Doctor and Raw Foods Chef, Melissa Nelson says, “Let Food Become Your Medicine”
Dr. Melissa Nelson recently returned from a 4-week immersive study of raw food cuisine at the Living Light Culinary Institute in Ft. Braag, California.
She completed certification as a chef-instructor, training in Gourmet Raw Food Cuisine, Pastry Arts – Unbaked and as a Raw Food Nutrition Educator. Since 1998, Cherie Soria, the founder and director of Living Light Culinary Institute aka the “Mother of Gourmet Raw Vegan Cuisine” has been teaching vegetarian, vegan, and raw culinary arts to students from all over the world.
“We had students in our classes from Tokyo, Zimbabwe, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and from all over the USA,” says Dr. Nelson. “We all discovered the magic of creating fabulous organic raw vegan cuisine for optimum health and rejuvenation.”
In the chef-training courses, Melissa and her fellow classmates learned how to develop new raw-food recipes, how to combine herbs and spices to create both classic and ethnic flavors, how to balance textures and flavors, sprout grains and seeds, ferment foods and how to create raw alternatives to traditionally cooked comfort food recipes. They also learned to make luscious meals using specific food combinations for optimum digestion and nutrition.
In the Pastry Arts – Unbaked training, the culinary students learned the principles involved in the use of binders, thickeners, emulsifiers and gelling agents as well as the use of the correct sweeteners and fats for a variety of classic pastry recipes. Their efforts resulted in an exquisite array of raw desserts that taste better than corresponding cooked equivalents, tantalizing the palate while providing a much healthier nutritional alternative.
Melissa explains, “We explored and created delicious desserts that were completely dairy-free, gluten-free and contained no white sugar.”
In the Science of Raw Food Nutrition classes, students learned how cooking affects foods. They were provided with a strong scientific foundation for the nutritional benefits of a raw food and plant-based diet including the sourcing of raw vegan protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. They studied how raw foods can be applied to anti-inflammatory nutrition and weight management as well as blood sugar regulation and pH balance.
Dr. Nelson has always regarded food and nutrition as a primary key to good health and now, after her recent immersive studies, she knows why raw food cuisine is at the core of a “Good Food Revolution” that is taking place throughout the world. Whether it begins with organic gardening, buying local, getting to know your local farmer or urban gardening, the most important next step is in food preparation. Dr. Nelson is looking forward to sharing the knowledge as a certified instructor and will soon be offering classes in raw food cuisine at Nelson Healing Center in Sturgeon Bay. You can also expect to find out more online here at www.NelsonHealingCenter.com.