Contents
Introduction: The Benefits of Raw Snacks
1. Raw Snack Basics
2. Raw Snack Pantry & Kitchen Equipment Essentials
3. Raw Snack Prep 101: Learning How to Uncook
4. Super-Satisfying Raw Nut Milks, Shakes, Smoothies, and Frozen Fruit Creams
5. Fit and Fabulous Fruit and Vegetable Juices
6. The Snacks That Keep You Going: Energizer Bars, Balls, and Bites
7. Powerhouse Nut, Seed, and Fruit Blends
8. Raw Cereals and Delectable Fruit Parfaits
8. Vegetable Jolt: Crispy Chips, Zippy Dips, and Scrumptious Spreads
10. Chillin’: Fresh, Cold Fruit and Vegetable Soups
11. Raw Confections: No-Guilt, Nutrient-packed Candy and Cookies
Suggested Reading
Resources
Other Storey Titles You Will Enjoy
Copyright
Dedication
To Rick O’Shea IV — the smartest, funniest, most energetic and beautiful dog I’ve ever been blessed to have share my life. You warmed my heart, my soul, and my feet on cold winter nights, and tested my endurance on our daily, six-mile, Cape Cod seashore walks. I’ll never forget the porcupine mishaps and romps through the Maine woods. I’ll miss your smiling face and your constant presence in my office when I sit down at the computer to write.
Rest in peace, my furry friend.
August 1, 2008
Acknowledgments
Special gratitude goes out to the folks at Storey Publishing, who have invited me to share my passion for whole, living, raw foods with you, my dear readers. Plus, I’d like to thank the good Lord for the following people who have contributed to my joie de vivre and my knowledge and love of the natural world, organic gardening, and preparation and appreciation of food: Thank you to Phenie Ashe and the late Earl C. Ashe, my grandparents, for teaching me about the goodness of raw, garden-fresh vegetables, wild blackberries, muscadines, and luscious persimmons, and for feeding me scads of thick, juicy, savory tomato sandwiches — my favorite. Thanks for the inheritance of an incredibly green thumb, too!
Thank you to my late grandmother, Grace Anchors, for the pure enjoyment of her moist, tender, flaky, Georgia biscuits, creamy butter beans, and tangy bread-and-butter pickles.
Much gratitude goes to my mother, Brenda Anchors, for ridding our family home of junk food and introducing us to the benefits of whole foods and supplements decades before health food was in,
and to my dad, Mike Anchors, for many lengthy family vacations, delicious outings to authentic French and Mexican restaurants, and exposure to unfamiliar fresh, regional foods. Thanks for filling my mind with knowledge, my youth with experience, and my mouth with exquisite tastes when you could have instead filled our new home with expensive, fancy furniture.
Thank you to my husband, Bill, for building and designing spectacular garden enclosures that are simply works of art. Thanks for making gardening a sheer sensory delight. Your crafting hands are truly blessed, my dear!
Thanks to Nancy Sullivan, my mother-in-law, for teaching me the beauty and necessity of texture and color whether in the home, on the plate, or in the garden. I’m grateful to the late Helen Nearing for the inspiration to eat primarily raw and vegetarian, and to live simply — as close to nature as possible. Thanks to Candis Cantin, my beloved Community Herbalist Program teacher, for continually emphasizing throughout our lessons that our bodies, minds, and spirits become what we eat and assimilate, and that the keys to health are whole foods and herbal nourishment, enjoyment of life and work, sufficient rest, and exercise, combined with good digestion of food and life experiences. So amazingly true. Thank you, Margaret Sutherland of Storey Publishing, editor of Raw Energy, for believing in the power of raw foods and understanding my need to relay this message to all of my health-seeking readers.
Introduction
The Benefits of Raw Snacks
Raw Energy was written especially for those of you seeking healthful and dramatically different alternatives to empty-calorie snack foods such as doughnuts, muffins, white-flour bagels, vending machine junk, processed cookies, cakes, candy, crackers, and chips, fast-food milkshakes, artificially flavored milk drinks, and pasteurized canned and bottled juices — not to mention so-called energy bars that frequently contain refined fruit syrups and high-fructose corn syrup.
The methodology of food preparation in Raw Energy represents a huge departure from the way most Americans cook. My aim with this book is to introduce you to a new realm of food preparation: uncooking! I hope to educate and make you, my health-conscious readers, aware that raw snacks can be far more satisfying than conventional snacks while providing deep, sustained, get-up-and-go
power and promoting health, vitality, and good looks — as they tantalize the taste buds. The all-raw-ingredient recipes are easy to make, delicious, and delightful to the eye and palate. And better still, they are highly nutrient-dense and enzymatically potent: raw foods retain their naturally occurring enzymes, which typically make them easier on the digestive system than cooked foods. These energy treats consist of real, whole foods, and are completely unheated and uncooked, as is each individual ingredient. Unlike most no-bake
cookbooks published to date, Raw Energy recipes contain no sugar, fruit juice concentrate, jams or jellies, marshmallows or fluff, corn syrup, chocolate syrup, flour, dairy products, refined salt, candy pieces, toasted or roasted ingredients, malt sugar, chocolate or butterscotch chips, sulfured dried fruit, or hydrogenated fats. They do contain raw nuts and seeds, raw nut butters, raw unprocessed honey, unsulfured dried fruits and coconut, raw oats, raw carob and raw cocoa (yes, raw cocoa powder does exist), freshly extracted juices, nut milks, and all types of fresh and frozen fruits. I even use raw sweet potatoes and zucchini to create sinfully delicious, crispy, dehydrated vegetable chips. These snacks are good for your body (nutrition and taste), mind (no guilt), and soul (satisfying).
