Hello,
I love eating raw but find it hard to manage with a busy life/work schedule. What is the best way to prepare for the week?? Things always need soaking and prepping etc etc, how can I plan this out and be successful in a raw food lifestyle? What do you do?? Does anybody choose a day to shop making meal plans and soaking ahead of time for the week? Help! Would love to hear your tips and tricks to balancing it all. Thanks to all for the wisdom!

Namaste, Brooke

Keep everything simple--just pack as much fresh fruits and veggies into your diet as possible!

Grapes, apples, bananas... zero prep time there.

I can totally relate to the nut soaking/prep situation. When I was 50% raw, a lot of it was gourmet, and I liked to make the most elaborate desserts for breakfast. But when my interest shifted to one of total health and I transitioned to 100% raw, after about two weeks, I said to heck with most recipes (smoothies, spreads, desserts, pastas). I got so unnerved with having to take apart and wash my blender at least once a day, I put the thing away and forgot about it for a few months. The intense prep can make a FANTASTIC treat, but it is completely unnecessary to success on a raw diet.

A good rule I learned here is that, if it takes more than five ingredients or five minutes to prepare, don't bother. That gave me a very handy perspective shift.

I had a BBQ with one of my girlfriends yesterday, and I had a happy time chopping all my fruit, husking corn, and helping out with their prep where I didn't mind, chopping garlic and the like. I was completely finished prepping all of my food AND set the table, while they still had to boil rice, finish cutting the meat, then cook on the grill--it made me realize how much simpler eating raw has made my life, and my time in the kitchen!

It's totally doable. As long as I have a cornucopia of fruit in the house, I find I really don't need the elaborate meals on a day to day basis.

For those on the go....with little time...buying pre-prepared salads and chopped veggies.....along with fruits that keep well.....are good. If you keep it simple....and just toss a bunch of stuff in a bag.....when you dash out the door in the morning......you can keep the bag in your desk at work...and munch on fruits.....and then have your salads and nuts for lunch. Heck....in no time at all you can be eating 66% all-raw or more! Ha! Nothing simpler. Of course....YOU will have to make adjustments to your lifestyle and thinking.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

The more preparation you do to the food the more unhealthy the food becomes because of oxidation and nutrient loss also the further you get away from eating foods simply the harder they are to digest so rejoice and be glad. You don't have to spend a lot of time and effort to eat raw. Eating fresh raw is simple and easy. If you ever get tempted to eat SAD just focus on the great taste of the fresh raw foods.

I am in agreement with the zero prep time. Fruit is the ultimate fast food, but instead of being empty calories, its loaded with vitamins, mineral, fiber, phytonutrients, and water. Not to mention the energy and the good feeling it brings.

I'll admit to a certain level of irritation the first year or so, when it seemed like all my spare time was spent shopping, washing, and chopping. I have to go at least 2x/weeek because some of the greens go bad after the 3rd day. Plus it seems that I am always running out of stuff too fast. My 2-3 kg of produce in a day is a lot, but some people here eat much more than that.

But now I am very fast. Salad? 5 minutes or less.

I was really overwhelmed at first when I was trying to be totally raw/vegan. At first, I relied on faux cooked type food that required too much preparation time. I also ate Lara Bars (Lara Barfs) and dried fruits and nuts too much (for my own well-being).

Things have gotten much easier for me.

All the above advice is very good.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2008 08:56AM by Lee_123.

^Lara Barfs! (I'll think of that next time I want one...)

wait...why are we hating on lara bars...i love em

although now that i think about it..i don't really eat them that much anymore...i was averaging between 2 and 3 a day when i first started raw...

What kind of a tree or bush does the Lara bar grow on ? Does it have a shell or a peel ?

A shiny peel with love notes from Lara.

They are yummy... but I try to avoid them... because I feel more satisfied and better when I snack on fresh fruits.

But Lara bar > raw nut binge, IMO.

Thank you for the advice! It's def helpful. What do you guys eat other than salads then? I have 2 awsome cookbooks, but it's all raw gourmet food. I love salad, but I crave other things as well...!??

Yeah, the Lara Bar(f) thing... see, you can OD on 'em.

And, while they are waaaaay better than Hershey Barfs, they are not as good as fresh fruits.

YMMV.

I eat mostly salads, fruit salads and veg salads. They are not boring because every day I try something a little bit different.

I am not much of a mono eater. Sometimes with watermelon or oranges, maybe, but not that often.

I don't do trail mixes or anything like Lara Bars. I like to use my nuts/seeds/dried fruits as garnish and not a main dish.

When I first started I made a lot of dehydrated nut/seed/veg burgers and dried bananas from the really cheap ones that were going off ($0.19/lb). But the food processor/dehydrator thing wore me out. Too much trouble.

I do smoothies sometimes when I am needing more calories. But mostly I'd rather chew on my food.

You could get some non-gourmet raw cookbooks. Or do websearches on raw recipes. They are mostly too high in fat or too expensive for my liking.

Presently after I get up I like to have a glass of water and then go jogging without any food yet. Then I eat mono meals of fresh whole fruit separated by a SLIGHT return of hunger signal for the rest of my day until dinner time when I have a salad with avocado. Then later I have some seeds and still later I have a coconut VM blended using the juice and pulp of a young coconut.
When I went all Fresh raw I didn't eat this way. It has been a process or journey of many changes and tweaks made in accordance with reading my body signals and reactions to lots of experiments made over time. I would suggest that you experiment to find what works for you as we are all different.

Raw fruits and veggies are meant ot grab and go.
Thats a nice thing about them.
But making sprouts is more complicated.
I think if you start in with making them,you would find that you get very good at the timing.I have found the perfect amount to soak,then harvest,then store,so I always have some on hand.
Brian

I remember the first time I grew sprouts, I panicked about whether or not I'd get out of work for my break on time, fearing they were going to die quickly without water. -.-

Now I'm a master of working sprouts into my schedule. =)

Dont worry about recipies

Pack as much fruit and veg as you can and enjoy!

I used to take sacks and sacks of produce to work when I started to avoid being hungry. Now I can judge what I need

take fresh fruit, veggies, make salads, smoothies and soups

If you enjoy making things make this a relaxing task when you have time to. Dont stress over trying to make gourmet bla bla in the week.

Eat fresh, grab and go.

Simple as that.