Eating healthy is very important to me. I am a strong proponent of the inclusion of incorporating tons of fresh, organic, raw ingredients into my daily regime. Raw foods are packed with nutrients because they are alive. When foods are cooked, many of these vitamins and enzymes are killed. In raw recipe preparation, foods are never warmed higher than 115 degrees. These low temperatures ensure that the enzyme and vitamin content is retained.
What is also a fact is that some fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, actually increase their benefit from being lightly cooked. Lycopene, a valuable nutrient found in tomatoes, is released when they are cooked. Some other vegetables, for example, broccoli, are more digestible when they are steamed lightly. The florets can be difficult to digest when they are raw.
For optimal health, it is vital that we consume somewhere around 50% of our diet in the form raw vegetables and fruits. Typically, I will consume 75% or more raw foods every day.
I have included one of my favorite easy Mexican recipes in this article. It is created using only raw ingredients. It is a nutritious and vegan (free of animal products of any kind) recipe.

Raw Mexican “Rice”
serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons minced sun dried tomatoes (soaked for about 8 hrs)
3 tablespoons of the water from the soaked sun dried tomatoes
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup parsnip rice*
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

* Prepare the parsnip rice by processing 3/4 cup of parsnips and 2 tablespoons of pine nuts in a food processor until they reach a rice-like consistency.

Method:
Dehydrate the red onion, red bell pepper and garlic for 4 hours on a teflex sheet.
Combine the parsnip rice, dehydrated vegetables, tomatoes, chili powder, salt, and the water from the soaked sundried tomatoes. Mix until well combined. Add more salt if needed. Refrigerate for between 3-6 hours in order to let the flavors meld and develop.

Raw recipes can sometimes be complicated and time consuming to prepare. This Mexican recipe is both delicious and simple. The only pre-preparation needed is soaking the sun-dried tomatoes prior to making the recipe. This can be done either overnight the evening prior, or the morning of the day you plan to prepare the recipe for dinner.