Howdy again! First of all, thank you to everyone who has so kindly answered my numerous questions over the last few days. I have been reading about this raw food thing pretty much non-stop for the last 72 hours (I'm a student and on summer break so I have the time :-)) and am pretty motivated and convinced to give it a shot - so I am going to go raw for 30 days and see how I feel! (Well, about 98% raw anyways, will explain in a bit). If you would indulge me I'd really appreciate some tips on getting started, maybe help with a grocery list, etc.
First a little history...
I'm a 21 year old college student. From the pure raw foods perspective, I am probably a parasite-ridden toxic garbage heap lol, but from the rest of the world's perspective I am a very healthy person. Been working out on and off for years, I ran cross country and track in junior high and high school, now that I'm in college I am a bit more sedentary but still hit the gym a few days a week and eat a pretty clean diet. I drink massive amounts of water, green tea, and yerba mate tea; I don't drink alcohol, smoke, do drugs, or anything that is obviously harmful to human health. So, generally speaking, I'm a pretty healthy guy. For that reason, and also just because of a lot of passionate motivation, I decided to go all raw overnight, even though some people have said that this approach can yield some nasty detox symptoms; I think I will be fine: For about 4 months now I have been following what is called the "warrior diet" which involves only eating one large meal per day, in the evening, and all day eating nothing but living foods and tons of water, so I have been doing a small daily detox for months now, so again, I think I'll be alright.
I ate all raw foods yesterday, but I feel it probably wasn't the most balanced diet, and this is where I could really use your help. It was mostly fruit: started out with a green smoothie (like 1.5 or 2 cups of raw baby spinach, plus about a cup of blueberries and grapes, and some water, all blended together; it was actually pretty delicious). Throughout the day I munched on a couple of bananas, half of a canteloupe, had another green smoothie mid day and a few handfuls of blueberries and grapes. In the evening, my main meal (again, I usually only eat one big meal per day) was a bowl of baby spinach with an avocado, followed by two banana/grape/blueberry smoothies.
ANY and ALL advice will be welcomed, and also constructive criticism, because I want to learn. I want to put together a grocery list and go shopping later today (maybe tomorrow depending on how quickly I get feedback), and stock up on some raw food for at least a few days or a week while I learn more and transition into this. So, I am asking, what do you personally think I should have as a staple in my raw diet? Again, I am just giving this a try for a month to test it out, and maybe going longer after that depending on the results... What are your staples? What do you eat daily, almost daily, weekly? In other words, what can I buy that is simple and cost effective (college student lol) and doesn't require a huge amount of prep time (student again!)? I know I need to eat more veggies, so if you could advise some staple veggies that would be great. At least for the time being, my shopping is pretty limited to HEB and similar chain grocery stores. In a few days or week or so I think I'll try to find a farmers market or whole foods or something better, but where I live that's what I've got at least for the next few days.
I said I'd be going 98% raw, and what I meant is that I will continue to take a few nutritional supplements: a greens powder (I think it's all organic, but probably not raw: it's like a 8-in-1 superfoods protein multivitamin everything, really good stuff lol), also taking some free-form amino acids which I drink while I work out, and an all purpose multi-vitamin. So, not pure raw foods, but for me, cutting out meat and dairy and everything cooked will be a huge step in what this community seems to think is the right direction. I'll also continue to drink green and yerba mate tea, which, being brewed in hot water, cannot qualify as raw, but I'm not ready to give it up.
So, sorry this is so long and I appreciate it if you've read through all this. Now, if you could please give me any advice on getting started out with a shopping list, I would be super grateful! Thank you and blessings!!

First of all- congratulations on your new beginning! I am also 21 and new to raw, although I am instead currently working full-time instead of school.

It seems you are already off to a good start with your raw meals and getting lots of fruit and greens. I think I have read (but don't quote me) that most vegetables aren't completely necessary as long as you are getting a sufficient amount of fruits and greens. I still try to get some vegetables in though, typically in salads or sometimes just eating diced zucchini, broccoli, pepper, cabbage, etc. I also have a juicer so I do a lot of carrot-celery-apple juice, or other veggie juices. It's an easy way to get in a ton of veggies at once (think of sitting down and eating 10 carrots, or drinking a glass of carrot juice while you sit in class). I don't know if you own a juicer, but I find mine very beneficial. I often juice in the evening so I have a good supply for the following day at work.

