Can anyone give me some details about the raw food lifestyle versus veganism.
Can you cook anything at all ? Can you steam stuff ?
What do you eat on an average day ?
Are there any normal products you can buy - like bread and stuff ?
ANY INFO WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED - THANK YOU !

Can you cook anything at all? Can you steam stuff?
Well, if you did that it wouldn't be raw then :O)
But if you wish to do it, by all means go with what works for you.

What do you eat on an average day?
Basically, go with all you care for of fresh ripe fruits and veggies.
A typical day can be(BUT CAN VARY FOR EVERYONE)
2 melons for breakfast
10 bananas for lunch
6 oranges and a head of romaine with several tomato for dinner and avocado
NOTE: This can vary for everyone and depending on where you are at will determine what you do and don't eat. (example: some do greens, some don't. Some do nuts, some don't. Some eat large quantities, some don't)

Are there any normal products you can buy - like bread and stuff?
You want to get away from this kind of thinking eventually. This is more for
a typical SAD eater. If you want bread and stuff there are alternatives,
but not good, healthy raw ones. Raw is meant to be simple and a totally
new way to approach things. Looking for replacements usually ends in failure even years down the road.

Sure! Welcome.

-Think less about 'raw' and think more about 'fresh fuits, vegetables & nuts'....and you'll be doing the right thing! Even most doctors/nutritionists would advocate eating a high percentage of these things. So the science is quite behind it......proportionate to what YOUR goals are.

-There are NO Raw Food Police. No ONE book, and no ONE guru......so eating raw is just a tool. YOUR goals must necessitate healthy eating....in order to be truly successful in the long run. So my opinion is that it's AS much about goal-setting and YOUR goals/motivation....as the mechanics of accomplishment. You know?

1) A Raw (fresh plant food) Food Vegan (100%) would eat no processed items of any kinds...and only 100% fresh raw plant foods (vegetables, fruits, sprouts & nuts).

2) Some raw food folks don't eat 100% fresh, but also use supplements, dehydrated foods, frozen foods, processed oils, salts, vinegar and other things. I personally do not - but if these get you toward YOUR goals...more power to you. Steaming would reduce the quality of the proteins/nutrients - so I avoid it.

3) Average day: Breakfast = 2 glasses fresh Orange Juice, Snack = 2 apples, Lunch = 5 small avocados, Snack = 1/2 lb grapes or 2 cups of strawberries, Dinner = 1/2 Papaya or 1/2 Watermelon or 1/2 Pineapple.

4) Products I buy? Just whats in my fresh plant food markets! No breads or stuff.

-I'm sure the wonderful folks on this board (including myself) will share some great resources and support!

-What do you think?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

The FAQ that can also be accessed from the home page link at the bottom of this page may provide additonal answers. You can also check out other articles from the homepage regarding this way of eating.

Wishing you vibrant health

Hey Uptowngirl (ooh, Billy Joel is running through my head now!)

I'm not 100% raw everyday anymore... but, when I do eat cooked I have some rules I follow...

no wheat
nothing refined
nothing from a box

I find I feel better eating some lightly steamed veggies for dinner rather than pigging out on raw nuts or fatty raw foods, which make me feel groggy and bloated. So that is what works for me... treating myself to steamed veggies or a baked potato, really keeps me on this path and filled up. I also drink lots of green smoothies.... best thing that I discovered on this raw path. Eat as much raw as you want, don't count calories or deprive yourself!

Good luck and just do what works best for you. Especially starting out, don't stress out about being 100% raw... but aim for 100% healthy.
I just got a dehydrator for Christmas and am anxious to check out some recipes and see if dehydrator foods can take me back to 100% raw everyday.

good luck on your journey!

Hey Uptown-

I was vegan for a quite a while, and then went raw. At first I tried to be 100% raw but I found that it just did not work for me...so now, as someone said in an earlier post, I just add alot of raw to my diet....it works so much better for me.

I have to say that I DO avoid all types of soy (minus edemame) products and I avoid processed foods, refined sugar and fried stuff (most of the time- french fries are a weakness from time to time...)

I found that alot of stuff in my vegan diet was not working (the soy, excessive grains, sugar--organic or not, it is STILL sugar), and neither was 100% raw, so I combined them for what I feel like is the best of both and I feel much healthier when I eat this way.

Several books on both subjects have helped me, as well as this website and GoneRaw.com is a good place to find alot of recipes that are vegan and raw without being too weird, or just smoothies and juices. The most important thing I learned is not to get too obsessed with trying to make yourself be 100% raw at first...I tried it and I think it is better to transition because then you don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself, and you can figure out if this way of eating is a good fit for YOU...I use Alvarado Bakery sprouted grain breads, and Manna Bread (in the frozen section at the health food store) for bread choices. Good luck and good eating!

Dafodil



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2008 09:01PM by dafodil.

Hey uptowngirl --

There's a huge amount of information out there on the web, so I encourage you to take some time reading. You'll find a lot of different opinions, so I also encourage you to collect lots of information without deciding that any one person knows about the one right way. Every body is different, and it will likely take some time to learn what works best for you.

For starters, though, I heard some very helpful and simple advice years ago with regard to choosing what foods to eat when transitioning to or eating all raw foods. As much as possible, foods should be organic, fresh, ripe and raw. The closer you can stick to those the better off you'll be.

As to what to eat, that too varies hugely. Here's what might be a sample day for me:

1 granny smith apple cut into sections and lightly spread with almond butter
1 qt of green smoothie
1 qt of sesame milk
grapefruit and avocado salad (1 grapefruit, 1/2 avocado)
a green salad with some nut or seed pate

You can get really fancy and gourmet, or keep it really simple, depends on how you like to eat and the time you have available.

Welcome to this transformative journey, and enjoy!

Cheers,
Kim

WOW - thank you everyone ... everyone is so helpful on this website
I am going to apologfize in advance for not replying to each individual post - I am a student and I have a TON of homework and projects this week !
I did read every post though, and the information you gave me was VERY informative.
I think I am going to start out eating two raw meals a day ... I already eat fresh fruit or juice from my juicer for my breakfast, but I am going to try to eat a raw lunch or dinner as well.
Maybe a fruit salad or a green salad with sliced almonds and whatever else !
I am going to try to eat raw as much as possible, but I don't think a 100% conversion would be very reasonable right now. I am going to make small transitions.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP !