I would suspect that when most people think of raw foods, they think of summer. Hey, why not? Raw food is fruit. Raw food is veggies. Raw food is, let’s face it, cold food. Not really what people are craving as the weather turns (gasp!) cold.

But – and this is a BIG “but” – we ALL know that eating raw foods (whether or not we do it 100%) is healthy. Do we have to resign ourselves to living “the yo-yo”? That would be super healthy, organic, mouthwatering living foods throughout the summer… and a carb-overload of stews, pizza and pasta to get us through the winter?

What do we end up with then? You bet… a BIG BUTT! By spring we feel tired, sluggish. We’ve gained weight. Our skin is dull and we have probably broken out with some acne – beautiful! Then we have to cleanse and exercise our butts off just to get our bodies back to feeling and looking as they did before winter.

So – how to remedy the problem BEFORE it happens?

Raw foods can definitely carry over into winter. There are cooling foods and warming foods. Savory foods vs. sweet. I will get into more about those two points in a later post. Right now, though, I want to tell you about a favorite raw sandwich I love to eat at lunchtime throughout the fall/winter seasons.

It’s called P.L.T.

Portobello mushrooms are very “meaty” and savory. They are a great replacement for bread in your diet – thus eliminating gluten from your body. Marinated portobellos are also very filling, especially when stuffed with Kale and Sundried Tomato Filling, Hemp Seed Mayo, carrots, daikon, and Radish Slaw. Enjoy the sandwich (or 2) with a salad and you’re set! You won’t miss stew at all!

Best tip for enjoying your raw food dishes into autumn – make sure all your ingredients are room temperature!

Enjoy!

BTW – you can find the recipe for the amazingly delicious P.L.T. in the LIVE RECIPE BOOK – ENTREES!

The organic, living foods, recipe books: Entrees, Desserts and Drinks/Brunch, are the first of their kind.

Sure there have been other online recipe books available – but they look like you might picture an online document looking like… basically a Word document with the odd low-quality picture.

When dealing with digital products, there has always the debate and sacrifice of quality. File sizes need to be small in order for the product to be downloadable.

The creators of the Live recipe book set have found a solution. Being web-savvy, they found an unbelievable solution. Now, although online, these full-color books are jam-packed with huge, bright pictures of the dishes – and they print off like a dream.

Ebooks are the wave of the future. They deliver immediately – no shipping or customs charges. Plus they are on the computer – no waste of trees or added recycling. And they don’t clutter your home.

The buyers are in charge of they (the books) destiny.

If you’re comfortable from working from a laptop, go ahead.

If you’re the type of person who flips through recipe books and folds over recipes of interest – simply print off the pages you immediately want.

Or, if you prefer to have printed material in front of you, hit the print button and print them off. They are great coil-bound or put into a binder.

Either way you shake it – ebooks are e-friendly.

If you’re not already in to raw foods, or you’ve tested the waters, but haven’t jumped in – summer is the perfect time.

Markets are FULL of fresh fruits and vegetables (so many more organic than they used to be – and most are local foods which is an added bonus of nutition).

It’s 39 degrees Celsius in Toronto today (with the humidex). I think it’s gorgeous! I love weather like this! I’ll complain like hell when it’s 39 degrees below zero, but you won’t hear a peep out of me when it’s above.

But it IS hot. I don’t have air conditioning in my apartment so it’s a bit steamy – you just have to check out the lethargic cat lounging in the recycle box.

I do NOT want to turn on my oven. I do NOT want a coffee. I do NOT want heavy.

What I did do was start my day off with a Strawberry Bliss Smoothie (page 9 of the Drinks/Brunch Live Recipe Books). Healthy, cool and sweet.

I ate Pecan Piccolo Sushi rolls for lunch (page 76 in the Entrees Live Recipe Book).  I work at home, but I’m busy. The best thing about the raw sushi is that I prepare the pate in advance. Then, when I’m hungry, I pull out the Nori, Pate and stuffing (do you call what you put in sushi, stuffing?), and slap it all together. Lunch in 5 minutes!

Now, as I type this, I’m sitting out on my deck drinking a Berry Buzz (page 18 Drinks/Brunch: Live Recipe Book). At night I throw some vodka into this spritzer and it’s an amazing drink.

For now, it’s only 4:30 and, for me, it’s not happy hour just yet!

To a hot, hot summer!

Cheers!

I was playing around with my Desserts Live Recipe Book the other day and came up with a really great creation: I call it Chocolate Almond Fudge Layer Cake – ALL RAW and TOTALLY HEALTHY, of course.

Here’s what it is. I made the Chocolate Layer of the raw Black Forest Cake recipe (page 15 in the Desserts book), minus the cherries, and spread it in a cake pan. Then I made 1/4 of the Almond Dream Bar recipe (page 38 in the Desserts book) and spread it over top of the chocolate layer.

My plan was originally to top it with a Vanilla Cream like the one on page 12, but I was salivating too much to wait. I just started eating… next time.

For those of you who haven’t eaten at Live in Toronto and haven’t enjoyed the Black Forest Cake or Almond Dream Bars, this is what you’re missing… The Chocolate layer of the Black Forest Cake from Live is like a Rich Chocolate Mousse and the Almond Dream Bars are a rich, salty, nutty fudge.

Next time I might put the almond layer on the bottom, then follow with the chocolate and top with the cream. Next time… and there will be a next time.

I just can’t believe these desserts are actually good for you. The raw ingredients actually nourish your body’s cells and promote weight loss.

When I eat raw desserts – not a sugary dessert in the world could tempt me.

My name is Jaime Luchuck. I am one of the creators of the Live Recipe Book series, as well as the Amazon best-selling author of From Cubicle Slave to the Next Internet Millionaire.

Live Organic Food Bar is a raw food, organic, vegan, vegetarian, you name it health-wise, restaurant in Toronto, Canada. All of their dishes are gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free… and they’re absolutely delicious.

I have my own skeleton-in-the-closet when it comes to health issues. I almost died when I was twenty – and the doctors could only sit by and watch. No one could figure out what was wrong with me… until I met an amazing woman, Camille Colver. She was a nutritionist and she knew within less than a half an hour what was wrong with me.

What ensued were a couple of painstalking years of following an elimination diet – and putting the foods back in bit by bit as my body healed itself.

The end result was that I learned a lot about nutrition and health and their direct correlation – something most Western medicine doctors still haven’t figured out.

So, back to Live Organic Food Bar in Toronto…

Because I’m well aware of what works with my body and what doesn’t – I found out about the raw food movement. When I first heard about it, it wasn’t too popular and the dishes were very bland.

But, as the movement grew – the dishes became very, very good. The desserts, no lying, are just as good, if not better, tasting than “real” desserts. And you don’t get that full, sick feeling after eating them.

I approached the owner of Live, Jennifer Italiano, and proposed the idea for a recipe book. So many people could benefit from the recipes – even if you’re not someone who eats only raw food. Every little thing you do for your health is a step forward.

She agreed – and we’re working on an amazing book which will be released on March 29, 2008.

Check it out at www.liverecipebook.com. If you’re visiting before launch day – leave your name and email address and we’ll let you know once it’s been released.

Bye for now!
Jaime