Lately my staples have been bananas (that will be changing), avocados (trying to cut back, lol), apple/carrot/celery/oranges mainly for juice... greens, spirulina powder, wheatgrass powder, and chia seeds for my smoothies.. any fruits or vegetables I want to snack on/mono-meal.. In my cupboard I keep nori rolls to make wraps or just to snack on, dulse seaweed, himalayan sea salt, some seasonings, olive oil, Vegan Parma (labeled raw, nutritional yeast with ground nut flour found at whole foods), nama shoyu... My produce staples seem to change on a weekly basis.

Also, for a sports drink, coconut water is wonderful. You can read up on all the benefits, but it is not only hydrating but full of electrolytes and minerals.

Good luck with everything, including detox! I went about 90% raw overnight, so far it's been the emotional detox that's been hitting me the hardest.

My staples lately have been bananas, kale, spinach, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, celery, cucumber. At least 20 bananas a day.

i think you'll change up your diet as time goes by.as they say, variety is the spice of life.i love hemp protein powder.

i tend to lean towards smoothies with fruit and maybe a superfood,think green or hemp,these days.though chewing vegetables is said to release seratonin to ya!

i love tahini.its ground up sesame made into a raw butter.good for salad dressing.

with all the variety of raw plant food on earth,it could take...forever? to try it all!try visualizing a large sum of cash your way

Hiya, evolve--glad you're liking it here!

As for my regimen:

Staples and consumed only before 1 p.m.: bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, mangos, berries, lemons.

Staples and consumed either with fruit or in the p.m.: romaine and leaf lettuces, green kale, Swiss chard, collards, flat-leaf parsley.

Other staples consumed a few times a week: tomatoes, seed sprouts, small amount of avocados, small amounts of raw soaked walnuts, almonds, or cashews.

I suppose now would be a good time to ask if you've read 80/10/10? If you are active, the greatest risk you run is in developing a calorie deficit. You must consume enough fruits, and enough fats; separately and in the correct ratio to carbs, to maintain energy.

Thank you all so much for the great feedback!! I'll be doing work around the house all day but this evening I'm going to go shopping and stock up on some of the things you all suggested, keep it coming too!

Tamukha, yes I have heard about the 80/10/10 thing, and please don't take this too personally, but I generally don't put a lot of stock into calorie counting, macro-nutrient ratios, etc. I have been in and out of body-building for a number of years and most guys get real hardcore into all that stuff (although with quite different ratios of course!) but I am pretty laid back about it all. I try to just listen to my body and am pretty in tune with feeling my way in a diet and I just sort of know what I do and don't need most of the time. I am a pretty active person, and so I am sure I will be eating quite a bit of fruits during the day, and a big salad for dinner with a hearty amount of fat coming from avocados, nuts and seeds. I have read a lot of people on here saying not to eat too much fat, but I have a different theory on this based on multiple years of nutrition research and pre-med school, along with body-building and dieting. To each their own. I fully respect the opinions on this board and am not at all trying to push any ideas, and it seems like most people on here are very open-minded so I don't think I'll offend anyone.

Again, thanks for all the great feedback and keep it coming!

peace.

evolve,

Nothing personal taken : ) It's just that 80/10/10(not the zealot's version, just the straight book version)is a regimen that seems to work well for very active people because of the huge amount of raw energy{fructose] it provides the liver. As far as fat goes, it will depend on your own organism, certainly, but I find fats and fructose don't mix. In fact, I might put that on a t-shirt! Please keep us posted on what is and isn't working for you. Good luck!

You don't have to count anything on high-fruit, low-fat. Just eat whatever you want, preferably fruit and greens. I eat sometimes 3,500 calories a day, as a petite/muscular/active woman.

evolve

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I have read a lot of people on here saying not to eat too much fat, but I have a different theory on this

I agree its not about the fat a person is eating. My theory about this is that its the toxins in a body that get stored as fat. The body fat is just the place where the toxins get stored. What is your theory ?

Welcome

Wishing you all the best with your 30 days, hope you will keep us posted or start a blog.

I think 8-1-1 is ideal for people that train hard, I train 3 times a day..so it works for me

I dont do any counting.. I just dont eat overts. simple as that.. I munch an avo now and again..sorted!

Totally upto you how to do this, no rules..no condemnation..do what works for YOU

Welcome welcome!!