A while back I took a raw cooking class with my family and it was very enlightening. We learned how to cook an entire raw, vegan dinner (four courses to be exact). The class was based on the cookbook published by Grezzo owner Alissa Cohen (www.alissacohen.com). She is amazing and I highly recommend trying out some of her recipes. She takes foods we are familiar with (caesar salad, spaghetti) and makes them following the raw food guidelines. It’s pretty unblievable. Enjoy!

One of the main arguments is that dairy is fortified with calcium so it’s necessary for growing, young bones and maintaining bone health. However, these days, there’s soy, almond and rice milk fortified with calcium. Also, if you eat broccoli and dark leafy greens, you are most likely getting your daily supply of calcium. A simple blood test will let you know how your calcium levels are.

Another issue is the weight factor. Bottom line – dairy is fattening! If you eat dairy on a regular basis, you will most likely gain weight. Babies were meant to consume their mother’s milk for this very reason. It helps them to grow and gain weight at an alarming rate.

Having said all this, I move to limit dairy intake! I am not from the school of cutting out any food group entirely. But I definitely think moderation should be used when eating dairy. Oh, and keep in mind about 30% of adults and 20% of children have dairy allergies. Yikes!

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3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (apple cider works well)
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients first.  Once the mixture is even, mix in wet ingredients.  Continue mixing until you obtain an even batter (no lumps).  Pour into a cake pan and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Enjoy!