The family that I have is not normal. I am going thorugh a divorce now, and its not really converting them thats a issue since we no longer live together. I live alone now, but we still have a very good relationship, we each have the kids for a portion of the day, and we each switch friday and saturdays so we can still have night to hang out.
Anyways, the problem is that we have a fixed income and I want to be able to go raw totally, with the excepton of some type of ceviche seafood or beef if there is anything out there ike that. But anyways, I dont have a LOT of money to spend on my own food cause Im still financially responsible for the food for my wife and kids for at least a few months until she gets something bringing in income. SHes with her parents, so theyre not too bad off. I got them everything they need and like to eat. Can I live on a raw food diet if Ive got a limit of about $65 a week to buy veggies, fruits, seeds, nuts, and greens?

I mean, everyone keeps saying just eat what you like, just eat whats natural. The thing is, I like pretty much every veggie and fruit there is. There not really any favorites, I just eneed to knw the proper amounts and the best ones to give me the best nurtitional and caloric intake. No recipes, just straight hard facts of what fruits, veggies, and I already do hemp seeds and sprouts regularly. But I really need some help, this is the first week of me in my new apartment, I havent eaten in a few days already because of depression, so I wanna do this. But I wanna do it right. I dont wanna get bone-toothpick skiny and have sagging eyes because even though I eating a raw diet, Im not getting what I need. There has got to be someone out there who can help me with this please. Ive got $65-$75 a week to spend on food. Things I have personal/free access too are my sprouts, tomatoes, royal burgundy green beans*mmmmm* these are great raw. Ive also got very cheap access to corn, cucumbers and bell peppers. And certain seafood as well, well mostly just raw shrimp I can get for next to nothing.. I thought I could possibly use the raw uncooked shrimp and somehow ceviche it to keep it raw, but still have a actual meat source that I can eat, know what I mean. I dont have access to the nternet all the time, just in this moving process where Ive been staying Iv had a chance to get onine and figure htis out. So someone, please help me. And please dont tell me its all about what I want or about how creative I want to be. I respect and appreciate comments and replies like that, but thats not what I need here.
Cappa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2009 05:45AM by Cappadocius.

Cappadocius,

You might find my site useful - www.rawforlife.co.uk (in particular the page 'What is the raw food diet?'.)

As you seem to be looking for a prescriptive answer, DON'T eat raw fish/shellfish/meat.

DO eat the raw fruit and veg you do have (cheap) access to and DO eat bananas, romaine lettuce etc (as also relatively cheap).

Bananas are particularly nutritious, eg contain all the essential amino-acids.

I agree with Debbie. Pound for pound, animal tissue is a lot less nutritious than plant food, because plant food has less waste. This isn't ideology, it's nutrition chemistry.

Are there farmers markets near you where you could buy in-season produce in bulk? Also, maybe talk to the produce purchaser or manager at your local grocery store and ask whether they could give you a wholesale or close to wholesale price on stuff you might buy in large volumes that isn't necessarily a local crop[don't know where you live], like bananas or citrus. If you're going to be buying 10 pounds of bananas every few days, that's way more than a regular retail shopper and the store should be willing to cut you a discount for you business. Try for 10-15%, at least.

Here was a discussion about this some months ago:[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

I eat for about $45 a week.
All fruits and veggies,no meat,grains,or dairy.
Shop that produce section!
Its the cheapest way to eat.
And very little ends up down the sink,or in the garbage can.

Vinny



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2009 11:42PM by eaglefly.

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation.

I've shopped around and found that the local natural food store has less expensive items when it comes to raw nuts, seed and seaweed (nori).

The local farm market has deals (or you can make deals) on in season fruits and veggies.

Lastly, I found an Asian market near where I work that has some REALLY good prices on leafy veggies, sprouts, soy beans and snap peas. I'm was shocked at how low the prices were. Got a pretty decent sized bag of mung bean sprouts for under a dollar. The same amount at the chain grocery store would have cost at least triple that $$.

It may take time to find the right food sources and equipment. I recently found an Excalibur food dehydrator ($100 model) on craigslist for $5! I can't afford a vita-mix blender, so I got a magic bullet knock-off on sale for $20 off last weekend (so it only cost $29)

I've been separated from my STBX wife for over a year now. I know your frustration, fear, anger and desperation. Just be patient and do what you can. Don't try to rush anything. Be there 100% for your kids. If you can't eat as raw as you want for a year, then do what you can. You have enough on your plate (no pun intended) with the family situation. Ease into being raw, I've heard it's easier that way.

Good luck to you and your family,
Bill

Okay, these posts have been helpful. So far I know to eat bananas and a few other things about the details needed to help me out a little more.
Im 5`11, I weigh 160 lbs, I dont have any allergies except for cilantro, Im not diabetic, have NO health problems. I have a workout routine that I do every day, one day I will do a strong ab routine, the next day, I will use a martial arts practice that I figure takes bout 45 minutes of both plyometric activity and isometrics. Its not a terribly strenuous regimen, but it is one that has kept me in reasonable shape. So does this give anyone else a helpful glance into what kind of intake I should possibly maintain. Ive read several books on Raw foods, but theyve all been cookbooks more or less. I would just like a basic idea of what variety I should try to get in everyday to stay healthy, keep myself sustained for normal life and my llittle training regimen. Does the facts Ive given help at all?

cappadocious

most places sell greens for under 2 bucks
parsley, spinach, romaine, kale, broccoli, dandelion greens (sometimes)
farmer's market are great too
apples and oranges and bananas are generally cheap
fancy fruit like blueberries and raspberries are, as a rule, very expensive unless you can go to a farmer's market and get them a lot cheaper

i mentioned greens first on the list because the greens are usually cheap
they also have tons of minerals
do great as a salad
if u don't want to get skinny, you can put avocado or nuts into the salad with a squeeze of lemon juice

bring a calculator to the store
and put the most nutritive thing into the basket first
then stop when the calculator says 33.50

shop twice a week
midweek

65 divided by 2
that would be 33.50 per 3 or 4 days

walk or ride your bike to the store
this saves $ and gives more great exercise

whaddya thinnk?