Raw pie prepared by Nina Manolson A green smoothie ~Photos by Joel Benjamin

By Meghan Frederico

There's something cooking at Nina Manolson's home in Somerville. Or not. The oven in her kitchen goes largely unused, and there is no microwave in sight, but her kitchen is the epicenter of her business and family.

Manolson is a proponent of raw food, or "live food," prepared without heating anything over 115 degrees.

Proponents say preparing food this way doesn't destroy enzymes like cooking does, and that the results include a host of health benefits, including better digestion, increased energy levels and anti-inflammatory effects.

"The top health problems are related to inflammation," Manolson said, citing arthritis, cancer and diabetes as examples.

Relying on a high-powered blender and a dehydrator to prepare meals is a shift for most people, so Manolson's food classes are geared toward making raw and unprocessed foods fit easily into people's lives, and she says that once people learn how to do it, the time spent on food preparation can be dramatically reduced.

"The hardest part of eating well is the hunting and gathering," Nina said of the importance of keeping your fridge stocked with healthy foods, "what I do is give people the tools so that they are ready to make healthy living a reality."

As a part of her business, Body Alive Body Aware, Manolson shares her health and food preparation knowledge through a variety of classes, a blog and a monthly newsletter. Nina teaches food classes in her own kitchen to show people that it can be done without "the perfect kitchen and tons of gadgets."

This reporter had a chance to get a raw food demo and see Manolson in action in her kitchen. The only out of the ordinary gadgets were a high-power blender and a food dehydrator, which can be used to harden batter without baking. Otherwise, Manolson works mostly by hand.

"I'm about making it doable in your real life," she says as she pulls peeled bananas, mango chunks and cherries from her freezer and tosses them into her blender. When her children, ages 7 and 10, ask for ice cream, this is what they get. Manolson says there are no complaints because they are involved in making the food.

In Manolson's kitchen, her approach appeals to both kids and adults alike. It resembles an art project, a curiosity-driven excursion drawing on a palette of fresh and colorful foods.

Raw cooking allows experimentation, she says, because you aren't changing the foods.

"You know what you are getting, and you can taste it at any point and see what it needs," Manolson says as she tests an agave-sweetened mixture of cashew, cacao nib, and coconut water in the blender, deciding that it needs some banana. She tests it again. "Now it's banana chocolate pudding!"

Manolson developed her craft while working as a massage therapist – she also has a master's degree in counseling psychology. In addition to her food lessons, Manolson works as a certified holistic health counselor and helps clients develop a lifestyle that includes more healthy and satisfying food.

For her own diet, Manolson says she eats mostly raw food.

"I don't believe in perfect food," she said. "It makes you feel like you aren't doing it right."

Manolson tells her clients to find the balance that works for them, and it may involve varying percentages of raw foods in their diet. "Our bodies are constantly giving us feedback," she said. "We just have to listen".

Manolson's next Introduction to Raw Food course is Saturday, Oct, 24. More information is available at www.bodyalivebodyaware.com