Tag: Raw energy

Leslie Kenton’s Sandstone Loaf

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I first had this in the summer of 1986 when my friend and I discovered ‘Raw Energy’, the book and the philosophy. It was a beautifully sunny summer (remember them?) and we spent many days eating our raw creations in her garden – with the occasional glass of white! I think this may well have been the first thing I made with my faithful Braun Multipractic Food Processor, bought that summer and still going strong.

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I altered the amounts and some of the ingredients each time I had it, but this one is relatively faithful to the recipe, although I prefer more seeds to give it a bit more of a bite and we used coriander instead of parsley. Leslie often used to use vegetable bouillon powder in her raw savoury recipes, we didn’t have any so we improvised and used some dried King Soba instant organic miso soup! You could also use nutritional yeast.

You can make it as smooth or as coarse as you like, depending whether you would prefer it as a pâté or spread, or more like nut roast to have with salad.

(You could use almond butter instead of tahini for a slightly different flavour, but it would need to be fairly runny).

As always, the measurements are very approximate, you can never stipulate the size of a carrot for instance! So, go with what looks right and taste as you go along.

All ingredients are organic.

The recipe is Raw, Vegan and Gluten-Free.

Makes enough for 4 or 5 for a light lunch. Will keep about 3 days in the fridge and can be kept in the freezer too.

Ingredients

2 Chunky Medium Carrots, roughly chopped

1 + a half Celery Stalks (with leaves if they have any), roughly chopped

1/4 Cup Almonds + a few extra for serving*

1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds*

1/4 Cup Sunflower seeds*

1/4 Cup Mixed Sunflower + Sesame seeds*

Large Tbsp Tahini

1 Small Onion, finely chopped or a few Spring Onions

Handful of fresh Parsley or Coriander or herb of your choice

1 level Tbsp Organic Miso Soup powder or Nutritional Yeast or 2 Tsp Vegetable Bouillon Powder or 1 Tsp Chilli Flakes

2 Tbsps Grated Beetroot

Method

Process the carrots and celery until well homogenised. Set aside in a mixing bowl.

Finely grind the almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Add to carrot mixture.

Coarsely grind the mixed sesame and sunflower seeds and add to mix with tahini, onion, fresh herbs, powder and beetroot.

Stir well, add seasoning to taste.

Spread in a square dish, press and smooth it down if you want a pâté or loosely roughen the mix if you want some texture.

Garnish with fresh herbs and almonds or toasted seeds.

Refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

I had it on a bed of mixed rocket salad with thinly-sliced cucumber and tahini/lemon juice/water dressing.

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*https://www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk/

Copyright: Chris McGowan

Raw Energy

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Over 30 years ago Leslie and her daughter Susannah were telling us that frying oil turns it toxic, that vitamins and enzymes are destroyed in the cooking process, about sprouting and juicing to protect against cancer and how raw foods balance blood sugar and hormones. These were crank concepts to most people, now they are widely accepted. 

They promised that changing to a mainly raw plant-based diet would lead to a new level of health and vitality, that you would stay young longer and lose weight. It would also help prevent degenerative diseases and allergies as well as helping alleviate chronic illnesses.

And you know what? They were right!

I asked for a food processor for my birthday – it is still in service over 30 years later – I ate raw and was the healthiest I had ever been. I had a chronic condition and was in a lot of pain, but eating mostly raw and no junk made me feel more alive, have more energy and lose weight. My pain was reduced and my mobility increased. A new friend, coincidentally, had also discovered the Kentons and we had fun trying out the recipes together, our families being a bit sceptical to put it mildly!

I love their raw treats, in fact those pages are so well used they are covered in food stains and annotations as I have added to and adapted the recipes. A few years ago I lent the recipe book to someone who didn’t return it, I can’t even remember who it was. I have been missing it but I recently found a secondhand copy on Amazon and am so pleased to have it again.

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Carob Fudge, one of my favourites

Eating raw doesn’t mean you never have anything cooked or warm – I couldn’t make it through a winter without soup or casserole – rather, you aim for about 75-80% raw food diet.

And raw doesn’t always literally mean raw: officially, raw means any food that hasn’t been heated above 48C. But even just eating raw some of the time, adding more fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds to your diet, whole or in the form of juices and snoothies, will make a huge difference to how you feel.

I have been sprouting beans and seeds ever since, in fact I just sprouted some mung beans and alfalfa. They are so easy to do and so packed with nutrients.

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Homegrown alfalfa sprouts

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Homegrown mung bean sprouts

I also like to grow lentil, chickpea and broccoli sprouts.

I hope this snapshot of raw eating inspires you to make some changes so you can benefit from more energy, feel more alert and perhaps even alleviate those niggling aches and pains. It works for me!

Leslie Kenton’s website is a mine of information on all things to do with health, beauty and spirituality.

http://www.lesliekenton.com

*LESLIE KENTON’S BIOGRAPHY (found on Google)

A former consultant to European Parliament for the Green Party and course developer for Britain’s Open University, Leslie is trained in Chinese Medicine, nutrition, homeopathy and bioenergetics. She was the first Chairperson of the Natural Medicine Society in the UK. Her contribution to natural health was honored by her having been called on to deliver the McCarrison Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. She also conceived and created the worldwide Origins range for cosmetic giant Estée Lauder.

LESLIE KENTON’S TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Her network television programs include Raw Energy, a cookery series, and Ageless Aging, both of which she conceived, wrote and presented herself. She has made several short films on health and spiritual topics for the BBC. Her TV documentary To Age or Not To Age, screened in the Southern Hemisphere, made television history when, in only 5 weeks, the diet and exercise protocol she designed reversed parameters of aging in people between 30 and 60, in medically measurable ways.

Copyright: Chris McGowan