The Raw Food Movement

I believe that there was a Garden of Eden and that we were meant, initially, to eat plants and grains and not animals. This is what made me look into the Raw Food Movement. That, and curiosity.

I had read before that Gwyneth Paltrow was on a macrobiotic diet (which I still don't know anything about) and ate a lot of raw, unprocessed foods. Oddly, she has since started cooking and eating meat, as is evidenced in her new cookbook. In any case, she seems pretty darn healthy and so I thought it merited a look-see. Yes, I do base some of my life decisions off of celebrities. (You do too! Don't judge me!)

I got a book from the library called Rawlicious, and instead of being horrified by the recipes inside, I am fascinated. It looks yummy! Most impressive, the authors grow most of what they eat themselves, which I truly respect and aspire to.

"...from an early age, we are fed processed, sugary junk foods. We are taught that this is food. We grow up watching TV and our young minds, open and highly susceptible to suggestion, have their beliefs about food formed by advertising. Many foods are manufactured to enslave our tastebuds." -Rawlicious

I think this is true. We don't realize what we're eating, where it comes from, and how it affects our bodies. I think our cells know that something isn't quite right, but they do the best they can with the resources they're given. White bread, sugary juice blends (especially the ones that say 'juice drink'), high fructose corn syrup, food dyes, etc. etc. It's all unnatural for our bodies, but we grow up thinking it's food like any other food. But all food is not equal.

"When we eat what nature intended-natural whole foods in their original pristine state, untampered with by industry-our bodies heal themselves. Our bodies are designed to regenerate, but without proper building blocks and nutrients, they cannot. They begin to break down. People worldwide are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Covering up symptoms is not healing. We need to reach for a deeper level of healing. When we truly nourish the body, the body stays healthy." -Rawlicious

This quote about healing really stood out to me, because wouldn't a God-intended diet (assuming, of course, that God created us and provided the resources we would need to be healthy) be the best for us? I want to reach for a deeper level of healing.

Right now I'm not going to go completely off the deep end and eat everything raw, but I think it might be worthwhile to eat more things in their natural state, or just simply MORE veggies and fruits and nuts and grains. Our bodies want those things, crave those things, and we're largely giving them crap instead.

Raw milk is one thing I'm not so sure about. I understand the reason for pasteurization, but I have heard that the heating process also kills the good bacterias alongwith the bad. In any case, if you have tasted raw milk and are an advocate, tell me all about it. I'm not opposed, I'm just not sure.

In any case, even if you're not at all interested in eating like a bird, the pictures in this cookbook are gorgeous. :)