You don’t need special equipment and tons of time to make raw food. Check out these easy raw food recipes!Raw food can seem a little bit intimidating, right? So many raw recipes call for special equipment and hours of preparation, it makes eating raw seem like something that’s just for folks with lots of time on their hands, but that doesn’t have to be true!Sure, you can get yourself a food dehydrator and spend 8-12 hours making crackers, but if time is not your greatest commodity, that doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the raw food action! Many raw food recipes seem like they take a long time to make, but a lot of that time is what I like to call “passive cooking.” You’re not really involved – the ingredients are just soaking or marinating, but you can be asleep or at work while that happens.Why Raw?Why even take the time to include more raw food in your diet? The answer is in the nutrients. When you cook food, it can destroy certain vitamins and minerals, and upping the raw, plant-based foods in your diet can even help prevent certain cancers.When you think of raw food, you probably picture a lot of crudite and salads, but that’s not all that raw foodies eat! With a little bit of imagination, you can whip up all sorts of fun dishes from soups to pastas to tacos.What is a Raw Diet?Raw foodies generally agree that anything heated above 118F is not raw food, which is why a food dehydrator is a common tool in raw cooking. You cook the food at a very low temperature over a longer period of time to preserve the nutrients. In the spirit of keeping things simple, none of the recipes I’m listing require a food dehydrator.You don’t have to eat a completely raw diet to eat more raw foods. Some folks strive to eat 50 percent raw, some go for 90 percent raw or even higher.How much raw food you eat is really up to you, and so is how you get there. I’m a firm believer in small changes, so I’d try incorporating a few more raw dishes each week until you hit your goal. You’re going for a lifestyle change here, not a crash diet, and taking it slow sets you up for success.
Wraps Collard GreensNutty Filling1/2 cup soaked hazel nuts1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds1/2 cup soaked almonds1-2 sticks celery (chopped)1/2 cup of water1 tbs. olive oil1 tbs. agave nectar3 tbs. lemon juiceSalt to tasteMethods/stepsHow to: Process everything for the filling in a food processor. Spoon 2-3 tbs. of the nutty filling in each collard green. Tie 1 green onion around the wrap to keep it from falling apart. Garnish the sides with chopped tomatoes.