I have never taught a raw food class before and I was asked to teach 6 classes on vegetarian cooking. But I'm changing it to raw food because I can't get myself to prepare food I wouldn't eat. I've never been to a raw food class myself so have no idea how to go about it. I know I'll be asked about my diet so I want to be prepared. I've already put a plea in for recipes and menu ideas in the recipe list, but am now wondering about easy to understand info on what I could teach. I've thought about discussing food combination, detoxing and toxins, what eating cooked food does to us, illness, mono eating... any other ideas? Any link to something I can study or info you may wish to share will be welcomed.

I'm sure I have more knowledge than I think I do, but like I said, I've never taught anything but reading and simple math to kindergarteners and first graders.

The students are Panamanian West Indians who eat lots of fried and starchy food and few vegetables. They have lots of health issues and are over weight. Most are middle aged to retired. This will be a new idea to them so I need good, easy to understand answers for any questions they may have about my diet.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Mona

What have I been given today?
Am I willing to reach out and grasp it?

when do you need to start teaching the class? (time frame)

there are a TON of receipes on raw food all over the internet and vids on youtube .. ive never bought a book to this day .. even in our own forums here there is a ton of receipies to look thru .. i guessyou would have to test them before teaching.

if you have time and dont want to go for the freebie stuff ... id say buy a couple of books maybe 80/10/10 for simpler stuff or allisa cohen's for more complicated type raw receipes that require dehydratos and stuff

i guess you need to decie how complicated you want it to be .. dehydrator stuff would be hard to do because of the drying time ... unless you started a particular item in one class and finished it say 2 or 3 classes later .. then i guess that way maybe you could choose a few choice items to cover those more gourment things that use dehydrators and sprouting etc...but you would be relying on your dehydrator and sprouter to work flawlessly otherwise those particular items wont work and you would have to have a few backup receipes ..

what do you think the questions might be .. if you could come up with say the top 20 questions?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

You could do a bit of research on what Panamanian West Indians true natural diet was before they introduced western foods. Then start with fresh raw foods that incorporate those foods.

Maybe make a pamphlet to hand out that lists their natural diet, shopping list, and some raw food recipes, juices, herbal teas, and healing herbs.

Good luck on your classes..you'll do great!

Love,
Prism

I totally agree. Stick with foods that are easily available fresh (as well as inexpensive) in their (your?) local region.

Prism Wrote:
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> You could do a bit of research on what Panamanian
> West Indians true natural diet was before they
> introduced western foods. Then start with fresh
> raw foods that incorporate those foods.
>
>




Fantastic idea, it should make the most sense to them this way.

A good FAQ and Q&A are always a good class. Even a demo-dish is good. A master-list of raw foods is good too.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thanks, everyone. Great ideas. We pretty much have to stick with what we get here since there is no great imports of fresh food here. I used to take West Indian cooking classes and ate at cook-outs with them before I went raw, so I'm really familiar with their tastes. That's what's making me nervous. I know that raw is completely different in flavors, texture and appearance.

I like the idea of a good FAQ and Q&A sheet. I'm sure I can put one together. Any links to one that's already set up that I could use?

I talked to someone else and she suggested themes for each class. That sounds like a great idea to me too.

Oh yeah, Time frame: Classes start the second week in July and go for three weeks--two classes a week.

I started testing recipes two days ago. I want a Mexican day, Meditaranian day, Salad day, Asian day... must keep thinking. Maybe two Mexican days. Don't know how I would make a West Indian day. They eat so much starch and fried food, I'm not sure how to make raw counterparts. I'll keep thinking about it though.

Thanks again.

Mona

Mona,
Just a thought...

Most traditional cultures have cuisines that only seem as if everything is starch based and fried. This usually came about after colonization by some conquering country that brought their bad eating habits with them and introduced it to the community ( think Native Hawaians, Native American, etc.) Most countries have a cuisine that is very natural, clean, and non-fried non heavily starch based. You might want to think about asking some elders in the community or some local nutritionists about foods that were indidgenous to Panama and work from there.

As I am an advocate of teaching transitional vegan foods to non-raw eaters....
You can also try and create oven-fried ( meaning breaded and coated with cooking spray and then baked )vegetarian/vegan dishes that mimic the taste and flavors of traditionally eaten fried foods without all the fat and calories.It's not hard to lighten up traditional favorites. All bookstores have a section on low-fat or light recipes. Check them out and see if you could cobble together some recipes that fit into your themes.

i breathe in
i breathe out
Bikini

I think some including vegan transition recipes is a great idea. It might help them stick to it and get on the path to healthy eating.

I'd say ask them what their favorite foods are, and try to design some dishes that reflect those flavors. With Indian people spice is going to be big.

Hi Mona, Good luck with your class. Sounds exciting to introduce this healthy way of eating. I suggest you keep emphasizing how much better they will feel and their bodies will heal. If they're not in the best of health that might hit home.

I have a book on raw food that says if you include a balance of the five major tastes, whatever you make will be delicious. You probably already know this. I'm new to eating this way so everything is new to me Just in case, the five major tastes are: sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter. The book then gives a list of tips of what to add to the recipe for each taste. The book has 350 recipes from the worlds top raw food chefs. It's called The Complete Book of RAW FOOD. I got it on Amazon at the recommendation of a friend. Good luck!

Joan

Mona:

For Q & A, you can just go verbal...hand-raising...whatever. For the FAQ? You can certainly use mine as an example....and pick and choose questions YOU think are pertinent. It's pretty comprehensive. Hope it's helpful:

[rawfoodfarm.com]

-There is also the Master List of Raw Foods....if any part of that is helpful.

[rawfoodfarm.com]

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Mona:

Typical Sunday meals consist of coconut and rice aka rice & peas, fried plaintains, meat (chicken or beef) and maybe a few leaves of iceberg lettuce, possibly even a few more vegetables in the salad.

So as an example, you could show that plantains can be eaten raw and still taste good with some seasoning and/or olive oil. For the salad you could use some of the same typical ingredients and maybe mix in other varieties of lettuce (there is a variety known there as Chinese lettuce) and make a blend and increase the proportion of the other vegetables usually added to the salads.

When in season, avocados often appear on dinner plates, so you could create a salad with this.

Another vegetable you could use: Okra--not many know it can be eaten raw. And since it grows there, it can be eaten straight from the tree or fresh from the market. If not eaten by itself, it could be part of a salad.

This way the transition wouldn't seem to be too extreme from what they are already used to eating.

Wishing you vibrant health

David: Thank you for that website. Very informative

Joan

Thanks, David. That's a big help. You have terrific information on your site that I will definitely use. You will be getting credit for it, too.

Everyone has been coming up with so many wonderful ideas. I really appreciate it. Good thing I have a couple of weeks to process everything first. It's starting to come together.

I love testing new recipes for this, but I'm not used to eating this way anymore and can feel the effects. Amazing. When I first started to eat raw food several years ago, raw gourmet didn't bother me at all. Now that I eat more simply, I can tell the difference when I eat too many transitional meals.

You're all wonderful. Thanks again.

Mona