Here's a simple, quick, and great-tasting raw food breakfast recipe for you. I threw this together this morning.

Quick & Easy Breakfast Smoothie

• Throw 1/2 a quart of organic strawberries into the blender. (I think it was 1/2 a quart. The container holding the organic strawberries didn't say what size it was.)
• Add two organic bananas and 1/2 a cucumber (leaving the cucumber skin on).
• Blend all ingredients together in the blender.
• Add a small amount of water if necessary (to make the mixture more smooth).

Initially, I didn't add the cucumber. I only blended the bananas and strawberries. However, the smoothie was too sweet for me, so I added the cucumber. I've noticed that I have a higher sensitivity to sugar after eating mostly raw for a year. What I used to consider not sweet (bananas and strawberries) now seems extremely sweet to me.

I'm still participating in Frederic Patenaude's raw food cleanse/challenge. It's going very well. I have managed to avoid all fat so far.

Local Raw Food Update:

This morning, I stopped by the town farmers' market (not the one in the city) and picked up fresh, pesticide-free broccoli and sugar snap peas from the husband and wife that I met two weeks ago. The peas are great, and the broccoli goes nicely in salads. It's nice to have access to locally grown food.

Raw Food 5-Day Challenge:

Beginning on Monday, I will be participating in Frederic Patenaude's 5-day "Spring Cleanse." The guidelines of the cleanse (challenge?) are as follows…

• For 5 days, I will avoid all fats–eating nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables. "No fat" means not eating avocados, nuts, seeds, or oils.

• I will not use any condiments–just raw fruits and vegetables, eaten straight or blended in smoothies, soups, etc.

  [No problems here. I rarely ever use spices or sea salt.]

• For 5 days, I will not eat any dried fruits or dates.

[No problems here, either. I never eat dried fruit or dates. Too sugary, and dried fruit contributes to cavities and tooth decay.]

The challenge begins on Monday 5/30 and ends on Friday 6/3. Join me if you like. Simply make a comittment to the guidelines stated above.

According to the book, Patient, Heal Thyself:

"Ground-breaking research on health and regeneration shows that sleep before midnight is up to four times more beneficial than sleep after midnight. The book goes on to state, "It is important to note that in Biblical times, and throughout ancient history, people would rise and retire with the setting of the sun. I believe this is the healthiest way for us to function today, resulting in improved digestion, immune system health, and mood. It is my experience that the amount and quality of your sleep, as well as the times you retire and rise, are as important to your health as diet, supplements and exercise."

That's quite a statement, and I agree with the author, Jordan Rubin. Rubin is not a raw foodist; however, his company, Garden of Life, emphasizes the importance of enzymes and the health of the gastrointestinal tract. I've read lots of different health/nutrition books over the years. About a year ago, I read Patient, Heal Thyself because it arrived free of charge with a Garden of Life order that I had placed through Nutrition Warehouse Outlet.

Frederic Patenaude also emphasizes the importance of sleep in his book, The Raw Secrets. Here is a brief excerpt:

"Sleep and rest are essential to recharge our nervous energy. Our physical, emotional, and mental balance depends on the quality and quantity of our sleep. Work and play are great, but it also puts a demand on the body, dissipates our energy, and fills our tissues with toxins. Rest is the only thing that recharges these 'batteries' and allows for proper elimination of metabolic wastes (toxins)." Frederic lists "lack of sleep" (or lack of quality sleep) as one of the most common mistakes made by raw foodists.

Going to bed too late at night is a bad habit of mine.

Other Common Mistakes Made by Raw Foodists (According to Frederic Patenaude):

• Eating too many nuts
• Drinking large quantities of juices
• Sleeping not enough or at irregular hours, thinking that because they are raw-foodists they will escape the consequences.
• Eating a lot of oil
• Eating too many avocados
• Constantly worrying and thinking about food
• Overeating acid fruit
• Overeating dried fruit (causes cavities, causes blood sugar to rise)
• Paying no attention to digestion, dismissing hygienic food combining and eating complex mixtures (i.e. super-fancy raw food recipes).

I really enjoy reading Frederic's material because he's refreshingly honest and tells it like it is. I especially like the fact that he emphasizes simplicity (in raw food recipes–no "combo-abombos") and proper food combining.

More information on Frederic's book, The Raw Secrets.

