Hi,
I am just starting to research the benefits of a raw diet. I have never been vegetarian or vegan and have always had what most would consider an unhealthy diet. I have recently encountered some health concerns though that have led me to seek alternative treatments and diet keeps coming up. Would most of you reccomend going straight to a raw diet or would it be more advantageous to start slow? Vegetarin, then vegan then raw. I have to say that I am really nervous about this. I know in my heart that it is something I want to try but I am scared that it will be too hard. I am not very knowledgeable about food. I have always been a meat, potato and veggie kind of person. I looked through the recipes and honestly have never even heard of 90% of the food items listed. Fruits, veggies and salads were the only familiar terms.

Also, did most of you start this on your own or did you do it as a family? I am married with 4 children. (three of whom are teens) and the thought of approaching them to switch resembles approaching them to give me their left arm.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Especially ideas as to what foods might be easiest to transition too.
Thanks so much.

Welcome.

I started to eat raw after being a vegetarian for years and I still went slow. I suggest going slow for most people but a few do better going 100% cold turkey. I personally could never succeed that way. We did it as a family but our oldest had just turned 11 and the other two were 5 and 18 months. We were also seeking a cure for illnesses for me and the then 5 year old. I am happy to say that we have been successful in healing through raw foods. I would add as much raw food to my diet as I feel comfortable with and keep adding new raw foods to replace old unhealthy ones. Although I have been a high percentage raw for a year and a half now I have not forbidden any foods ever. I am a rebellous type and would rebel even against my own rules. If I have a craving for something I set a day to eat it if I still want it. As you clean your system out you will be surprised at how your body reacts to foods you had eaten before without problems.

Good luck!!

Hi Tee and welcome:

I also have four kids - all in their teens, so I totally know how that is. I wouldn't even try telling them to change their eating habits, I have found a more subtle approach to work best. So, I still prepare many of the foods they are used to, but offer lots of healthier choices as well.

For example, they love when I send a baggie of veggies and dip instead of a sandwich to school with them for lunch, so I just do that quite often, and don't mention that it is raw or healthy. (I buy those little restaurant salad dressing packets and add them to the package - not the healthiest, but it gets them to eat their veggies!)

For supper, there may be a stir-fry and some rice on the table, but also a big giant salad and maybe some cut up veggies, and I am always willing to make smoothies for anyone any time they ask. All these little things bring things into a good balance without making anyone feel pressured. And my kitchen is always full of fruit - and it gets eaten - I have a hard time keeping on top of it all!! The kids are quite happy to grab a bowl of grapes or a banana or two after school.

It's a bit more work for me, but on the other hand, putting a couple of bowls of fruit out is a lot less work than baking cookies, LOL.

My kids make fun of me (in a good-natured way) sometimes because I am raw, but every time I eat anything, they seem to come around and ask for some - I think it's great!

Sapphire

-Congratulations on your healthy decisions! You'll be a great example.

-This is only as 'hard' as slowly increasing your intake of fresh fruits & vegetables over the course of your lifetime....until you reach YOUR goals. CONCENTRATE on setting the VERY SMALL goals and making the very small changes that you are truly MOTIVATED and WILLING to do on a daily basis. If you are not succeeding at YOUR goals.....then it's more about your goal setting ability...and focus...and NOT external circumstances. Raw food is just a tool....and one that only works at a pace that is right for YOU. Just my opinions.

-Don't let some guru try to convince you that you HAVE to eat certain things.....or meet some certain standard.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

We did it cold turkey, after the inspiration we got from Alissa's Cohen book "Living on Live Foods", and we never wanted to reverse, because the diet was sooo good!!! Alissa's book is a good place to start, you will enjoy the new lifestyle, and you will never feel deprived! However, her diets have a lot of salt and fatty foods, which are OK initially for the transition period, but you do need to move on and adjust later on. But do what you feel is best for you.

Greenpower

Visit my website and my blog!

