RAW 101

Q. What is raw food?

A.  For a food to be considered raw it is never heated to a temperature above 115 degrees.  There are varying schools of thought on the exact temperature but RAW foods inc. follows the rule of thumb that if your body can’t survive at those temperatures, neither can live foods.

Q. OK, now why would you want to do that?

A. By not heating foods to extreme temperatures you’re preserving most of the enzymes that are naturally occurring in the foods.  We are born with a finite amount of enzymes in our bodies that deplete over the course of our natural lives.  By eating more living foods you preserve the naturally occurring enzymes and replenish those that are lost.

Q. What is an enzyme and why do you want to preserve them?

A.  Enzymes as defined by the Medical Dictionary are “any of numerous complex proteins that are produced by living cells and catalyze specific biochemical reactions at body temperatures”.  To simplify this, they are naturally occurring proteins in all living things (the human body and living food) that are necessary for all functions.  This includes breathing, walking, talking and the way that these proteins get back into our bodies, digestion.  

Q.  Raw food is raw fish, meat, fruits and vegetables?

A.  No!  There are some “raw foodist” who do eat raw fish, meat and dairy.  However the techniques that we teach and the food that we prepare consists mainly of fruit, vegetables, oils, nuts and seeds.  You had to learn to cook food and prepare it in traditional ways.  The basic ingredients in something as simple as a hamburger would sound that exciting if you didn’t know how to put them together to get a burger-  It’s the same with preparing raw foods.  Raw food preparation involves sprouting, soaking, dehydrating, rehydrating , marinating and a whole host of different techniques that produce foods such as cracker, pastas, cheesecakes, sliders that are not only delicious and nutritious but fun to make. 

Q.  So preparing raw foods is extremely time consuming?

A.  It doesn’t have to be. Anything can be time consuming when you’re first learning and it may seem awkward but with the proper planning and training you’ll see that raw food preparation is actually less time consuming than traditional cooking.

Q.  So you’re saying that everyone should be 100% raw?

A.  No!  This is what sets us apart from other Raw Food companies.  While the food that we prepare for you is raw, we are strong believers in avoiding extreme behaviors.  We are all anywhere from 50%-100% raw throughout the year.   We live in New England and fresh, local, organic produce is limited in the winter months, so we work to incorporate raw into our lives every day in conjunction with healthy, clean cooked options.