"Raw & Beyond - How omega-3 nutrition is transforming the raw food paradigm" is a joint venture by green smoothie enthusiast Victoria Boutenko and two other raw food advocates, Elaina Love and Chad Sorno.
The authors have all been exploring the raw food diet for a similar time frame (approx 16 years ago). Independently they have, through trial and error, moved 'beyond raw' in a similar vein.
All authors have been 100% raw at some stage, one admittedly militant about it. All now eat what they consider a high raw diet which is a high % of raw, with some cooked, plant based food. They have moved on from gourmet raw recipes which are frequently very high fat and based on nuts and seeds. They feel more grounded eating some cooked food and acknowledge that some food are better cooked or at least lightly steamed such as brassicas.
The authors have all been exploring the raw food diet for a similar time frame (approx 16 years ago). Independently they have, through trial and error, moved 'beyond raw' in a similar vein.
All authors have been 100% raw at some stage, one admittedly militant about it. All now eat what they consider a high raw diet which is a high % of raw, with some cooked, plant based food. They have moved on from gourmet raw recipes which are frequently very high fat and based on nuts and seeds. They feel more grounded eating some cooked food and acknowledge that some food are better cooked or at least lightly steamed such as brassicas.
A big part of the book, particularly by Victoria is stressing the importance of having an adequate Omega 3: 6 ratio of essential fats in the body. Given raw food eaters get their oils mostly from nuts, seeds, avocado and coconut, its easy to consume a huge amount of the omega 6 oils in comparison to omega 3. This can lead to a multitude of health problems, namely inflammatory disorders. Victoria has a great chart covering many pages comparing the omega 3:6 ratio of many foods, including nuts, seeds, oils, fruits, legumes and greens. I was amazed to learn that the ratio in almonds is 1:2011 !!!!
Each author shares their story and 3/4 of the rest if the book is a collection of recipes from each author that are true to their new way of eating, being high raw, so some cooked meals are included. They also use less fats that recipes they would have promoted in the past, and they advocate the use of the higher omega 3 plant foods like chia, flax, hemp and walnut.
My disappointment in the book is its quite small, and I would have liked more about their journeys, with more factual info like the omega comparison Victoria did. I am a big sponge for theoretical/factual info and it didn't deliver enough there for me. The recipes look ok, but I have not been inspired to try any. That may well be just me though, because I buy a lot of books and rarely use the recipes, rather I invent my own stuff, so don't let that put you off!
Each author shares their story and 3/4 of the rest if the book is a collection of recipes from each author that are true to their new way of eating, being high raw, so some cooked meals are included. They also use less fats that recipes they would have promoted in the past, and they advocate the use of the higher omega 3 plant foods like chia, flax, hemp and walnut.
My disappointment in the book is its quite small, and I would have liked more about their journeys, with more factual info like the omega comparison Victoria did. I am a big sponge for theoretical/factual info and it didn't deliver enough there for me. The recipes look ok, but I have not been inspired to try any. That may well be just me though, because I buy a lot of books and rarely use the recipes, rather I invent my own stuff, so don't let that put you off!
RSS Feed
