I am thinking about going to Raw, but I am not sure where to start, what types of foods to buy, how often to eat and what to eat each time. Can anyone give me some advice on this?

Kay

go to your grocery store and buy a couple of days fruits and veggies of stuff you like ..that you know you like and toss in a couple of things youve never tried before start adding fruits and veggies to whta you already eat .. the more fruit and veggies you eat the less other stuff you will eat .. eat fruit and veggies when you are hungry .. eat more fruit and veggies when you are hungrier

check a few sites for receipies and youtube for videos .. just type in raw food and lots of stuff comes up

are you vegan at the moment? what are you used to eating ? what are your goals ? do you have a blender or juicer or dehydrator? if not dont worry about equipment and start small and go from there before you know it you will be eating lotsa raw !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi,

I love vegetables and like to eat fruit occasionally.

My eating habits are bad. Some days I might eat a frozen pizza and that will be it for the day other than coffee or pop to drink. Some days I might just eat a bowl of soup and a sandwich for the day. There are days that I go out to eat and will actually eat a decent meal but nothing the rest of the day.

My income is a big problem as I am on disability so I have a very limited budget. I have had several knee surgeries in the past so excercising is really hard but I try to walk as much as I can.

I would like to lose some weight and definitely need to. I would like to get healthier so I can do more with my grandkids and hopefully help with the discomfort in my knees.

I do have a blender, though it is just a cheap one. I have looked at buying one of those magic bullets because I love drinking things like V8 ...the regular and some the splash drinks, but I am not sure if it would be worth the money or not.

Kay

My opinion:

-Decide what level/percentage of eating raw you are comfortable with NOW......decide what your long term goals are....and set small goals of perhaps increasing 1-2% per week...until you reach your goal. Eating healthy CAN be as easy/simple as just incorporating more fresh, raw fruits & vegetables into your diet. The harder parts are the social adjustment...and the emotional detox....which will be almost un-noticeable if you just eat a little healthier every day.

Advice: Find some staple fruits that keep well to snack on: Like apples or oranges. Stock up on them. Find a variety of salads that you like - and use any condiments that help you transition and keep your intake high. SET SMALL GOALS. Failure doesn't help anyone. Eat a WIDE VARIETY of raw foods while you are transitioning.

-Hope some of this helps.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

hey even a cheap blender will make you some good smoothies id get used to experimenting with it before getting any other equipment ..when it no longer suits the purposes you strive to reach .. get something better at that time

ya know my cupoards were full of well intentioned appliances that rarely got used more then a time or two lol ... start small an go from there

the more fresh stuff you eat the less crap youre gonna eat ...when i was breaking some bad food habits i would tell myself for instance .. i can have that hunk of pie .. IF i eat this apple , this orange and this cup of grapes first .. more often then not i didnt want the pie after that .. or id tell myself id have to walk down the road 6 telephone poles and back for that muffin ... or around the block for that hunk of cheese .. etc etc ..

make it fun

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thank you so much for the advice. I am going to the store tomorrow to buy some fruit and vegetables and I will try starting slow and working up. I have been reading a lot on this forum, as well as other sites, and I truly believe that this will not only be good for me but help me as well.

Hopefully I dont have too hard a problem with giving up my coffee and pepsi...lol.

Kay

V8® vegetable juice
A vegetable juice made from a blend of tomatoes, carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, and spinach

you would have to play with the amounts a bit... and you might need a juicer for the harder things like beets and carrots ... but i bet you could come up withsomething close at worse ya will end up with a wicked vegetable gaspacho soup lol !!!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2007 03:11AM by Jgunn.

I normally take quite a few vitamins on a daily basis. Will it hurt to keep taking these or should I stop once I starting eating a lot of the RAW foods?

Kay

There are differing opinions on that, but I personally don't think it would hurt to keep taking your vitamins - at least for awhile. When a bottle runs out then think about whether you feel like you need to replace it or not. Maybe you will find it more worthwhile to spend that money on some more produce, maybe not.

I agree with everyone else, take it slow and just concentrate on what you are adding to your diet - not on what you are taking away. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Kay,

I like David's advice. Although I might add more raw until it felt uncomfortable, and then back a little. I guess I like to push the edge a little.

Going raw doesn't need to require special equipment, special foods, or special supplements. If you take a nutritional calculator like fitday or nutritiondata, and look at what a 2000 calorie a day menu with fruits and salad has in terms of vitamins and minerals, you will notice that it is way higher than any diet you have eaten as a cooked food eater. Given that, I don't see the need for supplementation. I've been doing all raw for nearly 6 years, and I don't supplement nor feel the need to supplement.