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Login Here Signup Here Signup using FacebookHi everyone! I started reading about raw foods a couple of weeks ago, and saw all the pictures of these suddenly gorgeous people. For years I’ve heard about the raw food diet, but I figured there was just no way I could do it. Can’t hurt to try though, right? I’m loooking forward to weight loss, better skin, more energy and peace love and happiness.
The thing I’m having a problem with is figuring out what’s “ok” and what’s not. Specifically:
At whole foods they have an olive tapenade with chopped kalamatas and olive oil. OK? At Whole Foods there are those dried fruits and veggies. Dried carrots. OK? Dried Mushrooms? OK?
Vegan Carob Chips? Mineral Water? Green Tea? Turkish Figs?
Okay, today I ate this: (I know I ate too much and I was sort of trying all this out, so don’t yell at me about the chocolate bar. I bought it yesterday when I bought all this stuff and I sure wasn’t going to give it to the dog.)
3 cups of cherries 2 bananas 5 figs
( Chocolate bar)
Green Tea from bags not heated with 0 Organic Sweetener ( erythritol) Dark green salad; dried mushrooms and carrots, globe tomatoes and about a tablespoon of olive tapenade and 1/2 avocado handful of vegan carob chips Fiji Water.
So that was my first try, What do you think>?
Rawcuss
Comments
Hey Rawcuss! Two suggestions: you can check out Zoe and Chris’s Dead Food List to get an overview of what is truly raw http://purelyraw.com/deadfoodlist.htm It horrified me at first but now I’m at peace with it because you can work up to that. To find out what’s raw you can use it as a guide, but you’ll have to do your research and start asking Whole Foods, and emailing companies if you’re not sure. Things that may seem obviously raw (dried fruits) are sometimes heated at high temperatures – it depends on the source. There are lots of places out there doing things at low temps, you just have to search around.
The other thing I would say is, take your time, don’t beat yourself up, enjoy it. It shouldn’t be stressful. I was high raw for a year, meaning I ate cooked once in a while and now a year later I’m ready for 100%. There’s so much to read out there – raw books, forums like this, blogs, youtube, you’ll learn something new every day. The recipes here will give you a great idea of what raw foodists eat and how simple it can be.
excellent start, Rawcuss. If it helps you feel better, I ate shrimp cocktail my first day raw, thinking that I was doing great! Weaning in is actually a learning process. Great link, Amysue. Keep reading. I like Gabriel Cousen’s Green Live Food Cuisine book for a good first start. You’ll learn why you do it and great places to begin. BTW- You can make your own raw chocolate bar!!! Check the recipes for this. Use fresh as much as you can. Though the dried stuff keeps longer, you’re not sure about the temps or how long they’ve been in storage, sulfites and other little things like that. It will all make sense as your knowledge base increases. For simple easy recipes, i like Ani phyo’s Raw Food Kitchen, uncook book. We’re all here to offer help and support
:). Oh, thanks, amysue! No olives, huh? I kind of had a feeling that was going to be a no. Bummer about the pecans, too. Clicking around I found the “OK foods” list too, which should help.
:). Oh, well, I'll try to do better tomorrow.Onward :)
lzhpt—thanks for your reply! I have this feeling about Whole Foods, I actually saw raw cacao nibs there a few months ago and I thought now what in the world would anybody want with those?
Only one raw food book at my library, I’m waiting for it to come back. I’m planning on not worrying so much about the percentages here at the beginning. I figure I’m going to be so bad at this that the gradual transition will take care of itself.
And I can totally see shrimp cocktail. It’s crunchy, right?
:). Onward.Congrats on eating healthier and embracing Raw. Before you know it, you’ll be armed with loads of awesome information from surfing the web and reading different forums, blogs, etc. Keep it simple, take it meal by meal, and start your day with fresh green smoothies.
Cheers,
Kristen Suzanne
marinated mushrooms are delicious and fill the olive shaped gap ;)
I just marinade them in raw oil, garlic, salt and a touch of lemon juice. You could add any herb to that too if you like.
They’re expensive, but www.sunfood.com sells raw olives, and they are YUMMY!
Welcome! It sounds like you’re doing great so far!
Carob chips are not raw.
rawcuss, no wonder you wanted the chocolate bar, I don’t think you ate enough other stuff. don’t be afraid to eat more in the beginning, you want to keep your energy up and everything. If you are stuck on what to eat, search meal plan on this site. you’ll get some good ideas. And you picked a good time to be raw too, it’s summer where the produce might be fresh for you, depending on where you live.
Keep at it!