Ani's Raw Food Essentials (5 page)

I prefer buying seasonal food because it's at its peak in nutritional content and flavor, so I get more for my money. Local food travels less and is handled less, lowering the chances for contamination and food-borne illness.

I love shopping at my local farmers' markets. The produce arrives superfresh, straight from the farm, usually picked just a few hours before. You'll notice how much longer this food keeps, compared with what you'd buy at a regular grocery store. This means less spoilage and less money wasted.

Buying directly from farmers means you're bulk buying without packaging. This helps you tread lightly on our planet by using less resources. And if you bring your own bags, you'll be helping that much more. Paper, plastic, and packaging prices are soaring due to the increase in gas prices, contributing to rising food costs.

I choose organic whenever it's available, which means I'm investing in the future of our planet and my health. Disease is caused by the toxins we put into and onto our body and eating organic lowers this toxic load. Prevention is the lowest-cost way to save money in the long run.

Grocery stores put items on sale weekly at a really low price to bring customers into their store. If you have the time, it's worth it to do your shopping at several different stores, to save money by buying sale items.

Here is a list of basic items I keep in my pantry and fridge. You can use this as your shopping list, to make it easy to stock your kitchen with everything you'll need to make the recipes in this book.

Fresh fruits and veggies, on the other hand, are specific to each recipe and should be purchased at time of use. This will also encourage you to be creative and use these recipes as a template for new dishes.

I store shelf-stable items, such as dried spices and herbs, nuts, and seeds, in my pantry. I store food with a shorter shelf life, such as flaxseeds and fresh produce, in my fridge.

I buy nuts in bulk a pound at a time and store them in glass jars, as I use them up quickly. You can also store them in your fridge or freezer to slow their turning rancid.

Almonds, whole and meal
Brazil nuts
Cashews
Coconut, dried and shredded
Pecans
Pistachios
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts

I buy bulk raw seeds by the pound, when available, and store my seeds in glass jars. It makes it easy to see what's inside. In case you haven't yet discovered chia seeds and buckwheat groats, they are available at natural food co-ops and health food stores, and online at my store at
www.AniPhyo.com/store
.

Buckwheat groats
Chia
Hemp seeds, also called hemp nuts
Pumpkin seeds
Quinoa
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Wild rice

Oats are gluten free, but some are processed with wheat. If you're allergic to gluten, check with your oat source to learn how it's processed. I purchase raw whole oats by the pound. Oats are cooked during processing, so look for the label “raw” rather than “steel-cut” or “rolled” oats.

I buy the following fruits by the pound and in bulk when available, except where noted. Cacao is raw, unprocessed fruit of the cacao tree and is where all chocolate comes from.

Carob is an alternative to chocolate that's caffeine free and has a malt flavor.

Goji berries, small red berries from Asia, used traditionally in Chinese medicine, are high in vitamin C and taste sweet.

Dates ripen on the tree, and I prefer them fresh. But they are also available dried, too.

Cacao powder
Cacao nibs
Carob powder
Cranberries
Dates
Goji berries
Mangoes
Raisins
Sun-dried tomatoes

Oils are used to give a smooth consistency and add flavor. I prefer toasted sesame oil, which is obviously not raw, for adding Asian flavor to a recipe. I use such a small amount, it's worth the rich flavor it adds for me. You can choose raw sesame oil instead, if you prefer. Some natural food stores sell oils in bulk, and I like to take in my own glass jars to collect it. Be sure to store sesame oil in the fridge, as it can go rancid quickly.

Coconut oil
Olive oil, extra-virgin, cold pressed
Sesame oil, toasted

Sea vegetables come from the ocean. They're full of minerals and iodine to feed our thyroid and help regulate our metabolism. Nori sheets are flattened seaweed laver used to make maki rolls. Kelp is pressed into noodle shapes to make nutritious kelp noodles that have only 6 calories a serving. There are many other seaweeds, such as
hijiki
,
arame
, and different lavers, which vary in color, texture, and flavor. Most are dried, and you reconstitute them by soaking them in water before using. I include nori, kelp, and
wakame
here because they're the most common and easiest to find at natural food stores and online.

Agave and yacón are both low-glycemic sweeteners that are supposedly safe for diabetics. Yacón has even less sugar and calories than does agave, is deep in color, and has a rich consistency and a molasses flavor. Stevia is a plant whose leaves are dried and ground into a powder. Supposedly stevia doesn't even register in the body as a sugar at all and may even lower blood sugar levels. It has little calories and is considered noncaloric. I like to use stevia in smoothies, but sparingly, as it has a strong flavor. If you prefer to use maple syrup, choose grade B, which is less processed and contains more nutrients than grade A does. It's definitely cooked but provides a wonderful, unique flavor. Another cooked sweetener popular in the macrobiotic world is brown rice syrup, made from cooked rice inoculated with enzymes, which ferment to turn the starches in the rice into sugars.

Agave syrup
Brown rice syrup
Maple syrup, grade B
Stevia powder
Yacón syrup

I make sure to always have at least a cup of the following dried herbs and spices on hand in my spice rack. Well, except for whole vanilla bean, which can be expensive. I just keep a few of them on hand in a sealed jar to retain moisture. I buy these in bulk when available and store them in small glass jars. Nutritional yeast has a cheeselike flavor, is grown for its nutritional value, and provides B vitamins 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12. It's different from brewer's yeast, which is a by-product of breweries and distilleries. You can find it in most health food stores, larger chain health food stores such as Whole Foods, or online.

These are the items I like to keep stocked in my fridge to make it easy to whip up any recipe in a snap. The following items all have a relatively long shelf life. Fresher vegetables and fruits, I like to buy as needed and as in season, per whatever recipe I'm making.

I buy flaxseed and meal by the pound. I buy tahini, which is mulled sesame seeds, and almond butter by the jar and store them in the fridge to extend their shelf life. Look for the label “raw,” as these are usually made with toasted seeds and almonds. Other fun butters to explore are made from other nuts and seeds such as pumpkin, cashew, walnut, and pecan. I include tahini and almond butter because they are the most common and easiest to find. Thai baby coconuts can be found at most natural food stores and co-ops. I like to buy them by the case of nine at the natural food store or at an Asian market. They keep for a couple of weeks.