The Bliss of Being

1. Cacao Beans

Cacao Beans, or raw chocolate, is probably the highest quality food available on the earth. Well known for its healing and rejuvenate effects, this nut also tastes fantastic! Make sure you eat it raw.

• The highest source of magnesium of any food.
• Rare MAO Inhibitors allow more serotonin to circulate the brain.
• Phenylethylamine increases focus and alertness.
• Contains Anandamide, a neurotransmitter, also known as “The Bliss Chemical.”

People always ask me what I eat. Raw, organic Cacao Beans are the primary food in my diet. They have inspired me to eat less and live more. Cacao Beans are truly the food of the gods, the best food ever! — David Wolfe

2. Maca Powder

A highly valued commodity to Andean Indians, this root is considered a delicacy and, like Cacao, was once used as a form of money. Maca is known to increase energy and promote hormonal balance.

• Protean rich with 18 Amino acids present
• Vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, E
• Minerals: Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, sodium, potassium, selenium, boron, manganese and aluminum.
• Contain alkoloids which nourish endocrine glands and reproductive system

3. Goji Berries

Used in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years, these delicious berries are jam packed with nutrients. Wolf-berries (as they are also known) are known for their antioxidant benefits, immunity building properties, and unique polysaccharides.

• 11 essential and 22 trace minerals including 15x more iron than spinach
• 18 amino acids
• 6 essential vitamins, including 500x more Vitamin C than Oranges
• More beta carotene than carrots
• Very healthy unsaturated fatty acids
• Phytosterols
• 5 Carotenoids
• Phytochemicals

4. Hemp Seed

“The Most nutritionally complete food source in the world.”

• Complete essential amino acid content, including 65% Globulin Edistin (the highest in any plant) which is extremely important in antibody production
• Very high essential fatty acid content
• Lowest in saturated fats and highest in total essential fatty acid volume of any seed

5. Acai Berries

A Brazilian berry from the Amazon. Renown for its antioxidant concentration, omega fat ratio and fibers.

• Antioxidant rate 30x more than red wine
• Helps maintain good (HDL) and reduces bad cholesterol (LDL).

6. Mulberries

This delicious berry is full of edible pigments. Probably my favorite berry to eat.

• improve visual acuity
• antineoplastic (radiation –protective)
• anti-inflammatory

7. Kelp

Any super food list can’t be complete without some seaweed! Sea vegetables have the broadest range of minerals of any food. They are also revered for their lignan content, which have cancer protective properties.

• High in iodine and vitamin K, B-vitamin folate, and magnesium,

• A good source of iron and calcium, and the B-vitamins riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
• A good source of lignans

8. Lucuma Powder

Also known as “The Gold of the Inca’s”

• Excellent source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals
• High concentrations of beta carotene, niacin, and iron.

9. Aloe Vera Juice

This nutritionally dense and easily grown cactus has been used for centuries as a topical treatment but is also highly effective in fighting disease inside our bodies. As an extracted juice it has a very nice flavor. I mix little bit on my water for a lime taste. It is highly alkaline forming.

• Sooths and stabilizes the intestinal tract
• Repairs and regenerates damaged cells
• Helps heal internal ulcerations
• Natural analgesic pain reliever
• Stimulates the immune system
• Powerful anti-inflammatory

10. Agave Nectar

Ok, so I through this one in here for fun. Agave nectar is the nectar of the gods. Much sweeter and healthier than sugar. The best raw alternative to sugar and even honey. This is the glue of most raw desserts.

• Low Glycemic Sweetner.
• Less sugar then honey.

11. Durian

Truly the king of tropical fruit. This South East Asian fruit is loaded with beneficial sugars and fats. This fruit is truly magical, and for a raw foodist it is a dream come true. A god send.

• High amounts of vitamin C and potassium
• Contains tryptophan.
• A good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

I recommend eating at least one of these amazing foods a day. As always make sure what you eat is of the highest quality. I recommend buying from SunFood Nutrition.

I want to talk a little bit of what it feels like to be a raw foodist.

Definition of raw food

Simply, A raw foodist is someone who does not eat food heated over 115 F. So basically a raw foodist does not cook his/her food, and a vegan is someone who does not eat animal products of any kind.

