OK, I'm new to this.... been vegan only 6mos, love it. Got a blender and was curious about raw foods in general, my diet has been mostly whole foods (cooked and not) but I want to move to all cooked or 75%. Not going to be like "I failed" and have that attitude with this but since I stopped cooking almost entirely, TODAY I craved saliness and starch. I used to eat potatoes so much. They're so easy to make so many different ways! So I bought some potato chips. SICK, not a good choice I know. I've also been super active the past two-three weeks, working out 30min-3hrs a day, depending on how far I walk (6miles sometimes) and I bike as transportation... I am SO HUNGRY since I stopped cooking! I am burning through calories! I am focused in a new way, I have no idea what to do with this new kind of energy!

ANYHOW, I want to stick with this. I need to read more online about recipes. HOWEVER... what is a good dry salty crunchy snack that replaces this starch?

I notice I crave saltiness quite often. I try to drink a lot of water. I use only real himilayan red salt, but still should cut back? I try listening to my body and give it what it wants. Luckily it's totally turned off by processed foods. Now to turn off the cooked food desires. What a journey.

If you have a dehydrator, you can make your own raw potato chips. Also, kale or chard chips. These are made by briefly marinating very thinly sliced potatoes or leafy green leaves and then dehydrating them until crisp. Obviously, there are lots of nuts that could be prepared the same way, or that can be purchased ready made from raw foods suppliers, such as:

[shop.livingnutz.com]

If you are moving around a lot, you may want to a.) increase your fruit consumption significantly--the frutcose metabolizes into glucose for fuel quickly and efficiently, and b.) consume more sodium rich leafy greens, like kale, chard, spinach, and rough cos lettuce to ensure that your electrolytes don't go awry. Consuming salt isn't the best way to replenish these, but adding leafy greens, especially in smoothies or juice form, or drinking raw coconut water, is.

Good luck and welcome!

I eat TONS of greens. Green juice at least once a day, and a salad FULL of them. But fruits... it's funny, if I would have guessed, my old self would be just eating fruits right now. I'm so much more into vegetables! Fruits seem more expensive, and less fulfilling. I eat maybe a grapefruit and 1-3 bananas a day. I just go to the store, look around, no fruits appeal to me that much.

I don't have a dehydrator. I'm jobless and need to move to a kitchen with more counterspace, but will look into this at some point. I am already overwhelmed with possibilities, bringing a dehydrator into the fold would be too much right now.

yes...fruit is less fulfilling...but, if you eat a lot, than it is fine

I could live on fruit, but they are expensive, especially berries. The best way, of course - grow your own!

how much himalayan salt are you using, if its just a little you should be fine baring you dont have any blood pressure issues, even then unrefined salts such as himalayan are meant to balance blood pressure anyway.

I know this is in a topic a couple down but try Brad's Raw Chips. They are dehydrated and come in 11 different flavors. They should have enough spice and crunch to keep you satisfied. You can find a store near you or order chips from their website:

[www.bradsrawchips.com]

Right now they're giving away 6 bags of chips through a Facebook promotion:

[www.facebook.com]

For salt, you might consider including some raw seaweed as a whole food source. I think it's possible that a craving for salt is the body's signal for wanting iodine. Until the need for iodine is filled, the body keeps craving more salt. I eat maybe 2 - 6 sheets of raw nori each week. (Some brands of raw nori taste a lot better that others. My favorite is Bright Earth Foods raw certified organic.)

For starch, you might consider occasionally soaking a small amount of grain and adding it fresh to your raw veggies. My own favorite is kamut, soaked overnight and then rinsed/drained for another couple of days. I used to be a binge eater on cooked starches. Just a small amount of cooked starch would trigger a huge binge. Raw sprouted grain doesn't have that effect (for me).