Hi! Of course I ate raw vegetables, sprouts and fruit before but I am looking to eat more raw foods and make it an important part of my diet. Where do you suggest I start? I read about pills with enzyms to take with the raw food, is that a usual part of the raw foods diet? And what about proteins and fat? I remember that I as a teenager (loooong time ago) ate only fruit for one day. I got a terrible headache and felt weak and from that experience I always assumed that a diet without "proper" amounts of proteins and fat (meaning that which people often eat in the shape of fish, meat, tofu, quorn...) would rob me of important nutrition.

But...lately I have become a very tired person. I lack strength. Much of it comes from circumstances that can't be changed right now, but at least I can eat healthier. I read some testimonies from people who started eating raw foods and found a new strength and as I love vegetables and fruit I want to give it a try, but where do I start? What do you put on the dinnerplate? What do you eat for breakfast? Many recipes I read seem quite tasty but contain special ingrediants which are impossible for me to find where I live or include a rather complicated procedure. I'm a mother of two little children and my husband is not likely to join me in my new habit so I have others to cook for too.

Do you have any suggestions?

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Posted by: lentil, Date: August 23, 2008

I ate raw vegetables, sprouts and fruit before but I am looking to eat more raw foods

Thats a good place to start. Eat more and more raw foods.

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I read about pills with enzyms to take with the raw food, is that a usual part of the raw foods diet?

I have never eaten supplement enzymes as I don't feel they are needed because the raw foods have enzymes and other nutrients in them live and intact.

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what about proteins and fat?

theres plenty in raw foods after all where do you think a cow gets its fat and protein ?

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Do you have any suggestions?

Keep it simple and easy and just eat fresh garden fruits and vegetables when hungry.

EZ's suggestions are great. Resist the urge to do MORE in the beginning, when you should be setting very small goals....and doing LESS.....VERY SMALL THINGS....until you are 100% comfortable. Take an honest assessment of what overall general % of your food intake is fresh, raw produce....and then just set very small goals (with timetables) that you are prepared and motivated to do on a daily basis to increase that LIFETIME %.......perhaps 1-2% per week.....until you reach YOUR chosen / permanent lifetime raw food goal. Then just refine from there! No problem.

-You CAN supplement....many do. As a long-term all-raw eater, I do not. But in the beginning, it's as much about thinking/feeling you are covering all your bases....as anything else. If it gives you peace of mind, then do it!

I posted this on another thread.....so I will just copy it:

Go out with the sinners man! Bring an apple. You don't have to sin to connect! Ha! ha!

-I go out with my drinking, crap-eating friends and family all the time. I have a great time, and just do not eat. Food only becomes a separating and divisive issue if YOU make it so. Diet is a very personal issue....so why make it a public one that disrupts your social schedule!

-If friends or family ask, simply say: "I'm not hungry, I'm here to spend time with you....is that ok?". It usually is!

-I've NEVER been told to leave someplace (after 10 years of healthy eating) for not eating.,,,when I'm with family or friends. I suppose it's a specter....but it's never actually happened to me. I've often brought an apple or avocado to a restaurant...and eaten it. No one has EVER given me a hard time. If they did, I would just say I'm on a 'special diet' and they'd leave me alone....but as I say....it's never happened....so that's mostly a specter too....in my experience.

-Power to you!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thank you, EZ Rider and David! I don't worry about people's opinions. This is a personal thing. I'm tired of being tired, so to say. I don't drink alcohol and that is very provocative for some reason, but I'm not changing that. I know I'm right and I never tell them what to eat and drink.

Good to know that supplements are not necessary as they are not available to me for geographical and economic reasons. Also it feels a bit like cheating although I read somewhere that the fruit and vegetables lose their enzyms within days after harvest, so our food has already been "cheated with"! Can't be wrong to return what was stolen. Right now, old veggies with less enzyms are no problem. It's late summer and it is easy to find locally produced vegetables, straight from the field, in the store across the street.

Thank you again for the advice. Nice to know it's ok to keep it simple!

Hi Lentil,

The organic food is healthier than conventional food and is the only reason for about 30% growth in the organic food industry since the past 5-6 years.

There are lots of benefits of organic food over conventionally grown food some of the safety benefits are:

1. Organic products meet stringent standards.
2. Organic food tastes great!
3. Organic production reduces health risks.
4. Organic farms respect our water sources.
5. Organic farmers build soil.
6. Organic farmers work in harmony with nature.
7. Organic producers are leaders in innovative research.
8. Organic producers strive to preserve diversity.
9. Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy.
10. Organic abundance – Foods and non-foods alike!

Here is a great article where you can get the more of your question answered.



[www.organicauthority.com]