Hi :-) I am sure you have answered this question a thousand times lol but where do you start? What would someone wanting to change to the raw food diet buy the first time they shop for a raw food lifestyle? In other words...I have researched and have a juicer and a coffee grinder (LOL I read about ground flax seed being very good for you just don't know where to get it or what to do with it once I do find it LOL) Should I try to find an organic food store? or can I just begin with whats in the local market? and what foods should I get to start with? I could spend a small fortune if I got everything I think I should have all at once :-)) Any suggestions would be very appreciated...maybe a small shopping list? I tried to make this change a couple years ago...now I really want to succeed.

Thank you in advance....Laura



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/2008 05:22PM by Dusty2rose.

Opinion: Start by honestly analyzing what level (overall %) of fresh raw plant foods you are incorporating into your diet right now...and that you are 100% comfortable with. Then just set small goals...with definite but generous timeframes....to increase perhaps 1-2% per week. You should be able to hit YOUR raw food goals in 6-12 months!

Tips: You don't HAVE to do anything fancy or buy any expensive equipment. Just eating convention fresh fruits and vegetables....will work wonders for cleaning out your system. Stay active, if you want to lose weight.

-Just stock up on the fresh fruits and vegetables that you love. Always be PREPARED...and eat before you leave the house...and bring a good back full of fruit and other snacks wherever you go. NEVER get caught somewhere hungry....and think you are forced to eat crap. Probably better to eat nothing in such cases.

-Don't expect people doing the wrong thing to understand you, appreciate what you are doing/saying, or to feed you. This is double true for friends, family, and restaurants.

-A good starter list is:

1) Assorted fresh fruits that you love (Apples, Pineapple, Strawberries, Grapes, etc.)
2) Romaine lettuce
3) Canteloupe for breakfast
4) Assorted veggies (Tomatoes, Carrots, Radishes, Cucumber, Peppers, Onion, Garlic, etc.)
5) Avocados

-You can use the romaine as a chopped salad - or julienne your vegetables and just load them up in a romaine lettuce leaf. Top with fresh sunflower seeds and home-made salsa...and you've got a REAL eatin' burrito!

-Good luck and health to you.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Laura,

David has excellent advice. Increasing the raw at a rate you are comfortable is an excellent approach. Another thing you might look at is cleaning up the cooked foods you are eating. So using more steaming/boiling verus frying/baking, cooking your foods at lower temperatures for short periods of time. Getting out the processed and refined foods out of your cooked diet and eating fresh whole vegetables. Getting the cooked fats out of your diet and eating raw fats instead.

Make it a gentle pleasant transition rather than a battle with you fighting against cooked and non-raw. Be aware that it is highly probable that it will not be a linear transition forward all the time, wherein once you increase the % of raw foods, you will never go backwards to a lower % raw or increased volume of cooked. So when it happens, don't beat up on yourself for doing so. Just pick up from where you are when you're ready and go from that point onwards

Wishing you vibrant health

Hi :-)

Thank you all for the advice...I am really excited to get to the store! I am pre diabetic and have arthritis and all that I have read about the raw food lifestyle has told me I will feel healthier and more energetic...you have all given me a great place to begin :-)

Thank you!
Laura