New to raw foods - Raw Food Chat

MikePattye · 10-30-2007

My wife and I are doing the Master Cleanse and in researching it I found out that it is recommended that You go to a raw food diet and change your lifestyle.
Since we are new I was wondering what is the best way to get started.
Is there a good book to educate and guide us. I would like to avoid the pitfalls that make most people abandon a lifestyle change.
We look forward to learning and becoming healthier right before your cybereyes,

greenbunny · 10-30-2007

Hi Mike and Patty - Welcome!

People here I'm sure will recommend lots of books - but just to let you know - it's not complicated and most of the information you will need you can find right here and on the internet if you like. The premise is so easy. Eat fruits and vegetables that aren't cooked and eat nuts,seeds,legumes,beans (everything that will grow into a plant) after soaking it in water over night and rinsing it or sprouting it longer by rinsing them twice a day. The recipes can be endless just like with cooked food, but can also be tremendously simple. There are people that basically just eat salads and munch on fruit and that's all and some raw foodists are even fruitarians who eat only fruit. So.... you don't need to learn much - just start bypassing your oven and stovetop and you're there.

Most of the time people don't make it because they try to do too much at once... but you're fasting already!!! The thing is to keep getting back on the horse and do only as much as you feel is right and that you can handle.

Greenbunny

MikePattye · 10-30-2007

I know that we must give up red meats and cooked food. I love sushi so where does raw fish fit in and also I was curious about cereal with nut milk. Is nut milk thin enough to eat on cereal?
Or are grains also a taboo.

Kristen's Raw · 10-30-2007

When most people talk about Raw, they are referring to Raw Vegan (no sushi). Yes, there are enzymes in it because it's not cooked, BUT there is such a risk for contaminated, unhealthy meat... many potential toxins in fish...you should read The Food Revolution by John Robbins. Fabulous book about eating a plant-based diet (not about raw, but it's one of my favorites for eating vegan).

Yes, nut milks can be thin enough for cereal...just use more water.

Cheers!

nothinkingbehind · 10-30-2007

Hi Mike and Patty!

Like GB said, you will get many answers and lots of info in this forum. I find the best thing for me is to take the info I get from all sorts of places and figure out what works for me. Many people are raw and not vegan, just as many people are vegan and not completely raw. If your goal is to be completely (or close to it) raw then you can eat raw fish, eggs, cheese, and even milk, if you have a source for it. Please research this for yourself and decide what the health benefits are for you. I am about 95% vegan, and about 70% raw. I eat a little bit of animal protien about every other day. I eat a cooked meal (usually a portion of a meal) usually once a day. I haven't added raw cheese, eggs, or fish, but i may do that in the future. Some of this will depend on the sources that you have.

When I started, I ate salads, fruit,smoothies, nuts, and seeds. I didn't try to create anything for a couple of weeks. Now I make various things based on what I have on hand or what I find on sale in a particular week. Grains can be sprouted, but depending on what your health issues are, you may want to stay away from them. Many grains contain gluten, which is an inflammatory. If you are trying to gain better health after having an illness where inflammation is an effect, than do some research on it. I was gluten free long before i was raw. Gluten really kills me, so I don't sprout most grains, I avoid them like the plague!

Smoothies were really the basis of my diet when I started, and still are at times. And I always put avocado in my morning smoothie. It's been really good for transitioning to raw.

Best of luck with your master cleanse, and keep us updated!

Melissa

omega pete · 10-30-2007

big welcome!

congrats on making the best decision of your life

i have been transitioning for months and just went 95-100% raw vegan a couple of weeks ago.
my fiance has been raw for 2 years now, so it's kinda easy for me to make the switch.

best of luck to you both, theres lots of good people here to help you along.

pete-

greenbunny · 10-30-2007

I was vegan and raw vegan on and off for probably 15 - 20 years working on my rawness until I realized that the one thing that I really needed to do to stay raw was to incorporate more raw protein so I eat raw fish, cheese, goat yogurt and eggs regularly. From eating well over the years and staying raw my immune system is like a rock. It is more important for me to eat well than to be worried about possible cooties. My body can handle those cooties - what it can't handle is not having enough protein and it certainly hates cooked food. Cooked food is really the number one challenge to an immune system. It has to deal with all that garbage without enzymes while not get the proper nutrition to be able to work up to speed. You will have to decide for yourself whether you think you immune system is up for eating raw fish, but mine loves it! I can't eat any cooked cheese without feeling ill but I can eat raw cheeses all day every day and feel great! One in a million eggs might be contaminated with something that your body has to fight all the time anyway. It's how well your body can fight which is the proper stance to look at this from if you ask me. I've been learning all I can about the immune system because I find it fascinating. The immune system absolutely has to have protein in order to function and I know that when all raw I simply can't get enough without eating fish and eggs. Maybe that will change, but that's where I am in this moment. So, after being a die-hard vegan for decades - I'm now simply a raw foodist that eats all varieties of food - whatever my body is asking for - which usually includes fish and dairy. Btw, I'm no spring chicken and I'm incredibly healthy! I only feel this good when I'm raw and I can only stay raw with protein. Eating a cooked food vegan diet I was what most people would call healthy, but you will never know what healthy really should feel like until you've gone raw. It's amazing. You're making the right decision no matter if you choose to be vegan or not! Just don't make the decision about what foods to incorporate out of fear or because of what anyone else says is true for them. You have to figure out what is right for you yourself.

Greenbunny