The Art of Raw

~ Raw Chocolate Cheezecake topped with Goji's and Beepollen ~

I post a lot on face book what i happen to be making on any given day and it really seems to inspire people to play or experiment in their own kitchens. It seems though there are some questions about this raw food style of eating and why I do it, whats involved and what foods we "raw foodies" get into.

What is Raw Food?

When I post "I have made a Raw Pizza" i don't mean pepperoni cheese that i just pulled out of the packet and didn't bother heating. What is involved is making the choice to eat primarily fresh natural foods in their raw (naked) state, the water rich raw foods communicate with the body on a cellular level, keeping me hydrated and energised, healthy and looking young.

I personally eat (and juice) heaps of greens (spinach, lettuce, kale, herbs, beet greens, carrot greens, wheatgrass, barleygrass, sprouts etc), fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, raw honey and sweetners like stevia and dates and occasionally agave syrup, buckwheat, superfoods (chia, cacao, lucuma, mesquite, beepollen, goji berries, hemp) and choose to eat local and seasonal produce.

We enjoy the ritual of farmers markets weekly, shopping at local organic suppliers and picking at orchards that do not spray in our area, we also grow much of our greens, herbs, tomatos, cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchinis etc.

Raw eating is creative, inventive and constantly evolving as we discover new ways to get potent nutrition into our bodies while being in a joyful state, who wants to eat healthy that doesn't taste good right?

I buy raw recipe books, use Google eg 'raw brocolli soup' glean ideas and tweak them to my taste, i also "like" a heap of raw people and pages on fb and get inspired! There is almost nothing that you can't emulate from a normal cooked meal...it is so amazing as we have the best tools available to us to recreate dishes like Lasagne, pasta, pizza, nacho's, meatloaf, breads, cookies,pancakes, wraps and so so much more!

Tools in a Raw Kitchen:

Blender: you'll need a blender to make your dairy free mylks ie; almond mylk, cashew mylk, brazil nut mylk. Your daily smoothie of fruits and blended greens. soups,cheezes, kremes and frozen delights. Also really handy for grinding seeds like flax for your breads and wraps. We love Vita Prep, Vita Mix and the Blendtech Blender, these are really powerful, but if you just want to add raw green smoothies to your morning and a nut mylk you can eay pick up a blender for $60 at an outlet that supplies appliences.

Food Processor: great for pates, mixing up chocolate mousse, pulsing your muselies, pie crusts, and heaps more! You can pick up these guys at yard sales really cheap, as you will use them so much, they can be a cheap investment to begin your raw journey...

Dehydrator: A great investment to further your raw journey.... with your dehydrator your raw door opens even wider as this allows you to emulate some cooked foods, and be the creator of raw crackers, breads, pizza bases, bikkies, chips, dried fruits, crunchy nuts and more!!!

www.raw-pleasure.com.au/Dehydrators

Juicer: Juicers come in two types, you have Centrifuge juicers that fling the juice around and heat it while juicing at lightning speed and you have slow masticating juicers that slowly crunch and press your juice, allowing it to trickle out without being heated or ruining the active enzymes in your juice! We use a compact $249 here at home, and also a Champion Juicer. Other awesome Juicers are the Hurom Juicer rrp $499 and the GreenStar rrp $990.

Try ebay for cheaper appliences too!

Superfoods: it is becoming more and more common to find Superfoods in common cooked products in the supermarket for example, breads are now baked with Chia for added Omega nutrition, store bought packaged smoothies commonly contain Spirulina or green powders, so we are seeing the revolution in alot of places, cafes and outlets. it is becoming more and more common to supplement as our soils are deficient due to the unbalanced approach to agriculture and farming in the mainstream food supply.

I daily supplement with different superfoods, put them in my kids smoothies and raw desserts. I find them a great and tasty addition to anything actually and getting a little bit extra from my food feels good!

Cacao is an amazing Magnesium source and i actually periodically crave it! My diet is hi raw, and what i consume that it not raw is a whole food. I reallyvbelieve that my body is continually giving me messages about the minerals and vitamins it needs and i follow those intuitive "cravings".

I was asked if cacao is actually good for you. There are two mindsets about this and there are people who do have a reaction to the raw/fermented cacao bean and would never have one to the cooked "cocoa" version. Cacao in its natural state is a sacred food, i have known people to study with Shamans who journey with this incredible substance , using it as medicine. I have personally experienced incredible whole body highs with eating raw chocolate (made with intent) alone.

I believe food is medicine, our bodies show us what is right for us when we are tuned in and we can experience highs, ecstatic bliss, incredible healing thru eating Sacred Foods and raw atural wholefoods.

There are amazing books by David Wolfe on Chocolate and Superfoods, David is considered a top source of knowledge on these incredible foods, Tony Robbins is mentored by him!. Check out "Naked Chocolate" by Shazzie and David Wolfe, and David's book "Superfoods" for the whole range of what is possible and what is out there for you to reach out and enjoy!

On to the cheezecake recipe!

This is made in three parts. The base, The filling, The topping. Feel free to tweak it, change some ingredients and make it your own:

Base:

• 1 1/4 cups Almonds


• 3T cacao


• 2 T coconut oil


• 1 cup pitted medjool dates


• 1 t raw vanilla powder or extract


• pinch of hymalayan salt

Use a food processor to process ingredients into a consistancy that it sticks together when you press it. It should be moist. Press into your pie dish.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews (soaked for about 4 hours)


• 1 1/2 t vanilla powder


• 1 1/2 frozen bananas


• juice of 1 medium lemon, just squeezing it in with your hands


• 5 T cacao


• 1/2 cup medjool dates (4 or 5)


• pinch of salt


• 1/4 cup coconut oil

Blend all of this together in your blender, I add water if the mixture is not moving and smoothing out. Blend till it doesn't feel gritty,it will be silky smooth with enough water in your mix.

Pour over your pie crust and freeze! you can refrigerate until the pie is cuttable, but if you'd like it like the pic above then freeze for about 5 hours.

Topping:

• 2 T coconut oil


• 2T agave/raw honey/maple


• 3T cacao


• a teeny bit of salt

I mix this together by hand and pour over the frozen cheezecake, it will harden just like ice magic. When you are serving cut with a hot knife to get a perfect piece and top with goji berries, beepollen and rose petals, for an extra special touch.

Thanks for reading and questions or comments about raw, post below!

To your vitality!