Normal Green: Going Raw (Even for a Week) Does a Body Good

Part of my Normal Green lifestyle of shopping local and eating mostly vegetarian (I heard the term "bacon-tarian" recently, and that would describe us) includes an every-once-in-a-while raw detox. I have always been fascinated by raw foodists, but have never thought I could make the leap to eating only raw foods. Every few months though, I start feeling sluggish and then turn to my raw food cookbooks for a week of mostly raw, vegan eating. When I eat totally raw, I have to say, I feel better, my skin looks fresher, and I have noticeably more energy.

I have three cookbooks that I really love because they make raw food tasty and appealing for someone like me who takes great pleasure in preparing, cooking and serving beautiful meals. A great starter raw cookbook is the appropriately-named Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet. This is as basic as you can get (if you need a recipe for making lemon juice, this book is for you) and no special kitchen items are required. I like this cookbook because its recipes are for 1 or 2 people. While I do my own detox, I still have to cook regular meals which include some cooked items for my daughters so I like that the raw recipes make smaller portions.

A step up from Cornbleet's book is the inspiring book by Ani Phyo. I first learned about Ani through her approachable, no-nonsense cooking shows on You Tube. Her Kreamy Avocado Soup — made completely in the blender — is tasty, filling and so rich and creamy, that you'll forget it's totally raw, totally vegan. Her explanations of why the raw food lifestyle suits her give me hope that one day I might be able to go raw for more than a week at a time. Her recipes are delicious and artful. If you don't believe me, you have to try her Mediterranean dolmas.

Raw Food, Real World is the book to get when you want go totally gourmet. The recipes are based on dishes served at Matthew Kenney's raw food restaurant. They are a little more complicated, but if you have the patience and/or are an experienced cook, I highly recommend it. Your mouth will water as you review recipes for squash pasta with black truffle or gingery-coconuty carrot soup. One thing to note is that the raw food lifestyle can require some complicated and expensive kitchen gadgets: juicers, dehydrators, Vita-Mix blenders (for soups and smoothies) and/or spiralizers (for making vegetable "noodles.")

Getting started can also require some delays as you dehydrated buckwheat groats for cereal or sprout nuts for patés and spreads. I've found that many large healthful stores now stock quite a few ready-made raw items and they actually have been coming down in price as more people consider a raw food lifestyle. Whole Foods, for example, carries a wide range of raw crackers and "breads," ready-made cereals, sprouted nuts, and a variety of snacks so I don't have to stress about not having a dehydrator. If you've go raw every so often or have adopted a 100% raw lifestyle, what are your secrets to creating tasty, healthful, easy-to-prepare meals? Do you juice? Dehydrate your own foods? What are your favorite snacks and treats? How into it are you? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below, and please feel free to share links and resources.