RAW FOOD HITTING THE MAINSTREAM

From: Dr. Jai Maharaj (usenet_at_mantra.com)
Date: 09/19/04 

Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004 19:22:05 GMT

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Forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com

[ Subject: Raw Food Hitting the Mainstream
[ From: fidyl@yahoo.com
[ Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2004

Raw food trend isn't cooking, but it's hot

By Jim McKnight, AP
August 30, 2004

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-08-30-raw-trend_x.htm
 
WOODSTOCK, N.Y. (AP) - Lunch crush is coming and the deli
crew is busy making burgers, lime tarts and pizza dough.
Things are really cooking - at least figuratively.

In fact, none of the food being prepared at In The Raw
will touch a flame or a griddle. None of it will
encounter a temperature higher than a sweltering summer
day. All of it, from the vegan cakes to vegan burgers, is
served raw.

"No ovens," said owner Barbara Banfield. "Just
dehydration. No flames."

The recently opened organic vegetarian deli and juice bar
in this artsy tourist town is another outpost marking the
mainstreaming of raw food diets.

So-called raw foodists can make vegetarians look like
slackers. Devoted followers are vegans, meaning they
eschew animal and dairy products.

Just as importantly, they believe that heating food above
the 110-115 degree range destroys enzymes in food and
diminishes nutritional value.

Healthy food is "living food," they say, organic,
unprocessed and uncooked.

Eating raw food is nothing new - it's basically
humanity's oldest cuisine.

But interest in raw food diets has been sprouting
recently beyond the usual fad cradles like Manhattan and
southern California.

A number of (un)cookbooks have been published recently
offering recipes for "raw pot pie" and "lemony tofu
pate." High-profile adherents like actor Woody Harrelson
and model Carol Alt have added to the buzz.

Author and raw food evangelist David "Avocado" Wolfe said
he now speaks to packed houses in places like Coldwater,
Mich., and Wichita

When Wolfe started speaking tours seven years ago, he
knew of two raw restaurants nationwide. The Web site
www.rawfoodinfo.com now lists more than 60. Raw
restaurants range from smoothie stands to fine dining
establishments with wine lists and dishes like dim sum
and "pasta" made from zucchini.

People who have gone raw tend to be zealous converts,
ready to gleefully testify about impressive weight loss
and energy gains. Wolfe says he sleeps five hours a night
and his immune system is so strong now "it's basically
impossible for me to get sick."

Banfield's former chef at In The Raw, Dominic Guerra,
said the switch to raw cleared up his asthma, allergies
and anxiety. He suffers relapses when he sneaks bites of
processed foods.

"I had a bagel with cream cheese and it made me feel like
I had a filmy curtain in front of my eyes," Guerra said.
"And I hought 'This is the state that people walk around
in all the time!'"

Claims like that can raise eyebrows. While nutritionists
have little problem with people eating raw nuts and
vegetables (as long as they're clean), many are dubious
about basing an entire diet on the concept.

It's true that some enzymes are inactivated when food is
heated, but that's not important because the body relies
on its own enzymes for digestion, said Dennis Miller, a
professor of food and nutrition at Cornell University.
Certain foods, like beans, become more nutritious after
cooking, he said.

"The claim that somehow raw foods give you better energy,
are more healthful, improve your immune system and all of
that is simply not substantiated," Miller said. "And
moreover, it's not biologically plausible."

If raw food really does boost energy, it can come in
handy for making uncooked meals. Baking on a sun-soaked
rock or simulating spaghetti strands with squash takes
time. Banfield's corn chips can take three days to
prepare once dehydrating time is figured in - it's the
antithesis of microwave cooking.

Then there's the ingenuity factor. Many raw dishes are
essentially reverse engineered to approximate the taste
and texture of well-known foods. It requires blenders,
food processors and a bit of culinary prestidigitation.

On a recent day at In the Raw, workers moved in the
cramped spaces between celery colored walls, busily
blending seeds and thwacking open coconuts.

