To Cook or Not to Cook…

Since I have been a raw foods chef and restaurateur for nearly 10 years, some of you are probably surprised to see that I am offering some cooked vegan foods in addition to my extensive array of raw dishes. Allow me to explain…

While I do believe that raw foods are optimally healthy foods for most people in most situations, I also realize that we don’t always eat only for “optimizing health”. In fact, there are many other reasons to eat! One of the most obvious ones is pleasure- and it’s not a sin! Taking pleasure from our culinary experiences is in my opinion a natural and normal way to eat. In fact, if the food we eat isn’t delicious and pleasant tasting then we probably won’t continue eating it for very long.

Now I know that some in the raw foods community think that every bite we take should be done with optimal health in mind. And indeed, there is certainly much merit in this approach. However, I believe that the ultimate objective is not optimal health but optimal happiness.

And let me tell you, I love food. I take great pleasure in tasting and eating different foods. Food offers us culture, community and comfort in addition to sustenance. When I was restricting myself to solely raw foods, I was doing it because I wanted to, because it felt right to me and I was enjoying it. After many years eating this way, I found myself wanting to broaden my culinary boundaries to include some cooked vegan foods- especially foods from around the world. And so I have. And I feel good with it.

So while I still eat a predominantly raw foods diet, I also enjoy some cooked foods. And I find that including pro-biotic foods together with cooked vegan foods helps with the digestion. I have included some of my favorite world cuisines in my new menu; Ethiopian, Indian and Mexican, and combined them with our raw creations and pro-biotic sauerkrauts to create my Vegan Fusion dishes.

For the Ethiopian, I created our “One Love Wrap” which integrates two of my favorite Ethiopian vegan dishes, one with split peas and the other with collard greens. These I combine with raw cashew cream cheeze, sauerkraut, marinated onions, tomatoes, onions and an authentic Ethiopian spicy sauce combined with my raw “sour kreme”. I wrap this all up in an organic whole-wheat wrap with spring mix and briefly grill it to serve, warm and savory with some more sauce over the top

The Shanti Wrap is a similar melding of two of my favorite Indian vegan dishes, saag (spinach with garlic) and chana masaala (chick pea curry), with several of the same raw and pro-biotic foods to create an incredible and unique culinary experience.

And yes, I am also happy to offer a broader based menu to all people seeking a delicious vegan meal. If four people are going out for dinner, what is the chance they will all want to eat just raw? And frankly, vegan and organic are tops in my list of priorities. Well, delicious certainly figures right up there as well.

So, I continue to offer my extensive and much loved raw foods menu with some cooked vegan and vegan fusion offerings as well. It takes a village, so Leaf Organics is here to feed the village.

And by the way, I also think that this broader offering will end up exposing more people to raw and vegan foods then the limited raw menu of the past.

Please bring your non-raw, non-vegan friends and family in for a meal. I bet they love it. Just don’t tell them its good for them till after they have tried it…

And to remind you, I teach my Intermediate Raw Foods Preparation Course today, Sunday the 15th from 12:30 to 5:30. Even if you don’t have extensive experience with raw foods or already completed my Fundamentals Course, come down for the class. You will love it. $95 per person.

Also, I teach my “Just Desserts” Course this Wednesday from 6:30 to 9:30 and my
“Fun With Fermentation” Course next Wednesday the 25th, also from 6:30 to 9:30. These are both $55 per person.

Please email me at rod@leaforganics regarding courses. You can check out more info on my website rodrotondi.com

And if you have something to add about the topic of cooked vegan foods, feel free to write me.

Love your food,
Love your planet,
Love your Selves.

Rod