Hey everyone, new here to the forum.

A little background on me. I probably have the worst diet of anyone any of you have ever known. But some time ago I tried an extreme diet challenge. 6 weeks of raw food. Needless to say it was very hard for me. However I can report that health wise I never felt better, very hungry but still felt good.

So today I'm turning a new leaf. I enjoyed how I felt and don't enjoy how I feel now so I want to start eating raw again. But now a lime limited diet like before but rather a life change where eating raw is how I eat moving forward.

Anyway, I'm hoping some members here could give me some good advice. Maybe point me in the direction of some good reading material, recommended foods to eat or recipes that you all enjoy. Anything that you think could help me transition into my new lifestyle.

thanks in advance all

jcarver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey everyone, new here to the forum.
>
> A little background on me. I probably have the
> worst diet of anyone any of you have ever known.
> But some time ago I tried an extreme diet
> challenge. 6 weeks of raw food. Needless to say
> it was very hard for me. However I can report that
> health wise I never felt better, very hungry but
> still felt good.
>
> So today I'm turning a new leaf. I enjoyed how I
> felt and don't enjoy how I feel now so I want to
> start eating raw again. But now a lime limited
> diet like before but rather a life change where
> eating raw is how I eat moving forward.
>
> Anyway, I'm hoping some members here could give me
> some good advice. Maybe point me in the direction
> of some good reading material, recommended foods
> to eat or recipes that you all enjoy. Anything
> that you think could help me transition into my
> new lifestyle.
>
> thanks in advance all


Fruit - Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapefruit, apples, bananas, dates, persimmons, watermelon, oranges, mango, kiwi, pomegranate, red bell peppers... (dried fruit - goji berries, mulberries, goldenberries)

Veggies - Carrots, celery, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, cucumbers

Raw, sprouted nuts - Pistachios, walnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts

Raw, sprouted seeds - Hemp, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, chia, sesame, buckwheat groats

Algae - Chlorella, spirulina

Sea vegetables - Nori, kelp, dulse, wakame

Sprouts (+ wheatgrass) - Sunflower greens, broccoli, alfalfa, pea shoot greens, mung bean, radish, fenugreek, watercress

Herbs - Turmeric, cayenne, black pepper, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, rosemary, basil, thyme, cilantro

Some raw food websites:

therawfoodworld.com
rawguru.com
rawpower.com

Limit your intake of nuts and seeds due their fat content, but this really isn't much of a concern at the beginning. Much of the healing comes from what you leave out of your diet, giving your body a chance to "catch up" and start detoxing. Otherwise it's like trying to clean out a sewer when there's a daily supply of waste coming in. Also beware of other toxins like tap water (fluoride among other things), chemicals in detergents, household cleaners, deodorants, lotions, soaps/shampoos... go natural for everything.

A raw food diet is kind of like fasting because most of the food you will be eating is 70, 80, 90 percent water, except you're getting a lot of nutrients as well. The detox symptoms can be pretty harsh but this is called a 'healing crisis' and is a sign that you're diet is working, not the other way around. Headaches, skin eruptions, dry skin, mood swings, irritability, cravings, fatigue, flu-like symptoms etc are all signs of detoxing.