Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Take it to a TEN!

Fed up of salads but don't want to become a raw food snack bar junkie either? Just a few key tweaks in your diet is all you need to take "OK" to great - I promise - and in this week's article I'm going to show you how! 

One of the potential risks of going raw is that you buy into someone else's philosophy rather than evolving your own. Of course, it's oh-so-easy to do, especially when you're new to the subject and don't know where on earth to start, but beyond the short term it's like anything in life - if what you're doing is someone else's story, then you're simply not living and enjoying your own.

So while it's definitely important to make sure you know what raw food is and isn't about and how to get a well-rounded nutritionally sound raw diet, I would argue that it's just as important that you know what you like, nay LOVE, and bring as much of that into your diet as you'll allow yourself to.

Over the years I have come into contact with thousands of people at all stages of the raw food journey. One of the most common issues that everyone seems to encounter at one stage or another is boredom, especially when salads don't seem to hit the spot ALL the time. Sure, most of the time a good decent multi-dimensional salad with a great dressing can feel and taste perfect, and it's these that are one of the everyday keys to looking and feeling great, but what about those times where you just want something to get your teeth into, or something that feels really naughty or something that just tastes DIFFERENT? It's at these times that "know thyself" and "honour thyself" absolutely has to come into play. What follows is not a how-to article as usual, but a series of questions. Each of these will help you start the journey towards creating the perfect raw diet for you. There are certainly more questions to be asked, but these will help you get started in figuring out what's been missing for you and what you can begin to do about it.

So if you're ready, grab a pen and paper and prepare to excavate your foodie soul!

 

Reader Question: Raw Food & Metabolism

Hey Karen, I love getting your newsletters every week! 

I'm a Pilates instructor in the US and consider health and fitnessto be my true passion. I've been on every diet and have worked with many highly-qualified specialists, including doctors and nutritionists. They claim that eating 100% raw is not good for my metabolism. I have several friends who are totally raw who appear to me - the epitome of health. They literally sparkle (you have this quality too). 

What's your take on this?

Cheers, Brooke Leslie, USA

*   *   *   *   *   *

Hi Brooke. Great question and so glad you’re enjoying the eZine! My take on this may not be what you expect – or perhaps it will. First of all, if you’ve been reading my stuff for a while you’ll know that I see health and diet as a wholistic adventure we have with ourselves. I very much rail against fragmented approaches to health, generally speaking. It is well-established that all aspects of ourselves impact on our health and that to prime ourselves for ultimate health we need to be nourishing and supporting our body, heart, mind and soul.

 

As far as metabolism goes, this is an interesting one as I have heard a few raw food experts more qualified in such things than I, speak about how while your metabolism may slow down on raw, you become more efficient and don’t need to eat so much, which they see as a good thing. Having said that, as you will know only too well, metabolism speeds up with exercise, so if having a slow metabolism is seen as a negative thing then moving your body more and harder would be the solution here. It really is a question of perspective!

 

My final thought on your question is that my observation about people who thrive on raw is that they apply common-sense, intuition and healthy decisions to ALL areas of their lives. They are not bound by dogma of any kind, be it to their diet or any other aspect of their life, and they are loving to themselves in every way. As far as I’m concerned, this is what brings the kind of glow and radiance that you’re speaking about, because of operating from a harmonious and abundant place within themselves, thus they create that external reality - in their physical body AND their life.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce

Perfect for Easter, especially if you don’t want to get into a big kitchen fest with moulds and cake tins all over the place! This recipe is one of my all-time favourites. Quick, easy and delicious. Perfect at any time of year, and a quick alternative for Easter - it’s definitely a comfort or celebration food. Luke (8) and I love to sit down with our bowl of sauce and a big bowl of strawberries on a Sunday afternoon under a blanket watching a Disney film together.

Equipment: Food processor

Ingredients:

• ½ cup raw chocolate powder
• ½ cup agave nectar (either type)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
• OPTIONAL: ½ cup raw cashew butter OR almond butter

Directions:

1)     Simply place all ingredients into your food processor (this works so much better than a blender) and process into semi-liquid chocolate. It will take you less than one minute to create one of the best recipes you’ll ever make!

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

• Adding the cashew or almond butter will make it thicker, more likely to set and add calories. The recipe minus the nut butter is just as good, better for dipping and is better for your waistline.
• Use as a dip for fresh strawberries or other decadent fruits, or as a drizzle for a fruit salad or raw cake or fruit pie.
• If you use the nut butter you can freeze the mixture in ice-cube trays for instant cool chocolate chunks. Add one frozen chunk to a smoothie or nut milk for instant choco-ness!
• This mixture should keep well and happy in the fridge (covered) for a few days without any issues whatsoever. (If it lasts that long).

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

How Do I Explain My Choices to My Family?

Saying that you are “going raw” or have ”gone raw” can be challenging at the best of times, but saying it to your own family – those who have seen you eat all manner of things over the years without issue – is something quite different!

As with all of the suggestions I have shared around social issues and raw food, much of it will come down to the attitude you choose to adopt. Plus it’s as much about what you don’t say as what you do. It’s also about remembering that everyone has an opinion and we all think we’re right. What matters is that you are happy with yours but don’t push it on anyone. That way they won’t push back!