Workers constructed raw burger patties made of flax meal,
almonds, sunflower seeds celery, carrots, herbs and
spices.

Seeds and nuts are crucial to many raw food creations,
they add heft, texture and protein. Coconuts figure in a
lot too; Banfield's restaurant goes through about 180 a
week.

With these raw bases, Banfield can approximate all sorts
of popular foods.

Tuna salad? Did it. Chili? Ditto.

Of course, even an inept gourmand with a blindfold could
tell a raw burger patty from McDonald's (one big tip-off:
Banfield sandwiches her patties in butter lettuce instead
of a bun). Raw restaurants seem to borrow the names of
familiar foods to help people choose. The raw knockoffs
can taste like their namesakes, but there are
differences.

"You play a lot with the texture," Banfield said. "It
plays with the mind."

So while Banfield's raw, almond-flour dough lacks the
airy texture of risen bread, it has a solid feel that's,
well, doughy. Banfield's shakes have a different sort of
thickness on the tongue thanks to processed nuts and
coconuts. Wolfe claims to make a killer chocolate-chip
mint ice cream with all-organic ingredients like
coconuts, hemp seed and agave nectar.

"It just blows people's minds where the sophistication is
at now with raw food," he said.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Raw Food Hitting the Mainstream

http://www.mercola.com/2004/sep/18/raw_food.htm
 
The popularity of raw food is rising but the temperature
in the kitchen is not.

In fact, the food being prepared at trendy raw food
restaurants never enters an oven, touches a pan or sits
on a grill. It is all served raw, meaning it will not be
exposed to more than 110 or 115 degrees.

According to one restaurant owner, the primary method of
"cooking" is dehydration.

Those that eat raw food all the time subscribe to the
"healthy food is living food" concept. They chose
organic, unprocessed and uncooked food.

"Raw foodists," as they call themselves, believe high
temperatures attack a food's enzymes and minimize its
nutritional value.

Vegans -- who abstain from animal and dairy products --
are some of the most devout followers of the raw food
religion. And like many religions, this way of eating has
been around a long time.

However, this rebirth recently has extended beyond big
cities and stylish places. Raw food "cookbooks" are on
the shelf at bookstores around the corner and offer raw
versions of American favorites, such as potpie. Famous
raw food advocates and authors preach to large crowds
from Washington to Wichita.

One author, who has been traveling to different states
speaking about the benefits of raw foods for nearly a
decade, at one point only knew of two raw food
restaurants. Now www.rawfoodinfo.com lists more than 60,
offering a variety of choices, from casual smoothie shops
to a full formal dining experience.

Many converts to the raw religion testify to the diet's
weight-dropping and energy-popping results. Some raw
foodists claim they need less sleep, they never get sick
and that conditions, such as asthma or allergies, have
disappeared. Some that may have "sinned" by snacking on
forbidden food say they felt the negative effects of the
food.

Despite compelling comments, nutritionists are not sold
on the concept.

They agree that raw nuts and vegetables are good
components of a diet but are not a complete diet alone.
One nutrition expert agreed that enzymes are compromised
when food is cooked. However, the body uses its own
enzymes for digestion and does not need others. Experts
pointed out that some foods, including beans, are more
nutritious when heated. They also say many of the raw
foodists' claims of improved immune systems and higher
energy are not reasonable and cannot be easily proven.

Raw food followers may need their extra energy to prepare
the uncooked meals. Creating pasta from zucchini or
dehydrating fruits can take time.

Some raw specialties can take days to prepare.

Using blenders, food processors and a dash of culinary
magic, raw food chefs often recreate tastes of popular
foods like burgers, chili and ice cream. Common
ingredients for such recipes are nuts, vegetables, seeds,
herbs and spices. Seeds and nuts also add texture and
protein to the dishes. Coconuts play a large role too.

While raw dishes' menu names and tastes might be similar
to common cooked foods, raw creations have different
textures. Chefs consider this part of the raw experience.

End of forwarded message from fidyl@yahoo.com

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