Simply Raw

What a special treat to be able to enjoy raw gourmet dishes for a festive dinner party, without having to prepare them yourself! In fact it is far better when it is an experienced raw foods chef who does it for you. In the USA or the UK, you can actually find raw restaurants for this type of unforgettable experience, but here in Switzerland we are not that lucky, or at least not yet. Meanwhile, discovering a private raw table where high quality raw meals are served to you restaurant style is pure bliss! So for those of you who live in the Lausanne area or not too far away, or who visit now and then, here’s news for you! 

Just to tempt your tastebuds, here are a few pictures of the dishes we tasted, according to the following menu (which changes from season to season, as raw and living foods should): Mini-Pizzas on Sprouted Buckwheat , Salad Leaves Orchestra, Celeriac and Apple Cream with Pistacchio Oil, Zucchini Pillows Oriental Style, Teriyaki Veggies with Quinoa, and the Grand Finale with Cashew Cheese Cake with Passion Fruit. All of it truly delicious. Maybe more than your normal daily meal, but perfect for a festive occasion. When you want to indulge, enjoy every bit of it! The final bonus: no loss of energy, more profound sleep and you wake up feeling great!

My friend France Droz entirely shares my passion for raw food. Trained by the famous US raw and living foods expert Alissa Cohen, she has launched a raw food catering business and caters private raw dinner parties from her home. My husband and I made this choice, together with two other couples, to celebrate Valentines’ Day in a cosy and pleasant atmosphere where every dish was an absolute feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. When you know about raw food and understand the quality of unprocessed, raw and organic foods and the time it takes to prepare such meals, you are in for a real treat.

“Since 2007, I have opted for a raw food lifestyle (also called raw or living foods) and since then I have felt incredible energy and well-being. Even though I am nearly 40, my vitality and endurance make me feel much younger”, says France. “Raw foods are based on organic ingredients which have been neither processed nor depleted of their vital substances. They allow me to feel my best and fulfill all my needs. I love sharing this passion, at home, with people who appreciate this food and I draw great pleasure from preparing tasty raw dishes”.

For more information, visit France’s website: Saveurs Crues, or send her an email here. I couldn’t recommend a better place to enjoy raw foods! Whatsmore, the price-quality ratio beats all comparisons. The final result is pure magic. It is also a wonderful way to introduce raw foods to those who have never tried it, they will discover an amazing array of flavours, textures and pleasing sensations. For those who thought raw foods were limited to carrots and apples, you are in for quite a surprise! You can also ask France if you want to order various raw preparations as she runs a catering business which is destined to great success!

Yes, there really is nothing like a sweet treat to celebrate Valentine’s Day! Vegetables, especially green leaves, and fruits are meant to be our major source of food, but a little sweet treat now and then goes a long way. It makes life even more pleasant, boosts our energy and soothes our psyche. So why go without it? Moreover, raw treats are natural and living foods which are based on pure, high quality ingredients, devoid of sugar and animal fat. Your body will actually be grateful and benefit from it!

Before sharing this miracle recipe, let’s talk a little bit about raw cacao, which many consider a divine superfood. Cacao is in fact a powerful source of antioxidants and other precious nutrients for our health. Raw cacao, which has neither been roasted nor exposed to high temperatures destroying its precious nutrients, contains close to four times more antioxidants than its standard, cooked, equivalent. Finding raw cacao is not easy, at least not in Switzerland. We import ours from the UK, where the famous raw foodie Shazzie distributes it via her site DetoxYourWorld. Shazzie’s raw cacao is of high organic quality, it is cultivated in Peru and fulfills the most stringent criteria for organic and bio-available food products.

The following recipe is prepared in a couple of minutes and requires no equipment. All it takes is having 3 ingredients in stock (nut or seed butter, agave syrup and cacao powder), you mix these together and it’s deliciously ready! I make it with tahini (sesame butter) but I imagine the results must be just as devastating with almond or hazelnut butter. These ingredients are highly stable and keep a long time when well stored, so there is no need to plan for this! Perfect for unexpected cravings for chocolate, banana split, a rich treat that is deeply satisfying… Ideal for Valentine’s Day in the snow. So here we go…

Decadent Chocolate Sauce

For two persons, you will need one tablespoon of each of the following ingredients:
- sesame butter (tahini), or hazelnut or almond butter;
- agave syrup;
- (raw) cacao powder;
- warm water (not boiling).

Mix all the ingredients in a cup with a spoon. Voilà! Ready to dip into! Some of you may now run to the kitchen before you read the rest… Don’t bother preparing this in advance, this sweet treat is to be eaten straight out of the cup, with a spoon, or simply dip your finger and lick (an ecstatic if childish pleasure). This wonderfully thick and smooth fudge is silky and delicious. Serve it with sliced banana or apple, or any other fruit that suits your fancy. With or without ice-cream (preferably raw, but that subject is for the summer) which means you can have Banana Split. Likewise, you can also stir a large spoon of the sauce into a cup of hot water for a decadent and highly comforting hot chocolate to drink by the fireplace or in bed…

For me, this is truly a miracle recipe. Why bother with those chocolate-based spreads that the food industry offers in multiple forms (read the ingredients, it will give you a headache), when you can make your own, pure, natural and tastier version in two short minutes? (In fact, I’m sure I can make it in just one minute if in a hurry, but preparing this is so delectable that I prefer taking my time!). Kids love this, no need to push it on them for once. Raw or cooked is not the issue. Pure, simple and authentic food, that’s all. Even (or especially) when it comes to sweet treats! So Happy Valentine’s Day to you, to lovers and all the others! May love be on everyone’s mind, today and every day, be it individual or universal love! For my part, I will be celebrating tonight with my better half and two other couples, sharing a private raw table in the area which I will tell you all about next week!

