Why I don’t cook my food anymore (mostly)

June 30th, 2010 13 Comments

VEGGIES!Back on January 1 of this year (as arbitrary a date as one can pick), I switched to a more or less raw diet. [For an interesting post about my interesting New Year's Day mountain climb, check this out]. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, this simply means that I no longer prepare food by cooking it. Raw foodists believe that heating food above 104 degrees (or 110, or 114, depending) destroys valuable enzymes and nutrients. Nutrition science seems to back up most raw food claims, but I’m more in the It-tastes-and-looks-good-and-makes-me-feel-dope Camp.

Breakfast has me downing about a pound of fruit (usually bananas, strawberries, blueberries, etc.) along with some peanut butter. That’s where the system breaks down – and it’s not even the afternoon! I don’t have the gumption or equipment to grind up my own peanut butter so I use the bulk stuff from Whole Foods. It’s super-cheap and tasty.

I snack throughout the day, usually on bananas, apples, and peppers. Lunch is a crazy sprout salad – courtesy of my home sprout lab, of course. Dinner is generally a BIG salad. Like two pounds big. Avocados, chard, spinach, cumin, tomatoes, BEETS (lots of beets), more apples and such. This stuff keeps me going.

Do I get even more guff than ever for being a raw vegan? Sure, but it’s not a big deal. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s an odd way to eat – like a caveperson without fire. Still, I’ve never been one to eat to the satisfaction of others. I eat the way I do because it tastes great and makes me feel awesome. Which begs the question – why do you eat what you eat?

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  • http://cracktheplates.com adriennefriend

    timbrauhn! you are amazing!

    i love this practice. thanks for sharing what you eat at meals. beets are such a good idea–i’m treated by a chinese herbalist who says they’re great for the blood.

    how expensive is it, following this diet? if you’re not uncomfortable sharing, what’s your grocery budget? i tend to get a fair amount flack over how supposedly expensive veganism is, when, in my experience, it isn’t (of course, i don’t eat a lot of branded, highly-processed vegan foodstuffs, either).

    one other question might be with regard to seasonality. do you try to eat by season, and if so, how do you adjust raw food enthusiasm for what’s available?

    many thanks!

  • adrienne

    oh man, Disqus is being funky. I'm not sure if the comment I just made is going to appear or not. Maybe it will. But in case it doesn't, here's basically what I wrote a few minutes ago, again:

    timbrauhn! You are amazing!

    Thanks for sharing what you eat at each meals. De-mystifies the whole thing. I totally support this kind of diet. Also, good job on the beets. The chinese herbalist who treats me recommends them as a blood strengthener, very good for vegans.

    two questions:
    1) How affordable is it to eat this way? If you don't mind sharing, what's your grocery budget? I get a lot of flack as a vegan from folks who supposedly think it is very expensive to eat this way, but really, it isn't. (Perhaps because I don't buy branded, processed vegan foodstuffs).
    2) How does what's in season affect your diet? If you make an attempt to eat by the seasons, are certain times of the year leaner than others?

    I think that was basically it.

  • http://timbrauhn.com timbrauhn

    Good questions. I think that it is cheaper to eat raw, or at least as a vegan, for any number of reasons. If you think about the macro stuff, it's better on the environment to not have to use a microwave or gas/electric stove in general. The only energy I need is my chopping arm with a sharp knife.

    In an average week I'll easily dump between $35-55 on munchies. I can't get bananas at the farmers market, so I generally grab them at Safeway, along with jalapeno peppers. The rest of the stuff I source from the pesticide-free, organic farmer stalls. I live in northern California, so I almost feel like I'm cheating with how many markets there are, and how often. I'll eat what's in season, of course, so I'm usually without kumquats. This happens to be the worst possible thing in the world. If I moved back to Denver, I'd have to grab it all at Safeway or Whole Foods, and the budget would swell.

    The most expensive parts of my diet are the things that I can't make myself – olive oil, nama shoyu, apple cider vinegar, tree/ground nuts, mate, probiotics (when I can afford them), etc. But even then, these costs are spreadable. For instance, a bottle of nama shoyu will run me about $15; that bottle will easily last two or more months. Bingo bango bongo.

  • http://pmerrill.com/ paulmerrill

    Hey Tim. A vegan friend has a site that has mucho information on veganism. If you want to go further in that direction, he has lots of thoughts that might be helpful. He's at timgier.com.

  • http://timbrauhn.com timbrauhn

    Thanks Paul!

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  • Rajeev

    What an interesting idea…Boiling/ Steaming is also forbidden? I would miss potato/ sweet potato…may be we use solar cooker?

  • http://timbrauhn.com timbrauhn

    Solar-powered cooking. :) Hey Rajeev – sorry for the late reply! You know what? A lot of raw foodists aren’t 100% raw? Who wants to give up lentils, or in your case, sweet potatoes!

    I think that your idea of cooking with solar (renewable) power is very, very interesting. I talk a lot about how little energy I use to “cook”, but if it came from the sun I’d feel even better. Thanks for the interesting idea!

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  • http://twitter.com/bgstein Brian Gerhardstein

    This is intriguing. Thanks for sharing it. I grew up vegetarian (mostly), and have continued that way (mostly) into my early thirties. Not sure if I could go completely raw but I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the subject.

    • http://timbrauhn.com timbrauhn

      Thanks for the comment, Brian. Going completely raw is still outside my bounds, too. I shoot for 75-85%. Seems good enough to count. :)

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