Fit Fare

Hi, I’m Terilynn and I eat raw foods. That means on any given day I eat fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, sprouts and sprouted grains. I consider myself more of a raw foodie than a raw foodist, as you will notice from my posts. They lean more toward raw cuisine as an art and less about the benefits of a raw diet.

There’s no need to worry. I’m not the raw fanatic (you might have heard about) who goes around chanting “Cooked food is poison,” while dancing in sacred mud. To prove this, I decided to make a few promises.

First, so I don’t perpetrate the myth that raw foodist eat only salads, I will not include any salad recipes. None. Except for the one listed below and maybe a few more from time to time. But only because I eat a huge salad, with fresh dressings, every day and I have all these recipes. You understand.

Second, I won’t make anyone feel guilty because they eat cooked foods instead of raw. I realize it’s a personal decision, whether someone wants to live to be 178 eating raw foods or perish young due to a cooked food-related death. No guilt trips here.

There will not be long-winded lectures on how cooking your food over 116 degrees destroys precious food enzymes, causing your body to use its own enzyme resources, thus ripping away your vitality. Nope, I won’t go there.

No discussion on how chlorophyll increases cell growth, as a result helping the body to heal. If you could do me one favor though, when I write about the benefits of wheatgrass, just ignore it.

And finally, I promise I won’t use the book Nature’s First Law’s mantra “Cooked food is poison,” once in my writing. Well, excluding using it above - twice. But no more.

You know, maybe the promises-thing isn’t going so well. How’s this? I will relay information about raw food cuisine to the best of my abilities. Sounds good? Great. Let’s eat.

Pear Salad with Tangy Cranberry Vinaigrette
serves 4

4 cups spring mix
2 pears, cut in slices

Place spring mix lettuce on plate, top with pear slices.

1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons agave nectar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons agave nectar (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup olive oil

Combine balsamic vinegar, cranberries, agave nectar and sea salt in a blender. Slowly stream in olive oil.

Drizzle vinaigrette on salad.