Feasting on the raw. (includes recipes)

FEASTING ON THE RAW

FOR THE UNSURPASSED NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF RAW FOOD, YOU DON'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE TASTE

A few years ago, while browsing through a cooking column in my local paper, I came across a recipe for raw tomato sauce. "Nonsense!" I thought, as I quickly turned the page. "Tomato sauce has to be simmered for hours to be any good."

The next day, however, arriving home late from work and finding nothing to serve for dinner but pasta and salad, I decided to give the sauce a try. I got out my food processor and started tossing in the ingredients, as best as I could remember. Then I poured the blended sauce into a pot, set it over a low flame to warm it, made a salad, boiled the pasta and wondered what my husband would think. Well, not only did he enjoy my makeshift meal, he had no idea the sauce wasn't cooked!

Since that time, raw foods have become an important part of our diet. Not only do they get me out of the kitchen faster, they keep us healthy. And they can do the same for you.

By eating food raw, you retain many of the nutrients lost by cooking. High heat destroys the natural enzymes in food, alters the chemical structure of its protein, and robs food of water-soluble vitamins and minerals. Processed and overcooked foods lose up to 85 percent of their vitamin and mineral content. Even normal cooking causes food to lose some of its nutritional value.

There are plenty of other reasons to eat raw foods. For starters, they can help you lose weight. Raw food …