A raw food diet is gaining attention as a healthy way of eating. Proponents of the uncooked trend include celebrities from the worlds of fashion and acting. Below are a number of raw food recipes that are both tasty and healthy, to help get you in the mood for obviating your oven.

Pio Pio Papaya

1 small papaya

3 oranges

1 tablespoon grated coconut

Lime and honey to taste

Peel the papaya and oranges. Put all the ingredients in a mixer. Add the required quantity of water and serve chilled with crushed ice.

Mood Purple

10-12 blueberries

1 tender coconut

A few mint leaves

Honey to taste

Blend all the berries and coconut water, then strain. Add honey to taste. Pour into chilled glasses and decorate with mint leaves.

Fruity Appetiser

2 small beetroots

1 ripe guava

1 ripe pear

2 apples

1 small papaya

2 glasses chilled water

Honey and lime to taste

Crushed ice

Cut the guava and remove the seeds. Cut the rest of the fruits. Wash, peel and cut the beetroot. Blend with water honey and lime, then strain. Pour over crushed ice and serve immediately.

Crunchy Treats

Eating to the beat

1/2 kg beetroot

1 large pomegranate

Honey to taste

1/2 cup chopped soaked nuts and dried fruits

Wash, peel and grate the beetroot. Add the honey, pomegranate seeds, dry fruits and nuts. Mix well and serve immediately.

Oriental salad

1 small lettuce

2 carrots

2 green peppers

1 tomato

1/2 cup bean sprouts

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon salad oil

1 tablespoon soya sauce

1 teaspoon ginger juice

A pinch of pepper

Salt, lime, sugar to taste

Chop the lettuce finely, cut the carrots and peppers into thin strips and cut the tomatoes into cubes. Add all the other ingredients into a dressing shaker or a bottle with a tight lid. Shake well. Refrigerate all the ingredients for half an hour. Shake the dressing well again and pour over the vegetables. Toss and serve immediately.

Stuffed peppers

3 medium sized peppers

1/2 small cabbage

1 small radish

2 teaspoons lime juice

1/2 tablespoon soaked and chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander leaves

Salt & pepper to taste

Wash and halve the peppers, deseed them, wipe over with a paper towel and set aside. Grate the cabbage and radish and remove any excess juice, then mix together adding the lime juice, walnuts and chopped coriander. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill the peppers with the stuffing and serve immediately.

 Source- Amrut Aahar, The Cookbook of Uncooked Food, available at RSVK Center, Above Al Maya Supermarket , Satwa, Dubai

Comments(1):

1. Raw Food Receipes

   First, I would like to congratulate you on the first issue of Health First which is very informative and so interesting. It's high time "Bringing Health to Life" arrives in Dubai. Second, I didn't study nuitrition, but I can assure you that I'm more of a professional when it comes to eating healthy than most dieticians or nuitritionists in Dubai, or elsewhere. My passion for this subject is beyond description, thus I have done enough research about everything to do with health, from bloating (women's number 1 concern), to Menaupause/HRT (women's number 2 concern), to Detox & Aging (women's number 3 concern), just to name few of my researches. Along the way, I have discovered so many vitamins & supplements that are essential not to only good health, but also to longetivity. Lately, my best friend was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. So I have invaded the websites just to discover more & more interesting information about how to maintain our health. Above all, being a member of the Bridge Ladies Club, the Dubai International Women's Club,the Mahjong Group & the Gardening Group (I have a stunning garden which is now producing a variety of vegetables & herbs, particularly KALE, which is one of the most powerful healthy vegetables that I discovered while in New York last autumn; bought seeds and voila!), I have come to understand the real health concerns of women. Now back to the subject of Raw food Recipes, I started a detox programme 9 days ago which includes only raw vegetable & fruit juices, backed up with the powerful flax seeds, raw nuts & seeds, Goji Berry Drink, Aloe Vero Drink, Cranberry Drink, Probiotic Acidophilus, Psyllium Husks, Alpha Lipoic Acid, L-Carnitine, Vitamin D3 & Vitamin B Complex (I learned about the importance of these supplements when I was researching websites to learn more about BLOATING, which is a big deal for me (now almost gone with 5 kilos less). I plan to go on with my programme till the end of the month & then move on to include grains & pulses, all without cooking. I have been doing detoxes for years now, but nothing as great as this one because it's the first time I do it beyond 3 days and only raw. How do I feel? On cloud nine! I can reach out & touch the sky! My heart is so light. My soul very peaceful. My body totally clean & my skin radiating with glow. Just for the record, I am 58 years old & am one of the greatest cooks you can ever encounter. I create meals. But my main interest is a vegetarian diet, thus I cook healthy for my great husband of 35 years & our four lovely sons. 5 weeks ago, I became a grandmother for the first time. And just for the record, MILK is very BAD for the health. Among mamals, only humans continue to drink milk after their moms stop breastfeeding them. Good luck in your future issue of Health First. I'm looking forward to the next issue. And yes, we have been subscribers of Khaleej Times since it was inaugurated. Probably among the first 100 subscribers, way back in the late 1970s. Best regards. Mae

   Monday, January 25, 2010 Mae