Karen Knowler * The Raw Food Coach

Your Big Why and Your Two Supporting Visions

As you know, many people tend to go on and off the wagon with raw foods for many different reasons. This article shines another light (or two) on why this can happen, and offers guaranteed ways out of the mire that can affect us all at various points along the way. No matter what diet you eat right now - raw or not - I'm sure you'll find this article of interest when it comes to assessing why you may slip on and off your own ideal way of eating from time to time and how you can get back in the saddle and enjoy the next leg of your ride with genuine enthusiasm and gusto! Read on...

Back in mid-November 2005, I went back to eating 100% raw vegan, after two years of “dabbling” – with both raw foods and cooked, having previously been on exclusively raw vegan foods for 5½ years. After months of asking myself “why can’t I go raw again even though deep down I know I want to?” I finally realised that somewhere along the way my “why” had changed – and not just a little, but a heck of a lot.

Allow me to explain...

Banoffee Pie

This Banoffee Pie recipe was created by our in-house raw chef and teacher, Nina Dench, who as many of you know by now has a real talent for creating delicious raw desserts and other sweet stuff. Having tried this recipe myself (and made it) I can vouch for its complete scrumminess – it even wowed a junk-food eating teen, and we know how tricky that can be!

Equipment: Nut/coffee mill and Blender.

Serves: 8-10

TO MAKE THE BASE

Ingredients:

• 4 cups oat groats – blended to a fine powder
• ¾ cup maple syrup
• 1 Tablespoon almond butter
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In large bowl mix ingredients together.
2. Place ingredients in bottom of dish and pat down using hands or spatula.
3. Slice banana circles onto base. Use 3-4 bananas.

TO MAKE THE TOFFEE

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 cup maple syrup
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Mix together until smooth. Pour over base and bananas.

TO MAKE THE CREAM TOPPING

Ingredients:

• 5 bananas
• 1 cup almond butter
• Maple syrup to sweeten (optional)

Directions:

1. Blend. Pour on top of toffee.

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

• Shop bought oat groats are highly unlikely to be raw (they will have been steamed to clean and preserve them), but raw oat groats go rancid very quickly. As oats are a great health food – low in fat, high in nutrition, they are a great ingredient to use if you are not hung up on being strictly raw.
• Decorate your Banoffee Pie with dried or fresh banana rings and/or grated raw chocolate. Yum!

© 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.

Raw Food & Money

It’s a strange phenomenon alright, and one you may not have heard discussed before, but my understanding is that the more raw you go, the more you either want to totally put money out of your life and wish that it didn’t exist OR the more you want to earn/create/gain financially, instead. This might sound contradictory, but what both scenarios have in common is one big and very important thing for raw food visionaries … FREEDOM.

Perhaps you have discovered this for yourself. The fact is that the more you clean out your body and get in touch with yourself, the more you realise that you want to create a different life, a life that is more in keeping with your true self, the Self that you are becoming more of as you detoxify on every level.

It’s not news that this “raw transformation” occurs, and I’ve been speaking about it and marveling at it for many many years now, but what is news – at least to me, now that I’ve finally become aware of it – is how this plays out in our financial life.

After almost two decades of watching people take one of two paths (“conscious poverty” or the pursuit of prosperity), it’s clear to me now why taking stock of your relationship with money, and really thinking about it and mastering it, is critical to your raw food success and quality of life.

Raw Thai Curry

One of the most common "If I went raw I'd miss ...." examples has to be "CURRY!" Well, my first raw curry was self-designed in January 2002 - I remember it well as a week later I found out I was pregnant and had one of those "oh, so that's why!" moments. Since then I've gone on to create a curry sauce that would work wonderfully with just about any raw veggie concoction you care to chop up! (See end for suggestions to work with, including how to create “rice”). So if you fancy something fresh and raw but "substantial" this weekend, bag yourself a Thai curry kit (available from most supermarkets) and stoke up your inner fire with this hot and saucy recipe!

Equipment: Food processor or homogenising juicer.

Ingredients:

Makes enough sauce to accompany 2 large helpings of veggies.

