Next week (starting Monday 8/20) I'm going two weeks 100% raw. I went through my diet and figured I eat 50% raw already on a normal day (since I love salads and fresh fruit). I have been vegan for six years. My motivation is to lose 5-10 pounds, but I also hope to move to 75% raw in the long term. My question is, does anyone know or can anyone suggest a good raw meal plan for a first time one week, or even just a couple of days? Mainly I want to make sure to get a few soaked/sprouted grains and sprouted legumes in addition to the regular raw veggies and fruit.

My diet currently is like this:
AM: cooked 7-grain porriage and one or two pieces of whole raw fruit (plum, apple, banana, pear, etc).
LUNCH: big salad of leaf lettuce, tomatoes, cuke, carrots, "crunchy" sprouts or cooked chickpeas, avocado, dressing
SNACK: another whole raw fruit such as above or fruit salad, handful of raw almonds
DINNER: brown rice burger (homemade) or cooked quinoa, cooked greens or broccoli, salad with beans in it.


I'm wondering if I can "translate" the cooked stuff to raw, ie, eat a raw porriage for breakfast, I already do the "crunchy" (ie, pea/lentil) sprouts at lunchtime, and have raw brown rice or quinoa in the evenings.

otherwise, any suggestions for a totally different meal plan, for a beginner, would be appreciated as well!

thanks.

there's a really great book that i've been following since deciding to transition to raw foods called "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose. She provides sample week long meal plans. It has made the transition process very easy for me and there are great recipes in the back!

the first raw book i read was the one you speak of eagregory1 LOVE it!
patty

Thanks for the suggestion! My library is sorely lacking on raw food books, but I will see if I can order that one. I am curious, though, do you all find yourselves eating hardly any grains or beans if at all, or if you are high raw, do you eat a few cooked grains or beans?

I sprout beans (not grains) and eat them - good carbs.

There are recipes on this website, not just this forum.


[www.rawbc.org] has good links.

Does raw food mean that you have no HOT food either?

Sorry guys this is all very new

Curently on day 4 of Lemon Detaox going strong and they reccomend to go RAW so just finding out some info -

Not sure if I could go without HOT foods though?

Welcome Aswayn,

Raw generally means that you don't eat foods that have been heated above 118°F, however some people believe that temp is lower stating that enzymes begin to be destroyed at 102°F.

Anyway to answer the question raw food not hot, sometimes it is warm from the dehydrator if you have purchased such a machine. Most of the food eaten on a raw vegan diet is are fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses, sprouts, grains in a non heated unprocessed state, as they came from nature if you will.

Some rawfoodists make dishes from raw foods that have spicy ingredients in them and this makes them feel hot.

It's not an all or nothing thing though, it's more about getting more fresh unprocessed food into your diet, some people eat a 50% raw diet, others 75%, some are 99% raw others try to strictly go with 100% raw, it's really about finding what works for you. Often your raw food intake increases in small steps once you get into raw foods and the health benefits you feel from them.

Please have a read of the information on the home page of the site [www.rawfoods.com]
There is also a wealth of Raw food information on the internet.

If you have any questions everyone here is very friendly

Have a great day,

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2007 01:11PM by jadedshade.

Thanks for you help Phil - I'm prepared to give it a whirl
Anything to improve the body and mind!

I just looked up the book The Raw Food Detox Diet you recommended on Amazon- it looks great! Very exciting. I am still curious though about the differing habits of various raw foodists... does it make sense to "translate" grains from cooked to raw as I asked about? or do you mostly prefer to leave the grains out?

Personally I've always used grains as a stomach-soother, but I've come a long ways from eating bread at every meal (and snacks! ok I used to bake for a living)-- now I hardly eat bread at all.

Do you find you need a stomach-soother with raw veggies and fruits? What do you use? Avocados, almonds?

I don't tend to eat raw grains really, I don't really like sprouted buckwheat etc. I eat very few seeds and nuts however I do get my essential cold pressed oils, fruits, vegetables, greens. It's all about experimentation though to find what is best for you.

A stomach soother? Like if you have an upset stomach? In those cases I eat very little or nothing until I feel better again, I would probably drink a lot of water.
Are you asking about a stomach soother due to the acidity of certain fruits? Because most fruits alkalize in the body, particularly citris fruit which are very acidic prior to consumption.

The mainstream media has done a god job of demonizing fruit, it really is your friend, it's offered by plants to us to spread their seed. It's in natures interest give us something that will sustain us.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

I am raw 9 weeks now and am not eating that many beans. I have graduated to the point of sprouting french lentils and wheat berries and adding these to my salads. I also put wheat sprouts through the GreenStar juicer and that makes great dough. My favorite way to incorporate grains, so far, is to soak oat groats and then put them through the juicer. That is the BEST dough! And it made great oatmeal cookies from the dehydrator. I currently eat Ezekiel tortillas almost every day because I feel a need to have that bread "full" feeling.

My nutritional priorities are:
#1 greens and micro-greens
#2 sprouts
#3 assorted fruits and vegetables
#4 grains and beans

These are listed by level of importance, not by amount. And this may change as I continue to grow in knowledge and understanding. I am making a big effort to include greens every day through kale salads, green juices and hopefully soon, green smoothies. But most of my diet is produce with bread and milk substitutes. Now that my body has grown accustomed to get nutrients from fresh food, it does not miss the high protein at all (I used to eat a lot of meat and beans, milk products, bread and potato).

hello all,

I am just trying to start raw. My sister in law and brother in law went from vegetarians to raw and I think it was a smooth transition. However, I am not a vegetarian and me and my husband eat out frequently. I have gotten a couple of clonics done but I feel that I won't be as successful unless i eat more than 50% raw. Does anybody have any advice on how I can make a smooth transition?

I have been eating raw going on 2 months and I have lost 10 lbs and feel great! My skin looks so good and my back that usually has bumps all over it is smooth. I made my first raw chocolate pie last week and it was awful. It had way too much chocolate in it but the crust was great. I was determined to get it right so I made another one this weekend and cut down on the cacao powder. This time it was really good. I am not fond of avocados but in this pie they are great. I just got into drinking the green smoothies and after a few days I am actually getting to like them. I just made one for breakfast and I used Romaine, Kale, cabbage, Spinach and 3 bananas and 16 strawberries and ave necter. It was a little strong at first but I added more necter and poured it over ice and it is much better. I am a firm believer that you can get used to anything if you just keep trying and especially when it is going to give you better health. I am not 100% raw yet but I believe I am between 80 and 90%. Eventually, I think I will be 100%. I have not pushed this on anyone else as I feel it is a personal decision. But after 4weeks my 36 year old daughter told me how great I looked and could she read my "raw Detox Book by Natalia Rose" and now she and her husband are starting to go raw. Even my husband who is the last person I would ever expect to do this even though he has always loved fruits and salads, is now asking me for sips of my green smoothies to see what they taste like. I do believe he might come around with in the near future. Sorry if I am rambling on but I have nevery felt so good or been so excited about any other diet or life style.

This is a great group and I keep learning so much from all of you

thank you

JoAnn

You guys ALL RAWK! and your excitement and enthusiasm is so contagious that I already feel a touch of joy coming on...

Thanks to all of you for being here and for sharing your experiences with us.

khale