Hello Beautiful!

It looks like you're new to The Community. If you'd like to get involved, click one of these buttons!

In this Discussion

Need Ideas For a Class

angie207angie207 Raw Master

I have been asked to teach a raw foods class to a group of women from church in August. I have talked to people about raw foods and let people try my food from time to time, but I’ve never taught a class. So… if you were going to a raw foods class (probably the first time you’ve ever heard of raw food as a diet or lifestyle), what would you want to know, see, taste?

«1

Comments

  • Please angie whatever you do please be ready for the protein questions, otherwise then that I wouldn’t over load people maybe take some pictures in of some really gourmet raw dishes and make some raw treats for them to taste, and do one demo of a savory dish and a dessert. Maybe show them how to make zoodles with a zester and maybe something with a thai coconut as most people have not heard or seen them before. Keep it cool and light, no energy soups LOL .. And I would have a green smoothie that you are sipping on throughout just so they get the point that you like the food you eat and its not a point counting weight watchers kind of thing…

  • daniefondaniefon Raw Newbie

    I think I would teach them to make one meal, with a soup, salad, entree, side and dessert. You can’t teach them everything in one class, so instead you can give them a little “taste” and show them that it’s not all about salad, like some think. I would pick recipes that use ingredients that are common in raw food, but not in others, to introduce them to ingredients. I would also use as much variety as possible.

  • suzyqsuzyq Raw Newbie

    I think ardesmond2 and daniefon have really good suggestions, but I would also suggest reminding everyone that raw food doesn’t have to be complicated or use lots of unusual ingredients. I’ve been hosting a friend that last few days who has been sharing some meals with me, and he’s much more receptive to relatively simple meals with common ingredients and simple flavors rather than complicated dishes…and he’s really not in to raw foods that try to mimic cooked foods. It sort of surprised me at first, but I guess it makes sense. I think we invent a lot of raw recipes to help us satisfy cravings for cooked foods we miss, but for an intro to raw foods, it could be really valuable just to emphasize how simple and delicious whole, raw foods can be! (Even while you’re cooking up some delicious recipes to show that eating raw isn’t JUST salad)

  • kandacekandace Raw Newbie

    My first introduction to raw foods was in a raw class. One of the recipes we learned was a simple kale and avocado salad. It was so easy to replicate that I felt really confident trying to make my own at home. The teacher also talked at length about the amazing health benefits of eating raw, which was a powerful motivator.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Thanks for all the ideas so far!

    Kandace – I guess I only really know what the health benefits have been for me, & that’s not the area I feel really comfortable in, but maybe if I start paying more attention to the posts that talk about what raw has done for people’s health… when I got a good kale salad recipe, I made it every day for a week or more! :)

    ardes – Good thinking about the protein questions & not overloading people – I guess that is one of my concerns – I’ve been familiar with raw for so long, that I hardly remember what it was like to buy everything I ate from one store & it didn’t really matter which one, but I do remember when I first tried (unsuccessfully) to jump into 100% raw making gourmet raw recipes – AWFUL!!! I was completely overwhelmed by a list of 20 ingredients and the only one I’d ever heard of was lemons LOL. And definitely letting people know that raw is about enjoying & abundance instead of deprivation!

    suzyq – Thanks! Yeah, I started the second time by eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies with simple dips.

    daniefon – I remember when people used to find out that I ate raw, they would ask me, “So, what do you eat – carrots & lettuce?” I would respond, “No, I don’t really like either one very much.” They would get this dumbfounded look and, jaw dropped, they would ask, “Well, then, what do you EAT?!” Maybe this class will be a chance to answer that type of question :)

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    People love the spiral slicer.

    What equipment do you have? Will you have easy access to water? A sink?

    I recommend choosing recipes based on what equipment you use and what can be demonstrated or pre-made. Dehydrated food will require to be made before hand… so make that before the class. But for the actual class, I prefer to use recipes that do not use the same equipment more than once or twice. So, I divide all ingredients for all recipes into separate containers. I group them according to recipe and just pour them into the food processor or blender (whatever I’m using) during the demonstration.

