Contributed by Angela Cleveland

In honour of Earth Day, I thought we would approach our produce this week as nature intended: raw! “Raw Foodism” is a growing trend in North America. With a growing number of raw-food restaurants, along with actors such as Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore promoting this new (actually, old) way of “uncooking,” raw foodism is gaining in popularity.

The idea behind raw foodism is that as food is cooked (above 118şF), the natural enzymes begin to break down. As a result, our bodies have to use their own limited supply of enzymes to properly digest the food. When we can retain the body’s own enzymes by eating “living food”, we can boost energy and prevent or cure many life threatening diseases. Also, by cooking our food, we are destroying the natural protein, vitamin, and mineral content. Raw-foodists believe that by eating food that is not cooked, we can reap the benefits as nature intended.

However, if you are interested in switching to a raw food diet because you think it would be less labour-intensive, think again. There is generally more time required to prepare a balanced raw food meal then a cooked one. Here are a few easy recipes to help you get started.

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