Herbert Shelton's thoughts on sleep:

"The mode of living in this age produces such a waste of power and such a sense of weariness that only the limited few ever know the supreme delights and the enviable luxury of power in reserve. They keep up their semblance of vigor by means of stimulation and seldom take sufficient time to re-charge their vital or nervous batteries. Nights are turned into day, while mental and nervous poise is exceedingly rare. All poison habits, all excesses, the indulgence of any or all the passions constitute distinct drains upon the vital resources, and are sources of diminished vitality, crippled usefulness, and shortened life."

–Herbert Shelton (published in Orthobionomics, and republished in The Raw Secrets).

According to a recent news article, a West Virginia woman placed second in a national recipe contest using a (mostly) raw food recipe. The article below was published in The Charleston Gazette on May 18th. The woman featured in the news article isn't totally "raw," but at least she's headed in a healthy direction.

In the Raw: Local woman’s mostly uncooked recipe places second in national contest

Stacey Angel entered the world of raw foods preparation and dining after a pamphlet caught her eye. It explained the concept and gave a telephone number for further information. She called it and hasn’t looked back. The Charleston woman recently talked about her initiation one year ago into this new way of eating and viewing nutrition: “I took Sally Miller’s raw foods class that she conducts in her home in Sherwood Forest. It was four hours of a broad overview of raw foods. Sally is a wonderful resource and great mentor. I went to her because, after looking at all the food fads out there, I was confused about what could be considered ‘good’ for you. The safest and single–most universally agreed–upon approach seems to be fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Angel acknowledged that she’s not always totally in the raw. She applies some cooked food to a basic uncooked recipe to appeal to a wider range of palates. And to her own. “In winter it’s hard to convert cooked to raw because we all want warm food, especially after a difficult day,” she said. “Everyone loves homey, comfy food and the feeling we get when we enjoy it. My cooked noodles with raw vegetables may offer the best of both worlds.” She developed the recipe after she and her husband, Brooke Brown, had a craving for “something Thai.” She kept playing with ingredients until the dish was perfected. So perfect, in fact, that it’s a recent national award winner.

“My mother, Mary, is a big fan of QVC shopping network,” Angel said. “She got me hooked. I suffer from insomnia and find that QVC is a good cure—it’s repetitive, therefore comforting to me. However it was Mom who saw the cooking contest invitation and encouraged me to enter. It wasn’t one for raw foods, but I sent my Thai recipe anyway and just received the letter from QVC telling me that I placed second.” Angel said as much or as little raw food can be incorporated into your daily diet as you desire. Those who embrace it 100 percent are 100 percent vegans.

Why raw foods? She explained that there are enzymes in raw vegetables, fruits and nuts. When heated beyond 115 degrees, those enzymes are lost and, in order to digest, our body has to produce enzymes, making it work harder. If you cause less stress to your body, there’s more energy for it to perform other tasks. Allowing consumed enzymes to meet the challenge of digestion, giving the body a slight rest, seems in direct contrast with popular cooked-food diets that would have your body toiling to burn excess undesirable stored material. Two of Angel’s three daily meals are raw.

She saves semi-cooked dinners to have with her husband in their East End apartment. He is supportive of her efforts and shares her enthusiasm for the dishes she prepares. Has she totally conquered most no-no cravings? Not quite. She cheerfully confessed her weakness for unsanctioned foods. Her particular downfalls are pancakes, once-a-week salmon, French baguettes and an Endangered Species-brand extreme dark chocolate bar called “Black Panther.” Angel says it’s so good and deeply chocolate that she has recommended it to others and now they are addicted. It’s sold at Healthy Life Market in area Drug Emporiums, along with white and milk chocolate varieties.

She hasn't turned a cold shoulder to commercially prepared hot dishes, either. For eating out, Sitar of India is her most tempting restaurant and the biggest treat. She indulges in their cooked vegetables as her cooked meal of the day. Delish on McFarland Street also gets her nod as having excellent vegetarian items. To prove her cuisine doesn't consist of one salad after another, Angel, a spirited home cook, developed a recipe for chocolate truffles. They're made from raw cocoa nibs, ground to powder and processed with soaked walnuts, dates and coconut. The mixture is shaped into balls and rolled in cocoa powder or coconut. She pointed out that all nuts have to be soaked 8 to 12 hours, then dried before using because they naturally contain enzyme inhibitors. Soaking removes the inhibitors.