    Get someone to be a “helper”... probably not from the audience, though. Someone who knows what you’re doing. When I’m done with one piece of equipment, a helper takes it to get cleaned/rinsed and I continue to the next recipe using a different appliance. It’s great… the class keeps moving… you are right there with them. Of course, you can always demonstrate how easy it is to clean a high-speed blender with water and a drop of dish soap. Also, try to use all your equipment, if possible. That way, people get familiar with the equipment and know how easy it is to use… plus, you don’t have to keep cleaning it if you keep using one piece of equipment. And talk about the pros/cons and different types of equipment while you are making a recipe.

    I tend to pick recipes where I can talk about specific things… for example, if you want to talk about agave, or greens, or germinating, or tastes, or whatever you plan, find recipes that fall into those categories so you can talk about it!

    By the way, people WILL ask you where you got the spiral slicer… and where you got… this or that, etc! Have all that info ready.

    Take all your raw books for display too.

  • heartshapedskyheartshapedsky Raw Newbie

    angie- i would have handouts with nutrition info, raw book info, recommended websites, and hand out whatever recipes you decide to demo. i would also have or demo a green smoothie so people could taste how simple and great in can be. have fun! what a great opportunity!

  • sweetpeasweetpea Raw Newbie

    Hi Angie, I gave my first raw uncook class in April. I chose to do the following:-

    Chocolate Milk, Pizza, Salad with dressing and Chocolate Mint Cheesecake

    I kept the recipes really simple and they all enjoyed the food. It was good fun, no preaching, just letting them do as much of the prep themselves as possible. Good luck!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I have an Omega juicer, a dehydrator, a Vita-Mix (my Mom’s), a regular blender and a food processor. No spiral slicer.

    I have talked to a lot of people who have tried raw, but haven’t stuck with it, or who have heard of it & just don’t make it a part of their lives for one reason or another. I am thinking of addressing those reasons at the class so that people will be aware of the challenges they may face & some simple solutions/answers before they get there. If you guys have some good answers/solutions, please share. The things people usually tell me are:

    1. Too expensive

    2. Too much planning ahead

    3. Too much time/work to make things

    Also, should I talk about things that aren’t really raw like oat groats, almonds, etc.?

  • The two things that overwhelm people in my experience is the “cost” and “difficulty” of preparing raw foods. A few years ago, I invited a friend (who was intrigued and excited about raw foods) to play in my kitchen. She asked if she could bring another friend, and our impromptu class was born… Several people came to my house and we had a great time making and eating raw foods. I made a coco-mango smoothie when everyone arrived and we drank those while we talked about what we’d make. At first, I provided the ingredients and then for other gatherings, I’d email ingredient lists for people to bring. We’d make meals, taste them, box them up, and everyone would have dinner to take home to their families. We usually did a theme – Italian, Greek, Mexican. I didn’t use any equipment more complex than a knife and food processor – this made it accessible and real to everyone. I also made sure that recipes had easy, common to find ingredients. For our Italian meal – we made raw lasagne and salad; for our mexican meal, we made raw corn/pignoli tamales, salsa, mole, and raw tortilla soup. Those are just some examples. I have also had the experience of people coming to my house saying, “ya, I’ve been warned that you guys eat sticks and berries”. When people see how easy it can be – and they only have a knife, blender and food processor to rinse out for cleanup – they’re inspired. no contamination issues of cutting boards and utensils – no messy pots to scrub… it’s liberating to many people. Another issue that people used to have is the rut that they are in. You know, the ‘meat, starch, cooked veg’ meal rut. They’d tell me that they just felt at a loss for ideas and dreaded the ‘what’s for dinner’ question. As you introduce people to raw food and flavors – you can encourage them to think of things backwards. Instead of the big picture of what meal to make, have them think, what flavors, textures, tastes, ethnicity, of food do I want? then create meals from there. It opens up a whole new world of personal creativity. It also helped to have people just be part of my world – that they could open my fridge, pantry, and look around, try things out, ask questions. Simply living life together is the best example and testimony.

