Excerpts taken from Living in the Raw by Rose Lee Calabro

“Living foods are the MVP superstars of all foods. They are the Michael Jordans, Willie Mayses, and Joe Montanas of nutrition – raw foods in their most nutritious state. When living foods are added to any meal (especially on that’s at least 50% raw), they add a new dimension to its nutritional value, namely an extraordinary ability to heal the body and the mind. They truly are like medicine without any side effects.”

“The easiest way to recognize a living food is to answer this question: “Is it still growing?” If yes, it’s a living food. Good examples of living foods are vegetables and fruits growing wild or in your garden.”

“Today, in our supermarkets you can find new sources of living foods in the form of fresh sprouts and baby greens, which are alive and still growing as you ‘pick’ them off the shelf. These are young living plants that can add valuable missing nutrition to your meals, especially your salads. There is a distinct difference in the flavor and the energy that these foods provide.”

“Raw foods are other stars of health and nutrition. Just remember this about raw foods: the older they get, the fewer nutrients (phytochemicals) they contain. Think about this: when any living food is picked, it is separated from its life energy source (its “umbilical connection” to Mother Earth), and its growth begins to slow. Within 24 to 48 hours after being picked, all growth stops. This is when a living food becomes an ‘adult’ raw food. Now, as days go by, a raw food’s powerful healing energies begin to slowly ‘radiate out.’ This may be evidenced by a change in color, a softer texture, a wrinkled appearance, a sweeter taste, etc. Be aware of this and choose only the freshest raw produce as you shop.”

“Nutritionally speaking, living foods are the richest sources of enzymes, oxygen, chlorophyll, vitamins, essential fatty acids, and fiber, and contain the proper ratio of alkaline to acid minerals Raw foods follow a close second, with all our cooked and store-bought processed foods a very distant third.