Cooking School in the Raw
by Olivia Wu, Chronicle Staff Writer

Like all canny cooks, Cherie Soria knows how to hook her audience: with desserts. But Soria doesn't pull out the stops with butter, sugar, eggs and flour, baking them into fluffy confections. She makes her magic with avocado and agave syrup — and no baking at all. By the time her students taste her creations, they don't mind that those unexpected ingredients are the major components of their chocolate mousse. As Soria would say, "If you can make a raw vegan cheesecake better than regular cheesecake, why would you eat regular cheesecake?"

Read more on Raw Food Chef & Cooking Classes…

Cooked Food Versus Raw: Some of the Known Differences

Cooked foods cannot create true health because they are missing some very vital elements needed by the body for its optimal functioning; things like enzymes, oxygen, hormones, phytochemicals, bio-electrical energy and life-force. When foods are heated above 105 degrees Farenheit they begin to lose all of these. By 118 degrees Farenheit, most food is dead. Yes, the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are still there, but in a greatly altered state — not at all what nature provided.

Read more on Cooked Food Versus Raw Food…

Enthusiasts Flock to Raw Food, Saying It Contains Health Benefits
by Mechele Cooper

A cool breeze floated in through the windows as the group of food enthusiasts sat down to a gourmet meal.The breeze was welcome, but not because these food groupies had been slaving over a hot stove. This group — gathered as part of Northern Botanicals Lifestyle Center's wellness retreat — were enthusiasts of raw food. A raw-food diet consists of uncooked vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, and cereals. None of the food is cooked, processed or animal-based. No sushi here. No steak tartare, either. Going raw, when it comes to food, is a growing trend in the United States, but it's relatively new to Maine, according to Bob and Pat Manning, owners of the lifestyle center on Cobbossee Stream.

Read more on Raw Food in the News in Maine…

Raw Food Detox Diet

Are you sick of counting carbs? There's a new diet trend on the market — it's called a raw food diet. It consists of eating foods that are close to nature and mainly raw. But can you stick to it? One nutritionist says it's easy and you can even have dessert. Ice cream, dark chocolate, and cookies� You can eat them and still lose weight? Sure, but they have to be raw. It's part of a diet designed by nutritionist Natalia Rose.

Read more on Raw Food Detox Diet…

Read more on Weight Loss With the Raw Food Diet in Australia…