In Awe of Raw

There's a whole raw food movement going on in LA, and I'm sure other places, of which I have been quite ignorant.

I had heard about 'raw foodism' but quite honestly, the thought of eating uncooked vegetables for the rest of my days was quite unappealing. That was until my recent trip to LA where I was introduced to two very exciting raw food restaurants, Juliano's Raw and RAWvolution, both in Santa Monica.

The premise behind raw food is eating primarily uncooked, unprocessed and organic fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts. Raw foodists believe that cooking food either kills most of the essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes or transforms them into carcinogens or 'free radicals'.  So to get the most out of most foods, it is important to eat them either raw or cooked at temperatures under 100F (38C).

There are recipes for raw breads, cakes, soups and even French fries. While I am not a complete raw food convert by any means, I was really impressed by the creativity, diversity and deliciousness of some of the raw meals I tried whilst in LA.

Take, for instance, the two meals in my photos, both from RAWvolution, run by renowned raw food chef, Matt Amsden. The first image is a trio of salads including a finely chopped broccolini with parsley and olive oil, cauliflower cous cous, and a 'mock tuna' salad with macadamia nuts, parsley, zucchini, olive oil and nama shoyu; raw organic unpasteurized soy sauce. The little crackers on the side were made from leftover almond pulp, flax seeds and rosemary.

Below is the 'cocophoria burger'. The 'bun' was made from ground onions and the filling was salad and 'coconut jerky' -- basically sun-dried coconut flesh marinated in curry powder and nama shoyu.

All this was followed by a dessert of coconut pie and one of the best chocolate brownies I've ever tasted - all raw.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos from Juliano's restaurant but trust me when I say that his 'strawberry parfait' was taste bud blowing. It was made of pinenuts, vanilla bean, honey, strawberries and a secret ingredient which I'm afraid I can't share. The parfait was rich and velvety and I savoured every mouthful.

If you're curious to find out about some chef Juliano's raw food secrets, he holds cooking classes on the first Saturday of each month.

RAWvolution
2301 Main Street, Santa Monica 90405
310.392.9501

Juliano's Raw
609 Broadway Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90405
310.587.1552

Comments

[Melissa]

I had no idea that raw food could look and sound that delicious. Thank you for opening up my mind to another delicious foodie opportunity!

[Laura @ Hungry and Frozen]

The whole 'raw food' movement is pretty intriguing - I have to admit, I could never give up cooked food entirely but your photos are gorgeous!

[Penni]

Your photographs are fabulous. Love your blog...glad I found it!

[Hillary]

A raw chocolate brownie? Interesting. I'd be willing to give it a try.

[RecipeGirl]

Wow, that's really interesting. I don't know a thing about the "raw food movement." But I'd love to try some of that stuff!

[Marc @ NoRecipes]

Sounds interesting, we have a few macrobiotic restaurants here in NYC, but I've never had the motivation to go. I may have to give them a try.

[Syrie]

Thanks Melissa! The possibilities are mind boggling. If you are into raw or vegan/vegetarian that I suggest checking out either the RAWvolution or Juliano's cook book.

Me neither Laura. I just love cooked food and I think it's good to have a balanced diet. After my LA visit I've started drinking green juices each morning that I think that gives me a good intake of fresh green vegetables.

Thanks so much Penni!

Hillary, it was really amazing. It had coconut and some nuts in it as well, I think Macadamias.

Hope you get to try it out Lori...stay tuned for my attempts at some raw food.

Marc, I think you'll be presently surprised! thanks for visiting.

[Me]

The mushroom burger at RAWvolution is pretty amazing as well.

[Dorothy Tong]

Hi Syrie! I love your blog! Your pictures are gorgeous! And I love raw brownies too - that coconut cake looks super; i must try it sometime!

[grace]

wow, i've underestimated raw food! i'd take just about anything in those pictures over the food i'm used to eating any day of the week, especially that coconut pie. decadent!

[Chuck]

Raw food was totally off my radar until I happened to try Cafe Gratitude in the Bay Area.

If you haven't yet, you MUST try a good raw food restaurant... It'll absolutely blow your mind what they're doing with raw fruits and veggies!

Chuck

[newyorkdude]

One of us at this end of the communication tried to be a fruitarian for a while. That's a philosophy of eating that tries to be 100% raw. The results of this experiment: it gets booooooring after a while.

A couple of days ago I came across an explanation on the net of the raw food movement. Their idea is that humankind lived on this planet off raw food for millenia before cooking was ever invented. Raw is the natural way of eating, cooked is an artificial method of food preparation compared to our original ancestors's ways. Don't blame me. That's what they say.

A different website--from the opposite end of the debate--claimed the amount of disease and problems spread by raw veggies and fruit is greater than meat-borne diseases and problems. Most people think meat is more unsafe than veggies, but statistics say otherwise. IOW, be careful with raw fruits and veggies.

Finally, aw c'mon, tell us the secret ingredient, please, please, please. I'm on the edge of my chair.

[Jill C.]

There is only one thing raw I'll eat. I'll let you decide what that is.

[Erin]

I absolutely must have a recipe for that raw coconut pie. Can anyone help me?