Teriyaki Vegetables, Stirred Not Fried
All the julienne-ing and thin slicing makes this vegetable teriyaki the perfect recipe for community involvement. In my case, the whole family joined in with their respective cutting boards and we made a real party of it. On your own its still easy (and significantly more meditative) but you shave off a considerable amount of prep time by having a band of willing minions who are dying to eat and love to use knives. The dehydrator transforms this dish into a meal worthy of the best Asian restaurant. It’s like a wonderful magic trick; the vegetables stay crisp and fresh tasting but the whole meal seems deceptively cooked and perfect…
Sleeping in the Nude: Raw After Hours
Ever since I bought my first apartment in New York City I’ve been sleeping in the nude. It didn’t matter if there was someone sleeping next to me or if I was all by my lonesome,,,, when I was in bed I was, most definitely, naked. Back then it was pure survival. The super had the heat blasting so high that, even in the winter, it was like living in the tropics. And you couldn’t turn it down. Coming within 3 feet of the big silver radiator was like approaching the sun; the heat radiated out like solar flares threatening to fry anything in its path. So you came home…
David Wolfe, Sunfood Diet Success and Me
I love David Wolfe. I don’t care who knows it. He’s been my inspiration, teacher, invisible friend and raw crush. I’ve even dreamed about him. If anyone out there doesn’t know who he is, they should find out. Because, in a word, the man is ‘awesome’. I see him everywhere, too. It seems like whenever there’s a film made about plant-based eating or preserving the environment, David Wolfe is the go-to guy. He talks the talk and he walks the walk. Usually in a poncho. He’s got the whole thing down. Nature! Get It Off Of Me! I took my raw food nutritionist certification through a program at Integrative Nutrition. David…
Vitamin B12: The Missing Link in the Vegan Diet?
Vitamin B12 always seems to sneak into conversations about the viability of a raw vegan diet. Produced by bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of livestock, Vitamin B12 is present in the muscle meats of these animals. So it would seem that meat eaters reap the benefits. But the fact is that plants have vitamin B12 too – or shall I say, organic and wild plants do. Whether we’re getting it or not, is a different story. It’s All About the Soil… Many take it for granted that simply eating raw fruits and vegetables means you have a healthy diet. And it certainly might present a better option than…
Eating Raw: A Primer for the Curious
What does it mean to be eating raw food? When you’re eating raw, you are eating food that has not been “cooked”. Typically, you are eating fruits, vegetables, nits, seeds, legumes, sprouts and grains in their natural state. If they are heated or processed at all through blending, juicing, food processing or dehydrating, they are never heated over 118 degrees Fahrenheit. What are raw and living foods? Raw and living foods constitute those foods that are provided by nature, organically grown and consumed in their original, uncooked state. They are the considered to contain the highest nutritional contentment of all plant foods and include fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes,…
Why A Plant Based Diet?
There’s a lot of arguing that goes on about whether man was designed for a plant based diet or is essentially an omnivore. To add to that pot, I recently heard a new one on a Ted Talks: man is a ‘coctivore’ – the species that cooks. It makes me laugh at times. Because whatever he (or she) is or was, let’s face it: man has proven that he will eat pretty much anything. Are We Made For Meat-Eating? We can look at the basics, though. It took a hell of a lot for man’s jaw to even evolve to the point where meat-eating became easier. There was one indisputable ingredient involved…
Raw Food and Me: How It All Began
My real introduction to raw food came as a result of a party and a dream. And in many ways, it was magical. From the moment we met, Alisa and I liked each other. There was no ‘becoming’ friends. We just were. But beyond that we both recognized tremendous benefits to our joining together as business partners. Oddly enough both of us had corresponding visions of creating a women’s community. Now, granted, in Alisa’s community all the women ate raw food – but basically our ideas of creating a space where women could bloom physically, spiritually and creatively were so similar that it seemed synchronistic that the universe had succeeded…
The Raw Diet: Winterized
It’s winter again and with it comes the quandary about just how far to take the raw diet and where or if to make concessions. There is no sugar coating it: winter is not my favorite time of year. Apart from the occasional awe elicited when my high desert view arbitrarily masquerades as a winter wonderland – usually for all of two hours – I am definitely with the bears on this one and would gladly hibernate if it were at all possible. That not being in the cards, last year I decided to take up skiing again after a twenty year absence from the sport. People told me I…
Easy Raw Carrot Ginger Soup
We kind of take the carrot for granted but it is really the most wonderful vegetable: it can reward you with beautiful skin, better vision and oral health, improved digestion and heightened cardiovascular function. Plus it’s the ultimate immune booster! And I’ve got to admit that carrots are definitely tastier in their raw state. I have a very distinct memory of my mom serving carrots as a consistent side-dish in my youth and they were always soft enough to mush and relatively tasteless and somehow always unappealing. Once upon a time carrots were definitely one of the ‘red-headed-stepchildren of the vegetable world, coming into a close tie with peas and…
Vanilla Scented Parsnip and Apple Soup
The sensual vanilla scent of this parsnip and apple laden soup gives an added boost to this lovely and elegant concoction through the olfactory experience alone! There’s just something about vanilla…It is not necessary to strain the soup but this step gives it an added level of sophistication. Sometimes- when it’s just ‘dinner for one’ you don’t need that but it’s nice to know you have the option. Myself, I have no problem with chunks; keeps it earthy and I like earthy! I also like it a little warmed. Seems like parsnips have their real moment in cooler weather and it just makes sense to heat things up a little…
