Raw Food Caribbean Extravaganza

I was excited all week to attend my first raw food “cooking” class this weekend. I found out about it through the Richmond Raw and Living Foods meetup.com group. I just now realized that meetup was a big part of my weekend. As I mentioned before, I’ve found it hard to meet people since being out of college and so far I found the groups on meetup to be a good starting point. A few readers commented on my last post that they were going to try out the site, which I think is awesome. Please keep me posted as to whether it’s helpful for you or not. And, I’ll be sure to do the same.

To start my day off I had a big bowl of plain oats and oatbran with raisins cooked in. I didn’t use a banana today because my bunch wasn’t ripe enough this morning. The naner was missed, but the big blob of almond butter made the bowl quite delicious.

With a belly full o’ oats I headed to the gym for a quick elliptical session before the raw class. After working it I made a green smoothie to hold me over just in case we didn’t eat right away at the class. If you are a regular reader you’ll know that I’m a pescatarian and definitely not a raw foodist. However I am interested in raw foods and like incorporating more of them in my diet so I thought this class would be something fun to be involved with and the Graff’s graciously allowed me to attend free of charge.

Let the Caribbean Extravaganza begin:

Jackie and Gideon Graff, the raw food chefs of Raw Food Revival were all set up and ready to go when I arrived. The couple is from a town outside of Atlanta, GA and have been teaching raw food preparation and food science for more than a decade. They began the demonstration by explaining why raw foods are important and how eating raw has changed their life. They showed a picture of themselves 15 years ago and mentioned that they were overweight and on a lot of medication. Since going raw they have both revived their health and gone off all the medication. Jackie said that before they became raw she cooked traditional gourmet food – Paula Deen style. It’s funny that she mentioned it because she totally reminded me of Paula, just the raw version. She definitely has Paula’s fun personality and southern hospitality.

After the brief overview and discussion from the group, the Graffs got started preparing the raw food feast. Here’s the set up.

The key appliances included some food blogger mainstays- a Vita-Mix, a large food processor, and an excalibur dehydrator.

First up: Fermented Ginger Beer & Banana Bread

This alcohol free beverage was both spicy and sweet and better than any bottled Ginger Beer I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to make this brew for Isaac as he is a huge ginger beer fan.

Next up Banana Bread

All of the recipes were prepared live, but some things needed to be dehydrated so they had a prepared version ready as well.

After combing only 6 ingredients and a little dehydrating, cute mini loafs of banana bread were created. The loafs were dense with a great banana nut flavor. Perfect for the raw foodists who misses this sweet treat.

Everyone enjoyed their banana bread and ginger beer as a little appetizer and then the meal creation began.

The menu consisted entirely of organic vegan raw foods.

Caribbean Corn Fritters

Gideon got started on the Jerk Nutloaf.

For some reason I thought you were never suppose to start the Vitamix on high, but instead start at variable and work your way up. Jackie said that you don’t necessarily need to do that and she had a cute quote to go along with it. “If you have a Mazarati- floor it.” (I agree!)

Gideon loading up the Mazarati.

Jackie put together the sauce and the finishing touches. They worked so well together and kept the class entertaining by adding little tidbits of information here or there, telling jokes, and interacting with one another. (How fun would it be to have a traveling job (that involves cooking!) with your significant other?)

Jerk Sauce for the Nutloaf

Red peppers make nice raw ribs.

Okra and Tomato

Caribbean Cole Slaw

Dressed up Plantains

Bahama Avocado Salad

Sweet Potato and Coconut Pudding

Here’s my sampling plate with a little bit of everything minus the Sweet Potato and Coconut Pudding. This stuff was good I had to get a separate plate for it! It reminded me of a soup that I simply love, Pumpkin Pie in a Bowl.

The spring mix is topped with a Tropical Tahini Dressing that was out of this world!! All the foods were simply delicious and very filling. One important thing the chefs suggested is that this meal is more of a celebration meal and isn’t something they would create and eat on a daily basis, as the recipes involved a lot of nutrient dense ingredients (nuts, oils, avocados). Although I throughly enjoyed everything, my favorite dishes were the plantains, okra and tomatoes, corn fritters, cole slaw, tropical tahini dressing, and sweet potato and coconut pudding.

All the recipes were created by Jackie Graff. I don’t feel comfortable posting them because they aren’t mine to post. However, you’re in luck because they do sell a Caribbean recipe book (with many of the recipes above and others) if you are interested. And there are some free recipes listed on their website as well. As an aside, if you’ve read Gena’s latest blog post about homemade nut milk you might be interested to know that they sell nut bags on their site as well.

This couple is so sweet! If you or someone you know would be interested in hosting a raw cooking class in your area please consider The Graffs. They are such a great team and the real deal when it comes to the knowledge and preparation of raw foods. You will not be disappointed- I promise!

Although the class didn’t magically turn me into a raw foodist, I am exited to get in the kitchen, try out some new recipes, and get my raw on. Who knows, maybe I’ll even get brave enough to do a raw challenge sometime soon!

- Brittany

Tagged as: bahama avocado salad, banana bread, caribbean cole slaw, caribbean corn fritters, ginger beer, jerk nutloaf, jerk sauce, okra and tomatoes, plantains, Raw Food Revival Tour, sweet potato and coconut pudding, The Graffs, tropical tahini dressing