Cooking or not?

Creativity in the kitchen is the key to having a healthy and balanced eating habit.
I am never in favour of any radical eating pattern without a real justification for the health.However, I also take into consideration cultural, ethical or religious reasons, and respect them despite not always being in favour of them. As always, treating the body in a holistic way is wiser than restricting or overindulging.
Crudivourism or Raw Cooking, is away of vegetarian eating in which the ingredients cannot be heated above 40C.
My approach to this, take what is interesting and enriching to a creative and healthy diet.

What are the typical ingredients that can be eaten raw and we usually cook?What are the studies behind each option?

Cauliflower
The cauliflower is a very popular cruciferous vegetable in  many western countries. It is actually more popular than cabbage and broccoli according to a study launched by EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition).

There are recent studies that show the effects of boiling vs. other methods of cooking, like steaming or eating raw. Boiling in water is NOT the best cooking practice to preserve phytonutrients. Just by boiling cauliflower for 3 minutes the nutrients drawn out are more than 10 minutes of steaming.
The nutrients that are lost in full water submersion are the glucosinades and flavanoids.
Most European countries cook it instead of eating it raw, however, some recent studies show that cooking cauliflower increases its ability to bind with bile acids. And this is very important to regulate blood cholesterol. The best method of cooking is not boiling but steaming for 10 minutes.
As cauliflower is more frequently consumed in winter, here is a delicious soup you can cook, without heat and serve it warm (don´t let it boil in the stove)

Cauliflower and apple soup

1/2 large cauliflower

1 cup of water

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar

2 peeled apples

Hymalayan salt and pepper
Dill

Simply place all the ingredients, except the olive oil (if you like to add a drizzle in the finished plate) in a high speed blender until smooth. Gently warm it before serving, avoid boiling the soup. Sprinkle some dill.

Practice this recipe for a while and it will be one of your staple foods. 

More foods commonly eaten cooked? Yes! Next Post I will be talking about Courgettes