http://www.kullaliv.se/se/aktuellt/lev-lite-raare/
Published September 15, 2017. Text: L. Fritz
Start the morning with Raspberry Mush, bring fresh/raw Tomato Soup to work and treat the family to Pink Banana Ice Cream for dessert. It’s easy to add raw foods into everyday life and get a real energy boost, Åsa Johansson says, just out with a new cookbook.
-When I started with raw food twenty years ago I woke up happy every morning and thought it was amazing. Then I did not know what I know today – that the bacterial culture of the intestines affects our brain and our well-being. A raw food diet not only gives a lightness and energy to the body but also mental joy, Åsa Johansson says when we meet on a sunny August day to talk about her new cookbook.
Åsa Johansson is a trained raw food teacher and after many years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has her base in Mölle. Today, she gives classes and lectures and also has her own blog where she offers recipes and the latest research findings. In short, you can describe raw food as being natural, fresh and unprocessed food. The raw materials – fruits, berries, vegetables, seeds, nuts, algae and oils – never heat up above 42 degrees C, making the food rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants among other things.
-In raw food there are plenty of plant fibers. It’s the “Saturday candy” for the good bacteria in the gut. Then they can thrive and spread out, pushing back the pathogenic, disease-causing bacteria, which do not get as big of a space. The gut works smoothly and you will have a more reliable immune system. If you let about 75 percent of your diet be raw food, you might notice a big difference both physically and mentally, Åsa says, who has been eating mostly raw food since ten years ago.
The idea of her new book is to inspire others to start with or add more raw food in their lives. You can start with an energizing drink, a light and colorful breakfast, a vegetable soup for lunch and instead of a meat sauce with the pasta, make one based on walnuts. To make it easy, Åsa has chosen recipes that are sufficient for all meals and snacks for three days. All ingredients in the book are familiar and easy to find.
-More and more people realize the importance of the diet. If we eat what the body is meant to thrive on, we feel good, get energized and feel vital. You do not have to change the diet, it’s fine to just add raw food. You can start with a juice or smoothie and mix in more greens and you can make a dessert like the Pink Banana Ice Cream. It’s the easiest way to get the family on board, Åsa says with a smile.