• 2 avocados
• 2 (dried) lime leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 fresh chilli
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
• 2 cm of lemon grass stem
• 1.5cm cube of fresh ginger
• 1/2 loosely packed cup of fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1/2 - 1 cup of pure water (depends on how creamy and thick you like it)
• 1/2 Tablespoon of curry powder

Directions:

1. Simply blend all ingredients together, either in a blender or food processor until everything is fully blended. Taste test. Add more water if you'd like it runnier. Add more lemon, a tomato and/or avocado if it's too hot.

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

• Great veggies (all finely chopped or cubed) to pour the sauce over include: Cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, peas, sugarsnap peas, courgette (zucchini), asparagus tips, tomatoes, cucumber.
• To improve/soften texture of your veggies you can either marinade them for a while in olive oil, lemon juice and a little Himalayan salt and drain before coating with sauce, or, after marinating for a short while, dehydrate them at around 110°F for a few hours to get them soft, warm and slightly mushy.
• To make "rice" simply put in a couple of parsnips or some cauliflower into your food processor and process until rice-like pieces are formed. Even if you don't like either on their own (I am *really* not a fan of raw parsnip!), by the time you have added your veggies and sauce, you won't even be able to tell what the rice is and you'll feel as if you're eating a much "rounder" meal.

© 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.

Warming Raw Foods

Whether the weather be hot, or whether the weather be cold… if you’re new to eating raw foods chances are that you may occasionally miss warmed or hot foods, especially in the early days, and it may well be regardless of the temperature outside. Eating hot food is after all something most of us have done the majority of our life and have come to seem very “normal” and almost a pre-requisite to eating a “proper meal”. Funny when you think about it isn’t it?

Heating food also represents emotional warmth – think “bowl of hot soup”, or a “thick warming stew” and it’s not hard to see why we view hot food as a source of love and comfort.

There are a couple of ways you can warm your foods gently so that you don’t have to cook or boil them (and lose the nutritional value) but of course if you’re finding it really difficult to go without hot food then you should go more gently on yourself and not force yourself to eat salad huddled by the fire as I did once upon a time! By all means listen to your body and eat some hot food as and when you feel you need it.

Remember, this is a whole person approach and it is emphatically not about suffering or denial! This is about working with your body and giving it the space and time it needs to adjust according to its own wisdom. Over time as your body gets used to a new way of eating you will find that your desire for hot foods will become less and less until you reach the point where cooked and hot food tastes really quite strange and almost repulsive. (This process took about 3–4 British winters for me, so we’re not talking overnight.)

Papaya and Ice-Cream Boats

Mmm papayas. Pick an unripe one and they're as bland as cardboard. Pick a big, fat, juicy ripe one and then you can understand what all the fuss is about! (Small ones can be good too, depending on who your supplier is).

Papayas make a delicious breakfast or snack; they can also make a truly delicious dessert - if the food combining police don't catch you first! Here follows one of my most simple but delightful recipes ever, that I’m recommending to you today as a fabulously indulgent but super-healthy breakfast meal that is just about as "no brainer" as you can get! Enjoy.

Equipment: Food processor, ice-cream maker or homogenising juicer.

Ingredients:

• 1 small or half a large ripe papaya
• Frozen fruit of your choice

(Pick one or two of the following: Bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, mango.)

Directions:

1)     Take your frozen fruit and process in your food processor or juicer with homogenising capabilities (I personally use my Champion) until a thick creamy ice-cream is created.

2)     Cut your papaya in half and spoon out all of the seeds. Place the halve/s on a plate or in a bowl with the seedless hole face up.

3)     Spoon your ice-cream into the hole (you may wish to combine two different flavours here if you're feeling flash!) and top with anything you fancy - see below for some starter ideas.

RAW COACH'S TOP TIPS:

• Great toppings for your ice-cream boats include: Grated coconut, cubed fresh fruits of your choice, mesquite powder, cacao nibs, a dusting of raw chocolate powder, banana slices, a sprinkling of vanilla pod seeds, fruit puree made from processing fresh fruit in the same way you processed your ice- cream, frozen cherries... oooh, just too many to mention! You will ADORE this!
• How do you tell a ripe papaya? Give it a gentle squeeze and it should give a little, but not give way completely (over ripe). Also look for a nice rounded out shape, this is a good sign too.

© 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.

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!

 

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.