Raw

I love to cook. It's one of the ways I relax. I love new recipes and there is nothing more tasty than a nice warm meal when it is chilly out. I also very much enjoy a cool crisp salad or some fresh fruit on a hot day. I enjoy cutting veggies and preparing a salad. It's the above reasons why I found a recent lecture on raw foods so interesting.

The lecturer was a "raw foodist," who eats only food that can be consumed raw. He does not eat meat (other than sushi grade fish), and sticks with a diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, grasses, sprouts, herbs, superfoods, and fermented foods. Though this encompasses a variety of different foods, I imagine it gets quite boring. I can't wrap my brain around a diet of only the above mention groups of foods. I can't wrap my brain around a world of not being able to cook up a hot soup, or delicious pasta or rice dish.

But here's what I got out of it: Incorporating more raw foods into your diet does have it's health benefits. The lecturer recommended at least 51% of your foods come from the raw sources mentioned above. 51%? That's over half? He had many reasons such as the amount of nutrients that can be lost through the cooking process as well as your body's response to cooked foods vs. raw foods. All of these were quite convincing reasons that he cited.

I'm going to put it out there that though I love a fresh piece of fruit, or a handful of raw almonds, a lot of the pleasure of eating comes from preparing, cooking, and serving a delicious, well thought out meal. I also must say that I do see that there are benefits to raw foods. So here's my challenge to myself, and to my readers. Try adding at least one or two raw foods to your meals. At breakfast, eat a piece of fruit. At lunch pile in some fresh salad greens, or other veggies on to your sandwich. At dinner, eat a salad in addition to your cooked meal. For snacks, try raw nuts, fruits, or veggies. I have a feeling that through this experiment we will notice more energy and vitality. I'm looking forward to living out this challenge and reporting back what I discover. I'm a skeptic, but I certainly can't knock it until I try it.