I would like to give my entire family a mini course on raw food. I am lucky that my family supports me but they still have no idea why i do the things I do (you could say I am the wild child).

I have 2 brothers and 3 sisters, a step mom, and dad who all have different views and different fears or concerns about their diet; meaning, i would like the material to be very well rounded without being too offensive (for instance, i don't want to give them something that says "don't eat meat because it will KILL you).

I want to give them an easy to read guide with the following points:
-why is cooked food bad for you
-why is meat/dairy bad for you
-why raw vegan is the best diet for optimal heath
-i want to give them something on natural hygiene
-vitamin deficiency mistakes, and myths (B-12, omega 3, protein)
-food combining

Please add anything you think would be helpful to a person who knows nothing, but is not too overwhelming.

Also any sites, articles, books you think are good for this idea would be helpful, I have 2 months but I feel like I am in for a whole lot of work!

p.s. I am asking each of them to give me a picture of themselves where they thought they were the most happy, beautiful and in shape, and I am putting it on the outside of a raw journal for inspiration

Wow.!!!!
This has got to be the most loving gift I could imagine.

I like books by Paul Nison."Raw Life" takes a look at meat,dairy,grains....and is humorously written.

Brian

"The China Study" makes one of the most reasoned, scientific arguments I've ever seen for veganism. It doesn't get into raw food, but has chapter after chapter making statistical and logical connections from meat and dairy consumption to a wide variety of diseases which are major killers in the developed world (e.g. cancer, diabetes, heart disease).

If you have relatives who are still convinced that meat is necessary for good health, it may may not be possible to get them to make the conceptual leap to raw veganism all at once.

I agree about the China Study. That is a fabulous book, very well-researched, great charts and visuals, and not "in your face"

The research in the China Study shows that a diet with NO MORE than 5 percent animal products will prevent Cancer and disease. The author recommends that people follow a vegan diet because he thinks that following the 5 percent rule would be too difficult.

Here is where you have to follow your conscience:

You COULD tell your relatives something to the effect of what I just told you about the 5 percent rule (i.e. "the author promotes a vegan diet, but the research actually shows that you COULD have up to 5 percent animal products in your diet", to make the book sound less "extreme"...thus they may be more willing to read it, if they thought they could still have SOME meat/animal products. 5 percent is like a steak a week for someone on a 2500/day diet. That's MUCH better than the 20-plus percent of animal products Americans include in their diet, on average. I have gotten people interested in reading the China Study by using this method, though it's too early to tell how it is affecting their life. After reading the book, they ought to be convinced that meat and dairy are harmful. Even if they still ate a little meat or animal product, they will soon notice how bad milk and meat make them feel, and begin moving more and more away from it.

For example: My husband loved his meat. He saw me going on the raw foods diet and was happy for me, but not interested in eating that way. I read the China Study to him, showing him the charts etc...(he doesn't have much time to read, but listens if I read to him while he is working). This book was the ONLY thing that really reached him--the research is so convincing. He decided to reduce his intake to 5 percent. Then he was much more open to trying my raw food dishes. He starting liking them (I made a lot of dehydrated meals for him) and slowly started moving more and more away from animal products. Now he RARELY eats animal products. So, the "transition-them gradually, don't-take-away-everything-they-love-all-at-once-approach" CAN work!

I should also mention the book "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko. Before the China Study, I had read this book to my husband and he wanted Green Smoothies every morning, even though the rest of his diet was still an organic SAD diet. That book will peak interest in raw foods, but Victoria is trying to get everyone at least to start with the smoothies, figuring once they see how good they feel, they will want to eat better and better...this book is DEFINITELY not in your face, AND provides charts comparing greens to meat and other foods and showing how plants are superior, without bashing meat in an in-your-face way.

Another idea is the book "Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes," by Angela Elliot. This is an inexpensive book with YUMMY recipes that don't require a lot of expensive equipment, like dehydrators or other unusual tools. A few recipes might come out a bit better with a Vita-Mix, and at least one recipe calls for a Saladaco, but there are a lot of great recipes that are easy to make. You could include a nut-milk bag with this gift, so they can make the nut milks and other recipes that call for nut pulp.

Take one or more of these books and put it in a basket from the Dollar Tree with red cellophane shreddings at the bottom, for pizzaz. Put a pineapple in the center of the basket, 4 organic apples, some oranges, and some bags of nuts (trail mix, other raw nuts). When they put their Christmas stock out, the Dollar Tree also sells these mini twist-tie red velvety bows, that you can tie the tops of the bags you put the nuts in. Wrap the basket in a clear basket bag (also found at Dollar Tree) and tie it with a larger, red, velvety, twist-tie bow (Dollar Tree). The pineapple looks really cool in the center of the basket. I gave baskets similar to this (minus the books) last Christmas and people LOVED them. My baskets cost me under 25 bucks each, though I also included some "healthy" (compared to what they usually ate) cooked foods as well, like organic cookies, and popcorn.

If I can remember to get around to it, I am going to photograph one of my baskets when I next make them and post it so you see what I mean. These baskets are great for men and women. The food would help to sweeten the deal (everyone loves food) and make the books more interesting (maybe).

Hope this helps.

I haven't actually read the book, but I think "The Thrive Diet" by Brendan Brazier might be a good book recommendation for someone just getting into Vegetarian/Vegan/Raw foods. I think the authors focus is more on "whole plant foods" than just raw foods, but I know that Brendan is pretty conscious about raw foods as well, and looking at the table of contents it looks like some chapters do contain information on the benefits of the raw food diet. Looks like it could be something to look into:

[www.amazon.com]

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