FAQ

Raw diet is simple and fun. Some call it cave diet, natural diet, sun-diet. Any fresh, alive food can be called raw diet that has not been cooked or exposed to temperatures over 118°F. At that temperature, the natural enzymes in food are completely destroyed. Enzymes are essential for all the chemical processes in your body, especially digestion.

So what do I eat on this hight raw vegan diet? I eat 90% raw plant base meals: fresh juices, smoothies, salads, raw soups, raw desserts and then sometimes I dehydrate veggies, fruits, juice pulp to make raw foods, like crepes, wraps, cookies or chips. About 3 times a week I eat cooked beans, brown rice, quinoa or soups. Cooking food can diminish its nutritional value. For example, the cancer-fighting compounds in broccoli, sulforaphanes, are greatly reduced when broccoli is cooked. So I eat most of my veggies, greens and fruits in the raw form, because I know that certain vitamins, such as vitamin C and folate, are destroyed by heat. But other foods, however, become more healthful after cooking, because the fibrous portion is broken down. For example, cooked tomatoes contain three to four times more lycopene than raw tomatoes.

A vegan is someone who tries to live without exploiting animals, for the benefit of animals, people and the planet. Being vegan I eat a plant-based diet, I don’t eat meat, milk or eggs. My balanced vegan diet meets many current healthy eating recommendations such as eating more fruit, vegetables, beans and whole-grains. I eat 80-90% raw but sometimes 100 % like in the summer when everything is fresh and in season. My high raw vegan diet is rich in vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. I love preparing my meals and eating natural foods, just the way God made them. If you are thinking of becoming high raw vegan or you just want to include more plant-based meals in your life keep checking this blog, I am always in my kitchen : ) making fun, easy and healthy meals. Please let me know if you would like to attend one of my cooking classes or work one on one with me. I am here to help you.

Live Love Light and Fruits from Olenko’s Kitchen

This is a question a get ask a lot. It is very easy for a vegan diet to meet the recommendations for protein. Nearly all vegetables, beans, grains, nuts, and seeds contain some protein, and often much more protein then meat or fish.

Here is a list of food you should include on plant based diet:

1. Organic greens and veggies: One cup of cooked spinach has about 7 grams of protein. The same serving of French beans has about 13 grams. Two cups of cooked kale has 5 grams. One cup of boiled peas 9 grams. When you eat your greens you will get plenty of protein. Think of the biggest animals on the planet like elephants, giraffes, buffalos, rhinos, and gorillas they eat veggies all day long. They are strong and majestic and they get their proteins from plants.

2. Hemp and flax seeds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, nuts; like almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, etc. You can add those to your smoothies or salads and get healthy protein.

3. Non-Dairy Milk. You can make your own nut milks at home, it is so easy. 1 cup of coconut or almond milk has about 7-9 grams of protein. Those milks are perfect for breakfast, in smoothies or raw desserts.

4. Nut Butters: like raw almond butter and cashew butter. A couple of tablespoons of any one of these will get you 8 grams of protein. Make sure you eat nuts and seeds in a raw form.

5. Quinoa. I love love love quinoa. There are few kinds- red, white and black. Some people say that quinoa is God’s gift to vegans and gluten- free seed. It’s versatile, delicious and delivers about 9 grams of protein per cup. You can make sushi with it, use in soups, salads, stews as well as desserts.

6. Tofu. Make sure you get no GMO and organic. Four ounces of tofu will get you about 9 grams of protein. I love tofu in soups and stews.

7. Lentils. There are so many kinds. I love the French lentils. With lentils, you can make soups, rice dishes, veggie burgers, casseroles and add them to salads. One cup cooked delivers about 18 grams of protein.

8. Beans. I love love love beans. Make sure you buy organic and soak them overnight so they cook quickly. You can use them for soups, salads, desserts, spreads and stews. Possibilities are endless. With one cup of kidney or black beans, you will get about 13-15 grams of protein, and lots of healthy fiber too.

9. Tempeh. One cup of tempeh packs about 30 grams of protein! I love tempeh in a salads or baked in the oven with veggies.

10. Avocado. My favorite food. Great in salads, sandwiches as well as in desserts like raw chocolate-avocado pudding.

My favorite kitchen tools for raw diet are:

~Vitamix and blender – to make smoothies, soup, nut milks, desserts, raw ice cream, etc…
~Good cutting boards, I have some made of glass, wood, plastic
~Dehydrator -I love my Exalibur 9 trays dehydrator, I use it to make so many things like cookies, wraps, chips, pizza dough, etc… I even use it to warm up my food, it works great!
~Juicer- I have an Angel juicer and it is so amazing. The juice is so smooth and the juicer is so quiet. So easy to clean too : )
~Food processor- I have small and a professional one. Use them both. But the be honest I use my Vitamix more : )
~Spiral Slicer – cuts vegetables into spiral shapes or I use it to make raw pasta from cucumbers, zucchini, squash, etc… So yummy!
~Large containers or trays to soak and sprout seeds, grains, and beans. I also have a special big sprouting glass jar. I love sprouting!!!
~Mason jars or other glass containers to put your dry beans, nuts, super-foods. Organization is everything! It takes me 2 min in the morning to make nutritious green smoothie.
~Glass containers to store your raw foods in the fridge or freezer.
~Good knifes and cutting boards- very important.
~Pretty dishes- I love colors, I have many kinds of dishes: Moroccan, Asian, Polish, I love blue color, so many of my dishes are blue. Dishes are important for mixing, preparing raw foods. I make everything from scratch so I use a lot of dishes.
~Pots- stainless steel, glass, ceramic. I love my tangines too : )
~Natural cleaning products. I use Thieves cleanser from Young Living. I also make my own cleaners with apple cider vinegar, baking soda and essential oils.

Inspirations
Here are few movies that are my inspirations : )

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-legend-of-atlantis/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzDHGLEUyw&wide=1

http://earthlings.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Enp4VEFH8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqzLjv2wja4&playnext=1&list=PLZs0gQed9tMQsPeaU4uD-7sYQZWl6bc_Q&feature=results_main

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELjMATnfJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pDdHxARkc