From macadamia nuts, she makes a cheese substitute that has the consistency and texture of a ricotta. Her frozen-fruit pie is an amalgamation of two recipes: a raw banana-coconut ice cream to which she adds fresh pineapple; and a maple-walnut crust. Raw zucchini or yellow squash “noodles” may be substituted for the cooked pasta in the Thai recipe. Put the squash through a spiral slicer or cut long, thin strands by hand.

Angel graduated from George Washington High School in 1988, and later from Marshall University with an anthropology degree. She works for Bryan Boyd Creative Group — a marketing and ad agency — as director of client services. She wants to enhance her education and cooking interest by attending The Living Light Culinary Institute in Ft. Bragg, Calif. It's a three-week focus on gourmet raw foods. “If I'm going to do it [raw foods], I'm going to learn how to make it taste good,” she joked. There's only one slight impediment. The 21-day intoroductory course and chef training/certification costs $4,000. Her plans aren't completely funded at the moment, but she's saving to go to the small-town school north of San Francisco.

“Food is a big part of pleasure in life,” she said. “It brings us together. I want to make it pleasant for my friends and family through these classes. I'd like to work as a raw foods chef where I get to be creative and have fun. I think raw lends itself better to experimentation than cooked — no spoiling, no cross-contamination. I introduce people to raw food when I have the opportunity by bringing something to a gathering for everyone to taste.” For those who want to learn more locally about raw foods, there is Sue Miller's $75 basics class. In addition, Miller holds specialty $50 hands-on cooking classes with themes of “Raw Lunches,” “What's Raw for Dinner?” and “Sprouting.” A potluck meal support group meets the first Sunday of every month with a guest speaker each session. Membership is open.

The May discussion was of attempts to start a vegetable co-op and instructions on growing organic wheat grass, an important component of a raw foods diet. Angel gets most of her ingredients from Miller. She says Miller also stocks delicious raw cookies, crackers and snacks at her business, Eats of Eden. Miller's e-mail address is eatsofeden@charter.net. Angel's email is s-angel@verizon.net.

“I want to get the message to others that there are classes, ingredients and a support system for raw food enthusiasts. Even though I don't do raw foods exclusively, I can tell the difference in how I feel when I eat more uncooked foods. I feel better. There's enough of a difference in my body to make me want to continue this eating lifestyle.”

News article published via TimesUnion…

Raw Power: Uncooked Food Diet Blends Health, Taste and Texture Into a Way of Life

Teshna Beaulieu typically starts her day with watermelon or sliced avocados and cucumbers topped with lemon juice, sea salt and tomatoes. Her beverage of choice is fresh coconut milk. The East Chatham chiropractor's routine doesn't change much as the day goes along. She eats a variety of salads for lunch and dinner, often adding fresh vegetables or seaweed. She snacks on nuts. Beaulieu almost never uses her oven or stove. The blender is the kitchen appliance she turns to most.

Welcome to the raw food diet. Beaulieu prefers to call it the raw food way of life, because diet implies a weight-loss program. For Beaulieu, who started eating raw foods 15 years ago, and many others, it's a lifestyle choice. "As the years go by I do it more and more. I feel better with it," she says. "When I eat raw food I don't feel tired after a meal. When I eat cooked food, I feel heavier and more tired." Raw food means exactly that — almost. Proponents of a raw food diet primarily eat uncooked fruits and vegetables. They also consume nuts and grains, oftentimes made edible with soaking that in some cases causes sprouting. However, many raw food enthusiasts use a dehydrator to "cook" certain foods.

Dismissed by some as a fringe fad or extreme vegetarianism, raw food entered the mainstream during the past decade when exclusively raw food restaurants began popping up in California and New York. Raw food received a ringing endorsement in 2003 when heralded Chicago chef and restaurateur Charlie Trotter co-authored a gorgeous cookbook called "Raw" (Ten Speed Press). A celebration of food in its natural state, "Raw" contains 70 color photographs of beautiful, mouth-watering dishes that were prepared without cooking.

"I believe that in the not-too-distant future all serious chefs and home cooks will have a decent understanding of how to prepare raw and living foods and have at least several raw dishes in their repertoire," Trotter writes in the introduction to the cookbook. "This is a way of eating that embraces healthful living, of course, but it is also a wonderfully exciting approach to food preparation that opens up fresh ways to celebrate flavor and texture."

