Ani's Raw Food Essentials (3 page)

I prefer soaking all my nuts and seeds, and even sprouting them, whenever possible. It can be challenging to soak and sprout when busy or traveling, though, so I do the best I can each day. Personally, I don't eat much dehydrated food. But these foods are definitely fun to eat and are a great way to transition away from wheat, breads, and crackers. Dehydrated treats are a good way to incorporate more raw foods into any diet.

To keep the level of toxins inside my body to a minimum, I enjoy organics whenever possible. Because I live in Los Angeles, where organics are widely available, it's easy for me to choose local, which ensures I eat produce when it's in season and at its peak in nutritional profile and flavor. I shop at farmers' markets as much as possible, which keeps money in my local community.

Genetically modified foods (GMOs) have been altered by science to be resistant to pests and to produce greater crop yields, artificially. GMO foods contain less nutrients, so you're actually getting less for your money. They are far from natural or healthy and it's wise to avoid them.

My garden produces vegetables faster than I can eat or give them away.

Here are some tips for reading the PLU codes on fruit and vegetable labels.

Definitions of a “raw fooder” varies from someone who eats 50 percent raw 100 percent of the time, to eating 80 percent raw and 20 percent cooked in a day, to eating only 100 percent raw. I want to encourage you to find whatever works for you and fits your lifestyle. You'll be undoing any good effects of eating healthy if you're stressing out about what you can and cannot eat. How much raw food you eat may also change with the seasons, with what's happening in your life at the moment, and over time as your body changes. Keep in mind, health is a lifelong pursuit.

Eliminating food from my diet leaves me with a sense of deprivation. Instead, I prefer
including
more healthy, guilt-free, weight-loss-promoting, and eco-green ingredients into each meal. Over time, more of the good stuff we include leaves less and less space for the less-valuable, less-nutrient-dense, less-healthy foods, without having to try to eliminate them. What is bad for us gets elbowed out naturally.

As we increase the amount of nutrient-dense foods into any diet, the amount of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants we feed our body increases, and the healthier we become. The water and fiber from fresh, whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds shower and sweep our insides clean, detoxifying us in a healthy way from the inside out.

Today's fashion is driven by the look of natural beauty and lighter cosmetics. The healthier our body becomes, the more we obtain clear skin, shiny hair, strong nails, bright eyes, and more energy.

Our skin is our largest organ, and its health reflects the purity of our body on the inside. Eating healthy raw foods will give you the shine of glowing skin and the radiance of overall vitality and natural beauty.

PART 1

THE BASICS

1

TOOLS AND INGREDIENTS

It's easy to set up a raw food kitchen. Most tools are the same as in a conventional cooked kitchen, minus the pots and pans. A few must-have items will make it easy to start making my recipes, and a few other nice-to-have items that aren't necessary will make kitchen play even more enjoyable and fun.

Two raw food tools to start with in your kitchen are a food processor and a blender. To make some of the recipes in this book, you'll also need a dehydrator, which is used to make crackers, biscuits, cookies, and pancakes. (In chapter 2, you'll learn how to use a conventional oven to experiment with dehydrating.) And, you'll at least need a knife, bowl, and measuring spoons and cups.