Raw Food?

Apparently eating raw is the new "thing" to do in regards to healthful eating. I'm not entirely sold on it though.

Juana Veters, a woman who's had training in raw food preparation and education, visited our TOPS chapter. She explained what the cooking process does to food, why she (and many others) choose to eat raw, and told us of the many health benefits of opting to eat raw.

She even prepared a "green smoothie", consisting of fresh, leafy greens (parsley and spinach), very ripe bananas, and frozen berries. I've never been one to mix my fruits and veggies; I absolutely hate V8 Fusion because I can still taste the carrots! However, even though I was wrinkling up my nose at the sight of the purpley-green drink, I took a sip. It was so blended that I truly tasted mostly the banana and the berries. Only if I used more than one sense could I tell that there was more than that in the drink. Okay, not so bad after all. I don't think I could drink the recommended quart a day of it though!

Raw food eaters, aka vegans, don't eat any animal products. I took a brief look in one of her "cook" books and there were recipes for making cheese out of nuts and seeds (really!), and bread out of the same. No butter. No milk. No eggs. Just a bunch of fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Wow. I do admire people that can give up things like pizza, chicken, pasta (they don't boil their food!), etc, but I really doubt I'd make it more than a week on that diet.

After the presentation I overheard a few members saying that they were going to try eating raw once a week to try it out. Good for them. I could maybe do one smoothie a day, maybe, but even at that I think I'd get bored of it. Food is just to keep us alive, but I need to enjoy the taste of it at least a little. I already pride myself on the amount of fruits and veggies and whole grains that I eat in my current diet plan, so I think I'm doing alright.

If you're interested in reading up on raw eating, check out http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/Raw_Food.htm