An Alternative

While considered cutting edge, the raw food movement has in fact been around for half a century. Ann Wigmore, a self-taught nutritionist, began promoting it at her Midwest alternative health institute in the 1950s. It wasn't until the past decade, however, that raw food proponents found themselves on the covers of national publications like the Sunday New York Times Magazine. It always helps, of course, when celebrities are on board. Supermodel Carol Alt, musician Wynton Marsalis and actor Woody Harrelson are among the most prominent names touting the benefits of raw food. Raw food is actually more involved than its name implies, especially when the goal is to prepare dishes that are as appealing to the eye as they are to the palate.

The recipes in "Raw," for example, can't be considered easy to replicate. Even if you do have access to fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, try whipping together a dinner of stuffed squash blossoms with curried parsnip puree and tobacco onions the next time you're yearning for a quick meal. In addition to blenders and juicers, most raw food advocates employ a dehydrator to "bake" bread and other foods. Nothing is heated above 118 degrees, however. This is critical to the raw food way of life. The theory is that essential enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 118, and these enzymes need to be properly digested. This is where raw food proponents run into trouble, so to speak. As pure and impressive as fruits, vegetables and nuts are in their unadulterated state, the nutritional benefits of not cooking is controversial at best.

Katherine Tallmadge, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, has called the diet "dangerous." She believes certain segments of the population — pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems — would be well advised to limit their intake of raw foods. "The idea that cooked food is toxic is absurd. There's absolutely no science to back that up," Tallmadge says. "The (raw food) diet is protein-deficient and nutrient-poor." [This is not true or accurate.]

A Long Debate

Try and convince a raw food enthusiast of that and you may be in for a long debate. Alexandra Miller is a private chef in central Vermont who learned the art of raw cuisine while working as a spa chef in the Caribbean. She adopted it for herself, but during a recent pregnancy found that she couldn't maintain an exclusively raw diet. Dry toast was one of the few foods she could keep in her stomach during bouts of morning sickness. Now that she's breast-feeding she's back to a full-fledged raw diet. "I get all of my iron and calcium through seaweed and nuts and nutritional juices. There's a lot of calcium in lemons and yellow and red peppers."

Miller believes she can tell a raw food follower when she sees them. It's that obvious. "When people are all raw they tend to glow. Your energy level is so high because your body's not clogged up trying to process all this food," she says. "You see things and see things clearer." The restaurateur most credited with making raw food popular is Roxanne Klein, the co-author with Trotter of "Raw." In 2002, the Californian opened a high-end raw food restaurant north of San Francisco in Larkspur called Roxanne's. It quickly became one of the most difficult reservations in a restaurant-rich region and was the most serious raw-food restaurant in northern California. The following year, Klein added a to-go outlet to the restaurant which became even more popular than Roxanne's. Last August, she closed "Roxanne's" while keeping open the raw food to-go venture.

Neither Beaulieu nor Miller is actively trying to convert friends to a raw food lifestyle, although each is raising her child on a raw food diet. "When people come to my house, they know they're going to get a big salad," Beaulieu says. "For dinner, I might make some winter squash for guests or some steamed greens. I don't like cauliflower and broccoli raw too much. I prefer them a little lightly steamed. Asparagus, too. But all of these can be eaten raw."

Corn-Jicama Salad with Avocado Puree

Makes 4 servings
From "Raw" by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein (Ten Speed Press)

Ingredients

SALAD:
1/4 cup jicama cut into 1/8-inch cubes
1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup unpeeled English cucumber cut into 1/8-inch cubes
1/4 cup peeled Asian pear cut into 1/8 -inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

AVOCADO PUREE:
1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup filtered water

LIME VINAIGRETTE:
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 lime segments, membrane removed and cut into thirds

GARNISH:
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons micro mint leaves
2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Directions

SALAD:
Combine jicama, corn, cucumber, pear, oil, lime juice, jalapeno, mint, and parsley.

AVOCADO PUREE:
In a high-speed blender combine the avocado, lime juice, water and puree until smooth.

LIME VINAIGRETTE:
Whisk lime juice and olive oil in a bowl. Stir in lime segments.

ASSEMBLY:
Spoon a line of puree down the center of the plate. Spoon 2 additional lines, perpendicular to the first line across the plate. Spoon some of the salad parallel to the first line, left on where the lines intersect. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and around the plate. Sprinkle with the parsley, mint and lime zest.

