LexiYoga

Raw Foods

Written by Angelina Elliott.

I love raw foods! Raw foods are foods that have not been heated above 105 degrees and are high in enzymes, minerals, and vitamins. With raw food each new day full of wonder and surprise. The great thing about raw food is it feels great to the body and the flavors dance around on your tongue.

raw foods

I was first introduced to raw foods when I was a teenager. I worked in a fabulous health food restaurant making juice. I remember when I first went raw, I preferred to just juice. Even though I was a great chef and a baker in the cooked world, all the raw stuff seemed complex and mysterious. Everything I tried in the first month was unappetizing to me and I ended up just throwing it all in my compost.

I was very excited one day when I was playing around with some seeds, herbs, spices, and veggies, and came up with the most awesome recipe. I kept playing around with interesting ingredients in many different combinations until I perfected them. This led to the invention of the Celestialwich and many other delicious inventions and then finally-Nut Free Cuisine.

My favorite food in the raw world is dessert. Why? Because desserts are so much fun to prepare and everyone loves sweets! If you have some nuts, dates, coconut oil, fruit, and vanilla-you can make practically any cake. You can't do this in the cooked world. I love that when you are raw, the simple things in life like a piece of fruit can send you into a BLISSED OUT state. Fabulous!

Oh, and then there's cacao. I found my blissed out state with chocolate when I was 5 years old. My Mom said I was the chocolate ice cream conesuier and could say Chocolate in practically any language! I grew up traveling and living overseas, so that statement probably isn't far off the mark. So, imagine my delight when I found RAW CACAO-HOLY COW!

The first time I tried it, I was called into Stephen Arlin AKA Thor's office and fed this strange looking bean called cacao. I remember loving it straight away. My reaction was HOW CAN I GET THIS? Of course, at the time it wasn't available yet for sale, to my extreme disappointment. Anyway, I remember the day when it was, I bought a lot of it.

My best friend Caneman and I bought a box of fresh persimmons from our dear friend Barry Koral at the Farmer's market and decided to mix chopped and pealed cacao with persimmons. OH MY! It was divine! Back then though, you could only eat as much cacao as you could peel! That probably saved us from going overboard.

Nowadays, cacao is so readily available, one could easily OD! So, I guess it is no surprise then why I am so into making cheesecakes, especially chocolate coffee cheesecake. Awwwwwwww RAW FOOD! It is simply a pleasure being raw. I can't imagine any other way of living.

People ask me all the time, "Angelina, how on earth can you eat only raw?" and "Angelina, how can you be 100% raw for over 10 years?" My response, I love the way it makes me look and feel. It is as simple as that. Raw food is ONE BIG PARTY! I say yay for raw. Eating raw food helps you to achieve your ideal weight, feel more satisfied, become more energized, and look more radiant and vibrant.

In the years that I have been raw, I have noticed that I am actually getting younger. Not only am I getting younger, I am feeling younger too. I have a dear friend and business partner who has been 100% raw and vegan for over 37 years. When I met him, he was turning 48 and looked like he was in his early 30's. I've been working with him for 10 years and the strangest part is he looks younger now than when I met him 10 years ago. He just keeps getting younger and younger and has more energy than a kid! I feel exactly the same way. I am hyper 24/7 and I get more done in a day than some people get done in a week. Try it on for a while and see how it makes you feel?

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