Creating Meals with Raw Food

Incorporating raw food into your diet is one of the best things you can do for your body. There are restaurants all over America catching on to the trend, and supermarkets providing sprouted breads and raw salads and soups, but as the cost of food continually rises, many are turning to their own kitchens for raw food inspiration.

When we last discussed raw food at KaTom, we experimented with the Vita-Mix blender making smoothies. We also learned that a raw food diet is super nutritional. The enzymes that are in a raw food diet help us digest and properly absorb our nutrients.

As delicious as those smoothies were, I am not on a liquid diet. And neither are most of our readers. I want to explore raw food with substantial sustenance. How can we eat raw, be full, and make every meal taste amazing? It’s easier than you might think. And although sprouting grains and soaking cashews may not seem exciting, the end result is truly worth it.

We have compiled a couple of recipes to get you started.

Sunflower Seed Cheese

This “cheese” is made with an ingredient called rejuvelac, a fermented wheat product. It is commonly used as a key ingredient in nut and seed cheeses.

• 2 cups shelled raw sunflower seeds
• 2 tsp kelp
• 3/4 cup rejuvelac

Put sunflower seeds into KitchenAid food processor. Process until sunflower seeds are similar in texture to cornmeal.

Mix sunflower seed meal, kelp, and rejuvelac together and knead well. Pack into a square baking dish with a cover. Set aside in the kitchen for 24 to 36 hours. Your “cheese” will become moldy, which is great! It adds flavor and character to your cheese.

Keep in a refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Raw Portabello Steaks and Mashed Cauliflower

• 4 portabello mushrooms, stems removed
• Balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 red onion
• Olive oil
• Cayenne pepper
• Salt

Slice mushrooms. Slice onion thinly, separate rings. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, until mushrooms are well coated. Marinate for 1 hour. Spread on sheet on dehydrator tray, and dehydrate at 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours.

Living Mashed Cauliflower

• 2/3 cauliflower
• 1 cup cashews, soaked
• 1-2 tsp salt
• Water, as needed
• 1 clove garlic
• Rosemary, to taste

Blend all ingredients in a , adding a little bit of water at a time until desired “mashed potato” consistency is reached.

Enjoy mashed cauliflower with your portabello steaks for a filling and delicious meal.

Raw Mango Ice Cream

Yeah, it’s a raw recipe. Surprised? We were too. Most raw food ice cream freeze solid in a day or two. The avocado in this recipe keeps the ice cream soft while freezing.

• 1/3 cup dates
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 mangoes

In a blender, combine the dates and water and blend until it forms into a date paste. Add avocado and process until smooth. Add mango and process until smooth. Put in a KitchenAd ice cream maker, and freeze according to instructions.

At KaTom, we are relatively new to the raw food scene. We are incorporating recipes for all you raw foodies out there in our blog, but we still need your help. Leave us your comments, tips, and recipes! We would love to hear from you.