This morning I went to the local farmers' market in the town I live in. I met the owners of an organic farm. They're not certified organic because they're too small and it costs $500 every year plus scheduled inspections by state agents, but the owners use organic farming methods and they do NOT use synthetic fungicides, pesticides or herbicides on the crops. The husband and wife seemed to be very aware, and I enjoyed talking with them.

Thus far in my life, I've never had the opportunity to talk with (or meet) the people who grow the food I eat. That's pretty sad, but I guess it highlights the modern, disconnected society we live in. The owners encouraged me to come visit the farm, as they give free tours. While I don't have the time (or inclination) to visit the farm, it's good to know that if I wanted to, I could have a look at how the food is grown.

With the sole exception of talking to the owners of the farm mentioned above, I found my town's farmer's market to be rather disappointing. The organic farm mentioned above offered only lettuce and cabbage for sale, along with lots of antibiotic free meat. (They raise free-range, grass-fed poultry and cattle). Since I wasn't interested in buying meat or eggs, that left cabbage and lettuce, which were also for sale. So, I ended up buying two bags of locally grown, pesticide-free lettuce.

The owners of the farm told me that they'd have sweet bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes within the next five weeks. So, I'll head back down to the town farmers' market in five weeks for the veggies. But I won't be going back until then. There's just not enough organically raised produce there.

Next Saturday, I'll be heading down to the state farmers' market in the city, which is a LOT bigger, and should have some organic produce. (Let's hope so, at least.) I want to buy produce in bulk/volume.

I have considered moving to Winter Park, FL (right outside of Orlando), partly because the organic produce at the Winter Park Whole Foods store is spectacular. According to the Whole Foods website, the Winter Park store has "the most abundant organic produce selection in Central Florida, with a minimum of 80 organic fresh fruits and vegetables daily." Now, that's a great selection! Plus, there's no state income tax in Florida, which is always nice! :-) Right now, moving is not an option, but eventually I would like to live in another area of the country.

I just recently found out about CSA's, otherwise known as Community Supported Agriculture projects. As a member of a CSA, you will receive fresh produce harvested from a local farm each week.

Benefits of Joining a CSA

• CSA's are a great source of fresh weekly produce from local farmers (make sure you find an organic farm, if possible).
• By joining a CSA, you will be supporting sustainable agriculture and family farming.
• Buying produce from a CSA is usually cheaper than buying produce from the health food store.

Here's where to find fresh raw food and organic produce in your local area.

This article is from The Rocky Mountain News, and it's focused on Doug Walsh's raw food hike (which I've already written about in an earlier entry).

Raw Food Power Behind This Hike
Advocate tackling Great Divide to spotlight eating style

Between the sleeping bag, tent and extra socks in Doug Walsh's backpack, there will be a tiny, 4-ounce food grinder and half-pound seed sprouter. Not your average backpacker's load. But this is not your average backpacking trip, either. Eating only raw foods, with a mission to raise awareness for his alternative diet and money for some of its biggest advocates, Walsh set out last week on Earth Day to hike the entire Continental Divide Trail over the next five months, starting in New Mexico and ending in Canada.

Walsh has been a raw-foodist, someone who does not eat cooked or heated foods, for the past 10 years. He is determined to prove that even the most stringent of regimens can be supplemented with a raw-food lifestyle. "There's no comparison. I feel better at 41 than I did at 24," he said about his health. In addition to raising funds and drawing attention to the benefits of raw foods, the outdoorsman also will be fueling his love of the wilderness and passion for exploring it. "I'm in love with the Earth," he said. "So I like to eat food that's full of the Earth's energy."

Walsh will use his miniature grinder and sprouter to preserve and produce raw foods that have what he describes as the "life principle." He used a sunflower seed as an example to explain the concept. In raw form, the seed can sprout into a plant. After it is cooked, he argued, the seed won't sprout. "There's some kind of information present in raw foods that is no longer there when we heat it," he said. "It's something that's essential to our life."

Walsh, a graduate of the Living Lite Culinary Arts Institute in Fort Bragg, Calif., a gourmet chef's school for raw foods preparation, is walking to raise money for the school's new building. He has raised more than $5,000 and wants to give his alma mater as much money and attention as he can. During the 3,000-mile trek along the trail, Walsh will stop at 30 previously planned resupply points. His food will be shipped to him at post offices at those locations. "I'll just hitchhike into town and pick up my box of new food," he said. Staples for the trip include nuts, dried fruits and sprouts.

