Why Raw Redux, Beetroot Pasta and sharing the blog love.

The Start: Why Raw?

The question I get asked most about my diet, (even more than “Where do you get your protein?”) is simply, “Why Raw?”

People become raw (and/or vegan) for a number of reasons. Most often it’s for their overall health, for some people it’s concern for their environment or animal welfare. For others, like my friend Anna, or, you know, Brendan Brazier,  who are elite athletes, it’s about athletic performance. And for some people, myself included, it’s because they are trying to help their bodies heal in the face of chronic illness.

The primary reason raw is so good for your body is ENZYMES.  Heating food above 116 degre destroys foods’ natural enzymes that aid in the digestion and absorption of food. And the better digested and absorbed your food is, the more nutrition you get.

Enzymes are substances that help our bodies break down and assimilate food, and although our bodies produce their own enzymes, adding the natural enzymes in food makes digestion much easier and more efficient. This in turn means more energy for other body functions, like repair (need some of that!) and immune function (I’ll have that too.)

Add to this that cooking can deplete the vitamin and phytonutrient content of food (in general!), and it’s 2 points for Raw while Cooked food has yet to score. Keep in mind I’m an advocate of high-raw, not all-raw…

The other primary benefit of a raw plant-based diet can be explained thusly:

Crohn’s disease is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Inflammation is encouraged in bodies that are highly acidic and discouraged by highly alkaline diets. Meat, dairy, refined sugar and processed foods are acid forming in your body. Plant based diets are highly alkaline.

It’s a fairly simple equation to work out why an alkalizing high-raw diet is good for an acidic, inflamed body.

For me, being high-raw vegan works in both theory and practice. My hair, which was falling out for about 5 years, is growing back thicker and faster than ever. My skin looks healthier. I have so much more energy.  And, without trying to sound like an infomercial, anyone can get these benefits.  Why not try adding some more raw into your life?

The Middle: The Recipe

And now I’ll step off my soapbox and into the kitchen, to share my newest obsession:

Beetroot Pasta with Tomato Cashew Sauce.

Cut the head and tail off 3 medium beetroot, slice off the skin as thinly as possible, then grate. (That’s the pasta done. Tough, right?)

Combine:

½ cup soaked cashews
8 sundried tomatoes
2 tps Sunflower seeds
A slug of olive oil to loosen

Blitz!

Combine the pasta and sauce, add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy the meal that took you 7 minutes to make while your flatmates are still checking to see whether their pasta is al dente…. I also tried this sauce with a handful of Basil added tonight. Very, very tasty.

Ending on a grateful note:

To wrap up, I’m going to share an award I was gifted today by my friend and mentor Gena; The Sunshine Award.

Awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world, getting this from Gena was such a compliment. I aim to inspire people everyday, and positivity is something I strive for, so thank you so much Gena, truly.

And in accepting this award, it’s my job to pass it on to some new  people.

Mandee

Lauren

Robyn

Emily

Vaala

Nikki

Averie

And finally, in the spirit of paying this award forward, I want to ask you guys to share your blogs with me. You may have noticed I finally got round to adding links to some sites I love to the Getting Raw homepage. Let me know about your blog if I’m not a regular visitor or you’re blogging about Raw Food, Veganism or Health. I love sharing the love, so please say hi! If you’re shy about commenting, send me an email kate@gettingraw.com.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

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