Raw Energy - Part 1

Hello Everyone . . . Right now, I'm on the road, smack in the middle of my book tour for my latest book, "Raw Energy". I'm traveling throughout the country giving talks and doing raw food prep demonstrations and speaking to all manner of people who are interested in the raw food movement and what energizing, pure raw food can do towards helping to heal their bodies and rev up their energy levels.

"Raw Energy" was published in late December 2009 and is an introductory book into the world of raw foods. It is not a "militant" raw foodist book that will try to convert you to a 100% raw food diet and persecute you if you don't eat all raw, but rather, it is a book that will encourage you to integrate more raw, luscious, whole foods into your diet. It presents to you124 recipes for raw food snacks that range from juices, nut milks, smoothies, trail mixes, raw cereals and fruit parfaits, veggie chips and dips, to frozen fruit creams, chilled fruit soups, dehydrated energy bars, and raw confections (including raw fudge!!).

"Raw Energy" will also describe for you the equipment essentials necessary for making raw food creations, teach you how to "uncook", and will introduce you to raw food recipe ingredients and a few more exotic ingredients, such as raw cocoa, raw carob, spirulina, raw soy sauce, bee pollen, plus others.

I'm going to begin this Part-1 by writing, verbatim, the introduction of my book. I want you to see just how exciting and potentially delicious the addition of more raw foods - in the form of snack foods - into your diet can be. Here we go . . .

THE BENEFITS OF RAW SNACKS

"Raw Energy" was written especially for those of you seeking healthful and dramatically different alternatives to empty-calorie snack foods such as doughnuts, muffins, white-flour bagels, vending machine junk, processed cookies, cakes, candy, crackers, and chips, fast-food milkshakes, artifically flavored milk drinks, and pasteurized canned and bottled juices - not to mention so-called energy bars that frequently contain refined fruit syrups and high-fructose corn syrup.

The methodology of food preparation in "Raw Energy" represents a huge departure from the way most Americans cook. My aim with this book is to introduce you to a new realm of food preparation: uncooking! I hope to educate and make you, my health-conscious readers, aware that raw snacks can be far more satisfying than conventional snacks while providing deep, sustained, "get-up-and-go" power and promoting health, vitality, and good looks - as they tantalize the taste buds. The all-raw-ingredient recipes are easy to make, delicioius, and delightful to the eye and palate. And better still, they are highly nutrient-dense and enzymatically potent: raw foods retain their naturally occurring enzymes, which typically make them easier on the digestive system than cooked foods. These energy treats consist of real, whole foods, and are completely unheated and uncooked, as is each individual ingredient. Unlike most "no-bake" cookbooks published to date, "Raw Energy" recipes contain no sugar, fruit juice concentrate, jams or jellies, marshmallows or fluff, corn syrup, chocolate syrup, flour, dairy products, refined salt, candy pieces, toasted or roasted ingredients, malt sugar, chocolate or butterscotch chips, sulfured dried fruit, or hydrogenated fats. They DO contain raw nuts and seeds, raw unprocessed honey, raw nut butters, unsulfured dried fruits and coconut, raw oats, raw carob and raw cocoa (yes, raw cocoa powder does exist), freshly extracted juices, nut milks, and all types of fresh and frozen fruit. I even use raw sweet potatoes and zucchini to create sinfully delicious, crispy, dehydrated vegetable chips. These snacks are good for your body (nutrition and taste), mind (no guilt), and soul (satisfying).

I'll stop here this week. Next time, I'll pick up with, "What is the real health difference between my raw snacks and ubiquitous commercial snacks?" . . .


NOTE: This article / blog was written by Stephanie Tourles and taken from her new book, "Raw Energy", Storey Publishing, 2009. The information given is true and complete to the best of the author's knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author. The author disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. It is for educational purposes only.