September 2004 NW Palate Magazine - Raw Dinners August 2004 Willamette Week - Naked Lunch Portland Mercury - Baby, I Like it Raw May 2004 Herbivore Magazine - The Art of Raw Healing Lifestyles and Spas - Vibrant Living Foods February 2004 Portland Mercury - The Best Vegan Desert Ever December 2003 OPB - SmartMonkey Foods Radio Interview November 2003 SMF Press - Carnival Cruise Lines Features SMF SMF Press - SuperSet Tennis Nervy Girl - Green Cuisine SMF Press - Food Front's Living Foods Section October 2003 SMF Press - SMF Caters STOMP Event September 2003 Willamette Week - Raw Power Portland Tribune - Trendy Chefs Turning Off Fire March 2003 Daily PDX - Raw Foods Are Making a Revival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SmartMonkey Foods Press Contact: Ani Phyo Phone: 503-236-7878 Email: smartmonkeyfoods@yahoo.com URL: www.smartmonkeyfoods.com Article appeared in Healing Lifestyles and Spas Magazine. VIBRANT LIVING FOODS Summertime and Living Foods Are Easy May 2004 As spring slips gently into summer, it's time to bask in the warmth, smell the flowers, pick some berries, and turn down the heat! Why not turn off the oven as well? A growing number of living food enthusiasts have turned off their ovens for good, claiming that 'going raw' enhances health and vitality while reducing the physical effects of aging. Believing that cooking destroys food's essential enzymes, they eat only fresh, organic ingredients that have not been heated over 115 degrees (some draw the line at 105). Many living foodists are vegan (consuming no animal products), but some eat raw fish or even meat. As long as the enzymes have not been killed by excessive heat, they consider the food living. Enzymes are the key to the living food philosophy. When we eat food in which the enzymes have been killed by cooking, followers say, our bodies sacrifice metabolic enzymes that would otherwise maintain proper physical functioning to digesting the food. They believe the depletion of these metabolic enzymes puts unnecessary stress on our systems and speeds up the aging process. Victoria Warren-Mears, RD, LD, Clinical Director of the Dietary Internship Program at Oregon Health and Science University, challenges this premise, saying, "Our bodies are made to use the enzymes we produce. Short of some health problem, we should have adequate amounts throughout our lifetime." At the same time, she acknowledges that "eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables is excellent and I would encourage that totally." But the benefits from fresh produce, she explains, are "the fiber, phytochemicals, and nutrients as opposed to the enzymes (in their uncooked form)." A far cry from the sprouts and tofu stereotype (tofu, after all, is cooked), raw cuisine is among today's hottest trends, with high profile enthusiasts like Demi Moore, Sting, and Alec Baldwin. Perhaps they seek the slender shape raw foodists typically sport. Perhaps they hope to stave off the physical effects of aging. Some no doubt are drawn to the lifestyle for it's eco-friendly, cruelty-free philosophy. Whatever the appeal, upscale raw restaurants are thriving in major cities throughout the country. Living food chefs defy the image of a raw meal as a plate of carrots and celery by developing dishes that tempt the palate and the imagination. Roxanne Klein of Roxanne's in Larkspur, California, creates pad Thai 'noodles' from young coconuts and 'rice' from pulsed parsnips. Perhaps that's why Bon Appetit named her an 'Innovator' among top chefs in 2003. Juliano, whose Los Angeles dining destination Juliano's Raw consistently attracts Hollywood's elite, has become a raw food celebrity for inspired offerings like living 'cheezeburgers' and 'rawvioli.' As raw chef and caterer Ede Schweizer says, "If it didn't taste good, we wouldn't be eating it!" Last fall, Schweizer's gourmet raw food company SmartMonkey Foods created a full-day raw menu for Carnival Cruises, celebrated for pioneering healthy cruise cuisine. Living food retreats are gaining popularity around the world as well. Most raw resorts offer living food preparation courses in addition to personal healing retreats. While many living food recipes involve juicing, sprouting, or dehydrating, the idea is to eat food in its freshest, most natural state, so the simplest recipes are considered the healthiest. With its bounty of diverse fruits and vegetables, summer is a living foodist's delight. Combining flavors, textures and colors with pizzazz, the recipes that follow showcase living food at it's simplest and most delicious. So don't sweat the rising mercury. Turn off the stove and keep your cool with some healthy living foods. Article written by Emily Puro. For more information on SmartMonkey Foods Gourmet Raw Cuisine: Ani Phyo Phone: 503-236-7878 Email: smartmonkeyfoods@yahoo.com www.smartmonkeyfoods.com