Over the past few months, more and more of my clients have been inquiring about raw foodism.  For those of you not familiar with raw foodism, it is a diet in which one consumes only raw foods and/or foods cooked below 40 °C to 46 °C (maximum temperature varies among raw foodists).  The idea is that raw foods provide maximum nutritional benefits because:

• their naturally present enzymes remain intact for optimal digestion and assimilation of nutrients
• minerals that are normally leached from cooking processes also remain intact
• heat-sensitive vitamins are not destroyed
• carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds that result from high-heat cooking are not formed

Whether you are adopting this raw diet as a permanent lifestyle change or as a temporary cleanse, obtaining sufficient protein can be difficult at first.  So here are some of my favourite raw protein sources to help out anyone contemplating the raw food diet:

• Sprouted legumes (Sprouting legumes makes the protein more bio-available, activates dormant enzymes for  better digestibility, and reduces the flatulence-causing properties of legumes.)

The entirely raw Asian Slaw at Belmonte Raw (yes, that rhymes) contains sprouted beans along with cabbage, carrot, jicama, daikon, green beans, and mint. It is topped with cashews, goji berries, and a peanut tamarind dressing.

• Soaked/Sprouted nuts and seeds (Like legumes, soaking/sprouting nuts and seeds increases protein bio-availability and digestibility.  In terms of protein content, opt for walnuts, almonds, or pistachios when it comes to nuts and flax, pumpkin, or sesame when it comes to seeds.)

Dreams of Lebanon salad is another entirely raw dish at Belmonte Raw. This salad is topped with a faux meat tapenade made with soaked walnuts and olives. This salad also contains sprouted beans, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, red onion, and parsley. Delicious raw goodness!

• Raw protein powders (My favourites are Manitoba Harvest Raw Organic Vanilla Hemp Protein Powder and Sunwarrior Raw Vegan Vanilla Proteinn Powder.)

Sunwarrior protein powders are made from raw sprouted whole grain brown rice. They taste great and I love making pre- and post-run smoothies with them. (This photo was taken from a recent Twitter picture.)

• Quality sashimi-grade raw seafood (If you are not vegan, raw seafood can be a great protein source.  Raw seafood cooked using citrus juice ceviche-style is generally acceptable among non-vegan raw foodists.  Just make sure you avoid large fish that are high up on the food chain [i.e. shark, kingfish, swordfish, etc.], as they are more concentrated in pollutants like mercury.)

Rice-less raw salmon sushi from Inatei Japanese restaurant. With the exception of the imitation crab meat, this is pretty much a raw sushi. It contains salmon sashimi, pickled daikon, julienned cucumber, and imitation crab meat wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber. As a sushi snob, I give this two thumbs up! Amazing and diabetic-friendly!

• Sprouted whole grains (Compared to cooked whole grains, sprouted ones are easier to digest and contain more bio-available protein.  Whole grains that can be sprouted include amaranth, barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, brown rice, rye, triticale, kamut, spelt, and wheat.)

Hope some of you found this helpful.  I am not a raw foodist myself, because I admit that I am lazy at times and this diet can require quite a bit of planning and preparation.  However, I do occasionally prepare entirely raw meals or visit raw restaurants like Belmonte Raw.  I am actually planning on visiting Feel Good Guru (another raw restaurant here in Toronto) very soon.  I will be sure to take pictures and share them on my blog, because who doesn’t love food porn?

xox,

Adeline