Every Ecoista’s Must-Read: Ani’s Raw Food Essentials
Ani shows us how to whip up mouth-watering raw food concoctions in a flash. Photo: AniPhyo.com
One look at Ani Phyo was enough to get us intrigued by “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials.” The enviably fit and radiantly healthy-looking author and celebrated chef is a living testament to the salubrious effects of the raw food lifestyle. She’s also a super friendly guide to uninitiated but enthusiastic raw foodies—like us!
No yacón syrup lying around the cupboard? Fear not, agave will do just fine, Ani insists. Misplaced your Excalibur Dehydrator? No biggie, just set your oven on a balmy 140 degrees, Ani instructs. That way you’ll preserve your food’s enzymes while turning eggplant into bacon and flax meal into crepes (yes, Ani really does explain how to do this).
We love the patient way Ani walks readers through raw food philosophy, pointing out the symbiotic relationship between raw eating and green living. She notes how switching to a whole foods (lower case) diet—a major part of the raw food concept—eliminated from her life the “packaging, printing, manufacturing, warehousing, refrigeration and distribution” associated with packaged and/or prepared food. Amen to that, sister.
And she’s fervently anti-extreme, constantly encouraging us to ease into raw, substitute where necessary, and, heck, even heat up one of her soups if you’re craving something to beat the sleet. Good stuff, right?
But the best stuff in “Ani’s Raw Food Essentials” are Ani’s raw recipes. Like Avocado-Pistachio Pesto Noodle Salad (made with kelp noodles—our new favorite wheat-free pasta substitute). Looking for a lazy Sunday morning indulgence that won’t leave you feeling like you just swallowed a sandbag? Look no further than Banana-Chocolate Hazelnut Crepes, perhaps washed down with a Persimmon Smoothie or Apricot Rooibos Flurry (take that, Dairy Queen!).
Ani’s got even our most low-brow, high-fat cravings covered. Huevo-less Rancheros with Red Enchilada Sauce and Pico de Gallo? Yes, please. Coconut Bacon Reuben Sandwich with Thousand Island Dressing? Abso-freakin-lutely. And if you thought raw dessert meant fruit on a plate, think again. Cakes, pies, ice “kream,” cookies—Ani’s got ’em all. We may never fire up the stove again. Yum!
Ani Phyo’s “Apricot Rooibos Flurry”
2 rooibos tea bags
3 ¼ cups filtered water
1 cup halved, pitted fresh apricots, or ½ cup dried apricots
½ cup cashews
¼ cup pitted dates, packed
1 cup ice
Place tea bags in a glass jar, add water, cover, place jar in the sun for several hours to brew. Combine brewed tea, apricots, cashews and dates in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add ice and blend to mix well. Serve immediately for best flavor.
Ani’s Raw Food Essentials ($18.45)
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Natasha Garber is a contributor to numerous lifestyle publications, where she covers green events and event planning, sustainable catering and cuisine, and fashion and design trends. A passionate proponent of eco-conscious living, Natasha lives, writes, plays and parents in Los Angeles.