Raw foods retain their naturally occurring enzymes, which typically make them easier on the digestive system than cooked foods.
What is the real health difference between my raw snacks and ubiquitous commercial snacks? Most conventional snacks are made with processed, refined, nutritionally empty ingredients with a sprinkling of preservatives and synthetic flavorings and a heavy-handed complement of white sugar and sodium. Yes, consuming them will indeed give you a real, albeit temporary, energy lift when you need it most. But because they are not created from whole foods consisting of unprocessed proteins, essential fats, and complex carbohydrates that digest slowly and feed your body with sustained vitamin- and mineral-rich pep, but instead are made of refined ingredients, stripped of their former life-giving elements, they will cause your blood sugar to spike. Within an hour or so, the opposite happens: your blood sugar plummets, and low blood sugar means low energy, a cranky attitude, and a hankering for even more junk. By consistently consuming these types of snack foods, day in and day out, you may have unknowingly jumped into an unhealthy eating cycle replete with unstable energy, a raging appetite, poor health and mood, and a less-than-radiant appearance.
It’s time to hop off that merry-go-round of poor snacking choices. The recipes in Raw Energy are chock-full of nutrients and long-term energy boosters that taste so incredibly good, you’ll wonder why you haven’t been snacking this way all along. These raw snacks meet your body’s nutrient quota, trigger your natural appetite-regulating hormones, and won’t leave you wanting more. We tend not to overeat the foods that satisfy on all levels.
These raw snacks meet your body’s nutrient quota, trigger your natural appetite-regulating hormones, and won’t leave you wanting more.
The basic goal of this book is simple: to introduce you to a new way of snacking healthfully in the raw. The snack recipes in this book eliminate the negatives and accentuate the positive aspects of snacking, helping to maximize vigor, vitality, beauty, physical stamina, and endurance at every stage of life. These family- and friend-tested recipes will aid in the achievement of the utmost nature has to offer: total, resilient, whole-body health, with eyes that sparkle, hair that is lustrous, skin that is fresh, glowing, moist, and smooth, nails that are strong, bodily organs that function well and work in harmony with each other, and — best of all benefits, as far as I’m concerned — mental and physical energy to spare. The road to health can be paved with wonderful freshness, new taste sensations, vibrant colors, and delectable flavors that make your taste buds dance and your spirits soar.
Anyone who is still a bit dubious or isn’t sure about the taste excitement of whole, raw snack foods will swallow his or her skepticism with the first bite of my Creamy Carob Freezer Fudge or sip of my Papaya Sunset Soup. So turn the pages and absorb a bit of information about the fresh world of raw foods and the importance of regular snacking. Learn how to stock your kitchen with the best raw ingredients and essential food-processing equipment and gadgets, and read the primer on learning how to uncook.
Then jump right in, find a recipe that piques your interest, get your hands messy, and be prepared to enjoy some luscious snacks in the raw. The recipes are relatively simple to concoct, yet exciting on both visual and taste-satisfying levels. Once you get the knack of cooking in the raw, I hope you will be inspired to tap in to your own inner creativity in tweaking these recipes to suit your own personal tastes and dietary needs.
Chapter One
Raw Snack Basics
Raw foods are consumed in their purest, most simple form — the way nature serves them up to us. They are real, whole foods that are uncooked, unadulterated, and unprocessed, not refined and stripped of their naturally occurring nutrients. They are never heated above a certain temperature, usually between 95°F and 120°F (35– 49°C), as might occur during sun-drying or using a food dehydrator. They rarely come in bottles or jars, and never in cans or aseptic boxes, as processing methods involved in storing foods in these containers require boiling liquids.
The raw foods used in this book are free from chemical preservatives and processing additives; they comprise fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and beans that are wild or organically grown, plus dehydrated, sprouted, and fermented preparations. Also included in this list are raw condiments and nutrition-boosting recipe additions such as dried barley grass and wheatgrass, algae, sea salt, raw apple cider vinegar, herbs, spices, and cold-pressed, unrefined oils.
