RAW - Healthful Recipes from The Farm at San Benito


This book is a culmination of ten years of work by talented chefs at The Farm at San Benito. During that time, recipes have been amended, added to, worked on and refined by a variety of personnel – visiting experts, on-site nutritionists, doctors, and of course The Farm’s own long-term kitchen staff. All are exciting combinations of Mother Nature’s gifts: With different textures, vibrant colors and pure flavors, all are prepared with love, passion and attention to detail.

Celebrating good health and happy eating, each recipe is accompanied by detailed photographs of finished dishes as well as ingredients. Hard-to-find items are given substitutes, methods are kept as simple as possible, and all recipes are easy to adapt and experiment with at home. Oftentimes, we want to give ideas and suggestions; you, as readers and cooks, are welcome to amend in the comfort of your own kitchens.

As the title suggests, many of the recipes utilize live and raw foods. Even when cooking is included, this is often at temperatures below 40°C so that the ingredient’s vital enzymes are not destroyed. It is The Farm’s intention to produce dishes that adhere to nature’s perfect, unprocessed and whole natural state. High in nutrients and low in calories, the recipes include no meat, fish, fowl, dairy, eggs, butter, cholesterol or saturated fats from animals or animal by-products. We use natural whole food sweeteners, Himalayan crystal salt, natural condiments and unheated, mainly whole food, fats like avocado, nuts, seeds and coconuts in all dishes.

You’ll also have the pleasure of learning about innovative raw food preparation techniques such as dehydrating, blending, fermenting, sprouting and marinating. There is also a variety of healthy cooking techniques like low temperature steaming, steam frying, blanching, poaching, and so on. All are designed to retain the goodness and freshness of ingredients and provide balance to each and every dish. A diet of The Farm’s meals is full of life force and energy; try the recipes for rejuvenation, anti-aging, detoxification – and pure and simple delicious taste.