Raw food means food with all of its nutrients and enzymes (critical for healthy digestion) intact. When you cook food, you kill off the nutrients and enzymes. The higher the heat, the more you lose. However, that does not mean all raw food is cold or in salad form. You can heat food at low temperatures and still consider it raw because the low temperatures do not destroy the nutrients. The appliance of choice for this process is a dehydrator, which cooks food at a very low temperature as low as 85 degrees. (Most ovens don't go below 150 or 175 degrees.)
Excalibur is the only brand of dehydrator I've heard recommended. I've been to the company website several times, but couldn't decide between the large model or the small one, the one with the timer or the reduced-price refurbished model. My husband suggested perhaps an Easy-Bake oven would do. Today, a friend loaned me her small Excalibur dehydrator. She ate raw food for many years, but hasn't used it since her daughter was born five years ago. It was sitting on her fridge.
Here's an example of how to make raw Sun-Dried Tomato Flax Crackers using a dehydrator: You dehydrate a mixture of flax seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, celery juice, parsley and spices at 145 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, and then continue at 115 degrees for 6 to 8 hours. As you can see, this is a lengthy process. I intend to try it one day. And then my husband will eat his first cracker in over a month.