Walsh made himself crackers – by mashing nuts and other ingredients into a paste, spreading them thin and drying them out in a dehydrator – as well as raw bread and even pizzas. Walsh will be carrying a digital camera, cell phone and portable e-mail device to send updates to sponsors and fans. Walsh expects to encounter snow and cold, dehydration and heat, unmarked trails, numerous stream crossings and other unexpected wilderness adventures during his time on the divide. While he's taking his raw-food diet to the extreme, Walsh said anyone can enjoy the same without being an adventurer.

Steve Phillips, a raw-foodist and owner of the Longmont Co-op Market, has been eating raw foods exclusively for about a year and a half. He said they are as appetizing as cooked foods, and better for you. The secret is developing proper preparation skills, Phillips said, noting he and his family made a wonderful pizza recently with dried tomatoes on top. "Yes, it takes a little time, but once you figure out how to make a few things, you just go from there," he said.

A southwest Florida raw food group was recently profiled in The Herald Tribune. It seems raw food is making more headlines daily. The text of the article is re-printed below…

Eat Your Vegetables

When your mother told you to eat your vegetables, she probably didn't realize just how good they really could be for you.

So believes a new group forming in the South County [Florida] area called The Raw Food Group.

The raw food enthusiasts offered the public a look-see recently at how far raw food preparation has come when it presented a Mexican raw food dinner at the Venice United Church of Christ. Approximately 40 people attended the event to not only learn how raw food can benefit them, but also how to prepare a full course dinner made entirely of raw food.

It was both an amazement and a delight. Chefs for the evening were raw food specialists Johanna Farias of Sarasota and Alice Gilmartin of Venice. Gilmartin is hoping to create enough interest in raw foods in the Venice area to offer monthly meetings and potlucks. The pair prepared the entire meal, which included a salad, soup, entree and dessert without baking, broiling, boiling, frying, steaming or microwaving. "I try to make the foods that people are familiar with such as tacos," said Farias, adding, "only I make them using only raw foods."

Why only raw foods? "It's all in the enzymes," said Gilmartin. "Enzymes are essential to all activity in living organisms. By eating foods raw, you are keeping the enzymes intact for your body to digest and use to regain health and vitality." Gilmartin believes that there are many more people open to eating a raw food diet now than just a decade ago."A hundred years ago, Americans were living much more naturally and eating foods that were, on the whole, acquired locally," said Gilmartin. "As Americans are looking for more ways to achieve better health there is a growing interest in a raw food lifestyle."

Farias, who is raising her three children on a totally raw food diet, is writing a book titled, Raw Babies to help other mothers make the decision to go natural with their children. "I'm not fanatical," said Farias, who is in charge of a raw food group that meets in Sarasota. "It is important for people not to be extreme when changing their lifestyle. Sometimes you have to take things slowly and adjust to the change."

Gilmartin agrees. She has used an 80 percent raw food diet on her mother who was suffering from diabetes, arthritis pain and more. "In just three weeks, I saw her balance her sugar levels, relieve constipation, and even her wrists were symptom free," said Gilmartin, who made raw food soups, salads and smoothies for her mother. "An American diet is a very addictive type of diet, as everyone can attest to," stated Gilmartin, as heads around the room nodded in agreement. "If you start by just eliminating the most toxic foods from your diet and then eat more of the foods that are closest to nature, you can help your body to heal from all kinds of diseases."

Gilmartin continued by telling the audience stories of witnessing people in a macrobiotic class healing themselves from tumors, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and obesity. "I am so impressed with what food can do to help the body heal," she said. "I have seen it do such wonders. I have been in natural foods forever." Gilmartin said she began taking macrobiotic cooking classes when she was 12. "I want to offer workshops and give lectures to help other people make raw food choices for their diet," she added.

Sari Middaugh, owner of Veggie Patch Produce in Englewood, attended the gathering to learn more about raw food preparation. "It is nice to know more ways to prepare raw foods so that when people ask me, I can tell them," said Middaugh. Jean Ost came to the event at the encouragement of her friend Lavon Burtnett. "I came tonight because I like to experience the unusual," Ost said.

Judy Pokras, editor and founder of Raw Foods News Magazine, attended the event to meet other people with similar interests.

"The magazine is growing as more and more people become health conscious and are taking a new interest in raw foods," said Pokras.

Would you like to connect with other raw foodists in your local community? Living Nutrition's website has a directory of raw-food potlucks across the U.S.