Raw foods can be prepared by chopping, blending, puréeing, liquefying, slicing, shredding, freezing, dehydrating, or juicing — they just can’t be heated to over approximately 120°F (49°C). Don’t assume that attempting to include more raw snack foods in your diet is limiting because you can’t cook or use cooked ingredients. Far from it! Raw food ingredient combinations are limited only by your imagination. The creative possibilities that exist within the context of raw food snacking are boundless. If simplicity in all things is your motto, you can always satisfy your raw snack cravings with a bunch of sweet grapes, a single juicy nectarine, an avocado drizzled with raspberry vinaigrette, or a crunchy handful of tasty almonds.
The recipes in this book use only animal-product-free ingredients, with the exception of raw honey and bee pollen; these foods are made by living, buzzing creatures. If you are a strict vegan, feel free to omit them and use substitutions such as agave nectar.
So that you know where I’m coming from, let me tell you about my personal eating habits. My current diet is approximately 75 percent vegan, including 60 to 70 percent raw foods. The 25 percent that is not vegan includes a bit of local seafood, farm-fresh eggs, raw goat’s milk, and raw goat’s milk cheeses. Regarding the raw goat products, I live in a rural town on the Maine coast, where I have access to these wonderful, nutrient- and enzyme-rich, unpasteurized foods. It is legal to purchase them here, so I do enjoy them on a regular basis. I’ve gotten to know the local small-scale farmers and completely trust their caretaking and production methods. The health and welfare of the animals, the cleanliness of their bedding areas, and sanitation during the milking process are of the utmost importance to me, and should be to you, as well, if you decide to include these types of raw animal foods in your diet.
Raw food ingredient combinations are limited only by your imagination. The creative possibilities are boundless.
You may not agree with all of my dietary habits, but they satisfy my physical and mental needs at this particular time in my life, and your dietary habits can do the same for you. I feel that the act of eating should be one of pure pleasure; and what one decides to eat, purely personal.
Why Eat Raw?
The nutrient energy derived from the foods consumed in our daily diets shapes, forms, and drives all systems within our bodies. I can’t state that fact more simply or accurately. The quality of food consumed is the catalyst that affects one of three end results: a body exhibiting radiant health, beauty, and vitality; a body coasting along through life with mediocre health, appearance, and energy levels; or a body suffering with disease, discomfort, and exhaustion from malnourishment.
Try to fathom the concept that some people, medical professionals included, believe that food does not affect the workings of the human body to any significant degree. How can that be? How can what you drink, eat, digest, and absorb into your very being, your very substance, not play a fundamental role in determining how you function, feel, look, and energetically exist? What you consume — high quality or poor quality — is the fuel that keeps your body going; it affects your individual power, appearance, and well-being.
Right now, I’m going to ask you to read the book title again. Go ahead . . . flip back to the front cover. I want the words raw energyto imprint themselves onto your brain. Why? To put it in very simple terms: increased energy intake means increased energy output. Or, in other words, when you consume more whole, nutritionally vibrant, unheated foods, you will invariably boost your body’s natural ability to produce, store, and utilize large quantities of expendable energy, thus dramatically improving your mental, physical, and spiritual capabilities.
A diet high in raw foods will supercharge your energy level and replenish depleted reserves. Raw foods are easy for most people to digest — digestion being the key to absorption and assimilation of valuable nutrients necessary for copious energy production. Like you, whether I’m working, playing, gardening, or simply going out for a long walk, I want to have plenty of energy to help me accomplish my goals as well as enjoy my leisure time. Foods that are loaded with unheated, unrefined carbohydrates, proteins, and healthful fats will leave your body’s cells filled to the brim with fuel for the daily chores of life. They contain the necessary nutritional molecular components that actually power the process of anabolism, or construction of new cells — initiating growth of tissues, repairing existing damage, and replacing aged or inferior cells within your body.
And you will have plenty of energy left over to do those activities you long to do. A beauty bonus: Visible effects from the added dietary nourishment will quickly become noticeable. Your skin, hair, nails, and eyes will glow. I’m promising a lot from the mere addition of raw snack foods to your daily diet, I realize. But it just makes sense that if you eat better, you’ll feel better, and you’ll ultimately look better, too!
I’m very visual, tactile, and sensual, and I like the fact that working with and eating raw plant foods engages my senses. Raw plant foods are beautiful to look at and uniquely shaped; they offer textures that range from moist and juicy to soft, chewy, and crunchy; they’re often brilliantly colored; and they are rich in unbelievable flavors and tantalizing aromas. Because they offer so much in the way of sensory stimulation, raw foods can be enjoyed on every level.
Over the years, I have seen firsthand what a diet rich in whole, raw, unrefined foods can do for your hair, skin, nails, overall health, and energy. Eating this way can take you beyond a lackluster appearance and mediocre health. An increased consumption of raw foods can result in pure radiance and abounding vibrancy, and it can also provide the healing nutrition your body needs to prevent or even reverse some chronic diseases. Because raw foods are generally high in fiber, filling, and full of cell-satisfying nutrition, they can even help with weight loss.
