Raw Vegan – So Refreshing! I love having chilled soups in the summer and gazpacho is always a winner, but wanting something more original for my classes, I experimented with mango with very tasty results! While you might think that with mango and orange juice as the base, this would be a very sweet […]
Raw, Vegan – Completely Grain and Gluten-Free! When the holidays come along, it can often be a desolate time for people who have made a paradigm shift in their eating — especially if they haven’t found vegan, raw or gluten-free options that are appealing. My favorite has always been stuffing. For years my hosts […]
Appetizing Autumn Soup Garnished with Yellow Bell Pepper and Pomegranate Kernels Every fall I look for new and creative ways to enjoy this seasonal squash. You may want to check out last year’s delightful Paleo Pumpkin for a raw fusion vegan holiday offering. This recipe was contributed to Raw Fusion Living: Recipes for Healthy […]
I’ve been eating raw foods for over 5 years now. For the past two years I have been doing a more raw fusion approach, combining raw foods with some cooked or alternating cooked meals with raw which seems to be easier to sustain and more practical. People are often turned off to the raw foods because of how difficult it can be to maintain this lifestyle – Raw Fusion is a manageable alternative.
Essentially, “raw fusion eating” aims for at least 51% of what I consume to be raw or living foods. When slightly over half of what you eat is raw (meaning not processed, denatured or cooked over 115 degrees) there is a lot less wear and tear on the body; your digestive system has an easy time absorbing the nutrients and releasing the waste and inflammation is kept at a minimum.
Raw, Vegan and Gluten and Dairy-Free- Make a Soup Creamy without Dairy!
A common misconception about eating raw foods is that everything needs to be cold. While foods retain much more nutrition and enzymatic activity when raw, you can also gently heat them to under 115 degrees F.
Although The Live Food Factor is one of the best books ever written about the raw food lifestyle, when I first saw this recipe by author Susan Schenck, it didn’t sound appealing, which was surprising considering that I love most of the ingredients. When I finally decided to give it a try, I was astounded by the flavor; In fact, I have yet to find someone in my classes who does not respond well to this soup — even those who don’t like cilantro enjoy how the flavors seems to meld perfectly in this blend.
What’s especially exciting about this soup is how creamy you can make it using tahini (sesame butter)!
A Raw Vegan Recipe with Shortcuts
You can buy both young coconuts and frozen kefir leaves at Asian markets, but you can also find the young coconuts at many health food stores. Young coconuts have a delicious jelly-like meat inside, along with some of water which is super-high in electrolytes and nutrients. These are a staple food to many raw foodists. The only drawback is that the seemingly impenetrable husk takes some practice in learning how to open, but I provide a shortcut so that you can enjoy this soup often:
Asian markets also usually carry frozen shredded young coconut meat in their frozen food section. They are slightly preserved and do contain sugar, so while defrosting I open the package and place the frozen coconut meat in a colander so that the sugared water will run off. Then run fresh water over the meat for several minutes to remove the rest. You can also buy some preservative-free coconut water to blend with the defrosted young coconut.