Pizza, cheese, mimosa salad, cookies, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate ice cream – all these harmful things are easily turned into healthy dishes if they are cooked by a raw foodist. Marina Kharitonova is a raw foodist with 10 years of experience and the author of one of the best raw food blogs in Russian tells what her diet looks like*.
Psychologies: What are the benefits of a raw food diet?
Marina Kharitonova: The most important thing is a strong immune system. Until I was 18, I had bronchitis at least twice a year. Since my diet has changed, I have stopped getting colds and live without fear of the flu. Other benefits are good digestion, healthy skin, energy.
How to make a healthy diet?
M.H.: The menu must have a lot of green vegetables, as well as nuts and seeds in moderation. I came to this conclusion based on medical research and my own feelings. Green vegetables contain protein and calcium, which are the easiest to miss on a raw, plant-based diet. Nuts add protein and also contain various fatty acids essential for health. Anything can be added to greens and nuts, for every taste: fruits, sprouts, oils, vegetables. Even when my refrigerator is almost empty, there are always two or three types of greens and 5-10 types of nuts and seeds in it. From this you can always cook a simple, but complete and satisfying dish.
What are your favorite foods, dishes and brands?
M.H.: Favorite foods: Roman lettuce (romaine), red cabbage, cucumbers, apples, plums, watermelon, persimmons, dates, raisins, almonds, walnuts. Favorite dishes are guacamole, gazpacho soup, corn salad, simple green salad with lemon juice and olive oil. I buy unique hemp products: hemp seeds and hemp protein powder. And in the kitchen of a raw foodist, there must be a blender.
What products, substances in the composition of products are unacceptable for you?
M.H.: Animal products, as well as sugar in any refined form (brown sugar, corn syrup, brown rice syrup).
What do you pay attention to when choosing vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereals?
M.H.: Many vegetables and fruits lose a significant amount of vitamins during long-term storage, almost like during heat treatment, so freshness is the most important thing. First, I go to the market and buy local, seasonal products, literally – “what they give”, and then I think what to cook from it. In the store I buy products marked “bio” (without pesticides and chemical fertilizers). I always look where vegetables or fruits come from – I don’t like apples or pears from the southern hemisphere in May, when local strawberries are on the shelves. In winter, of course, you have to eat more imported food.
Why do you have non-raw foods and dishes in your diet?
M.H.: The main part of my non-raw food diet is eating with other people, either in a restaurant or cooked at home. This usually happens once a week, sometimes more often. I didn’t notice any negative effect. The balance between personal and social is different for everyone. I know how nice it is to cook for loved ones and how nice it is when they cook for you. This is one way to express love and care, and I do not want to deprive myself and others of this. No diet is worth it.
I buy only one type of bread, I learned about it from a raw food book. It is made from sprouted wheat and baked at a low temperature. It is not considered raw food, but it is difficult to call it ordinary bread either – heavy and moist, satisfying. I eat it as a dessert. I myself have been trying to do something similar for a long time, but so far it has not worked. I also drink tea almost every day and coffee on the weekends, simply because I love it.
Are you taking vitamin B12? Do you take a blood test to monitor your health status?
M.H.: Yes, you need to take vitamin B12. It is not found in vegan food, and a deficiency leads to various negative effects, including anemia and problems with the nervous system. A few years ago, the annual blood test for basic indicators began to be done at our place of work, so I stopped going to the doctor, but continue to receive results once a year. So far, the nurses are praising me.
Read more:
- How to build a diet on a vegetarian diet?
Three days from the diet of raw foodist Marina Kharitonova
Day 1
9:30 1 st. l. almonds, soaked overnight and peeled Green smoothie, 500 ml – pineapple, greens (kale, mint), half an avocado, 1 tsp. maple syrup.
14:00 Sushi roll with pate (“tuna”) from sunflower seeds, cucumber, carrots and alfalfa sprouts, soy sauce. Green lettuce salad with radish sprouts, olive oil, lemon juice and nutritional yeast dressing. Fresh green beans with sesame seeds.
17:00 Chamomile tea with soy milk, 400 ml, 1 glass of berries – raspberries and blueberries, a slice of wheat germ bread with figs and linseeds, 40 g (non-raw bread).
18:30 Cashew nuts 2 tbsp. l., a glass of rejuvelac.
21:00 Salad – a very large brown tomato (about 200 g), one sweet green pepper, half a glass of basil leaves, 6 kalamata olives, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.
Day 2
9:30 Parfait – 4 tbsp. l. sprouted buckwheat, 6 tbsp. l. cashew yogurt, ½ cup raspberries, ½ cup blueberries, 1 tbsp. l. pieces of cocoa beans.
3:30 Two apricots.
14:00 pm Smoothie – large fresh mango, glass of almond milk, 1 tbsp. l. coconut oil, 2 tbsp. l. hemp protein powder, 1 tbsp. l. ground flaxseed, a piece of fresh ginger.
17:00 Mug of green tea with jasmine, a small portion of wakame seaweed salad with sesame seeds and lemon juice (about half a glass), a glass of white cherries, one nectarine.
21:00 Stuffed peppers – one sweet green pepper stuffed with cheese, Brazil nuts and fresh tomato salsa “pico de gallo”, 200 g of fresh corn seasoned with salt and linseed oil, half a glass of radish sprouts.
Day 3
9:00 – A glass of juice from watermelon peels, 350 ml.
11:00 Green smoothie 750 ml – pineapple, dandelion greens, kale (green kale), a piece of ginger, 1 tsp. Japanese green tea powder (matcha).
14:00 Two fig peaches.
15:00 A mug of chamomile tea with soy milk, pistachios 30 g, a slice of wheat germ bread with walnuts and a banana 40 g.
18:30 Green salad (about 3 cups of small salad greens) with olives and green beans, olive oil, apple cider vinegar and nutritional yeast as a dressing. Guacamole salad dressing (200 g), cucumber slices, three dried wheat bread, a serving of seaweed salad (100 g). One nectarine.
19:30 Mug of chamomile tea with soy milk, one apricot, 1 tbsp. l. dried cherries, 1 tbsp. l. raisins.
21:00 Mug of chamomile tea, 1 tbsp. l. honey
Learn more smart-cookie.ru/menu/racion-syroeda/
* Raw Food Diary rawinrussian.livejournal.com