Why is Raw Food so important in our diet and overall health and vitality?
Heat changes the molecular structure of foods, rendering nutrients mostly unusable. Cooked or processed foods are less digestible than raw food. Anything that is eaten and is not digested properly is stored in the body or eliminated as waste. Eating cooked foods produces so much waste in the body that our eliminatory organs cannot keep up, and the waste accumulates. It is this accumulation that leads to an overall toxic state, eventually leading to disease. Raw, vegan food is almost entirely usable by the body, and provides all the nutrients required.
Enzymes
Raw food carries all the necessary live enzymes for digestion. Enzymes are the catalyst for almost every chemical reaction in the body. Without them we cease to be!
Without adequate digestive enzymes, nutrients from the food cannot be completely released into the system. Enzymes are a crucial part of nutrient absorption. Research shows that vitamins and minerals are absorbed better when digestive enzymes are plentiful.
Raw foods have the live enzymes that we must have to digest the food…
Raw Lasagne (you wont believe the flavor, until you’ve made and tried this one…yum) Have with a Luscious Salad!
For the the Pignoli Ricotta:
- 2 cups raw pignoli (pine) nuts, soaked for an hour or more
- 2 Tbs lemon juice
- 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 6 Tbs filtered water
Place the nuts, lemon juice, nut yeast, and salt into food processor, pulse afew times, until thoroughly combined. Gradually add the water and process until the texture becomes fluffy, like ricotta.
For the Tomato Sauce
- 2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 2 hours or more
- 1 small to med tomato, diced
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1Tbs plus 1 tsp agave nectar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- pinch of hot pepper flakes
Squeeze and drain as much of the water out of the soaked sun-dried tomatoes as you can. Add the drained tomatoes to a vita-mix or high- speed blender with all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
For the Basil-Pistachio Pesto:
- 2 cups packed basil leaves
- 1/2 cup of pistachios
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Place the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend until well combined but still slightly chunky.
For the assembly:
- 3medium zucchini, ends trimmed
- 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs finely chopped fresh oregano
- 1 Tbs fresh thyme
- pinch of sea salt
- pinch of freshly ground black pepper
- 3 medium tomatoes (heirloom variety), cut in half, and then sliced
- whole basil leaves for garnish
- Cut the zucchini crosswise in half, or into 3 inch lengths. Using a mandoline or vegetable peeler, cut the zucchini lengthwise into very thin slices. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini slices with the olive oil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Line the bottom of a 9-inch baking dish with a layer of zucchini slices, each one slightly overlapping another. Spread about 1/3 of the tomato sauce over it and top with small dollops of ‘ricotta” and pesto., using about 1/3 of each. Layer on about 1/3 of the tomato slices. Add another layer of zucchini slices and repeat twice more with the tomato sauce, “rictotta”, pesto, and tomato slices. Serve immediately, or cover with plastic and let sit at room temperature for a few hours Garnish with basil leaves.
Yum…enjoy