Maybe raw can help rev things up
Ever feel exhausted after a hearty, home-cooked meal? Check. How about after a big salad? Hmm … no.
That’s because cooked food is difficult for the body to digest, according to raw food enthusiasts who say heating food above 116 degrees destroys natural enzymes that aid digestion.
Although the digestive tract can manufacture its own enzymes to tackle cooked food, this takes a lot of time and energy, which raw foodies believe is better spent battling disease and repairing damage caused by things like exercise and stress. With this in mind (and a desperate need to lose 25 pounds) I decided to embark upon my own raw-foods diet. I wasn’t sure if it would last a week – maybe not even a day. But with benefits like weight loss, energy gain, younger skin and a stronger immune system, my New Year’s resolution was to at least give it a try.
Jan. 2: Two days before my venture into the world of raw cuisine. I’m scanning the Web for free raw food recipes and tips, and anxiously gobbling all the post-holiday detritus in my pantry. So far it’s not looking good. Most of these diets are vegan. Vegetarian I can handle, but no dairy or eggs? Since I’m lactose intolerant I already do raw dairy, thanks to a little farm out in Deer Park that sells it by the Grade A gallon. But I draw the line at raw eggs. And while some of the so-called “Paleolithic” diets allow raw meat, I don’t think I’ll be gnawing on fresh Bambi anytime soon.
Jan. 3: One day to go. I’ve downed six cups of tea and am feeling overwhelmed. My online research says I should be soaking and sprouting grains for days in advance, and I haven’t even made a grocery list yet. Looks like raw fruits, veggies and milk for the first few days. I’m heading into the kitchen to make some more tea.
Jan. 4: Day One. Spent $104 last night on a week’s worth of organic produce, nuts and grains, and another $9 for a gallon of raw milk. Whew.
I’ve got garbanzo beans and wild rice soaking in jars on my kitchen counter, where they will remain for the next two days, at which point I will put them in shallow trays to sprout (another two to six days).
For breakfast I split a pear with my toddler (I also made her a steaming bowl of oatmeal with raisins, butter and milk … sigh).
By lunch I’m famished and ready to sink my teeth into … an avocado! Yes, peeled and stoned and mashed into a teaspoon of cold-pressed olive oil with sea salt and black pepper. As I’m still waiting on my grains and legumes to do their thing I spread the mixture on two small sprouted-grain tortillas that are about as close to raw as you can get from the freezer aisle. I find the whole thing surprisingly filling and tasty.
Afternoon snack is a banana-pear smoothie that is greatly enhanced by milk and some raw honey – fantastic and filling.
Dinner. A couple of diced tomatoes, zucchini, a little red onion and chopped spinach mixed with fresh lemon juice, flax seed oil, sea salt and black pepper. Simple but filling.
Jan. 6: Caffeine withdrawal kicks in. I break down and brew some green tea. Most of the raw food diets allow for what they call the 80/20 rule, which means that while 80 percent of your diet must be raw, 20 percent can include cooked or processed foods. I’m not sure how to calculate this on my own, though some sites offer meal plans that can help. I figure if I don’t eat more than three tortillas per day, and drink no more than 12 ounces of tea, I’m sticking to the diet.
Jan. 8: Garbanzo beans are starting to sprout. I am all set to make a curried chickpea entree when I realize I’m lacking the almond “yogurt” that requires about 16 hours to prepare. Bummer. I put the almonds in a jar to start them soaking.
I have now been on the diet four full days and have to admit I feel pretty good. I’ve lost almost 3 pounds, I’m sleeping really well (see note) and my skin seems clearer and smoother today. The indigestion I suffered during the first 48 hours has subsided, and everything seems to be functioning regularly, so to speak.
Note: I have a toddler, so the term “well” used here is relative.
Jan. 9: Today the almonds are ready to be blanched and peeled. Apparently the brown skin on an almond is high in something toxic, so to get maximum nutrients with minimal damage to the digestive system, it must be blanched in boiling water for no more than seven seconds, then plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking. The skin then pops off easily by squeezing the almond between thumb and forefinger. Afterward I am left with a bowl of what looks like empty cockroach shells, which my husband desperately wants to leave in a pile on the neighbor’s front porch. Hmm … so tempting.
Moving on, I put the peeled almonds in the blender with a little cold water and turn them into a yummy, sweet “yogurt.”
I then proceed to the chickpea curry, now four days in the making. The preparation involves a lot of chopping. A lot. But when it’s over I throw everything in a bowl, stir it together, and voila! Dinner is served.
The best part? My husband’s taste-test. Teeth bared, lips pulled back into a grimace, he takes the tiniest of bites before emitting a barely audible “It’s pretty good.” This from the man who hates my “dirty-hippie” cooking.
Jan. 10: Chopping … lots of chopping …
Jan. 11: It’s been one week and this is my last day on the raw-foods diet, in part because my husband has threatened to leave and move in with our neighbors. That said, I have lost 4 pounds, my skin looks great, and my energy level is high. But I am sick of chopping vegetables and after waiting an entire week for the rice to sprout (it still hasn’t) I am throwing in the towel. I do plan to keep the chickpea dish in my recipe file, and in general hope to include more raw fruits and vegetables in my regular diet. And with 21 pounds to go I may give it another try, perhaps when the weather warms up. You know, for the sake of science.