Delicious Raw Foods
What You’ll Learn:
- Raw ‘breads’ such as wraps, crackers and breads are made from chia and flaxseed
- Raw: live foods, no wheat, dairy or eggs
- Desserts are sweetened with agave or coconut palm sugar
- Try integrating raw foods into your diet, you’ll come away energized!
Hi Tobias,
I agree, the vegetables you mention should be lightly steamed at least, to break the enzyme inhibitors. But English spinach is fine. That’s the spinach that’s typically in a salad.
Jon
I just posted a question regarding raw foods on today’s blog, but it seems more appropriate here. I’m looking for the scientific answer for RAW vs COOKED vegetables concerning (spinach, kale, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage). Several doctors, including Dr. Andrew Weil, state that these vegetables should NOT be eaten raw. They say that one group has a chemical that blocks vitamin D absorption, and the other group has a chemical that interferes with the thyroid. Digestive issues were also stated, and cooking these vegetable groups solved all the problems by destroying the chemicals and tenderizing the vegetables for maximum nutrient absorption. I LOVE raw spinach but am now concerned about eating it RAW. PLEASE ADVISE – I want to know scientific truth regarding this very important issue!!!!!
Hi Tobias,
Here is a great article that talks about both the pros and cons of raw versus cooked veggies as there can be benefits to both: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/raw-veggies-are-healthier/
The article sums it up with “The bottom line… is to eat your veggies and fruits no matter how they’re prepared.”
Variety is key in both what you eat and how you prepare it so that you can get an ample amount of nutritive properties from your food. Jon recommends raw foods mainly because now days most people’s diets do not include enough live food, and more likely not enough to cause damage. However there are always exceptions and it is best to see how foods work for your body personally. If raw cruciferous vegetables are hurting your stomach, cooking them can ease that. We also recommend that you always consult with your trusted doctor before making any changes to avoid any potential contraindications.
Thanks,
Jenn, GM Team
I’m not a fan of raw food, as raw vegetables provide no nutrition and can cause digestive problems, particularly cabbage family plants. Funny how you say you aren’t a diet and then get right into what we cannot eat! Sounds like a diet to me!
Hi Kimberly,
This isn’t about an all or nothing approach. These are just suggestions on how to add more live food into your existing diet, which Jon does believe are very important for our health. However, if there are things that you do not like, you do not have to add them in.
I hope this helps.
Den – GM Team
I live down the hill from Buderim at Maroochydore & am up at Buderim twice a week & would like to know the name of restaurant at Buderim. Rex
Hi Rex,
I believe it is Ground Organics.
Best regards
Den – GM Team
Hi Jon. Is there some way you can introduce raw recipe ides from people who are already into eating raw foods. Perhaps we can get some ideas as to how they started making the food easier to digest? I have heard about vegetables being marinated overnight which has given them a wholly different flavour & texture.
Are there recipe books about that you know of, perhaps others know and can help get the ball rolling. I eat huge salads in which I include everything I can think of in the way of nuts, seeds, fruits as well as the usual salad vegetables. Perhaps I should add it is not always lettuce, I try other greens.
My gut is hinder by medications still unfortunately.
Alicia
Hi Alicia,
It sounds like you are already doing a wonderful job at introducing live foods into your diet. Are you taking probiotics to help with your digestion and reduce the effects of the medication?
Best regards
Den – GM Team
Hi
In reading some of the comments I totally relate to it all feeling overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. I have just finished reading “Hungry for Change” written by James Coloquhoun & Laurentine Ten Bosch. Jon is often quoted in this book along with others who just like you and me got into the routine of eat what you can when you can and as much as you can. Their bodies broke down and they rebuilt them through good food. My point is that is gives really easy down to earth suggestions. I can’t afford to eat organic but I do the best I can and that is better than I have been doing. Good luck on your journey to good health and if nothing else go this website and check it out. http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
Take care Melissa
Hey Jon… was very excited to watch this blog!~ I live in Buderim and only just noticed this great cafe today as I was driving past… it’s at top of my list to try. We are so lucky in QLD, particularly on the Sunshine Coast, to be able to access some amazing fresh produce. I am learning how to make more raw foods and incorporating more of these meals into my daily life, and have recently cut grains out of my diet completely… whilst the weight is slow to come off, I am feeling SO MUCH BETTER! No more reflux or bloatedness, but I also feel so great about eating foods that are nurturing my body, mind and spirit – As a mother, eating this way makes me feel so much better about feeding my children too… knowing that I am setting them up for a life that is rich, diverse, exciting, and HEALTHT on all levels is a major factor in how well I sleep at night! 🙂
Doing 100% raw is very difficult and not always friendly to our guts ecosystem, I find in the summer, I live in a northern climate… today is in the -0’s, that during the cold months I cannot eat much raw foods. I have a salad or fresh with every meal, as the gabriel method says to do, but I have to have cooked, warming foods…in the summer I can eat more raw. each of our bodies needs are different, our health depends on us knowing and addressing our differences. Where we live dictates a great deal. The 100% raw food movement can be quite exclusive and is definitely not for everyone.
Hi Lori,
You do not need to make your meals exclusively raw. Salads with a cooked dish are an excellent idea. And sometimes all you want is a nice hot soup and that is fine too. These are just suggestions on how to introduce more live foods into your existing diet.
Den – GM Team
I don’t know if most people trying to lose weight with the Gabriel Method live in big cities but I live in a small town in a generally more rural area and all this stuff about raw food restaurants and bakeries is a pipe dream. I would love to make some of the crackers and wraps you suggest but I honestly don’t feel like paying for a dehydrator just for that. I don’t feel I should have to. I wish you had some practical recipes that ordinary people who don’t live in big cities can make for themselves.
I get the point that you believe raw foods are best (some researchers seem to say unless some vegetables are cooked a bit we don’t get all their nutrients) but I also personally can’t digest a high fiber diet so I have to be careful of what I do in this area. I still would love to be able to make the crackers and wraps.
Hi Linda,
You can use your oven at a very low heat over a 12 hour period (can do it overnight) for the same affect as a dehydrator. I don’t have one either. Hope this helps.
Den – GM Team