Welcome to Rawbert's Rawfood Recipes Home Page or should we say 'Pages of Rawfood Recipes for Home' . Anyway, you get the idea, unlike performing some death defying feat where the commentator says ' don't try this at home' , (actually raw food eating is in a sense death defying as it is life giving), this is something we want you to try at home, everyday!
At all of my gourmet rawfood/living food recipe classes. I tell people how much I truly believe there is 'a little chef in each of us' . And I've seen it at different times to varying degrees in all of my family members. Just start with a blender and a couple of good smoothies, then onto salad dressings, simple soups with tomato and/or cucumber and fresh herbs and then slowly expand your repertoire to include a few delicious spreads such as a nut & seed pate, raw hummus or banana & almond butter pudding or ice cream.
You'll notice kids love to make their own smoothies and dessert/fruit toppings. It really is hard to go wrong when making a smoothie. Try a banana with berries, pineapple, mango, or kpeaches and see for yourself . Kids also enjoy using a juicer also to make their own fresh juices. From the picking and handling the fresh ripe organic produce to working the juicer, blender or food processor (we love technology), deep down we all are kids and like to be a part of the creation or creative process. A simple fruit topping is cashew and pitted date blended with water or young coconut water.
Later on you can graduate to making savory crackers and entrée items like falafel and veggie burgers with Excalibur Food Dehydrators. But again, you don't need to worry about that in the beginning, just get the raw foods into the system, and a smoothie or a beautiful bountiful salad with a great dressing is the best way to start.
Load your bountiful salad with things you love and do get creative. While simple is generally good from a food combining digestion perspective, as you transition away from heavier eating you may do well to 'Think beyond just tomato cucumber ' . A salad(s) should be something you really look forward to as your meal. Add avocado, crushed walnuts, pecan, pine nut or any other nut. Add whole hulled sunflower, hemp seed, sesame or other seeds. Add raisins, apricots, Goji Berries, figs or other dried fruit. Sprinkle on salads for a wonderful nutty flavor: ground flax seed or combination of ground flax, sesame and sunflower (use a small coffee grinder to grind).
Sprinkle alfalfa sprout, mung bean (bean sprouts), sunflower sprouts and buckwheat sprouts; all are excellent and very gourmet. Thinly sliced red or yellow onion are great for any salad. My favorite Olives are (and kids usually love olives) Kalamata and Green Olives. Marinated Sun-Dried Tomato halves (marinate in olive oil with sea salt and Italian seasoning) are great on salad or spinach salad. Try different greens including arugula, spinach and shredded kale.
I've learned that many recipes are merely guidelines. If you don't have all the ingredients you can usually substitute or leave out a couple items. You can always go off on a new tangent if you want to and create something new or better suited to your particular taste bud. Indeed who knows more than your body what it is craving.
Above all learn to tap into your body's natural instincts about what foods are for you. Different Foods have eliminative or reconstructive properties. Your body knows best what it is trying to do; cleanse or rebuild, heat up or cool down. So over the course of the year you will naturally be drawn to a variety of different foods. But only if you stay predominantly raw or at least frugal in your eating, will you be able to tap into this instinct.
But in any case, when you do eat, slow down and make the most of every bite so you will be satisfied. And if you do make some poor food choices it is still best eat in a relaxed, focused manner without guilt, you will digest better and you can make a better choice next time solely because you want to!
Have fun with the recipes we are offering here! They are all at least pretty good and many of them are fantastic. May you expand your concept of gourmet nutrition as your palate explodes with vibrant enzymes and fresh flavors. Have fun!