  • I would think that some people on the lower income level would feel resentful, or at least frustrated if they went to a raw food class and became interested in the health aspect, but learned that the prep was just too expensive. Most people’s kitchens are equiped with a cheap blender, maybe a food processor, and of course knives. Sprouters and citrus juicers can be obtained pretty cheap. However, dehydrators, high powered juicers, high powered blenders and ect are just too much for the average income. I know this because I am there. It will be a long time before I can put aside $60 or MORE for all that equipment that I am wanting so that I can make the fun and fancy raw food!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    gorawmom & mamamilk – Thanks for your input! I started with NO equipment, except knives. Then I bought a $20 blender. It miraculously lasted a year, & someone gave me a used food processor after that. So then I could make stuff in the food processor, but I had no blender. About a year or so after that, I got a new blender for Christmas, and I was in heaven having both! I think also the idea of just having people try things out is a great one!

    I was/am on “the lower income level,” and yes, it WAS frustrating to not be able to make a lot of the yummy-sounding or “fancy” raw food meals – I guess, though, that I wouldn’t have been forced to create my own recipes if I had been able to do all those other things, and now I have lots of stuff I love to make & eat. Another factor in my creativity was frequently being out of money for food & having to figure out what to do with random ingredients in my pantry when I didn’t have what I would normally choose to put with them. I would look at what I had & start putting stuff together in my food processor…I only had to throw something away once or twice in two years of that :)

  • I went to a raw food mini-lecture last year and the speaker brought in kale chips and sunflower seed dip and the class went crazy for them! The kale chips were whole leaves with oil and spices and dehydrated, but he didn’t give us the recipe!!! So whatever you make/bring in, be sure to give them recipes!

  • Yes, angie, sometimes nesecity is the mother of invention! Many of the ingredients I see in recipes are not sold any where near our little town, and some of them that are, seem to be out of my food budget! So we just eat a lot of smoothies, salads and fruit. I wish I could go to a class that was real practical as well as helpful to open up more ideas that would lead me into a better variety of raw eating. What about your sprouted rice? How did it turn out?

  • Hey, angie, how did that sprouted rice turn out?

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    angie—

    1) important to bring up that fresh produce should not logically be more expensive than processed foods and animal products. think about all the energy, labor, packaging, and raw food product that is put into a can of cooked peas, or potato chips… not to mention all the FOOD you feed your FOOD to be able to eat an animal…

    the reason produce is more expensive is that our tax dollars don’t subsidize it in the same way we subsidize a beef. a hamburger should logically cost about $100 if the farmers had to make a real profit, but they don’t! because we pay them to make beef.

    anyway, even with that aside, produce is everywhere, especially in your part of your world. maybe make a list of local farms where people can pick up delicious fresh goods.

    i’d make recipes that don’t include many (if any) specialty “raw” items that are expensive and hard to find. cuz who wants to put that much effort? most people don’t know what to do with their spinach, or tomatoes… that’s something you could show them. raw tomato sauce for example can be make with just some tomatoes, red pepper, sea salt, and basil blended together. zucchini pasta, julienned… it’s so beautiful, cheap. affordable.

    2 & 3) raw food takes LESS time!!!!! this is the strangest argument. pick an apple. eat it. how long did that take? chop up some lettuce, peel a banana, scoop the flesh out of an avocado. this is something raw foodists have brought upon themselves though… too many ingredients! but even when we do make time-consuming meals, they take LESS time because it’s only prep time, no cooking time added on.

  • pianissimapianissima Raw Newbie

    oh, on that topic, someone asked me the other day if i needed to shop at a special store for my food. i was like “no, just any grocery store with a produce section.” i think we need to start to promoting this lifestyle as “back to basics,” rather than some elite ornamental food cult. =)

  • Raw Fettuccine is a wonderful recipe that does not require fancy kitchen gadgets. The noodles are made using a peeler and the sauce can be made in a normal household blender. This recipe has been a hit with all SAD diets I have prepared it for. For your class I would recommend choosing recipes people can make without the upfront costs for equipment they may not use long term. You may get a better response with a program designed in this fashion. Just my insights…........

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    What people love about our classes (me and chriscarlton) is that we do not use a Vitamix, we use cheap equipment, everyday ingredients that can be bought anywhere for not much money. And the food tastes amazing. Most people are shocked about how good it tastes. We always make sure that we do enough recipes for a big varied feast at the end (the best bit!) We always have enough left over for people to take food back to their families. We do about 11 recipes in 5 hours. Which is probably a bit much, but we can never miss out any of our favorite recipes, we just have to do everything! But the recipes we do are very simple with few ingredients.

