On another thread RORRIRAW added a note about eating raw food being an almost sacred experience and about finding meals to be "deeply satisfying in a way I have never known before." That is true for me too.

One thing I love about raw foods is how vivid they taste. Yesterday, I made a blended salad and went back to the food processor to scrape every bit that I had left behind! (Should I admit that I licked the blade?) Who would ever believe that I crave SALAD!!??

Another thing I love about raw food is that it comes in its own packaging - the skin! I love that I put VERY LITTLE packaging in the landfill. Now I proudly compost because I have so many fruit and veggie scraps. This all makes me feel much more in touch with the earth and living things.

Thank you RORRIRAW for your comments.

What else do the rest of you love about raw food?

Trive,

I wholeheartedly echo everything you said, except I must admit I have never licked the blades of the blender!

For me, eating RAW could almost be described as a "Sacred ritual, a spiritual observance".

Most folks just jam forkfuls of cooked junk down their throats until they pop a button on their shirt....

But when you go RAW & your taste buds come alive again, you are able to enjoy RAW, clean, refreshing, tantalizing foods on a much deeper level that a cooked food eater can't ever relate to.

Once you go RAW, you never go back...

Trive,
I too have licked the blade of my food processor... and knives. Maybe not the smartest idea, but when you need that extra bit of yummyness, sometimes you've just got to do it!

I love the different combination of foods you come up with when getting creative with raw goods. It always surprises me what goes well together. I mean, it is almost as if anything raw can be paired together. Some would disagree with this, but, for me, I can combine almost anything and be happy (not a statement regarding food-combining for nutrition, only taste). I don't know... I DO have an odd sense of taste sometimes... I like things that people say "What the heck" to... but, I have rarely had disappointed guests when I cook/prepare food for them! ;-)

I love the freedom to explore that raw gives you. You are making your own boundaries and it is not something already ingrained in you since birth because of the societal norm. Therefore, I think you can explore and play within the raw food world MORE than with regular cooked food. Sure, you are "limited" with the exclusion of some ingredients... but, hey, how many cooked meals employ the same combination of foods a raw meal does?!?! VERY FEW!

"With life as short as a half taken breath, don't plant anything but love."- Rumi

hi nyaz

the cinnamon salad with the persimmons and the grape stuff leaves look good
i am goign to substitute the sheep cheese with sunflower seed and lemon juice bits ( i pulverize the sunflower seeds and just mix it with the lemon juice)

and since i don't know where to get raw grrape leaves i will substitute perilla leaves instead.. where do u get raw grape leaves?

but i'm jazzed to see how it will turn out
i can smell the cinnamon... l luv persimmons

i only saw 2 recipes

i like the two recipes u have so far because they look simple and tasty

no dehydrating for a million hours ( plus i don't have a dehydrator)
but i was looking forward to reading your other recipes

but silly me

i couldn't find them

where did they go?

Great topic,
When I sit down to enjoy a salad,I meditate on the living energy in what I am eating.Todays salad was romaine,beet greens,spinach,cucumber,alfalfa sprouts.
I LOVE that I crave it as much as I used to pizza!!!!!!
And the flavors are wonderful.I have a carrot/apple/beet drink every day and its more delicious than any other drink I have known.

Vinny

I am finding it interesting that there have been 100 views on this thread and only 5 replies.
There must be SOMETHING about raw food that you all love.


Vinny

i love how easy it is to just grab some fruit an go to me its becomeing the ultimate fast food lol

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I agree with jgunn. It is actually convenient and quick to grab my "pre-packaged" food to throw in a bag and take to work. Easy to chop, peel, or just munch straight from the bag. Very fast and convenient and filling.

I also love how I FEEL when eating raw. I feel cleaner, lighter, healthier, brighter, more energetic, and the list is endless....

I, personally, don't have alot of time to make fancy dishes and recipes, but I get along just fine with plenty of juices, green smoothies, and salads as the foundation for my main meals.

*****************************
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson

There is soooo much more that I love... I hope you don't mind me adding a few extras....

I love that clean-up is so easy.

I love having meals with JUST ONE ingredient! (mono eating)

I love having dessert as my entire meal!!! How great is it to eat a bowlful of sorbet (made from bananas and frozen blueberries) or another guilt-free dessert as dinner?

I love losing weight while eating all that I want. Yipee!

I love having health and vitality without pills, doctors or pain. Oh, and being allergy-free too.

I love how connected I feel to the Earth and everything alive.

I love knowing that I am not harming the planet by supporting the meat/dairy industry and buying over-packaged food.

I love being "a regular gal" - ya know what I mean?

I love having a place like this to talk about raw food - a place where people don't think eating raw food is weird or dangerous. Thank you all for taking time to share information and for being supportive.


