Raw Dinner Ideas

The Raw Food Movement or Diet consists of consuming all or a high percentage of "living" foods. These "living" foods are all natural, organic, fresh and never cooked above 104 degrees F. The cooking temperature restriction is due to a belief that high temperature cooking damages the enzymes and cells in raw foods, therefore damaging their nutritional value. A raw diet consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Using a high-speed blender, dehydrator, spiralizer and juicer will achieve different textures. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Burgers and Sandwiches

Raw burgers and sandwiches begin with the bread. To achieve "bread" considered raw, puree different nuts or seeds with celery, water and flax meal to create a paste-like substance. Spread the paste into a dehydrator tray and dehydrated for four to six hours. Popular ingredients for a raw burger can include sun burgers, which consist of red peppers, onions, celery, nuts and water pureed and dehydrated. To make a raw mushroom burger, top a Portobello mushroom with olive oil, avocado and tomato. Popular raw sandwiches include a BLT, with the bacon being coconut bacon. Slicing a coconut very thin with a mandolin and dehydrating it for six hours make coconut bacon. Add this bacon to a slice of raw bread with tomato, red onions and capers, and it is very similar to a lox bagel.

Pizzas

Pizza is a very popular raw food dinner item, since the topping can vary every night. To make basic raw pizza crust mix flax meal, tomato, water and flaxseed. Puree and dehydrate it for eight hours. Top the crust with tomatoes, olives, pesto, herbs, avocados, onions, mushrooms and any other fruit or vegetable you would like to include.

Noodles and Rice

A spiralizer, a device that slices vegetables into thin, spiral shapes, makes noodles for a raw diet. Vegetables that are popular to make noodles with are red peppers and zucchini. Kelp noodles and wakame, a type of seaweed, are premade noodle-like substitutes. To make rice, use peeled turnips mixed with nuts and apple cider vinegar; a quick puree will give the turnip a rice-like texture and flavor. Top either the noodles or rice with vinegar, soy sauce and vegetables, and you have a complete dinner.

Wraps and Salads

To make raw wraps, follow the directions of bread and spread the paste thinner on the dehydrator tray. Ingredients for wraps and salads include all types of lettuces and herbs, along with any vegetable and fruit desired. Adding nuts to the wrap or salad will add protein and complete the meal.

Drinks

Drinks are an easy addition to a raw meal. Since most drink ingredients do not include a cooking process, they are a raw food. A popular raw drink that can also replace breakfast is a smoothie. Using a blender, blend frozen fruits, fresh fruits, ice, water, almond milk and agave nectar until smooth.