[www.natureshealingsecrets.com] (closed on Sundays)

Alissa Cohen's book was the first one we got too. I found it very helpful as a first book. The information was easy to process and put into use. A lot of her recipes are very complicated but some are very simple. There are so many of them and I use her book as a reference a lot. It reminds me of how my Good Housekeeping cookbook was for me in my old cooked days. Also all the testimonies are very inspiring. I think Storm and Junjee's Garden Diet e-book was more helpful for a gradual transition. It includes transition recipes like rice and beans.

Everyone has their own way thats right for them to go 100% raw. Some people prefer to go all raw, all at once. Thats the way I did it and its a very fast way to get with the program. Other people like to transition slowly taking as much time as they need to feel comfortable with the change.

Tee, I started out with a pretty similar diet to you. I've always eaten meat and junk food and pretty much whatever I wanted. I was a smoker too.
When I read about raw foods it just made so much sense to me that I knew I had to do it. I started off replacing one meal a day with fruit. I've always loved bananas, so having 2 or 3 bananas for breakfast instead of a bowl of cereal was pretty easy. I started snacking on raisins, grapes and watermelon instead of candy. I did that for about a month and then replaced lunch with fruit as well.
Smoothies help a lot too, if you browse around the forum you will probably find several threads about making fruit smoothies and green smoothies.
I did completely stop eating meat when I went to two meals a day raw. I gave it all away. I found dairy products a lot harder and still backslide a little, but it's rare. Most of those foods stop tasting good to you. When I drive or walk by a fast food restaurant now I always think the food smells burnt.

As far as doing this with your family, I did. My husband and I did it together and having that support really helped me a lot. I don't know if I could do this if he munched on a burger for dinner while I drank a smoothie. My niece and nephew are also at our house 7 days a week, they are 4 and 7. I've had absolutely no problem getting them to eat raw while they're here. In fact they're very excited by the variety of fruits and veggies I have in my kitchen and are constantly demanding that we go to the store and get more. I imagine teenagers would be a bit different as they like to grab stuff and leave, but having things already prepared and sliced up should do the trick. I like to leave out a big bowl of grapes, slice up apples, and use the melon baller to have big bowls of honeydew, cantaloupe and watermelon sitting out all the time.
The big thing about getting other people in your family to go raw is probably convenience, so if you have things prepared for them they will probably do it much more easily than if they have to make it themselves. Make sure you let them know what you're doing though cause if they start detoxing from cooked food without knowing it's going to happy they will be somewhat unhappy.

Just my two cents...I tend to ramble, so I hope there's something in there that helps you.

Thank you to everyone for all the ideas and support. I did take yesterday and today to try and slowly get away from my bad habits. I haven't had any meat and I have been trying to be more conscious of what I eat. I will likely need another week or so to get some recipes together and get to the store and learn what all these new foods are before I give it my all. I can already tell that the things that will be hardest for me to give up will be bread, hot tea and peanut butter. I also talked to my husband about my plans. I didn't ask him to do it with me. I want that to be his choice. I was surprised though to see how supportive he was. Last night at dinner I had made pasta with veggies and a large salad. Not thinking, I took fresh zucchini and squash and cooked it. He came to the table and said, "Why did you cook it? I would have eaten it raw." I was pleased to see that he was willing to help me along which I think will make a big difference for me. I haven't approached the kids yet. My husband did ask me one question that I found interesting and couldn't answer. He asked if I could eat raw fish or sushi. I always thought of eating raw as vegetarian but he just thinks of raw as raw food. Not whether or not it is meat. I told him I would ask others. So anyway...I am now babbling. I think I am going to go look for that book by Allisha Cohen. I checked the library but all their books on eating raw were checked out so I will try another one. Worse case I will go buy it. Thanks again for all the support.

Recommendation:

Find the BEST whole foods store or co-op that is close to you. Hang out there. Buy the stuff that calls your name.

Keep a variety on the counter at home.

When hungry, look again....

....see who cries your name loudest.

Honor them, by eating them entirely and thanking the friekin' creator for making such diving rocket fuel for you.

Good luck.

Love,
Paul

[www.oneillpaul.com-a.googlepages.com]