My favorite raw vegan

i like that i am not polluting the earth with belches of smoke from coal cuz i have not used the stove range in years

i like that i don't have to litter the ocean with miles of plastic cuz the fruits and veggies i get are not packaged and i re use my plastic bags to put them in it

i like that i save on electrical bill

i like that i can discard of the seed and it can sprout a tree

no cooked food can make that claim

i like that everything i eat can be put in a blender ( try putting a piece of meat and bread in a blender... yuck)

i love the fact that ....

and also that....

and wait a minute.. i forgot to add...

but in addition to .... i also love....

(fill in the blank)

I like that I have lost about 16 pounds since I began raw a little over three months ago. I also like that it is with very little effort that I lost it and I am never starving myself anymore, eating what I love and feeling good about it. I like that raw is guilt free nourishment! That's just I few things that I like about raw food!

Deb

I love the way my clothes fit now.

One of the things I love about eating raw food is that I feel so energetic after I'm done eating. When I used to eat cooked food, I'd have to go nap or take it easy after I had a big meal. For years, when I was in my 20s, I had hypoglycemia, and I was low on energy and tired all the time. Raw food, once you get through the detox/transition stages, makes you feel SO vital and happy to be alive.

I love the way my skin responds to a raw diet: I'm 60 and I still have a good complexion. If I eat a little cooked food, the skin on my face gets rough and uneven for a day or two. If I stick with raw, my skin stays soft and unlined.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

Oh goodie! A fun POSITIVE thread! I forgot these existed on the forum. What a relief.

I was buying groceries today for our dinner tomorrow because we are having a combined family birthday party hosted in our home with the traditional SAD pizza and ice-cream-cake, so I wanted to have the fixins' for a big salad for myself and hubby. I was reminded how a big salad has become my "comfort food" and I actually CRAVE it, just like the other poster mentioned in this thread or another one recently. Nothing beats a big, savory, crunchy, filling salad when you really do crave a "fix." =)

*****************************
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson

My favorite thing about being raw is the amount of (how do I say this politely)...."elimination" that I experience. Makes me feel clean and fresh!

I love the way RAW feels.
I love the positivity raw brings me.
I love enjoying raw vibrant health.
I love the colour, smell, texture, taste.
I love the fact that I was able to heal through eating RAW
I loved watching my once sick pup heal when switched to a raw vegan diet.
I love RAW living food!
I'm so grateful on many levels that I found RAW!
ffx

I'm most pleased to sit down to a simple fresh raw meal. . .

I love raw food because I live in the tropics and when I am on the road all day, like today, and I have to take my lunch with me, it doesn't spoil and go off in the heat like my SAD food used to .
Because I am juicing right now, I am finding the clean up a chore, however it is still faster than serving over a hot stove or oven.
I love the impact raw food consumption is having in all areas of my spiritual, mental and physical life.
I love the possibility of the raw food livity.
It is Unity & diversity at the same time.
It keeps me awake and living.
Bless.

Wow. I love reading about the way raw foods help folks feel connected,especially spiritually.
Its as though all the "gunk" of a SAD diet clogs your pathways to the divine,and raw cleans out the pathways,so we can get in touch.I know food isnt utopia,but it sure can have a effect in feeling it.

Vinny

Yep. It's me again with a few more:

Today I'm really loving how gorgeous raw food is! So many luscious colours! So many interesting textures... Smooth, rumpled, prickly, fuzzy, sticky and soft... Just look at all of the complex geometric designs and patterns. I mean, have you ever really stared at a pineapple? What a marvel of nature! Then there's the smell... of a... ripe... peach... Oh! Oh! Aaahhh....

I love discovering new raw foods I have never tried. Oooohh, tamarillos. Mmmm, feijoas. Gold kiwifruit, yum! I look forward to trying my first durian. Even when I find new raw foods that I don't like, I enjoy the experience of trying them.

And finally, I just love how darn good raw food is for me. Isn't it great to get vitamins and minerals from real food instead of pills? If you are like me and now healthy because of raw food (without medicine, without surgery), then you know why I LOVE RAW FOOD!!! .


My favorite raw vegan

Plus it relatively inexpensive.

I love knowing that I can eat until I feel satisfied, but always keep my weight at a reasonable level.

I love feeling confident about my health as I get older.

I love being comfortable in my body.

I love having more energy to enjoy LIFE!

I love the feeling of control.

*!I can control my own health.!*

I don't have to helplessly accept aging and disease.

Raw food is the richest and most flavorful food on earth. Sometimes, it is almost orgasmic (but on a spiritual/emotional/sensual level, not sexual..lol). I savor each and every bite. I don't have to think about slowing down and chewing my food x number of times, I just do it automatically to fully envelop myself in each and every moment of the experience.