karie Clingo.
But before we head into the kitchen, let’s start with some raw food
basics. Raw food—sometimes called living food—is plant or animal food
that has not been heated above (about) 115°F. Raw foodists believe that