Back To Basics: Raw Food, One Lucky Duck and Sarma Melngailis

Besides happiness, another topic that is of real importance to me is food. Food has to be healthy and it has to be organic. It makes no sense to eat food that has been treated with toxic chemicals. If the recent peanut product recall has taught us anything, it is that our food supply is not 100% safe.

 

 

I never thought much about the safety of our food supply until 2005 which was when my mom passed away from cancer. The experience of seeing what cancer can do to a person has a profound effect. As I have mentioned before, it was at that time in my life that I became consumed with learning more about food and the healthiest way to eat. Although I have been a vegan for a really long time, I was so uneducated about what went into the food that we see on the shelves of our supermarkets. I just assumed everything was safe and healthy.

 

 

As life would have it, I came across a book that started me on my journey to healthier eating and awareness; and the name of that book was Raw Food/Real World by Matthew Kinney and Sarma Melngailis. The book was basically a cookbook but it also chronicled how the authors switched from a standard diet to a raw vegan diet. The book was an eye-opener. I never knew about the raw food movement and I was very interested.

 

 

 

 

After reading the book cover to cover in a day, I tried some of the recipes and was hooked on the idea that it was really important to eat more raw food than cooked food. For those who do not know, raw vegan food is food that has not been cooked at above 118 degrees Fahrenheit and vegan means no animal products are used in the preparation of the food. You may not think that to be very yummy food but trust me, that is definitely not the case.

 

 

What are the benefits of eating raw vegan foods? Foods that have not been cooked at high temperatures are easier to digest and it enables the body to absorb and use nutrients more quickly and effectively. Plus, due to the low temperature used in cooking, the vitamins, minerals and enzymes remain intact. The human body is supposed to get the vitamins it needs from the food you eat, not by taking tablets. The vitamin craze is caused by the fact that the majority of people do not get the proper nutrition from the foods they eat. Why take a vitamin C tablet when you can eat an orange?

 

 

As with anything that I get really passionate about, I have to investigate every detail. I discovered by reading Raw Food/Real World that Sarma founded an online boutique (www.OneLuckyDuck.com) that sells snacks, ingredients, books, beauty products and so much more.

 

 

 

 

And this leads me to the focus of this post: One Lucky Duck! I recently had the opportunity to chat with Sarma about raw food and our shared passion for promoting the cause of healthier eating.

 

 

One Lucky Duck is an awesome site where you can buy some really yummy raw snacks. The Grawnola is the best granola I have ever had. It is so good; it is hard to just eat a little. The same holds true for the Blonde Macaroons (which come in chocolate too). The list of products sold at One Lucky Duck continues to expand so you are bound to always discover something new and interesting – not to mention yummy, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cost of the items sold at One Lucky Duck may be more expensive than what you are used to paying for snacks but as Sarma told me, “it is indeed a sad thing that junk food is generally so much more accessible to people (and much cheaper) than healthy, clean food that is totally UNprocessed, like plain old fruits and vegetables. The whole issue of COST is a really, really hard one to answer and part of it has to do with the overall tradeoff between paying for good food and health NOW versus later in the form of illnesses etc. But part of my overall mission is to make more and more raw food and snacks in larger quantities to bring the cost down and make it available to more and more people.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarma also offered the following advice for those who are interested in eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, “For people who live near greenmarkets, you can often get really good deals at the end of the day when they’re getting ready to pack up and they just want to unload whatever they have left.  As far as transitioning, it’s really just all about getting as much fresh fruit and vegetables in one’s diet in place of other foods… and learning to enjoy them.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am already a big fan of many of Sarma’s recipes and here is a recipe she made up for me to share with you:

 

 

Sarma’s Happy Lotus Interview Smoothie

 

1 large or 2 small mangos
1 medium cucumber, peeled
1 cup chopped pineapple
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Juice from 1/2 a lime
Pinch of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan crystal salt

Place all the above in a blender and add enough cold water until smooth. Add a few ice cubes and blend to chill.  Sarma’s suggestion: “It would be ideal to make it with coconut water, but I know that’s not always readily available or convenient for people that are new to raw foods.”

 

 

Please be sure to try this recipe and you will discover how yummy fresh fruit can be. Also, please visit www.OneLuckyDuck.com and try some of the products sold there. If you ever happen to be in New York City, you can also check out Sarma’s two other businesses: Pure Food and Wine restaurant (www.purefoodandwine.com) and the Pure Juice and Takeaway which is an offshoot of the restaurant. The takeaway is one of our favorites whenever we are in the city and is a must if you are in the mood for a yummy smoothie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no need to become 100% raw overnight but it does not hurt to get as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you can. It is far better to eat something fresh and natural then to get the same nutrients from a pill.

 

 

Special thanks to Sarma Melngailis for taking the time to talk to me and for all the work she does.  Sarma’s new book Living Raw Food will be out in June 2009.

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