Last night, I attended a “Raw Foods Talk and Demo” by a mutual friend, Chef Andrea Primm. Meeting her was a pleasure and although I did not agree with everything in the talk, I did gain perspective and a quick and easy recipe y’all might enjoy. I certainly did!
Personally, I prefer cooking. It’s part of who I am. My mother serves a hot, cooked meal every night to her family and I have since continued that tradition. I enjoy the flavors of fresh food, but I crave the flavors that only come from ingredients intermingling together in a steaming, hot pot for hours, the char of an expertly grilled steak, and the aroma of fruit baking within tiny layers of pastry. For me, there is NO comparison and I doubt I will ever veer from that. I also have some reservations about raw food vs. food safety. I don’t know if any of yall remember the Tomato scare last year, but for me it is hard to forget. If you ate raw tomatoes, you may have been at risk of consuming Salmonella. I’ve had it and would not wish that on anyone, so please forgive my skepticism and cautiousness.
In contrast, Chef Andrea is fully committed to eating an entirely raw food diet and making it taste good. She explained in her talk that raw food means “natural foods prepared without cooking making more nutrients available to the body… raw is uncooked, unheated, natural, and unprocessed.” The Raw Food Diet is mostly comprised of fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. The diet can be further broken down into Vegetarian food groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Fats, Grains, Beans and Legumes, Dairy, and Algae. By combining these food groups, the idea is you can create healthy, meals without compromising the natural nutrients, minerals, enzymes, and water content of the ingredients.
Admittedly, I will tell you that it is true. When we cook ingredients, they do break down. For instance, onions break down when caramelized in a skillet. Although the structure of the onion has changed, we enjoy the sweet, caramelized flavor that comes from the cooking process. To get some of these same flavors in raw food, you can cook up to 105 degrees or as I’ve read from other raw food chefs, cook your ingredients a bit but make sure you maintain the crispness. For instance, down South we cook mixed greens for hours and hours until they break down and become tender to eat. Instead, cook them just enough to warm them but keep it crisp! You can saute’ them with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper for a minute or two, but don’t let them get soft! Crisp is the key here!
Chef Andrea does not cook her food, but this is an alternative to get you moving in the right direction.
Chef Andrea and I do agree on one thing completely! Make 50% of your meals raw food and you will be eating healthy. Quite frankly, I am still trying to lose weight and I reached my first goal (20lbs lighter) by staying on a strict 1200 calorie diet. I wanted to save all my calories for dinner that evening, so I ate a fruit or drank a juice in the morning and then had a salad for lunch. Essentially, one could say I ate raw until dinner time, but I never even realized it! It was just good, low calorie food for me. I never even thought about it! If anything, I gained an understanding of why people “Go Raw” and some of the benefits. The crunchy, crisp texture of fresh fruits and vegetables does give my palate a refreshing mouthfeel. The color fresh vegetables and fruits have is also appealing to the eye. Perhaps I could explore my options a bit. I never would have thought of eating raw zucchini, but Chef Andrea Primm makes raw zucchini noodles using a spiralizer and tops it with fresh marinara sauce. I would’ve cooked the zucchini first! Here’s the recipe….
Zucchini Noodles Marinara
Makes 6 servings
Marinara ingredients:
Noodle Ingredients:
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Place all the ingredients for the Marinara Sauce in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until smooth. Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, Marinara Sauce will keep for three days. Transform the zucchini into noodles using a vegetable peeler or spiral slicer. Toss the zucchini noodles with enough marinara sauce to coat well and serve immediately. Serve with extra Marinara sauce on the side. Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, Marinara Sauce will keep for 5 days.
Pasta Puttanesca: Add 1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives to the finished sauce.
| This marinara sauce tastes like the original. Your family and friends will think it slow-simmered on the stove for hours. |
While Chef Andrea Primm might have a hard time convincing me of going 100% raw, I appreciate her enthusiasm and determination to bring healthier food alternatives into our culture. She has some refreshing ideas and delicious recipes.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about raw foods and “The Raw Food Diet,” you may go to Chef Andrea Primm’s website here.
Classes are available at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2818976635
Otherwise, feel free to check back for my Recipe of the Week : Pepper Steak Stew!
