What Is a Raw Food Diet?

It’s not “rabbit food.”

It’s raw food.

I’m always getting asked about this latest and greatest health trend. As a mom and wife who has converted her entire family to a high-raw diet, it is an incredible way to eat. Even my Italian-born, construction worker husband loves it. (I hesitate to use the word diet, because eating raw foods isn’t really a diet, it’s more of a “live-it.”)

Nothing has had a greater impact on my family’s health and happiness than what I serve them around the dinner table. Consider incorporating more raw foods into your diet and to help you do this, let's paint a clearer picture of what a raw food diet is.

#1 Raw foods are plant foods in their natural state:

Raw Foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, natural oils, herbs spices and flowers – remember, broccoli and artichokes are actually flowers – including roses, lilacs, rosehips, pansies. Herbs – including oregano, mint and sage – can also be tasty. Don’t forget seaweeds – nori, popular in sushi restaurants – as well as mushrooms and many others.

#2 Raw foods contains both enzymes and energy:

Enzymes are the catalysts for all vitamins and minerals but can be destroyed by the heat you use when cooking. When a baby is born he or she has a ‘bank account’ of Enzymes. Unfortunately, due to stress, toxins, pollution and even eating cooked foods, the natural reserves of enzymes in the body can be depleted. I call this premature aging. Raw Foods contain their own enzymes which actually help to digest food. This means more energy is freed up for it to be used in other fun ways.

#3 Raw foods tastes amazing:

This one is the hardest for most people to get – that is, at least until they actually try the food! Everyone knows raw foods can be eaten plain or mixed in a salad, but did you know you can also make GOURMET dishes such as pizza, pasta, ice cream, cookies, pies, burritos soups and other delicious dishes? Just about any cooked favourite can be replaced by a raw dish that tastes just as good or better. Better still, raw foods are free of dairy, gluten and sugar, and require no cooking.

Here is a sample menu of a DAY-IN-THE-LIFE-OF-RAW:

Breakfast: Ultimate power smoothie, applesauce, berrlicious porridge, fresh fruit salad with cinnamon and lime, key-lime mousse, g’raw’nola, etc

Lunch: soup, salad, sandwich, flax crackers, etc

Snack: candied pumpkin seeds, spicy lime-chili almonds, goji berries, trail mix, etc

Dinner: burritos, pizza, pasta, stir-unfry, vegburgers, etc

Dessert: chocolate pudding, lemon-poppy seed cheesecake, bliss balls, peppermint fudge, etc

Bedtime Snack: almond milk and apple-raisin cookies

DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A DIET TO YOU?

So don’t be afraid to try something new. Switching to a raw food diet isn’t about depriving yourself of taste of the foods you love or staying hungry. The raw food way is about abundance, freshness and festivity. By adding more raw food to your diet you’ll enjoy the side-effect of looking and feeling fantastic!

For a recipe on Yummy Key Lime Mousse, Click Here.