The Raw Deal

By Jen Smith
October 1, 2010

Today is World Vegetarian Day, but even for the committed carnivore, the day can still have meaning: Use it as a reason "to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet," explains Stephanie Austin, Holistic Health Practitioner and Custom Relations Manager for Vivapura, a purveyor of raw, nutrient dense, wild harvested and organically grown food.

We spoke with Austin and Vivapura co-founder Ivri Krzyz to help us source tools on eBay that would help us eat our greens. Their emphasis is on a raw food diet—one based on eating unprocessed and uncooked plant foods because the cooking of food is thought to diminish its nutritional value. But you can incorporate their healthy ideas no matter personal food philosophy.

First, says Krzyz, start with the superfoods: "Superfoods are the new trans-dense vegetarian food. Just removing animal products does not equal a healthy diet... That’s where superfoods—fruits, nuts and seeds—come in. You can personalize a vegetarian diet with them. Superfoods are the best the plant has to offer—they contribute a high level of nutrients which in turn gives you a healthy edge.

Then, all you need, says Austin, is "a good knife, a blender and a dehydrator."

Check out Vivapura's choices for these products and more.

Roll over items for details

NEW Jack Lalanne Power Juicer

(buy it now price, $100)

New Nut Milk Bag

(buy it now price, $9.95)

New Vitamix CIA Professional Series Blender

(buy it now price, $544.45)

New Excalibur 3500 Food Dehydrator

(buy it now price, $189.95)

NEW Lurch Spirali Spiralizer/Spiral Slicer

(buy it now price, $47.34)

The Raw Transformation: Energizing Your Life with Living Foods

(buy it now price, $18.50)

New Wusthoff Paring Knife
Classic 4" Blade

(buy it now price, $55.94)

New Smart Pots for Container Gardening Cloth

(buy it now price, $9.95)

12 Pack Pint Wide Mouth Canning Mason Jars

(buy it now price, $16.99)

NEW Cuisinart Food Processor

(buy it now price, $186.50)

1. Austin suggests trying the very popular Jack Lalanne Juicer: "The digestive system requires lots of energy to break down cooked foods, and when you juice, you bypass the digestive system, helping it to rebuild and repair. This juicer extracts the pulp [from the fruits and vegetables], which you can save and make into crackers for when you are not juicing!" (Attesting to the growing popularity of juicing, sales of juicers on eBay are up 39 percent in the past week vs. a week-long period approximately one year ago.)

2. "'Soak and sprout' is a raw foodie mantra because doing so makes all nutrition easy to assimilate and metabolize," explains Austin. "One cup of sunflower and ½ cup of sesame seeds make a delicious milk, but be sure to strain through a bag first. Save the pulp to make nut puree or crackers later."

3. "Along with the pro-blender, the food processor is the most important piece of equipment for a raw food kitchen," declares Austin. "It creates a thickness that would slow down a blender, so you can make raw pudding and raw ice cream.”

4. A pro blender is one of the most important pieces of equipment for a raw kitchen,” says Austin. "Toss veggies and some water in it and you can almost instantly make soup. Vitamix blenders can boil water, so although raw enthusiast would not bring the soup to a boil, you can definitely warm it! And a blender homogenizes the food enough to make baby food."

5. “David Wolf and Wendy Rudell’s book is a great place to start,” encourages Austin. "It’s wonderful for the beginner and the intermediate, and most importantly, includes fantastic recipes." (search: The Raw Transformation book)

6. A quality paring knife is the most essential low-tech utensil around.

7. Raw foodists usually dehydrate their fruits and veggies no higher than a 115 degrees in order to preserve the life force of the plant, protect enzymes that aid digestion and harness phytonutrients .

8. Not only can you store food in these jars, but you can also drink from them after making a juice or a smoothie. Plus, you'll avoid the harmful use of plastics.

9. "My favorite thing about a spiralizer is that you can put in a zucchini and you come out with pasta," says Austin, "which is delicious!" Stick with eggplant, cucumber, jicama, or squash and top with a raw Alfredo or pesto sauce.

10. Easily accessible and inexpensive, cloth bags make growing your own produce easy to do in a back yard or on an urban fire escape or balcony.

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