Here follows my top tips for navigating those waters otherwise known as explaining your choices to your family for the first time, or even the umpteenth!

Karen's Sumptuously Satisfying Super-Salad

Rarely do I publish salad recipes as I am more than aware than most people into raw foods are more than capable of whipping up something tasty with fresh green salad leaves and other assorted fresh 'n' raw ingredients.

However this week's recipe is an exception. I've been personally eating this truly delicious salad all week long, and I have to say it's now very much in the memory bank ready for using over and over and over again in the next warmer few weeks and months that follow.

Equipment: Blender if making a dressing.

Ingredients:

Serves one.

• ½ -1 head of lettuce (Green Battavia is my lettuce of choice for this)
• 3 large handfuls of rocket (arugula)
• 15 sundried tomato halves - ideally the ones in oil, or at least pre-soaked
• 10 baby plum tomatoes (or other small tomatoes)
• 3 spring onions (scallions) finely chopped
• OPTIONAL: 5cm length of cucumber diced
• OPTIONAL: 1 punnet of fresh cress

Directions:

1. Finely shred or tear the lettuce and place into a large bowl.
2. Add in the rocket (arugula) and toss both greens together to ensure an even mix.
3. Add in the chopped sundried tomatoes and the chopped baby tomatoes. Also add the optional cucumber and cress at this stage if you have them.
4. Toss all ingredients together well.
5. Serve with a favourite dressing (a thick and creamy one is good!). I make mine by blending 1 cup of cashews, 1 cup of water, 1 Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, juice of half to one juicy lemon and a pinch of Himalayan Crystal Salt. This doubles up as a sauce or dip, and you can make it as runny as you wish.

When you serve all of the above together - the salad and the dressing - it makes the most incredible meal, especially when served with fresh orange juice as a side drink, like I do!

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

All of the sundried tomatoes in oil that I have found contain less than great ingredients alongside them, such as sugar and sulphur dioxide. So why not pre- soak your sundried tomatoes and make your own flavoured oils (sunflower oil is a great base for this), then decant into a jar and use over the course of a week?

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at www.TheRawFoodCoach.com.

 

Salads: The What, The Why and The How

What you should know:

• There are salads and then there are salads! Many people get used to thinking of a salad as simply some lettuce, tomato and cucumber when in fact there’s hundreds of ingredients that can go into a salad, making for countless fantastic permutations.
• Salads can be as exciting or as simple as you please.
• The quickest way to transform a salad so that anyone will eat it is with a great dressing.

Why salads are good for you:

• Salads are a vital part of a raw food diet – they provide a wide variety of vitamins and minerals as well as important fibre and chlorophyll.
• Salads help you stay balanced as they usually revolve around greens and other low sugar vegetables.
• Salads make it easier for you to incorporate other foods into your diet that you may not eat alone.
• Salads help carry more dense foods such as nuts, seeds, cheese and meat through your body more easily.

What you’ll need: A good knife is all that’s required but a grater makes things more interesting.

How to make a great salad:

First of all decide how big you want your salad to be and choose a plate or bowl large enough to accommodate it (pasta bowls are good) then select from the following:

"Fried" Mushrooms

This recipe is one of my very favourites. I’ve chosen it this week so that when you get to it in your kitchen, you can have these busy dehydrating away in the background, ready to eat at the end of the day with a delicious fresh salad.  If you love fried mushrooms (the old way) then you will love these even more. They're juicy, more-ish and extremely versatile - that's if you can keep them long enough to add to anything, as usually they go straight away! They're perfect for colder months, providing something "meaty" to put in your salad, wrap or even as a yummy snack!

Equipment: Dehydrator

Ingredients:

• Organic mushrooms (Portobello, button or similar shaped)
• Olive oil
• Fresh garlic
• Lemons

Directions:

1. Peel or thoroughly scrub a generous supply of organic mushrooms (they do shrink significantly, so use more than you think you’ll need).
2. Slice each mushroom into slices about 5-7mm thick and set aside in a deep bowl.
3. Mix 1-2 cups (depends on amount of mushrooms you have) of olive oil, with juice of 1 lemon, and 2-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
4. Pour mixture over mushrooms and coat well. Leave to soak for anything from 10 minutes to 5 hours.
5. Pour off excess oil from the bowl and remove mushrooms. Place mushrooms on Paraflexx sheets (or baking parchment) sheets and dehydrate at 120°F for 4+ hours (depends on how 'fried' you would like your mushrooms to look and taste; overnight works great too - I prefer them to dehydrate for at least 10 hours).
6. When they're how you like them (taste-test first!) pour them onto some paper kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil (if any) and keep in a bowl ready for serving, eating or adding to recipes or salads.

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

These can be served as:

• A topping, either on its own or with avocado, tomato or anything else which sounds like a good idea at the time
• A great addition to a salad
• As part of a 'Sunday breakfast'
• As part of a filling for a wrap or nori roll or sandwich

Watch me demo this recipe here >>

© 2011 Karen Knowler WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE THIS RECIPE IN YOUR EZINE OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Karen Knowler, The Raw Food Coach publishes "Successfully Raw" - a free weekly eZine for raw food lovers everywhere. If you're ready to look good, feel great and create a raw life you love get your FREE tips, tools and recipes now at .

