Raw Foodies :)

[lauramangano]

I'm so jealous...I have been trying more raw foods...I have found that this way of eating really agrees with my body. I even bought two cookbooks and have been trying a ton of recipes out on myself and family! So yummy. My problem is the expensive appliances. A dehydrator, spirooli, vitamix, mandoline, and juicer are not in my budget at the moment. I will keep looking on Craigslist and hoping for some of these for my birthday. For now I am making due with my Oster blender and Kitchenaid food processor.

Love, love, love raw!

 

[babindy]

I'm so jealous...I have been trying more raw foods...I have found that this way of eating really agrees with my body. I even bought two cookbooks and have been trying a ton of recipes out on myself and family! So yummy. My problem is the expensive appliances. A dehydrator, spirooli, vitamix, mandoline, and juicer are not in my budget at the moment. I will keep looking on Craigslist and hoping for some of these for my birthday. For now I am making due with my Oster blender and Kitchenaid food processor.

Love, love, love raw!

My #1 pick would be my good knives. #2 is my VitaMix. I use both multiple times a day. I do use my dehydrator (Excalibur) and mandoline but not as often. I use the inexpensive hand slicer (oxo?) almost as often as I pull out the mandoline. I put away my juicer (I use the VitaMix to keep all the yummies). Forget the spirooli. I found it more trouble that it was worth. Matchstick the zucchini. Or if you cook a bit use spaghetti squash.

 

[kathryn]

My #1 pick would be my good knives. #2 is my VitaMix. I use both multiple times a day.

I agree.

You really don't need all the equipment to do raw foods, it just makes some more 'gourmet' creations easier. I started collecting equipment little by little, when I could afford it.

You can definitely make do with the blender and food processor you have: you just might want to use the food processor to break down some tougher things before putting them in the blender (to save the blender's motor).

When you do decide to upgrade, definitely go with a high-power blender (Vitamix or Blendtec) first. You can also use them in place of a juicer, by blending the fruits and/or veggies, then straining them through a nut-milk bag, so a juicer isn't even necessary. (in Boutenko's book---which I just read!---she compares buying a Vitamix to buying a stove: a high initial investment, but something that is used daily and lasts a long time).


Of the equipment you mentioned, only a Vitamix, dehydrator and mandoline (the latter of which doesn't have to be expensive, I've seen some for even less than this: http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/...itchen-Solutions-VBlade-Mandoline-Slicing-Kit ) are needed for even the most equipment-heavy recipe. The other things you can do with a food processor or knife. And a Cai Bao ( http://ubraw.com/ near bottom of page) supposedly can do anything a mandoline can do.

 

[kathryn]

I'm jealous! Don't forget to post a review

Here's my review:

This is a very quick read. The major portion of the book is step-by-step pictures with directions for preparing 16 core recipes, with some suggestions for variations. The recipes are: salad dressing and simple salad (I count that as 2), sprouts and sprouting salad, lgor's live flat bread, soup, cultured vegetables, live garden burger, peroshkis, green smoothies (a few variations listed, but counted as one), nut milk, cranberry scones, raw mango jam, mango jam pie, chocolate cake, mousse cake, chocolate truffles.

The recipes seem a bit lighter on oil than in some of the Boutenkos' previous books.

At times, the simplicity of the directions ("make sure not to cut yourself") make it seem like a "Raw food for dummies" (though that series doesn't really address the reader as a 'dummy').

The cakes, scones, peroshkies and flat bread recipes look good and different enough from other recipes I recall and/or offer some useful tips (I never thought of drying 'crackers' only on one side, without flipping off the Teflex sheet to dry the other side better, to make a flatbread that easily wraps around things).

This would definitely be a good book for a beginner raw fooder, and/or someone who is pretty clueless in the kitchen.

 

[babindy]

Thanks for the review Kathryn.
I think I will skip that book. I also think I will skip the Cai Bao. I'm pretty sure I would injure myself with that. The lady in the demo is good. I'm a klutz. My mandoline has safety features all over it

 

[RapidBreath]

Do you ladies have any difficulty getting enough calories? Does it primarily come from nuts/nut oils/seeds? Perhaps some in fruits. As I'm working on cleaning up my diet, I noticed that its not easy to eat enough calories because these nutrient dense foods often don't have much calorie wise. Any ideas? Also, since you eat raw, I'm guessing that means no roasted nuts? They would just be raw too?

(I hope you don't mind the questions.)

 

[Travisli]

Thanks for the review of the book Kathryn -- the only things that might make me purchase the book would be the cranberry scones and mango jam, but I think I can probably locate a raw recipie for those without the book.

I don't seem to have a problem getting enough calories on a raw diet or feeling full, which is something I've had people ask me quite often. It may be different with others though and NO to the roasted nuts. Raw is raw. Roasted is not raw.

However, if you've never tried raw nuts you might be pleasantly surprised -- raw cashews are heavenly in my humble opinion.

 

[kathryn]

I try to somewhat balance my diet between fruits (including the non-sweet fruits like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini---anything that contains a seed is botanically considered a 'fruit'), green leafies and nuts/seeds/fats. Fruits and nuts/seeds (with more emphasis on seeds than nuts) are probably the highest calories foods.

At first, I did have a harder time with calories, but I've evened out. After losing the 10 pounds I've been trying to get rid of unsuccessfully since I gained it 18 years ago, my weight has pretty much stabilized.

For nuts, yes, roasted nuts are out on a strictly raw-food diet. But if you soak raw nuts (prefereable, as it removes the enzyme inhibitors in the skins and makes them more digestible) then dehydrate them, they are nummier and crunchier than any roasted nut. And you can put on various toppings before dehydrating to add flavor.

 

[babindy]

Do you ladies have any difficulty getting enough calories? Does it primarily come from nuts/nut oils/seeds? Perhaps some in fruits. As I'm working on cleaning up my diet, I noticed that its not easy to eat enough calories because these nutrient dense foods often don't have much calorie wise. Any ideas? Also, since you eat raw, I'm guessing that means no roasted nuts? They would just be raw too?

(I hope you don't mind the questions.)

LOVE raw nuts. I usually soak them for recipes but eat them raw otherwise. My exception - sunflower seeds. I soak them, then mix with some himalayan sea salt then dehydrate. YUM!

If you eat only green veggies then I agree you would have trouble getting enough calories. Salad dressing can add calories depending on what you use. I enjoy my nuts but I limit them. I also limit fruit to mostly apples, berries and currently a few cherries. Kumquats and lemons in my smoothies. I do enjoy a mostly raw bar (easy and portable, my favorite is the Organic Food Bar - Vegan) most days. And I use a supplement in my morning green smoothie. Usually either Vega or Alive. I end up in the 1650-1750 calorie range doing this.

Because I zig-zag my calories, on my 'up' days I will add more starchy foods. Sweet potato, ezekiel pasta, oatbran. These are cooked but I'm not 100% so it works for me. You can soak wild rice (takes about 36 hrs for soak, rinse cycles) and make a nice wild rice pilaf for a raw starch-ier recipe.

I'm trying to lose so my strategy may be different from others. But I'm able to maintain my workout schedule (6 days/week including STS 3 days/wk) and work fulltime with plenty of energy MOST of the time