Find a raw food potluck here.

This is a great way to get support and encouragement from like-minded people.

Spicy Thai lettuce wraps with tamarind chili sauce, mango, napa cabbage, ginger and cashews from Pure Food & Wine Restaurant (see blog entry below–photo courtesy of blacktable.com). This would be a healthy choice minus the chili sauce and cashews. I'm against using lots of hot spices, and cashews are known for having a LOT of mycotoxins. It looks delicious, but it might cause some digestive problems. Fruits (mango) + nuts (cashews) don't mix.

Yum! Zucchini and golden tomato lasagna with basil-pistachio pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce and pignoli ricotta from Pure Food & Wine Restaurant in NYC.

If you're living in Australia, you should sign up for Raw-Pleasure's recipe testing program, where you get to try out new raw food recipes. The text of the press release from kntimes.com. is below…

Raw Food Diet Explodes Across Australia with Startling Health & Weight Loss Results

After a barrage of short term diets aimed more at boosting revenues than improving health, the raw food diet — or living foods as its often known — is a nutritional breath of fresh air. At last, pills, potions and protein powders have been dropped in favour of foods that doctors, nutritionists and common sense have been clamoring to be increased for years: fresh, unprocessed, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Living foods has taken this age old advice for improved health and taken it to the next level; famous chefs like Charlie Trotter, Roxanne Klein and Cherie Soria create sumptuous, varied feasts entirely from these ingredients -– no cooking required. Ordinary people all over Australia and the world have discovered the flavours and ease of living foods, often reporting a wide range of dramatic health benefits such as weight loss, disease remissions, increased immunity and improved complexions.

Sheryl and Piers Duruz, co-founders of Australia’s leading raw food education website Raw-Pleasure dropped 32 kg (that’s 70 pounds) and halved body fat from 21% to 9.6%, respectively, by changing their way of eating. “The weight loss was a wonderful surprise,” Piers relates “but feeling alive, energetic and alert enough to see the world as a wonderful place instead of tired and negative is worth more than I ever could have imagined before. It’s a truly hidden gift of life. Raw-Pleasure.com is our gift back to say thank you and help make it easy for others.”

Subscribers to Raw-Pleasure.com’s free Taste Tester recipe testing program regularly receive recipes such as curries, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches, cookies, snacks and more and are quickly developing a country-wide support network on their forums with a uniquely Australian flavour. Many doctors, such as Dr Doug Graham, are giving living foods the thumbs up. Dr Graham has trained many sports legends such as tennis Player Martina Navratilova, NBA pro basketball player Ronnie Grandison, track Olympic sprinter Doug Dickinson, as well as the United States Olympic Diving team and the Norwegian National Bicycling team.

Dr Graham states that “People thrive on the raw diet, often telling others how it has improved their health and their lives. Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens not only contain sustainable amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat, they have them in the percentages, ratios, and quality that are optimum for human health. When people integrate a proper raw diet with other healthful living practices, they rarely, if ever, develop weight control problems, chronic or even short-term illnesses.” Even conservative groups such as the US governments National Cancer Institute concur with living foods, such as fruit and vegetables, anti cancer properties stating “Fruit and vegetable consumption have generally been found in epidemiologic studies to be associated with reduced risk for a number of different cancers”.

“All I know is that it’s the most delicious, time proven way of eating out there… and we feel great!” says Piers. Maybe we would all benefit from taking another bite at nature’s original fare.

The BBC just published the results of a U.S. research study that compared people on raw food diets to people on regular, standard American diets. The article is re-printed below…

Raw Food Eaters Thin But Healthy

It has been suggested that eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked or processed might make bones thinner and prone to fractures. But a study in Archives of Internal Medicine found although bones were lighter on this diet, turnover rates were normal with no osteoporosis. The lower bone mass is down to raw food eaters being slim, the authors believe.

The researchers compared the bone health of 18 people who had been following strict raw food diets for up to 10 years with that of people who ate a more typical American diet, including refined carbohydrates, animal products and cooked foods. The raw food diet is different than more typical vegetarian and vegan diets, which do not exclude cooked, processed or otherwise refined foods. The groups were matched according to age, sex and socioeconomic status. To gauge bone health, the researchers looked at each person's body weight, bone weight and mineral density, markers of bone turnover, levels of vitamin D and inflammatory markers.

