Raw Food Diet

Food is  considered raw when it is not cooked or heated. The raw food diet is usually plant based, being made up mostly of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Vegetables loose their nutrients mostly  when they are over cooked.

Latest diet trend is eating raw foods such as  vegetables, fruits,  seeds  and nuts. Raw food supporters  believe that the raw foods are ideal for human health,  can cause weight loss because it contains low calories, improves vitality,  improves overall health,. They also believe  that cooking destroys considerable natural enzymes in foods, which are vital to human health and digestion.  Taking  only  raw food/eating fruits  at least one time daily will give us numerous health benefits like controlling blood pressure, because it contains low sodium, might help in lowering chances of stroke, constipation, heart failure, osteoporosis kidney diseases, and  loosing weight.

Before preparing raw food, all vegetables and  fruits must be thoroughly cleaned in water and soaked for l5 to 20 minutes in Salt water or water mixed with sodium bicarbonate. Nuts such as Almonds, Pistachios,  Cashew, walnuts etc.,   must be soaked in drinking  water overnight before eating for good results.

Eating a mostly raw diet may lead to negative health consequences. Raw food diet is not recommended for pregnant  women, young children, old age people  with low immunity system and those having  kidney diseases.

Find herein some recipes of raw vegetables:

Salads are one of the healthiest food options which are nutritious and gives good  taste, texture, color and good flavor.

1.Vegetable salad: No.1:

Ingredients:-    Three Carrots medium size, One cup  Moong dal soaked  in water for half an hour,                                Fresh coconut 4 inches bit, Green Chilly one small, Coriander leaves, and                                              Sufficient salt.  

For seasoning: Fresh vegetable oil  2 tea spoons, Urid dal, cumin and mustard 1/4 tea  spoon each, Bengal                              gram 1/2  tea spoon., a pinch of Hing.

Preparation:    Grate  the carrot into small pieces, grate  the coconut into very small pieces, cut the chilly into small pieces, mix all these with soaked  moong dal in a bowl. Add some coriander leaves, sufficient salt and keep the bowl aside.

Take a small pan or ladle and add 2 tea spoons of fresh vegetable oil, add mustard and saute it for one minute, then add urid dal, bengal gram, and a pinch of Hing  and saute for one more minute in a low flame.
 Add this to the salad to enhance the flavor. Now the  tasty vegetable salad is ready to eat.

2. Vegetable salad No.2:  

Ingredients:    One cucumber big,  Half  fresh raw mango, One cup Moong dal soaked in water for                           half  an hour,  Fresh  half Coconut, One small Chilly, Some Coriander leaves and sufficient salt.

For seasoning: Fresh vegetable oil  2 tea spoons, Urid dal, cumin and mustard 1/4 tea  spoon each, Bengal                              gram 1/2  tea spoon., A pinch of Hing.

Preparation:   Cut cucumber, raw Mango and chilly into small pieces. Grate Coconut into small pieces,add coriander leaves  and   mix all  with sufficient salt and   take them into a bowl and keep aside.

Take a small pan or ladle and add 2 tea spoons of fresh vegetable oil, add mustard and saute it for one minute, then add Urid dal, Bengal gram, and a pinch of Hing  and saute for one more minute in a low flame.
Add this to the salad kept in the bowl to enhance the flavor. Now the  tasty vegetable salad is ready to eat.

3. Leafy vegetable salad:

    

Ingredients:  One medium size Lettuce, One medium size Avocado, Three tomatoes, One tea spoon                           pepper, One tea spoon Vinegar, One small lemon,  one  tea spoon olive oil, two tea                               spoons Sesame seeds and sufficient salt.

Preparation: Dice the Lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado into small pieces.  Keep all the pieces  aside.  Take a bowl and mix pepper, vinegar, olive oil, sesame seeds and lemon juice in it. Then add the lettuce and other pieces and a small pinch of salt and mix them well.

Now the tasty  vegetable salad is  ready to serve.

4. Sprouts and vegetable salad:

Ingredients:  One Cup sprouts of Green gram, Cow peas (black eyed beans Or Lobia)  and Chickpeas, Two small size carrots/one cucumber,  4 inches Fresh coconut bit,  One small green chilly, some coriander leaves, Some salt.

For seasoning: Fresh vegetable oil  2 tea spoons, Urid dal, cumin and mustard 1/4 tea  spoon each, Bengal                              gram 1/2  tea spoon., A pinch of Hing.

Preparation: Take a bowl and mix the sprouts with some sufficient salt.   Grate carrot/cut cucumber into  very small pieces and cut fresh coconut also into very small pieces. Cut green chilly  into small pieces. Add all these to the sprouts.

Take a small pan or ladle and add 2 tea spoons of fresh vegetable oil, add mustard and saute it for one minute, then add Urid dal, Bengal gram, and a pinch of Hing  and saute for one more minute in a low flame.
Add this to the salad kept in the bowl to enhance the flavor. Now the  tasty vegetable and sprouts  salad is ready to serve.

5.Vegetable sweet salad:

Ingredients: 3 three medium size beet roots, one cup   groundnut halves soaked in water  for two hours, two cups                            Curd, Jaggery half  cup, and  One  lemon.

Preparation: Grate  the beet roots into small pieces. Take this grated beetroots into a bowl and   add soaked groundnut halves, curd and jaggery and  mix well. Add the lemon juice for flavor.

Now the tasty sweet salad is ready to eat.

6. Eating Fruits: 

The best time to eat fruits is  in the morning.   Eating fruits in the middle of 

a meal or  right after a meal is not good for health. Because the carbohydrates, proteins,  fats etc., in our meal takes much more time  to digest in our stomach, where as fruits generally digested in our stomach within  3 hours. The best way to eat fruits is an hour before the meal or two hours after the meal.

Some  fruits such as Apple, Blackberry, Blue berry, Cherries, Mangoes,  Peaches, Pears, Plums are semi Acidic in nature and Grape fruits, Kiwi, Lemon, Oranges, Pine apples, Pomegranates, Strawberries, are acidic in nature,  whereas Bananas, Sapotas, Dates, Figs, Grapes, Jackfruits, Papaya, Persimmons, Raisins etc.,  are  sweet in nature.

So we should not eat the fruits of acidic in  nature together with the  fruits of sweet in nature for proper digestion. 

l.  Cherries, Pineapple, blueberry etc.,  are anti inflammatory fruits.

2. Grape fruits, kiwi, strawberry etc.,  are immune boosting fruits.

3. Figs, red grape, pomegranate etc., contain Antioxidants.

4. Watermelon, lemon etc., detoxify and flush toxins.

5. Banana, avocado,  apple  etc.,will give energy. 

7.  Eating Nuts : 

Nuts such as  Almonds, Cashew, Pistachios, Walnuts, ground nuts, pumpkin seeds etc.,  are  good source of essential vitamins, minerals, proteins as well as healthy fats. They also contain a high level of saturated fats and a high calorific value.  To make nuts heathier we should immerse them in water over night,  skin them the next morning before consuming them. Eating 25 to 30 grams of nuts per day is good for health.

The author was trained in Siddha Samadhi yoga in the year 1993 wherein raw food diet was introduced.

Disclaimer: If any of our readers have any medical health conditions, they are advised to consult their doctors before adopting to raw food diet.