Book #12: "12 Steps to Raw Food"
By Victoria Boutenko
I've been learning about the health benefits of raw food, and am finding it REALLY interesting. After reading "Green Smoothie Revolution" I went on a kindle-spree and bought 4 more books on raw food. One of the big reasons I'm so interested is that my parents have been drinking green smoothies, and have been experiencing some dramatic and wonderful health results. I've also read various blogs and personal testimonials about a "raw trial" or someone whose been eating raw for a long time, and am really intrigued by the health benefits they report. SO - I thought I'd see how Victoria Boutenko proposed going about transitioning from cooked to fully raw food.
She talks a lot about the social/emotional/physical dependencies we and our culture have on cooked food, and about the supports people would need to be able to make a switch. She also talked a LOT about the health benefits and what other things you can change to become more natural and reach "optimal health" (isn't that a fun thought?!). I really liked how organized her book was, and feel like I learned a lot.
I remember hearing about "raw foodists" when this first started gaining momentum in the 90's, and all I could think was "They eat raw meat?!" I guess this is a fairly common first reaction, but it's been fun to learn about what it really means to "go raw". Chris and I have talked a lot about making some diet changes, and we definitely think there are TONS of health benefits to incorporating more raw foods in our daily diet. We also think that we really couldn't ever see ourselves going 100% raw, so all you nervous family members can relax. :) Socially it would make things really difficult, and there are a few items that are healthier when cooked.
So what's the plan? I'm going to keep learning, keep trying new things, learn how to prepare some really tasty raw foods, and we'll go from there!
