This week, most of us, unless raised in a mainly vegan or raw household, are literally stripping down to bare bones and forgetting what we have learned over the years about food, and its preparation. Many of us, particularly those who have access to computers and the blogosphere, have an exorbitant amount of food choices available to us. We are, in a sense, quite spoiled. Still, even with all of the choices, the main components of a typical Western diet tend to be cooked meats, grains and vegetables. Unless it is Summer, most of us are not enjoying live, fresh foods from the garden at a typical meal, particularly at dinner, when the most substantial foods are usually consumed. We tend to turn to what we know, or what we grew up with, to fill our bellies in a timely and satisfying fashion.
Make It Raw week is a play on words, meaning it is not just about the food, but allowing ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones and push the envelope on what we think we enjoy, or may not enjoy. My own rut stemmed from getting comfortable with habits that were not the most resonant with who I am, or the life I wish to lead. Celebrating the fact that I can exercise creativity and health through what I create in the kitchen is a subtle yet important step up from my previous putting one foot in front of the other cooking habits. I guess you could say that practicing raw cooking-er-preparation contributes to living in the moment in one more respect, and I find it is an important one for my own health, as well as the health of my family.
Because human nature dictates we typically fear that which we don't understand, I find the best way to get over the hump of moving out of my foodie comfort zone is through education. Cultivating enthusiasm is easy to do as long as we are constantly upping the ante for ourselves via the learning curve. This is easy with the raw diet, because I have found that there is a vast learning curve to the raw food movement. The more I explore, the more I lift the veil of strange UFO (Unidentified Food Objects) activity, and I am able to embrace the possibility of intelligence beyond my own limited perspective. And, it turns out, it's delicious!
Not Just for Treehuggers?
Good news, the raw diet is not just for hippies anymore! It does not just exist in strange cult environments or in the pages of High Times. It has come to the fore in the West much like Yoga has, and has begun to lose its mystique. The raw diet does not just appeal to a purist lifestyle, and although the websites I have visited are mostly vegan related, the recipes are mouthwatering. And, much like yoga, with practice and dedication, what at first may seem challenging or even limiting, soon begins to open up new possibility and new freedoms.
The Raw Food Diet -or- Foodism, -or- Rawism, has been around for a long time, and has enjoyed press in more recent decades for its beneficial effects on what are considered Western diseases, namely the Big Three: cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. For more great info on the types of raw diets, as well as history, go to the Wiki.
Or, if you have seven minutes, for a more entertaining perspective on Raw Food, watch this video:
In the Spirit of Adventure
While I have a great deal of admiration for those who dedicate themselves to a particular path, OMPlate is about exploration, not adhering to any certain doctrine. So this week is about exploring food options, keeping with fresh, local, simply prepared foods and translating them as much as possible into the raw realm. So look for some fresh ideas and experiments, as well as some useful references, like this page from The Raw Chef, Russell James, the UK's raw food enthusiast and educator. Great recipes, as well as suggestions for some raw food tools, which I will go into further in the near future. For now, let's get excited about raw and set out on a delicious adventure.
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