Got any raw food recommendations?

October 3, 2005 2:38 PM

I'm going to do a detox fast (lemon/maple/cayenne) and I have heard that it's best to eat a raw food diet on the day before and the day after. Can anyone recommend some raw food recipes that would be easy to prepare? Or foods I can eat besides just plain raw veggies and raw nuts? Thanks! (P.S. I've done the fast before so I'm not looking for help with that aspect -- although if you have tips they'd be welcome.)
posted by mandlebrotz to food & drink (12 comments total)

Pardon me, but what does this mean?

"lemon/maple/cayenne"
posted by agregoli at 2:44 PM on October 3, 2005

It's called the "master cleanser" and it involves drinking a concoction of fresh squeezed lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water. Sounds gross but it's actually quite tasty. You subsist on that alone for as many days as you can take it. Here is some more info: http://www.bc1.com/~vitagem/Master_Cleanser.htm
posted by mandlebrotz at 2:53 PM on October 3, 2005

Are you allowed spices, herbs, honey, salt, pepper, garlic, tahini, peanut butter, coconut, oils and vinegars?

Can you marinade things?

I would think it would be more of a challenge to get a tasty meal without those things. You have to rely on combining flavours, like ginger and carrot or rocket and red pepper. Stephanie Alexander does a good job of collecting them in the Cook's Companion.
posted by asok at 3:05 PM on October 3, 2005

You know, there isn't some secret shit-reservoir that medical science keeps the public from knowing about. You can just drink clear liquids for a few days and that plus a few enemas will do the trick.

That said, nuts, high fiber foods, etc, will pass pretty easily but you'll have some wicked farts.
posted by docpops at 3:05 PM on October 3, 2005

Um, you might want to read the QuackWatch.org entry on detoxification.
posted by madman at 4:21 PM on October 3, 2005

My husband enjoys making raw food occasionally; This book(The Complete Book of Raw Food) has been a great source for recipes. I was skeptical when he first got on the raw food kick, but I loved the stuff he made, and have been craving it lately.
posted by statolith at 4:47 PM on October 3, 2005

thanks for the book links! i think you are allowed spices so long as you have nothing that's been heated/cooked... although i'm not very knowledgeable about raw food eating which is why i need the help :)

and madman, i appreciate your concern, but i'm not buying any pills or paying for anything here. just letting my digestive system rest for a few days because i had such great results last time i tried it.
posted by mandlebrotz at 6:11 PM on October 3, 2005

FWIW, I'm very much a skeptic, especially when it comes to the often-pseudo-science of "eliminating toxins" and whatnot, so I don't claim that raw food does any of those magical things. At the very least raw food probably does contain more usable nutrients than cooked food, and it's certainly true that our modern diet contains some stuff that's bad for us (e.g. high fructose corn syrup). My personal experience with raw food is that it can be really tasty, and can be very good for you, as anything with fresh, natural ingredients is, so that can't be bad. Beyond that, caveat emptor.
posted by statolith at 6:55 PM on October 3, 2005

Would something like a shrimp ceviche (in which the shrimp, or another seafood of your choice, is marinated in citrus juices and thus "cooked") be acceptable?
posted by justonegirl at 7:49 PM on October 3, 2005

Are you detoxing for a drug test?
posted by pieoverdone at 6:31 AM on October 4, 2005

At the very least raw food probably does contain more usable nutrients than cooked food

Actually, I'm not so sure about this. One thing cooking does well is to use heat to break down tough cell wall fibers, making cell contents (nutrients) more available to your body. Some nutrients, like beta-carotene and lycopene, are not readily available without cooking.

Hominids started cooking with fire 1.5 million years ago. They did so because it improved their health, killing damaging bacteria. Surely by now we're adapted to cooked food.

There's nothing wrong with eating raw food (I like salad), but there's also nothing magic about it.
posted by Miko at 6:52 AM on October 4, 2005

i think it has to do with digestion and easing yourself on/off the fast. to be honest, i'm not totally sure why the raw food thing is recommended, except that my friend has tried it with success. i don't have any experience with raw food, though... i'd be interested to know if ceviche counts! i have heard you can heat foods up to 115 degrees (f) but not higher.

i'm not looking to avoid a drug test. i think of it like spring/fall cleaning for my body. honestly i felt so amazing last time i did it... whether or not you are actually releasing "toxins" is definitely a subject of debate. but when you see how long your body continues to... er, eliminate waste, it's really eye-opening.

also, i have suffered moderate acne since adolescence and honestly my skin was never, never as clear as in the days after the fast. that must mean something.
posted by mandlebrotz at 9:36 AM on October 4, 2005