I like these books, especially Carol Alt’s book “Eating In The Raw” which is a great autobiography of her raw journey and Ani Phyo “Raw Food Kitchen”.

Guess what I saw at Kinokuniya, the hip and happening bookstore in Singapore?

I saw almost 30 different Raw “Uncook” books at the culinary section!

Boy! Was I pleased.

Just a year ago, there was barely 2, and the year before that, none.

It goes to show raw food is becoming mainstream and not so “strange” anymore. People are becoming more accepting, and the mainstream businesses are starting to “get” it. I love it.

I don’t advocate people becoming totally raw, especially if they don’t do enough research beforehand because they might actually hurt themselves by not providing their body with the correct nutrients, but I do think people should eat more raw, healthful food stuff. Grab a juice, maybe eat more salads, or just chuck a piece of fruit, like an apple or bananas (my kids favourite) into your bag to eat on the run.

Asian Carrot Salad

Combine shredded carrots, green onion, and sprouts (alfalfa, red clover, daikon radish, and bean sprouts will all work). Dress with sesame oil and rice vinegar. Then sprinkle sesame seeds over the top. For extra kick, add a small amount of grated ginger or chili pepper.

What is this salad doing for you?

Carrots are antioxidant-rich foods filled with beta-carotene, beneficial to eye health. Sprouts are packed with many nutrients with a bounty of health benefits. And sesame oil, the oil most commonly consumed oil by Chinese centenarians, is rich in phytic acid, the antioxidant that may prevent cancer. Studies have also indicated that one variety of sesame oil, called lignan sesamin, radically reduced cholesterol levels in the bloodstream and liver of rats.
By Dr. Maoshing Ni
Taken from Health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/19517/6-salads-that-help-you-live-longer/

Fennel and Dried Plum Salad
Combine sliced fennel, sautéed or raw, and dried plums on a plate. Drizzle with a ginger vinaigrette. (Olive oil, vinegar and minced ginger, if you are making yourself.)

What is this salad doing for you?
This salad soothes digestion and supports weight loss. Fennel helps digestion in two ways: It stimulates the production of gastric juices and also calms the nervous system, regulating the action of the muscles that line the intestine. Packed with vitamin C and essential minerals like potassium and magnesium, dried plums contain a perfectly balanced proportion of soluble and insoluble fibers, ensuring bowel regularity and preventing insulin resistance—making them a great ingredient for weight management.

Tomato Basil Salad
Cook whole cherry or grape tomatoes in olive oil over medium-high heat until they are lightly browned. Cool, and then toss with fresh basil. For dressing, combine olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of fresh oregano.

What is this salad doing for you?
Cooking partially breaks down your food, making the nutrients accessible to your body’s systems; for example, lycopene, an essential carotenoid antioxidant that has been found to reduce the risks of heart disease, macular degeneration, as well as prostate and other cancers, is more available in cooked tomatoes than uncooked. Basil is filled with luteolin, a bioflavonoid that studies have shown to be the best protection of cell DNA from radiation.

The close up picture of the dates

Here is my recent purchase, a box of fresh Egyptian fresh, raw dates (24 pieces) set me back just RM3.50 or USD1. I got them from a small Mamak newspaper shop at Section 17, Petaling Jaya. It’s really cheap isn’t it? So much cheaper than buying the dates from the nuts and dried fruit shops at KLCC or The Ikano shopping centers.

I just love eating raw, fresh, soft dates as opposed to those that are hard and dried to the point of being hard to chew.

The box in which the dates came from

There’s a lot of dates sold now, here in Malaysia, and so cheap as well. It’ll be even cheaper AFTER the Muslim fasting month passes, as the vendors try to unload their final goods.

There’s a lot of raw food recipes, recipe ideas, that call for the use of fresh raw dates as a sweetener, because sugar is not so good for our health. And they are so delicious and full of nutrients.

A winning raw recipe. Takes 5 mins to make.
My raw avocado pudding was my kids’ favorite when they were
weaning as babies

Here’s a recipe idea… If you like to make smoothies, try popping one or two dates (minus the seeds, of course) instead of honey or sugar into the mix to be blended. Or use dates when you make heavy cakes like fruit cakes.

=================

More on raw food

• Super pepper, better than popping multivitamins?
• Not enough healthy food around? Here’s my tips
• Small plate of soy sauce packed with good stuff
• Peach so cheap!
• Protocol For Pineapple Parasite Cleanse

=================

Even better, just pop them into your mouth when you have the urge to eat sweets. Much, much better for you, though, gotta admit, still not so good for your teeth.

I was at a Chinese restaurant with my family. There, we each had a small saucer of some cut raw chillis and raw chopped garlic dipped in soy sauce. And I was thinking, this actually is an excellent health food to be taken by all.

Red chillis are packed with Vitamin C and Vitamin A. Meanwhile, modern science has shown that garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic, albeit broad-spectrum rather than targeted. Garlic is also a powerful antioxidant. No wonder it’s long been considered a herbal “wonder drug”. Also, the National University of Singapore found that soy sauce contains antioxidant properties that are 150 times that of vitamin C and approximately 10 times of the properties found in red wine. Trust the Singaporeans to do a research on this. But, before you start to guzzle up tons of soy sauce, remember, soy sauce is very, very salty, so too much is not good for your health. But anyways, too much of a good thing is always not good.

Try this if you have a cold, flu or just generally feel unwell.

Now if only I could get my two little kids to eat some of the condiments instead of playing with it, spilling the sauce all over the clean, pink tablecloth! A recipe for disaster!