Bare Necessities

When classes are in session, I end up being so busy that something always has to give. Many times it ends up being cooking. My studies focus my mind more on organic chemistry, rather than food chemistry. In these times, I am forced to revert to convenience, but this has little to do with the 3 p's: processed, packaged, prepared.

Instead, raw foods make up most of my day, ensuring that I am getting the most nutritious boost possible during my most draining moments. Because we all know that mental drain is the absolute worst. It is unlike physical drain, but I certainly would not be able to cope with both without the proper nutrition. Typically, I am consuming the most nutritionally dense foods possible:

kale, spinach, collard greens (vitamins A C E K B6, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, manganese, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, copper, iron)
nutritional yeast (B12)
nuts & flaxseeds (vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids)
sweet potatoes & carrots (beta carotene, vitamin A C K, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium)
also: legumes, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, citrus and other fruits (see below), mushrooms, ginger, chinese broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, etc.--you can read about the nutrition of some of these plants here.

Basically, if it's made from cellulose (plant-based), I will eat it.  Plus, drinking lots of water, herbal teas, coconut water... coffee, and craft beers (shhhhhh).

What do you think about incorporating raw foods into your diet? Ani Phyo is one of my favorite raw food advocates and has created some of the best raw food concoctions. I first heard about her book, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen while I was working at Whole Foods a few years ago.  We made and demoed her Breakfast Mango Cobbler, which was an instant hit.

Here are some more raw foods I've been eating out of Yara's Farm:

I eat honey. This is comb honey from Yara's Farm that was abstracted while moving the hive. As well as these treats...

Clockwise: Monster Fruit, Carambola (Star Fruit), Longan, Sugar Apple, Mamey Sapote, Calamansi, unidentified squishy Asian fruit that smells like mildew as it ripens; Pomelo

Inside of ripe Mamey Sapote

Inside Pomelo