No, I Don't Eat Sushi...What's Up with Raw Food

So what’s this whole raw thing about, anyway? I made a raw meal the other night for a group of friends, and naturally had to explain the premise of my wild and crazy “diet.” The meal was more or less the lasagna recipe from “Raw Food Real World” by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis, a big salad courtesy of my friend James, as well as my own made-up brownies, and everyone really enjoyed it (the lasagna pictured is my very adorable attempt). The lasagna was actually the first consciously raw meal I had, at Kenney & Melngailis’ restaurant in New York, and although I loved it and noticed that I felt totally great afterwards, it took me a few years to come back around to the raw food world.

I explain my choice like this: First off, there are lots of studies out there showing that animal products – meat and dairy – are linked to cancer and other diseases, so there’s the case for going vegan. (In addition to the fact that most animals raised for food are hopped up on antibiotics and weird hormones, and treated poorly…I’m not militant about animal rights, and I make my nutritional decisions for my own health, but the food chain is seriously messed up.) So why not just go vegan, and live it up on french fries, Wonder Bread, and soy “frankenfood”?

Cooking food – in the case of what’s vegan and raw naturally, that means veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds – above a certain temperature…112 or 114 or 118, depending on what you are reading…destroys enzymes in the food. That means your body has to use its own enzyme store and energy to breakdown the foods, rather than saving them up for healing itself. Raw foods are therefore easier to digest. Nutrients are also depleted at higher temps, meaning that you have to eat MORE cooked food to get everything you body needs. I started out eating raw because I was curious – and have wound up sticking with it because of how great I feel doing it. I sleep better, feel a constant “buzz” of energy, and never worry about what I’m eating, as long as it is raw. My relationship with food has changed…I eat raw treats with no guilt, because I know that even my “ice cream” and brownies are packed with nutrition! And people say you live longer and look younger on raw food…I’ll keep you posted!

But here’s a confession: I do “cheat.” For example: I end up eating cooked veggies a couple times a week, if they are in a salad I want to order at a restaurant, or if there’s simply not much else available and I’m starving. I tried my brother’s cheesesteak in Philly this summer – totally not worth it. I had a little bit of lobster with my family. That WAS pretty tasty, and I washed it down with a ton of salad, and didn’t notice any difference. On a week long vacation, I cheated a lot – staying mostly vegan, but eating bread and pasta and junk, and guess what? I gained weight and got headaches and felt awful, like a food hangover.

The point is this: Eat your veggies (and fruits, and some nuts and seeds), and eat MORE RAW! If you won’t go “cold turkey” all-raw, all the time, make an effort to do it most of the time. You’ll feel great!