By Emily Puro
As spring slips gently into summer, it’s time to bask in the warmth, smell the flowers, pick some berries, and beat the heat! Why not turn off the oven as well?
A growing number of living food enthusiasts have turned off their ovens for good, claiming that “going raw” enhances health and vitality while reducing the physical effects of aging. Followers believe that cooking destroys food’s essential enzymes; therefore, they eat only fresh, organic ingredients that have not been heated over 115℉ (some draw the line at 105℉). Most living foodists are vegan (consuming no animal products), but some eat raw fish or even meat. As long as the enzymes have not been killed by excessive heat, they consider the food living.
Enzymes are the key to the living food philosophy. Followers say that when we eat food in which the enzymes have been killed by cooking our bodies sacrifice metabolic enzymes to digest the food that would otherwise maintain proper physical functioning. They believe the depletion of these metabolic enzymes puts unnecessary stress on our systems and accelerates the aging process.
Victoria Warren-Mears, R.D., L.D., Clinical Director of the Dietary Internship Program at Oregon Health and Science University, challenges this premise, saying, “Our bodies are made to use the enzymes we produce. Short of some health problem, we should have adequate amounts throughout our lifetime.” At the same time, she acknowledges that “eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables is excellent and I would encourage that totally.” But the benefits from fresh produce, she explains, are “the fiber, phytochemicals, and nutrients as opposed to the enzymes [in their uncooked form].”
A far cry from the sprouts and tofu stereotype (tofu, after all, is cooked), raw cuisine is among today’s hottest trends, with high profile enthusiasts like Demi Moore, Sting, and Alec Baldwin. Perhaps they seek the slender shape raw foodists typically sport. Perhaps they hope to stave off the physical effects of aging. Some are undoubtedly drawn to the lifestyle for it’s eco-friendly, cruelty-free philosophy. Whatever the appeal, upscale raw restaurants are thriving in major cities throughout the country.
By developing dishes that tempt the palate and the imagination living food chefs defy the image of a raw meal. Roxanne Klein of Roxanne’s in Larkspur, California, creates Pad Thai “noodles” from young coconuts and “rice” from pulsed parsnips. Perhaps that’s why Bon Appetit named her an “Innovator” among top chefs in 2003. (See page 112 for a Healing Profile on Roxanne.) Juliano, whose Los Angeles dining destination Juliano’s Raw consistently attracts Hollywood’s elite, has become a raw food celebrity for inspired offerings like living “cheezeburgers” and “rawvioli.”
Last fall, Ede Schweizer’s gourmet raw food company SmartMonkey Foods created a full-day raw menu for Carnival Cruises, celebrated for pioneering healthy cruise cuisine. Living food retreats are gaining popularity around the world as well.
With its bounty of diverse fruits and vegetables, summer is a living foodist’s delight. Combing flavors, textures, and colors with pizzazz, the recipes that follow showcase living food at it’s most delicious.
English Cucumber Soup with Tiny Carrots and Amaranth Leaves
Serves 4 Reprinted with permission from Raw (Ten Speed Press, 2003) by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein.Soup Ingredients
2 English cucumbers, peeled and chopped
2 tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Carrot Salad
2 baby white carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
2 baby orange carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally
2 baby red carrots, unpeeled and sliced diagonally
1 tbs. thinly sliced scallion
8 thin slices English cucumber, quartered
1/4 cup micro amaranth leaves
1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Celtic sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Preparation
1. To make the soup: Just prior to serving, in a high-speed blender, process the cucumbers until smooth. Add the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. To make the carrot salad; just prior to serving, combine the carrots, scallion, cucumber, amaranth, olive oil, and lemon juice and toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Arrange one-fourth of the carrot salad in the center of each bowl. Ladle one-fourth of the soup around the salad. Top with pepper.
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