How To Set Up Raw-Friendly Work Stations

Setting your kitchen up for success is one of the most important things to take care of, no matter what diet/lifestyle you’re trying to follow. The bottom line is, if your kitchen isn’t supporting your intentions, then your chances of success are practically nil.

So today I’m sharing with you one of my favourite success strategies of all - we’re talking raw-friendly work stations – these being specific areas of your kitchen where you grow, prepare or process your raw fare, so that you can eat the way you want to eat without distraction, denial or difficulty.

Why “Work Stations”?

Have you ever found yourself walking round your kitchen in circles as you go from one cupboard, fridge or drawer to another in order to get all you need to prepare a salad or make a recipe?

Have you ever gone to make a juice or smoothie only to realise that half your ingredients are on one side of the kitchen and the rest are on the other?

Have you ever thought that sprouting seeds and beans “sounds like a good idea” but because you’ve never got all your sprouting paraphernalia all together in one place it’s just never happened?

Have you often wished that you had a raw food prep routine in place so that you could have food on hand throughout the week but your food processor is buried at the back of the cupboard and your dehydrator is in the garage?

These are just some of the many reasons why taking the time to create designated work stations in your kitchen is a very good idea indeed!

Where to Start?

First of all you need to consider two things:

1)    The tasks you do in your kitchen on a regular basis already (and want/need to continue)

2)    The things you would like to do in a perfect world

Put these two lists together and you will have exactly what you need in order to know what needs to happen next.

Reader Question: Raw Peanuts & The Raw Food Diet

Can you tell me please, where do peanuts come in the raw food diet? 

I’ve never seen them mentioned, but one of my favourite snacks is what I call Lettuce Boats. These are small lettuce leaves (I find the little gem the perfect size and shape) with a spread of raw organic peanut butter (or avocado), topped with chopped red onion, sprouted beans, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, perhaps a sprinkling of sprouted cress or other such (or anything else I fancy or have available), and pepper/salt to taste – very easy to prepare and eat, and completely yummy.  

However, my question remains – why don’t peanuts get a mention in the recipes and information about raw food?

– Gwynn, UK

*************

Hi Gwynn, great question. I’m so glad you asked!

I am also a fan of peanuts. In answer to your question, I’m not sure why they’re not used often in raw food recipes; I can only guess that it’s because there has been a noticeable amount of bad press around peanuts, in and around allergic reactions, aflotoxins etc. They are a nut (legume, actually) that needs careful storage so as not to develop mould, which is where the problems start, so you want to be sure that the source you obtain them from is a good one.

The good news is, raw peanuts, when stored correctly (if out of their shell they should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer) are not only delicious but extremely nutritious being a good source of niacin, folate, copper, manganese, and protein, with many and varied health benefits.

I’m so glad you raised the question, because as well as sharing your own delicious recipe idea (thank you!) it gives me an opportunity to share some more – and, rather excitingly, how people can make their own raw peanut butter…

How to make raw peanut butter

Equipment: Food processor or strong blender (e.g. Vitamix)

Ingredients: 

(Ratio = 1 cup of peanuts: 1 Tablespoon of oil)

• 1 cup raw, shelled peanuts
• 1 tablespoon cold pressed peanut oil/canola oil/olive oil (you can try others as desired)
• Pinch of Celtic sea salt/Himalayan crystal salt, if desired

Directions:

Method 1: Food processor

1)    Place the peanuts in your food processor and process until the nuts are finely ground.

2)    Add the oil and continue processing until the peanut butter reaches your desired consistency - add more oil if necessary.

3)    Taste-test – add salt if you prefer it.

Method 2: Vitamix

• Pour in the oil first and then add the peanuts to the mix.
• Process on full speed until the nuts are ground – you will need to use the tamper to keep pushing the nuts into the mix to get them properly processed.
• Add more oil and continue processing until the peanut butter reaches your desired consistency.
• Taste-test – add salt if you prefer it.

RAW COACH TOP TIPS:

• For chunky peanut butter, stir in some chopped peanuts by hand once you’ve made it.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Ways to eat/serve raw peanut butter

• On flax/seed crackers.
• Add a tablespoon to thicken up/add nutrition to a smoothie.
• Fill a celery stick with peanut butter for a delicious and satisfying snack.
• If you’re making or using a raw bread, try peanut butter and banana on top, or peanut butter and honey, or peanut butter and chopped apple, pear and/or raisins. Ooh la la!
• Use as a great base ingredient when creating a raw curry sauce.

And if you want to keep it whole and simple…

• Enjoy a handful of peanuts with a green juice for super-healthful combining.
• Toss sprouted quinoa with a little oil or vinegar, chopped peanuts, spring onions/scallions, red pepper, parsley and raisins for a gorgeous salad.
• Add to any salad in fact!

I hope this helps Gwynn, and thanks again for a great question.

Karen

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