Raw Vegan: Vegetable wrap; Vegan Mofo

October is Vegan Month of Food, also known as Vegan MoFo.

Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to actively participate, I didn’t add my name to the list. However throughout the month of October I’ll try to post at least one recipe per week. For those looking to cut a few calories, or simply add more plant based items into their daily lifestyle.

Please stop by the Vegan Mofo Blogroll, there’s over 700 bloggers on that list.

I was a raw vegan for a little over a year. Gradually I started adding some cooked foods into my diet, and I find that I have similar results as when I was completely raw consuming about 75% raw food. My diet is a whole food diet, which means I eat foods as close to its natural food source as possible. You won’t find me eating junk food or over processed foods. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy treats. I do, I just make sure that the treats consumed not only are delicious but are healthy too. Healthy snacks are an excellent alternative to the empty calorie junk foods that are so common in Westernized cultures.

One thing to remember, just because an item is vegetarian or vegan doesn’t automatically mean it’s healthy. You can be a very unhealthy vegetarian/vegan if you make wrong choices. There’s plenty of veggie junk food available, some people regularly consume theses products thinking they’re eating health simply because it’s plant based. Guess what? You can eat a meat based diet, and still be healthy. It’s all about the decisions you make. Educate yourself!

One of my favorite foods is a raw vegetable wrap, and so I’ve decided to include a simple recipe below. Dark leafy greens (like collards or kale) are nutrient dense powerhouses and they also make excellent raw sandwich wrappers. Raw nori is another wrapper that can be used in place of a traditional sandwich wrapper. My daughter loves nori, and requests it often. Nori can usually be found in your local health food store — or it can be purchased online.

In the article Health Benefits and nutritional properties of nori, Hiroyuki Noda said…

A sulfated galactan, similar to agar, occurs in relatively large quantities; this is a water-soluble dietary fiber that has important functional activities such as an antiblood coagulant, antihypercholesterolemia and shows antitumor activity. Minerals which occur at relatively high levels in nori include Zn, Cu, Mn and Se. It is concluded that nori is a valuable health food in human diets.

I’ve always had a lot of energy, but have found that my energy levels increased depending on the amount of raw foods I consumed.

Raw Vegetable Wrap

• 5 large leaves of green leafy lettuce, coarsely chopped
• 2 collard leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion chopped
• 3 medium carrots grated
• homemade mustard (optional)
• homemade tarter sauce (optional)

Wrapper

Large leaves of lettuce, collard, or raw nori

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in mixing bowl
2. Spread vegetables on your wrapper
3. Roll
4. Add condiments, if desired
5. Enjoy

References

• Springer Link: Journal of Applied Phycology