Your whole food, plant-based life.

How Raw Do You Need To Be?

Raw Food: Peppers

I got an interesting comment on one of the recipes today. It was explained to me that chipotle peppers are not raw, and if I served the eggplant bacon to someone who was a 100% raw foodist, they would get really angry. Technically, chipotle peppers are smoked. I don’t know how high the heat gets when they are being smoked. The actual smoking and drying takes days. So, it is possible that the peppers never reach the 116 degrees. Are they raw? Probably not.

When you make the eggplant bacon, 1/4 of a teaspoon of dried chipotle powder is required for the recipe. It goes in the marinade which get’s drained off before the eggplant is dehydrated. So, if you want to get technical, maybe one grain of the powder remains on a piece? Not sure. Would that make a 100% raw foodist angry? Once again, I don’t know. But there is a bigger question brewing here. Just how raw do you have to be?

I once heard a quote, “Perfection is not an option”. I fell in love with that saying and it has been my motto ever since. I believe that trying to be perfect just sets us up for failure. Do I believe in doing the best you can do? Yes. I also believe in striving to be better. But perfection? Way too restricting.

There are people who eat 100% raw food. I admire them and respect their choices. There are times that I am 100% raw. Honestly, it is when I feel the best. But I don’t always find it practical. Nor do I suggest that someone starting a raw diet should go 100% immediately. It is a great way to set yourself up for failure. For me, it is about striving to be the best, not perfect. Transitioning raw into your life is easier than going 100% cold turkey. Replacing that a cheesecake that is made from eggs, sugar, cream cheese, etc, with one that has a handful of cashews and almonds as it’s main ingredients is going to make a difference in how you feel. It is a start. When you realize that you can have healthy food that tastes great, you are on your way.

I don’t want to keep score. I want you to realize that there are healthier alternatives to what you may be eating. I believe that the more raw foods you eat, the healthier you will be. Will you eat super healthy food if it doesn’t appeal to you? Probably not. So, if adding a grain of chipotle pepper to a recipe pushes the flavor over the top, I am going to do it. How raw you want to be is a personal choice. I can just hope that my recipes encourage you to incorporate as much raw into your diet as you can.

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29 Comments

  1. Janine wrote on March 13, 2011

    I have only recently started on this wonderful journey in to raw food, and I have to say without web sites like this I think I would have given up, there is so much to learn and what a joy it has been to find this site to help on the journey. Thank you

    Reply
  2. Jenn wrote on December 30, 2010

    I am so impressed with raw food after finding this site. I am eating basic fruits and vegetables to stay 75% raw, but now, seeing all your inviting delicious looking recipes, I am so excited.

    Thank you so much for sharing these with us. I will be a fan for life 🙂

    Reply
  3. Kdot wrote on June 1, 2010

    Where can I find your bacon eggplant recipe? Sounds delish!!

    Reply
    • Susan wrote on June 1, 2010

      There is a search function on the site. Just type in Eggplant Bacon and it will take you to the post.

      Reply
  4. Deborah Howard wrote on April 3, 2010

    Hi Susan:

    What a gorgeous website! I printed off many of your recipes, but I didn’t see a way to print just the recipe and ended up printing pages of comments, as well. I lived in Ft. Collins for 7 years but discovered raw food after moving to Boston almost 4 years ago. I have been vegan for more than 17 years.

    I have a problem sprouting some grains, such as buckwheat and kamut, and sometimes legumes. They get slimy even though I use grapefruit seed extract powder in the water. I use a large Sproutman sprouter with the watering device. One of the Grezzo chefs said they use food grade hydrogen peroxide spray. They have the same sprouter.

    Thanks for the inspiring website. It is better than the raw cookbooks I have seen or the large one that I own.

    Regards,

    Deborah Howard

    Reply
  5. Janet wrote on March 5, 2010

    If you’re that fanatical about what you’re eating, you should already know if it is 100% raw. Why do the fanaticals seem so angry?

    Reply
  6. Allen wrote on January 27, 2010

    I found this website just yesterday, and after only a casual perusal, I noticed it wasn’t a “100% Raw” site, but just that it was mostly raw…You’ve made that clear so no one should be offended. I made the rawchoes (only I used flax crackers instead of the raw chips) and I made one of the salads for a bunch of friends. They all LOVED! the food. Keep up the good work!

    Reply
  7. Turil wrote on December 4, 2009

    Out of curiosity, where do you specify that you aren’t 100% raw? As for the other things, again, all that’s important is that you clarify what is raw and what isn’t (agave, spices, etc.) and let your readers decide if it’s important or not, because what is insignificant to you might be quite significant to others. Be honest, and be happy, and let others be free to choose what’s best for them based on the facts, rather than having to guess what’s going on.

    I love the idea of increasing people’s intake of raw food, so it’s great that you promote it. And I also think it’s important to encourage people to be fully raw, even if it’s just for a while, so that they can see what it does for their body. The difference between 95% and 100% can be dramatic.

    Reply
    • Susan wrote on December 4, 2009

      I state how I feel about being 100% raw in many places on this blog. You can start with the “about me” page. This article represents how I feel.

      Reply

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