People seeking raw food recipes may encounter the delicious creations of Katy Joy Freeman. Katy Joy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Co-Founder of RawPeople, an online source for raw and living foods information. She's also the author of Raw & Abroad, co-author of Raw People - A Complete Guide to Raw Food Living, and a raw food chef. In her psychotherapy work she specializes in mindfulness practices, helping others make and maintain positive lifestyle changes, and stress management. She has maintained a 40 lb. weight loss for over 21 years and has successfully recovered from years of disordered eating. Although a self taught raw food chef, her unique recipes are enjoyed by raw food diet followers worldwide. .
Katy Joy's Recipes
Katy Joy was kind enough to share some of her favorite raw, living foods recipes with LoveToKnow. Try one today!
Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients:
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- ½ cup frozen peaches
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons raw agave
- Water or Almond milk as needed
- Probiotic capsule - optional
Directions: Place about ½ cup water or almond milk into a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy. Add more liquid as needed. Break open probiotic capsule and mix into you luscious yogurt. If you have extra you can keep this in the fridge and eat as a regular yogurt. Consume within 2 days.
Tasty Tacos
Ingredients:
- 1 cup brazil nuts - soaked overnight or at least 6 hours to activate the enzymes and make the nuts more digestible
- 1 cup sun dried tomatoes - soaked at least 1 hour or can be packed in oil, just drain first
- 2 Tablespoons Mexican Seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons Raw tahini
- ¼ cup fresh salsa - optional
- Pinch of Sea Salt - optional
- Red Cabbage to use for the tostada shell
- Cilantro
- Avocado slices
- Lime wedges
- 2 fresh tomatoes - chopped
Directions: Place nuts, sundried tomatoes, seasoning, tahini, and salt in to a food processor. Pulse chop 3-4 times, then process for 10 seconds. This will be a chunky mixture unless you prefer to process longer - it's up to you. Place a scoop of the "taco meat" into a red cabbage leaf. Top with avocado slices, tomatoes, and cilantro. Squeeze lime on top and you are ready to enjoy an amazing taco. You can also use romaine lettuce leaves for the taco shell. Note: If you do not have a food processor, you can chop all of this by hand and mix well.
Recipe Tips
Katy Joy suggests that people should look for things that appeal to you and that seem realistic for you to make. She states, "I think it's best to start out with some simple things like a live soup that you slightly heat. It's quick and easy to blend up some tomatoes, celery, basil, sea salt, and avocado, and any other of your favorite spices to have a creamy tomato soup. If you love getting more complicated and have time, some of the gourmet raw recipes are fun to make. I feel that you will have more success starting out with basic recipes, get the feel for it all and then expand from there."
Expert Advice
Katy Joy emphasizes the importance of add more live foods into your diet. She states, "You will feel better and your body, mind, and spirit will be so grateful. The Standard American Diet often creates a very acidic environment in the body. An acidic body is more susceptible to disease. The raw food diet creates more alkalinity in your body thus you are more likely to stay well, feel good, and live a very vibrant life." She explains that preparing raw food dishes does not have to be time consuming or expensive. She encourages "Try the recipes I listed above and you will see how easy they can be. Mostly you will love how you feel after eating fresh, live, organic Vegan foods."
