Transition

Hi there! I am trying to incorporate more raw foods into my diet with a vision towards being mostly raw at some stage!!!! any advice about the best way to make a move like this? I was thinking of being raw for 2 meals of the day and to keep dinner cooked – mainly because I value the dinners that i get to sit down to with my partner and he would be EXTREMELY unwilling to give up cooked food at all, let alone meat, cheese and processed carbs which unfortunately are his favourites. (I know, I know. rolls eyes)

So any advice you all could give would be much appreciates!

Comments

  • My husband was the same, after 2 years though has now been mostly raw for 2 weeks now!!!! I think the more you integrate raw foods the better. If you do 2 meals a day fantastic. I did that for a long while with my husband, then I would do 100% days once a week, that often led to a couple days, I kept feeling good so kept going for higher percentage raw over the past 2 years. I always stuck with breakfast and lunch raw, which he slowly transitioned to in the last year I got up early each day to make a pitcher of smoothies, now we do green smoothies, and make big salads for us for lunch. We snacked on fruit and raw nuts during the afternoon. He slowly transitioned into whole grains, steamed veggies, and fish for dinner, with of course a pizza once every week, he still insists on it! Now with sumer here I suggested we try 1 day all raw, to my suprise he said okay, and it has led into 2 weeks now. My husband really likes vegtables and fruit though, so it was more the comfort foods he held on to. He is feeling so great in these last 2 weeks, he lost 5 lbs, and he can eat cooked whenever he wants we just go one day at a time, after 1 week all raw he wanted a pizza so he had it and he went back on raw the next day. If after a 25 years of eating cooked food, when I found the raw food life style, raw foods made a drastic difference in my energy, health, digestion, and body compostion almost immediately, 1 meal non raw here and there is no big deal. Maybe start to take enzyme supplements to aide in digestion of cooked foods, it helped me alot. If your partner sees you improve your health and happiness thru raw, he may, even if it takes years try it too.

  • What type/brand of enzyme to you recommend to use in the event that we eat a cooked meal?

  • I am a cheapskate so I buy whole foods or henry’s store brand enzymes. I once invested in a more expensive brand off a raw web site, I am not sure which one is better.

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    I think using enzymes are great to transition to raw when you’re eating cooked meals on a regular or semi-regular basis. They can pack a punch to your wallet though, depending on what kind you get and how many you take with the meal. I find the kind they stock in the refrigerated section are best. I like Udo’s Choice brand. (Also, never take them with hot liquids in the same meal, since this can damage/kill the enzymes.)

    Also, (now, nobody throw a coconut at me!) as for non-raw transition foods, I recommend sprouted grain breads (Alvarado St./Ezekiel are the most common) and manna bread (Nature’s Path brand), raw goat and/or cow’s milk cheeses to replace pasteurized dairy.

    Natalia Rose’s Book “The Raw Food Detox Diet” has excellent tips IMO and transitional steps/stages for those wanting to move more gradually toward a mostly raw or all raw diet. (She is not vegan/vegetarian, just to give you a heads up, and she recommends some non-veg foods and some cooked foods to get you started.) Her book helped me tremendously, because doing 100% raw overnight just wasn’t happening and it make it a lot easier to transition to raw using her plan as a guide. And she has some simpler recipes that don’t require a dehydrator. (The recipes are for both raw and cooked foods.) They have her book at most libraries, so you don’t need to purchase it if you find it doesn’t suit you.

  • Why would we throw a coconut at you, it’s very helpful information, and everyone transitions, I guess there are some who went one day cooked, next day 100% raw forever, but that’s not for most people. For alot of people the transition can be rough, with detoxing, and some digestion issues. I was the opposite I was not well and had a horible time digesting everything cooked. I started raw and it made a great impact on my health. I used ezekial bread for a while to transition. I think it is also good to have found this web site, I only found it on July 2 and I am learning so much. It is very supportive and people are new to raw, all the way raw and in between. It is very healthy.

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    Thanks, smidbrod. :) I’ve been to other forums where suggesting eating non-raw foods (and especially non-vegan foods, even honey) results in getting slammed by various members and often times getting your post deleted. So sometimes I’m a little hesitant to post certain things, especially when it comes to non-veg foods.

    I think a slow transition to raw is best for some people depending on their previous diets, but some aren’t open to that alternative at all, saying it’s 100% raw or nothing, that any other percentage isn’t good enough. If anything, I think that will turn people off from raw—it would do that to me at any rate! I’m very glad this isn’t ‘one of those forums’! I went through a helluva detox and was a serious bread-aholic!, and I didn’t see any point in making myself miserable (either physically or emotionally) when I could approach raw more slowly. Any amount of raw food is better than none at all!

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Hi Peachy pie, I heard that if you eat something raw, at least 10% of your meal raw if you eat cooked it prevents leukocytosis from happening.

    In case you don’t know leucocytosis is when your body’s immune system goes into “Oh Shit!” mode and is forced to work hard, the worst effect of eating cooked food. Eat the raw bit before the cooked bit and it should help you when you eat cooked food.

  • Wow thanks zoe for the info. I made a first try at Raw and had a fairly easy transition, prior I had been gluten and dairy free for around 1 year prior, Well slowly added cooked foods after around 6 months on raw and my digestion had healed to a point where I thought it was safe to eat bread again, and tried for 50% raw for around 6 months. Well let me tell you I went south quickly with the gluten, and when I tried to go 100% raw after having eaten gluten for the past six months and my body was sick, it was tough the detox was very noticible and I think the first time was smooth because I didn’t have to detox the gluten and futher heal my digestion. So Bread is a really hard transition, and I think the suggestion of a slow transition will set up most bread eaters for success on raw.

  • Thanks heaps everyone! It won’t be easy, I have tried going straight from cooked to raw, kindof going cold turkey, and let me tell you in 24 hours I was ready to kill my whole family for a bowl of pasta! So I think I will take it day by day this time. I have already found one recipe that the boyfriend loved, (shock horror)... We had it for dinner, along with a fruit salad for dessert, and it was lovely!

    Mexican Stuffed Avocados – serves 2

    1 large ripe but firm avocado, halved and stone removed

    1 diced tomato 1/2 diced green capsicum 2 tbsp fresh corn kernels 1 green shallot, thinly sliced 1 tbsp fresh coriander, shredded juice of 1 lime 1/2 tsp olive oil 1/4 tsp chilli powders

    Toss all ingredients except avocado together and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Pile into the holes in the avocado… It won’t all fit. Rejoice in the messiness of this meal! Now eat it. Yum.

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