Before I leave, let me remind you of the dates of my next Raw Food Classes which take place in Morges in Switzerland. Level 1 in English on Saturday 28 February 2009 (there are only 4 places left), Level 2 in French on Saturday 28 March 2009, and Level 1 in French on Sunday 26 April 2009. For more information, click here. All past participants agree this class inspired, motivated and jump-started them into making healthier food choices. Sharing is also a precious part of the class, so wait no longer, this is the perfect opportunity to give yourself another kind of treat. But do start with the chocolate!!

Such is my mission in raw food. I try to plant seeds, which lead to new ideas, and little by little, they grow and progress on their journey. After each class I give, I am overwhelmed by the energy and passion that can litterally blow your mind when you gather together several like-minded people who are so enthused to discover what we have to share, which in turn rekindles the original passion. It is so easy to feel isolated when one makes unusual choices, this is one more reason why I choose to share my passion. Indeed, sharing is as beneficial, if not more, for the giver than it is for the receiver.

I’d like to share with you, with the author’s permission, the following lines which I recently received from a participant at my Simply Raw Level 1 Class which took place last Saturday: “Dear Amy, you have given me the energy I needed to get started and made this way of eating so much more accessible than if books had been my only guides; even if books are loyal friends, this day was much more alive than any piece of paper, as was your kitchen. It’s been a few days only that I have been eating raw, and I feel so good: light, no bloating, no hunger, relaxed, no extraordinary energy yet but I woke up this morning more easily than usual… despite a very late night out this week-end…. so I am really excited!!

Thanks again for this beautiful day spent with you and other participants. Thank you for your work, your sharing and your love of life! This day will remain special in the various important stages of my life. Be blessed to have taken on this new business orientation. It is more than relevant and it will fulfill a great many needs here in Switzerland. It is a privilege to know you.”

May this beautiful testimonial inspire others to take a bold step forward! The journey toward raw food is rich in discoveries about yourself, your body and health, but also about others. You can choose to walk this journey alone, but you save time and effort and gain motivation and inspiration by sharing it with others. Raw Food classes serve primarily this purpose: to show, in real life, that all of this is really simple, all it takes is to be shown the way and give it a try! That you need to learn new ways of thinking, adopt new habits in your kitchen, dare and enjoy new flavours. You can then make your own choices, but at least you will have been guided, inspired, enlightened!

I am pleased to announce new dates for my Simply Raw Food Classes:
- Simply Raw, Level 1 (only class in English): Saturday 28 February 2009
- Simply Raw, Level 2 (All About Green – In French): Saturday 28 March 2009
- Simply Raw, Level 1 (in French): Sunday 26 April 2009.

For more detailed information about the classes, please click on the page about Live Raw Food Classes. All the classes take place in Morges, 15 minutes from Lausanne and 40 minutes from Geneva, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. They cover a great deal of information regarding the raw food diet, how to get started, the benefits, equipment, food, and a great many delicious tasters and recipes. All past participants are unanimous: the class fulfilled all of their expectations, took place in a warm and luminous setting, and gave them an incredible urge to change their way of eating to achieve greater pleasure and wellness, while adopting a more responsible behavior which is more in line with nature. Don’t hesitate any further and sign up here! Give yourself a special treat by making new friends and learning how you can improve your life in so many more ways than one!

Many raw fooders don’t eat much in the morning, owing to the fact that our bodies are still in detox mode in the morning. Many of us are not particularly hungry in fact, and we’d do well to listen more carefully to our own instincts than to force food down our throats when there really is no need to. Others are hungry and find that simple fruit is just the answer. For others yet, a green juice or green smoothie helps to kick start the day with plenty of energy. But for many others, especially those beginning with raw food, breakfast really is an important meal and one that is easy to make raw with little effort and great pleasure. 

Here is a recipe you can start with now to replace your standard breakfast or snack, often full of gluten, dairy and sugar — all of which burden the system. Besides fresh fruit for breakfast, a great way to stop eating bread, cheese or cereal (the industrial, highly processed kind that really has very little nutritional value left despite the smart marketing that makes you believe the contrary) is to make your own raw muesli.

Here’s how you proceed:
- Soak 1 cup each of almonds, pecans, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in pure water overnight. Whole and organic nuts and seeds are best. You can alternate with any other nuts and seeds of your choice, of course.
- The next morning, rinse and drain them and throw them in your food processor.
- Add a freshly cut apple, a few dried fruits of your choice (I love apricots or prunes), a pinch of salt, some cinnamon if you like.
- Grind the mixture so as to leave chunky pieces and make it look like muesli should.
- Put some of this mixture in a bowl with plenty of freshly cut fruit (banana works well here, so do peaches and berries in the summer).
- Add almond milk or fruit juice – and enjoy!

This delicious raw muesli will take you through the morning with no energy swings and no bloating. Try it!

For another experience, and if you own a dehydrator, try dehydrating the nuts and seeds mixture to which you add a fruit based syrup (for example, blend a couple of apples with some maple syrup, adding cinnamon, ginger, orange juice as well as some orange and lemon zest) or some melted coconut butter to bind. Dehydrate for 24 hours and you will have a crunchy, tasty granola that will keep for very long (if you don’t eat too much of this straight away) in an airtight container.