    People will be blown away by whatever you do Angie, you’re going to have such a great time.

  • angie, never mind about the rice question. I found the answer on your sprouted rice topic. I guess it was just wishful thinking, as rice has always been a staple in my diet! My mom was raised in the orient, and rice has always been my daily bread! I need to change my mind along with my food! LOL!

    Also, for your class I would probably talk a little about the history of SAD food because most americans have totally bought the whole food piramid and 4 food groups lie, because they do not know any better. On Zoe and Chris’ website there is a new video on the video page about food addiction that was a real eye opener for me! It may give you some “food for thought” for your class! By the way, Chris, I do not know if you will see this, but I am “getting the monkey off my back”! 3days ~100 % raw! Thank you, Zoe, Chris, angie, pianissama, and others who have been helping me! This has been my raw food class! And a good one at that! You will do great, angie! Wish I could be there!

  • love your thoughts pianissama….

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Okay, so the class is finally going to happen – this Tuesday! I only get 45 minutes. So I’m going to do a salad dressing (Superman’s “Superhero Dressing!”), a main dish (zucchini pasta – probably with two sauce options) and a dessert (probably a fresh peach cobbler). If I have time, I would like to also do Zoe’s Cheese With Spring Onions, because it’s so good & easy. :) I’ll let you know how it goes!

  • beanybeeganbeanybeegan Raw Newbie

    Sounds good angie. All yummy. Do hope you will have time for Zoe’s Cheese.Have fun!

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    Great discussion topic! Please let us know how it goes…the class that I went to had a theme, and with the theme, it was pretty simple to follow. Recipes were printed out on pages for everybody and the recipes were pretty much expected because it was a Thanksgiving dinner theme. There was a pumpkin pie (always start with dessert tee-hee :)), walnut stuffing, mock turkey (basically a nut spread shaped into a turkey shape BUT with a delicious cranberry sauce over it), and a soup. I can’t remember if they made mock mashed potatoes or not, but that would be a fun idea. Also a quick slaw made from turnips, parsley and lemon (Alisa Cohen’s recipe). Delicious and easy!

    I love her Spring Cheese!!! If you have everything cut up ahead of time and give them printouts with the ingredient amounts, you might be able to squeeze that in and it is so worth it! YUM :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I am ready! The class is tonight. I am doing raw tacos instead of zucchini pasta, and I’m going to try to fit in the cheese. :) Superman (my son) will help with fetching the ingredients, and my mom is going to do the “dangerous” stuff (using knives, etc.) so I will be free to talk to the group. Either that, or I’ll just do the food prep. because I am familiar with it, and my mom can fetch stuff, too. :) Either way, it should be FUN! My first class, woohoo!

  • I would suggest SIMPLE and easy ideas. People think time, effort, money, equiptment, etc. and run out the door. The best way to hook them is to first start of with praticle, do-able dishes and advice. Education is everything, make sure you focus a lot on why it’s important to go raw and how it can benefit them, as well as history of the raw food diet and that it’s not just some fad diet that is getting popularity. You can also focus on the spiritual aspects of it, especially since you are teaching it to church goers! GOODLUCK

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Raw tacos sound lovely! I’m glad superman will help… how exciting! “It’s a family affair…” Report back on how it goes.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    The class was GREAT! We had raw tacos – I pointed out that I just made dinner in ten minutes. :) Then I made a simple salad dressing, spring onion cheese to dip veggies in, & chocolate “ice cream” They liked the food, & we all had a good time. I think the most important thing is that they saw how much I love raw food. :) I emphasized that for me it never worked to try to deprive myself or focus on what I “can’t” or “shouldn’t” eat, and I told them that to me, eating raw is about enjoying, and happiness, and an abundance of good things, and that I like to call it HAPPY FOOD. People kept asking why I didn’t use the Vita-Mix they knew I have, and I told them I wanted to show them things they could make without buying a $400+ machine. One lady said, “You’re taking away our excuses,” to which I responded, “Exactly!” (big grin). This was a wonderful night.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Thanks to everyone for your ideas & support!

  • congratulations angie! sounds like it went so well!

Sign In or Register to comment.