Hi,
My name is Jennifer, and I'm a Culinary student at my high school. This year, I am taking Culinary III, where I get to choose a specific type of cooking to focus on. I have chosen to study vegan raw foods, but I am not raw, and don't know much about it. I am already vegan, so I don't nead you to explane what a vegan is to me, but I do nead to learn the basics of living, eating and "cooking" raw. I know some stuff already, such as: what a raw foodest is, not to cook food at above 106 degrees, etc. But I'd like to learn more about the foods that i can buy that are raw from the store (Is the rice that comes in bags raw?) I know that fresh fruits and veggies are raw, but what else? Oats? Is "raw" sugar truelly raw?

This semester, I'll be researching raw food, finding recipes, making food, making my own recipes, writing an essay on raw food (at least 1!) and I might do a raw diet for myself for a few days as a part of the class.

I hope that I'm not bothering you by asking for help, I know that as a vegan, I always get annoying questions like the ones I just asked you: but I really am just trying to learn about being raw and prepping raw food, and from an honost heart, just want to learn.

Thanks for you time,
Jennifer

If you go to youtube and search for raw foods, you'll see videos on food prep. There are tons of recipes online as well. here are just a few to get you started. Good luck...I bet you learn a lot and end up becoming RAW!!!

[goneraw.com]
[rawguru.com]
[www.rawschool.com]

There is a book called "Raw Food made Easy for One or Two People" (Jennifer Cornbleet). It is simple, straightforward and the recipes do not require alot of special equipment. It was the first book I bought about being raw. It helps alot and diffuses alot of the intimidation about preparing raw foods.

If you want to look at beautiful photos of what raw cuisine can look like, and how appetizing it can be, check out "Raw Food for the Real World", "RAW; An Uncook Book" or "RAWvolution"...oh, and Charlie Trotters "RAW"...they all make your mouth water.

Haha, I actually do find raw food much prettier then cooked food, when prepared right.

I'm all for being raw, I just can't afford it (I have tried in the past: I enjoyed the food and all of that, it was just pricey, so I had to go back to cheap processed foods). I would like to be more dedicated to eating raw foods through out the day, so I'm hoping that this class will help me with that. I'm the type of person where it's all or nothing, so when I'm doing a raw day or meal, it's completely raw, but when I'm not making the effert for raw, it's completely cooked/processed. I have done raw lunches in the past, and perhaps I could pull that off again if I ate cheaper fruits and veggies, instead of the expensive ones that taste better.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice on books, but could you answer my question about rice? I have the same question about beans, if I buy dried beans that you would normally boil a) can they be sprouted and b) are they raw?

Next week I will be in the kitchen a little bit: learning how to sprout, dehydrate and I'll either be making juice or the teacher will put forth the money to buy unpasturized juice.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice, and if I find the money, I'll go buy some books (I live in an area where there's lots of raw foodests and vegans, so the "cook" books are easy to find).

Tata,
Jennifer

goneraw as posted above is a great receipe source ive yet to buy any books as of yet as ive not run out of things to try that ive found online

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hi Jennifer,

In my town(Victoria, BC) we have great public libraries that have a number of raw cuisine books. I used those before I decided to buy any. Not all dried beans are created equal- I have had the best experiences sprouting organic dried beans and seeds. I have had no success with rice, however I may not have tried the right type.

You may find that eventually if you consume enough raw, you will need to eat less of the expensive nutritious food than you do calorie packed but nutrient deficient processed food.

Good luck with your class.
Anna

All grains or beans would need to be sprouted in order to be considered "raw". I haven't had any success with rice, but many other grains and beans are tastey and easy.

Very cool, Jennifer.

There are tons of books in Barnes and Nobles

Thanks for the advice... I'll check out the library (maybe today!) and I'll go ask my school librarians to order some raw cooked books. If those faill, I'll save up the money (very slowly!) and buy a book.

Jennifer