Bone Health

The raw food vegetarians in the study had lower body weights (BMI) and total body fat than the other volunteers. They also had lower bone mass and bone mineral density. "It is well documented that a low BMI and weight loss are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk, while obesity protects against osteoporosis," said the researchers. But the people who followed raw food diets did not have any other biological markers that typically accompany osteoporosis and had normal rates of bone turnover. Lead researcher Dr Luigi Fontana, from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, said: "We think it's possible these people don't have increased risk of fracture but that their low bone mass is related to the fact that they are lighter because they take in fewer calories."

Dr. Fontana said the raw food diet group also had higher vitamin D levels than people on a typical Western diet, even though they did not consume dairy products which are known to be a good source of vitamin D. He said this was probably due to sun exposure. Dr Stephen Walsh, nutrition spokesperson for the Vegan Society, said it was to be expected that people who ate only raw foods would be slimmer and that this would in turn have an effect on bone mass.

Balanced Diet

He stressed that raw food vegetarians account for only a minority of people who are vegan and vegetarian, and that some might find it difficult to get enough calories to maintain a healthy weight eating only raw foods. "We recommend a varied, healthy, balanced diet which includes raw fruit and vegetables as well as other foods," he said. A spokeswoman from the Vegetarian Society said the study was interesting, but given that only 18 people were studied, its usefulness to those wishing to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet was very limited.

A spokesman for the National Osteoporosis Society said: "This is an interesting study which highlights the fact that low bone density is just one part of our overall risk of breaking bones. "We would recommend that raw food vegans make sensible food choices to ensure they are taking in an adequate amount of calcium from a variety of foods and ensure they obtain good amounts of vitamin D from sensible exposure to sunlight."

Elaine Bruce, experienced naturopath, homeopath and director of the UK Centre for Living Foods, said calcium was important for building bones, but that inorganic calcium in the form of supplements would not do the job. "You have to have organic calcium as it occurs in fresh green leafy vegetables." What we do in our programme is maximise that intake by having it in juice form." She said that the chlorophyll found in green plants and vegetables also contained right amount of magnesium that is essential for the uptake of calcium for healthy bones. "The chemical composition of chlorophyll and blood is very similar which further facilitates this uptake," she added.

For raw foodists who have very little time to fix food, you can order raw food meals from Raw Life Line. The food looks mouth-wateringly good. It's fast-food with a raw food twist…delivered right-to-your doorstep.

I'll have to try ordering from them. Has anyone tried this? The coconut creme pie, raw tabouli, raw sweet potato soup, and the raw flax seed crackers with (raw!) hummus look great. So does the cream of broccoli soup.

I stumbled across a very interesting site about an all-raw 3,000 mile hike along the Continental Divide. The Raw Food Hike-A-Thon (created by Doug Walsh) wants to spread the message of raw food to the world and demonstrate that raw food can provide all the energy one needs for strenous activity (not to mention, just day-to-day living, which can also be pretty stressful at times).

Way to go Doug for coming up with such a unique idea to increase awareness of the benefits of raw foods. Learn more about what Doug ate on one of his past hiking trips.

Here's an interesting article about how raw foodists are thin, but healthy. Excerpted below from The Times of India.

Raw Food Vegetarians Are Thinner But Healthier

People on strict raw food vegetarian diets are thin but healthy, US researchers reported on Monday. Although nutritionists and the food industry have warned that a diet without dairy foods can lead to the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, the team at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis found the vegans they studied had many of the signs of strong bones.

Dr Luigi Fontana, who led the study, said they had thin bones but none of the other signs of osteoporosis. "We think it's possible these people don't have increased risk of fracture but that their low bone mass is related to the fact that they are lighter because they take in fewer calories," Fontana said. He said he would continue to follow them to see if they develop osteoporosis later.

"Raw food vegetarians believe in eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked, processed, or otherwise altered from their natural state," Fontana's team wrote in this week's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Because of their low calorie and low protein intake, raw food vegetarians have a low body mass index (BMI) and a low total body fat content. It is well documented that a low BMI and weight loss are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk, while obesity protects against osteoporosis."

Fontana's team studied 18 strict raw food vegans aged 33 to 85. All ate a diet that included unprepared foods such vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sprouted grains. They had been on this diet for an average of 3.6 years. The team compared them to 18 more average Americans. The raw food group had an average body mass index of 20.5, while the average group were slightly overweight with a BMI of 25.