What it feels like to be a raw foodist

I have been a raw foodist vegan for the past 4 months and have never felt better in my life. Its true, ask my housemates, I don’t eat cooked food. In fact I slightly cringe at the sight of cooked food these days, it might smell good but just the sight of it makes me feel a bit quessy.

Honestly, I have more energy, more mental clarity, more physical health than I can remember. Transitioning to a raw food diet is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life, its absolutely, positively, amazing.

You don’t have to cook your food to sustain yourself

The point of the matter is that you really don’t have to cook your food if you don’t want to. Cooking food is not necessary for nutrition. Most of us are raised with cooked so cooking our food has become something we simply don’t question because we have been accustomed to doing it for so long. Of course there are some food items that you just can’t eat raw, like beans and grains (unless you sprout them). But most, I would say 99%, of whole foods available to us are completely eatable raw.

The truth is, that there is no mineral, no vitamin, no nutrient that you can not get on a raw food diet. All minerals, all vitamins, all nutrients (I would say more) are available to a raw foodist.

There are a lot of “scientific” studies out there that explain why eating raw food is better for you than eating cooked food; a lot of it has to do with enzymes… But honestly that doesn’t interest me at the moment. I don’t feel the need to completely understand the “science” of something that I know so deeply to be true. There is no doubt in my mind that a diet made up of 100% raw food is the best possible diet. I know this to be true, because I can feel it inside my own body. I don’t need the studies, or even the testimonials anymore, I just know.

My journey towards a 100% raw food diet

Of course, I was a little skeptical when I first heard about the raw food diet. The idea that we must cook our food before we eat it is highly hegemonic, so it’s natural to not feel completely comfortable with the idea of a 100% raw food diet at first. It took some time for me to completely digest the idea, it also took actually experimenting with it to truly understand it.

The first time that I tried to go raw was about a year ago and I failed miserably. There are two reasons I failed the first time I tried to go raw.

1. I was trying to eat 100% right away

— I didn’t allow myself to gradually, effortlessly, come into a full raw diet.

2. I had no idea about what to eat

— I didn’t know a thing about nutrition

Gradually, this last summer, I noticed that most of my meals where raw, or mostly raw, so I decided to make it a firm choice and stick to eating 100% raw food all the time. The moment I made that decision is the one of the best moments of my life.

My body truly feels light and extremely energetic. I can’t wait until I have been raw for a couple years and I have completely detoxified my body from all the cooked foods I have eaten in the past.

My diet

I follow the basic diet that David Wolfe lays out in his book The Raw Food Diet Success System; basically its a triangle in which each leg is important. The three legs of the triangle are:

• Greens

— You know dark leafy greens like kale, and salad stuff

• Fats

— Coconuts, Durians, Avocado, nuts and seeds

• Sugars

— Fruits

I try to evenly balance these three a day, not based on overall weight but based on weight minus water weight. So this means I need to eat a lot less nuts than greens in weight, because nuts are so low in water content. I usually eat my sugars in the morning; for example, a mellon or a fruit smoothy. During Mid-day I get my fat needs maybe with a couple avocados or some nuts. Around dinner is when I get my dose of greens for the day which is usually blended for easy digestion.

The raw food community is growing

Personally I know about 5 raw foodists, have and continue to read a number raw food books (recipe and theory) and blogs. I am happily surprised to see that the community is growing; for example check out how many people at eat.rawfood.com has or how many user submitted recipes goneraw.com has. Its nice to have such a big community of raw foodists on the internet about raw food. The two most prominent authors on raw food are David Wolfe (Famous for The SunFood Diet Success System, the book on raw food ) and Gabriel Cousins (Famous for Conscious Eating and his raw food retreat center)

Blogs and Blog Posts on Raw Food
LifeCrafting.net : 64 days raw
Raw Food Right Now Blog
We Like It Raw Blog

Raw food community and resources
Living Foods Recipies
Gone Raw
RawFood.com community

Places to buy Raw food
Sunfood Nutrition
The Raw food wholesaler

This is the first post in a number on raw food. What should I focus on next? Leave a comment.