6 Easy Raw Food Recipes To Make Your Skin Look 10 Years Younger

The Power of Anti Aging Food

Recipes + Watch The Two Videos Below

When you think of anti aging food, do you automatically think of superfoods?

Well, you’re right if you do.  But what exactly are anti aging superfoods?

How are they ‘anti aging‘ and what constitutes them to be a superfood in the first place?

I don’t know about you, but I suspect you’re the same as me and want to try and stay as young-looking as long as possible, along with being as fit and healthy as we possible can too!

And I really, firmly believe that a raw food diet can help us both achieve this anti aging effect.

This is what this blog post is about – plus a bit more!

Anti aging food is a lot more than just raw foods, as you need to cover a variety of vitamins and antioxidants which are found in other food produce too, but this is where we’ll start – with raw foods.

I then go on to give you some raw food recipes so you can start your anti aging recipes portfolio.

Which Foods To Eat Raw?

When you first hear about eating ‘raw food’ it doesn’t sound very appetizing does it? But of course when we talk about raw food, we’re talking about fruit, vegetables and certain grains & pulses.

Think:

Now that doesn’t sound so bad does it?

And of course, you can be as creative as you want to be and come up with dozens of raw food combinations.  And if you start lacking in creativity for raw food recipes and ideas, you can always pop over to Pinterest and type keywords into the search bar and you’ll be presented with a plethora of raw food recipes from hundreds of avid raw food enthusiasts.

Why Eat Raw Food for Anti Aging Purposes?

There are three benefits when it comes to eating a raw food diet:

1. Raw, uncooked food doesn’t damage our stomach enzymes
2. Raw fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidants which help fight against free radicals (free radicals damage your cells), and
3. Antioxidants also feed your skin cells with vitamin-rich water, giving you highly hydrated skin giving you that youthful, healthy glow.

So let’s look at these three a little more closely.

Cooked Food and Skin Care

You know how severe weather can damage our skin if it is unprotected? Well, the same goes for the unprotected enzymes in our stomach when hot food or dink is consumed. When these enzymes are damaged you begin to be deficient in nutrients simply because you no longer have the capacity to extract nutrients from your digestive tract.

Food that has been heated enough to change its composition has lost most of the vitamins, minerals and enzymes that were once contained in that food. Your skin needs those vitamins and minerals to retain its elasticity and prevent the onset of premature wrinkling and sagging.

Over-cooking leads to free radical formation, blocking of basement membranes and poor absorption of nutrients.

Antioxidants Which Fight Against Free Radicals

The good news is that there are various things which you can do to try and help your precious cells from being destroyed by free radicals.

One of the answers lies in continuously feeding your cells with large amounts of antioxidants.

Antioxidants block free radical damage. Simply they are a molecule that can give a needed electron to a free radical without it becoming dangerous itself. They help prevent the oxidation of other molecules which in-turn stop the oxidative damage to the skins cells.

So when an antioxidant meets a free radical it stops it becoming a ‘bandit’ and therefore prevents cellular destruction.

Eat and Consume Antioxidant-Rich Water

We all know that we need to consume approximately 8 full glasses of water each day (or something like that) in order to stay fully hydrated.  And that it’s very important to stay hydrated as dehydration can lead to a multitude of health problems.

If you’ve read my about page or my authors bio, you’ll have seen that I studied towards an Anti Aging Therapy Diploma.  And as part of this diploma some of my research lead me in the direction of Dr Murad, a Skincare Scientist and Chemist, who has extensively studied the benefits and effects of water in the human body.

I was so intrigued by what he had to say about water and it’s anti aging effects that I had to buy his book “The Water Secret”.

The most important take-away from his book (all 270 pages of it about consuming water!) is that you must eat your water for maximum benefits in order to effectively get it into your cells (this is the key).

What does he mean by eating your water consumption?  He states that you should eat uncooked fresh fruit and vegetables to get more of their water benefits (nutrients and vitamins) directly into your cells.

Dr Murad says:

“There is nothing wrong with drinking water, but if we don’t improve the capacity to get it into our cells and keep it there, it goes straight down the toilet without doing us any good.  Or worse, the water floats between our cells, aging us and making us feel fat and sluggish.”

He also warns, “Swollen ankles, puffy eyes, and a bloated stomach are signs of a body that is not holding water efficiently.”

Dr Murad believes that by ‘eating water’, you’ll increase the water in your cells and consequently have better digestion, more energy, lose fat, get stronger nails and thicker hair  Better skin comes as a side benefit of ‘eating water’.

