May
2001
Raw
Power
Book Review by Angela Starks
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Hooked on Raw: Rejuvenate your Body and
Soul with Nature’s Living Foods
by Rhio (New York: Beso, 2000). $29.95 paperback. 400 pages.
When you hear the word ‘raw,’ what comes to mind? Harsh, bleak,
crude, unfinished. Apply the word to food and you have flavorless, boring,
cold, unsatisfying. It’s no wonder that the idea of eating a diet
of mostly raw foods is anathema to most people. If the only salads you’ve
ever tried are of the pre-packaged, limp-lettuce and pithy tomato variety,
disguised in artificial dressing and served as a sad accompaniment to
a restaurant entrée, you’re really missing out. That’s
where Hooked on Raw comes to the rescue.
The author, Rhio, is an entertainer by profession, but her love of experimenting
with tasty raw meals and the resulting improvements in her health have
turned her into something of a food expert who has appeared on TV and
in newspapers extolling the benefits of non-cooking. Howard Lyman (President
of EarthSave International and author of Mad Cowboy) is just
one of her fans. He says: “When I was thinking of trying a raw
diet, I first read Hooked on Raw. It was the best thing I could
have ever done. It was informative, well-written and packed with just
what I needed to treat my body to a feast of nutrition. If you love
life, I recommend Hooked on Raw as mandatory reading.”
Rhio’s easy-to-use raw recipe sections include hearty main course
dishes, gourmet salads complete with inventive dressings, and delicious
desserts. There are also chapters on recommended kitchen appliances,
a step-by-step guide to sprouting, and handy menu plans. But this is
by no means just a recipe book; Hooked on Raw is a really good
read with twelve chapters of page-turning facts and industry exposés
before we even get to the first appetizer. You’ll find a discussion
of things like organic foods (something that Rhio is passionate and
extremely well-informed about), and a “yes, no, or maybe?” exploration
of dietary supplements. She also shares her opinions on such details
as honey vs. maple syrup, hulled vs. unhulled sesame seeds,
the benefits of herbs, the healing properties of phytochemicals, and
the importance of preparing food with love.
A theme that Rhio returns to again and again is consumer power and
the environmental impact of our food choices and agricultural methods.
She
reminds us that “We, the consuming public, have an astounding amount
of collective power with our purchasing dollars. The use of these dollars
can be our vote for better health for ourselves and our loved ones.
More than a vote, this kind of citizen action would ensure the renewal
and preservation of our home, our Mother—the Earth.” To help
you put your money where your health is, the resources section at the
back of the book provides contact information for all kinds of organizations
and companies, from sources of non-irradiated spices and non-hybridized
seeds to organic food delivery services and raw food restaurants.
But why go to great lengths to eat raw food anyway? Rhio begins by
appealing to our common sense, noting that animals in the wild eat
only raw foods
(as did humans once upon a time) and that only modern mankind and our
domesticated cooked-food pets suffer from heart disease, certain types
of cancer and the like. There’s also the thought-provoking reminder
that burning something never improved it, so why should food be any
different? At regular cooking temperatures, most of the nutrients are
either destroyed, reduced or chemically altered from their natural state
(which renders them largely unusable by—and sometimes toxic to—the
body).
But let’s get back to Rhio’s recipes, since the food speaks
for itself. Her concoctions are so delicious that when you eat them
your tastebuds might forget that they’re raw, except that you’ll
feel so good your body will know that they are. A typical day’s
menu might consist of “Wake-Up Gruel” for breakfast (a sustaining
porridge-like cereal of sunflower sprouts, oats, prunes and oranges),
the nutrient-rich “Hungarian Sauerkraut Salad” for brunch
with home-made “Almond Mayonnaise,” and “Corn and Lentil
Chili” for dinner, accompanied by the incredibly delicious “Sun-Dried
Tomato Tapenade.” If you’re not into menu-planning, it’s
easy to incorporate at least one raw meal a day. You don’t need
to master gourmet recipes to eat healthily—just grab an apple and
a pile of nuts, or throw some vegetables into a juicer—but it
certainly makes food a little more interesting. Enjoy the creative
process, and
then enjoy the results!
