Being only a week old eating raw, I was wondering if someone could recommend a good book? Something that gives you the ins and outs, what to avoid, what to make sure I don't avoid, etc. It's a little scary, I'm slightly worried that I could cause more harm then good in some circumstances. The other problem is there is so much dissagreement in the community. There are drastically different opinions on how to do this. I'm getting confused and slightly frustrated, but those feelings haven't taken over my excitement yet! Just wondering what any successfull raw foodist did in the beginning to really educate themselves, by book? mentor? website? IT would be great if there was some kind of program out there, a sort of training wheels for the amateur, with simple recipes and ways to tell me what to do exactly until I got the hang of it, and then could creatively do it as I wish. Sorry to be drab, I'm just getting skinnier and more confused.. I did get some great insight from others on the board regarding weight loss and how it is normal at first, so thank you!

Jeff

I like Victoria Bountenko`s books( green for life) and
frederic patenaude ( raw secrets etc)
storm/jinjee-ebooks
and
gabriel cousens

I agree Victoria Boutenko and patenaude are the best place to start.

Hi Jeff. Type in raw food on Amazon and check out the various reveiws. They also have a fair amount of books (that you can read for free at Barnes & Noble and Borders.

I'm with you, Jeff. I started only yesterday trying to go raw, and I'm already confused and frustrated.

I've been eating a breakfast cereal called Ezekiel 4:9, which is made from organic sprouted grains and lentils. It tastes great -- like Grapenuts, only better -- but it's baked. The packaging says their "exclusive sprouting process... promotes more efficient assimilation of protein and carbohydrates through enzymatic action"; and their "exclusive slow baking techniques help preserve these valuable nutrients." So does it qualify for a raw food diet or not?

This morning I decided to forego the Ezekiel cereal for a first-time concoction blended in an osterizer: soaked almonds, frozen banana, whey, flaxseed meal, coconut oil, and almond milk. I would describe the taste/flavor as "interesting", but don't know whether I could stand to consume that every morning.... In any case, someone is bound to say, "Hey, whey is an animal product. Get that out of there!" But heck, I even considered putting a raw egg in it!

For lunch I thought I was OK eating yogurt made from water buffalo milk, but then I noticed it was "ultrapasteurized"; so even though it has 5 active cultures of beneficial bacteria, some would still say it's "dead food".

It appears Boutenko and Patenaude are favorites on this topic, but I wonder whether they take an idealogical or practical approach to going raw. I can tell you're grasping for the practical, and so am I.

Josquin,

Glad to hear I'm not alone! I did some researche and Patenaude seems to have a real compassion for what we are going for.. Now his site reads alot more like a 3am infomercial trying to sell his products, cd's and books, but he has great things to say. Check this out, it's his book Raw Secrets and the first 10 chapters are free via .pdf format. It's giving me some comfort for now..

[www.fredericpatenaude.com]

Thanks everyone for your quick support and responses!

Hungry,

Jeff

Wrong link, sorry, the one below is for the free 10 chapters in patenaude's book..

[www.fredericpatenaude.com]

Jeff

YES. i would definitely agree Patenaude is the most forthcoming source i have found online. his free articles are not only inspiring, but enlightening and confirm for me that the little changes are what really count.

djatchi is right on point. boutenko has a great book, "12 steps to raw foods" and it changed my outlook on raw foods. i highly recommend it, especially for a freshie.

i also think in time you will get in the groove of it all, naturally. but with my experience i suggest keeping track of your b12 intake. it is much more important than i gave credit in the beginning.

one love.

I'm on chapter 4 of the pdf of Patenaude's book now, and from what I've seen so far it's a very sensible discussion -- exactly the kind of practical advice and cautionary considerations I was looking for. Thanks, everyone, for guiding us to this reference!

Re: B12, I've often heard that B12 anemia is a concern for true vegetarians and that there's no really reliable source of it except animal products. I'm pursuing the raw approach for health reasons and don't personally have a problem with eating a token amount of meat or eggs or whatever to get adequate B12 -- as long as it does not undermine the overall benefits of eating raw food. But how does an absolutely committed vegetarian deal with this problem? (Sorry if this is taking us off topic.)

Never mind about the B12. I see now that Patenaude addresses the issue quite well in chapter 10.

you can also take a vegan b12 supplement just to be sure.

I recommend The Health Evolution guide to the raw vegan diet:

www.TheRawDiet.com/evolve.html

It has audio along with the eBook with experts such as Paul Nison, Dave Klein, John Rose, and others.

Mike