Because fresh, raw fruits and vegetables are so full of vitamins and antioxidants but are also made up with high percentage of water, you can see that by ‘eating’ water, you’re also eating the vitamins and antioxidants naturally direct from the source.

Therefore increasing the amount of antioxidants which go directly into your cells.

This is the reason why you must consume plenty of raw fruit and vegetables each day.

Fruit and vegetables with 85% or more water can help you stay hydrated.

You Don’t Have To Go 100% Raw

Whilst a raw food diet is the absolute best type of anti ageing food you can eat as they are full of antioxidants which are not destroyed during the cooking process, it can be very hard for most of us to stick to as a life-long??

So you could try and make at least 50% of your diet raw food.

For example, you can have a smoothie or a fruit salad for breakfast, a tuna salad for lunch and a cooked dinner in the evening.

Easy Raw Food Recipes

So when it comes to raw food recipes, think about:

Just with those four above, you go quite happily and easily eating raw food 80% of the day and stay with that routine for the long-haul as there can be so many different combinations with a bit of imagination.

However, you can also go beyond the basic salads and smoothies and actually start making more creative raw food recipes such as soups, brownies and porridge.

Dr Oz talks about antioxidants and raw foods
with a raw food recipe for Coconut Millet Porridge

Chilled Asparagus and Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 bunches of asparagus
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup raw coconut milk
• 3 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• handful of fresh basil – Genovese variety, preferably

Directions

In a high speed blender (recommended for this recipe), combine all ingredients except basil. Blend on high for about 2-3 minutes until smooth.

Once smooth, toss in basil. Using the variable speed, set blend on medium low and blend for about 20-30 seconds (leaving a bit of texture to the basil).

Garnish with lemon zest, basil and a dash of cayenne.

Raw Tapioca Veggie Wraps with Smackdown Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 spring roll wrappers (not raw – you can use giant collard leaves to )
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves (crush stems for easier rolling)
• 4 red cabbage (thinly sliced)
• 1 carrot (long shavings)
• 1 cucumber (sliced julienne)
• 1 avocado (thinly sliced)

Smackdown Sauce:

• 1 cup sunflower seeds (soaked 3 hrs)
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• 2 tablespoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon mellow white miso
• 3/4 teaspoon ginger (diced)

Directions

Cut vegetables according to ingredients list above.

To soften the spring roll, run under water for 30 seconds to 1 minute until flimsy.

Carefully place the wrapper onto the counter top (not wood).  First place 2 lettuce leaves on bottom 1/3 of the wrapper then add cabbage, carrot, and cucumber on top of lettuce.

In the middle section of the wrapper above the mix of vegetables create a single line of avocado slices leaving the outer edges for folding in when rolling.

From the bottom of the wrapper start rolling away from you using your finger tip to tuck and tighten as you roll. Half way through fold in the outer edges continuing to roll to the end. The wrappers will self seal due to its stickiness.

Cut in half and set aside.

In a blender add all the ingredients to the smackdown sauce and puré.

Serve on the side of the wraps and enjoy.

Apple & Celery Salad

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard (no, not raw)
• 5 teaspoon honey
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

• 1 large bunch celery with leaves
• 1/2 cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored; each quarter cut into 2 wedges, then thinly sliced crosswise into triangle shapes
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper.

Trim celery leaves and chop enough to measure 1 cup.

Thinly slice stalks on deep diagonal.

Place celery pieces in bowl of cold water. (Vinaigrette, celery leaves, and celery pieces can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.)

Drain celery; pat dry with paper towels.

Combine celery, celery leaves, apples, cabbage and walnuts in large bowl.

Add vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Season salad to taste with salt and pepper.

Spicy Mexican Raw Vegan Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups organic walnuts
• dash of sea salt
• 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
• 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 8 pitted organic medjool dates
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoon water

Directions

In a food processor, grind the walnuts and salt until fine.

Add the cacao and 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne.

Add dates until dough forms, then continue to add the vanilla and water.

Taste the dough at this point and add another 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne if you want more heat!

Scoop out a tablespoon full of dough and roll into a ball, then pat down into a circular mini-brownie shape.

Add a raw almond or walnut on top for decoration, or sprinkle with cinnamon.

If spicy isn’t your thing, then simply omit the cayenne.

Note: You can also try replacing the cayenne with cinnamon for raw cacao-cinnamon brownies.

Anti Aging Raw Food Diet Results

Here’s a video of a 70 year old grandma who lives off raw food produce, mainly from her own garden.  Listen what she has to say about living a raw food life-style…