Hello all. I have a quick question. I have 3 kids and a husband and I want to RFD but I barely have enough money to buy groceries for all of us much less a completly different set of diet foods for just myself. They do not want to go raw but I do so what is a good CHEAP list of foods to start off with? What equip is bare neccesity? Basically what is a good quick start?

*Nice*

Opinion:

-My kind advice is to avoid the 'all or nothing' mentality. There is SOME level of raw food that you ARE comfortable with and are eating right NOW. It should not be bankrupting you. All you have to do is plan a steady stretch of 1-2% from there! You will adjust your lifestyle and spending habits to accomodate your new healthy lifestyle as time goes on. You just can't see the whole picture yet - but you have taken a wonderful step into a beautiful place! Congratulations for your intelligent decision!

-On the practical side:

1) Stick to the more inexpensive and conventional produce (apples, bananas, etc.)

2) Shop around for sales and cheaper places to buy specific things.

3) Consider growing your own greens & sprouts.

4) Shop for dented & damaged produce.

5) Speak to the owners of your local produce stand / mart. Tell them you would like to come by once per week and take their old produce off their hands.

6) Get a part-time job at your local produce stand - that way you'll have an 'in' and extra money to boot.

7) Shop in bulk at farmers markets........or hook up with a local CSA.

8) Network with other raw fooders in your area to get tips and suggestions.

-Avoid expensive equipment. Go to a thrift store. You'll find cheap juicers, blenders & cutting boards a-plenty!

-Just some tips - which I hope are helpful to you!

-David Mason

Brilliant suggestions from David, I have two more things to add . .

You could also try foraging for wild foods growing in your area if you live in or near the country. It's amazing what grows wild if you look hard enough.

Also ask neighbours if they have any produce, fruit trees for instance, that they would allow you to have or swap. I asked my neighbour if I could pick apples from his tree last year and got bowlfuls of fresh organic apples. So often people don't eat the fruit growing on their trees.


Skye,


x x x

Hello Nice. I want to say first, try not to affirm that you are poor. We are all so rich in so many ways, and as I have learned, adopting a so-called 'poverty-consciousness' will only affirm that. Believe that you are blessed with Abundance and so it shall be.

On the produce note, it is so important to buy as much organic produce as possible. We are eating these foods raw, so if they are laden with pesticides, we are poisoning ourselves. According to Environmental Working Group,
" These 12 popular fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently the most contaminated with pesticides--buy these organic:
Apples
Bell Peppers
Celery
Cherries
Grapes (imported)
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red Raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries

The 12 with consistently lowest levels of pesticides:
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Corn
Kiwi
Mangos
Onions
Papaya
Pinapples
Peas (sweet)"


Not to offend at all, but I tend to disagree with one of David's suggestions of looking for dented or damaged produce. When eating raw, I believe that the food should be in beautiful condition to feed our bodies and souls. Of course, an apple from my father-in-law's apple tree would not appeal to the masses since it is misshapen, but it is fresh off the tree and organic. Can't get much better than that!

It is certainly wise to avoid the all or nothing mentality. That can just send us into tailspins.

An easy way to start, and inexpensive is to buy a big bag of organic carrots, many different types of greens, some radishes, onions, an avocado or 2 if you can manage it (they are definitely pricey here in PA) and make enormous salads. Frozen fruit and raw yogurt if you are not vegan make great inexpensive breakfasts. The carrots are very versatile. Grate them and mix with some parsley, lemon juice, cayenne and cumin, and voila! a very tasty savory salad. Or grate and mix with some soaked raisins and walnuts, orange juice, sprinkle a little cinnamon and ginger and you've got an awesome dessert.
Making your own salad dressing is also much cheaper than buying bottled. All you need for a basic one is some olive oil, vinegar of choice, some dried herbs, garlic, lemon juice. Yum yum!

I hope this has been helpful.
Many Blessings on your Journey
April

If you have a yard, start a garden. You can grow lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, berries. Plant a fruit tree.

Start a food buying cooperative and buy foods at wholesale prices from produce distributors. My yoga group buys food together, and if we make the $250 minimum, we get the food delivered to the place of our choice. If we make only the $150 minimum, we can pick up the produce at one of the distributor's other customer's location.

great suggestions U guys!
+
dandylions from U'r backyard (or neighbour's) r yummy & sooooo good for U....& they grow like 'weeds'!
my body loves them
BLESSINGS & LOVE, Basia

I buy reduced produce all the time (greens usually) they're practically giving it away it's so cheap. I just make sure to use it within the next 3 days. I've never had a problem with it. A penny saved...

yes, go raw slow, and a lot of the healthy food is cheaper than the SAD food.
we have ate good for years by buying whole grains in bulk and grinding them ourselves, then making whole grain breads etc. sometimes it runs 10-15 cents a pound instead of more like 1.00 a lb and up for store bought food. it does take a little more investment up front for a mill, but it pays for itself fast and then starts saving money. then ya can expirment with sprouting the grains a little at a time. a hand cranked burr mill from CS Bell Co. is a good one. some of the cheaper ones arn't durable. it does take some research to find places to get bulk grains. at times we buy 50 lb bags of pop corn from sams club and make corn meal with it, but i like the corn we grow better.

common green veggies really are the more cheaper members of the raw kingdom

in comparison to fruits and nuts

even organhic greens are not significantly more expensive than non organic greens

and since they are high in chlorophyll and minerals, vitamins, you get your bucks worth

at any rate,

enjoy your fun filled RFD life

check out some of the recipes if you ar enew and need some motivation

but to be quite honest

the cheapest thing to do is just eat the fruit plain for a meal
or to toss some greens together and make a salad

dehydrating your food take a lot of time, expensive equipment and money ( for electricity)

so, just keep it simple
its cheaper that way ( money wise)

and richer for your cells

Oh my Gawd mill your own wheat!!! Is it really that serious? I don't have money for a decent can opener much less a mill, dehydrator, juicer, processor; or am I just being too dramatic. It seems hard.

*Nice*

Raw, organic brown sesame seeds (with the hull) and raw organic hulled sunflower seeds are very cheap.

And they are packed with minerals! For me they are the protein, fat, and mineral staple in my diet (plus fruits and salads). I eat them almost every day. I mix them together into a cup and eat them with a spoon. It doesn't take much. Usually about 1/4 cup of each will be enough unless you're really hungry (depending how big you are - I'm only 5'1". So they last a pretty long time.

I buy the sesame seeds from the bin at the health food store, and they're usually pretty fresh. The sunflower seeds are fresher and taste better if they're bought prepackaged. I buy the organic prepackaged Woodstock Farms sunflower seeds. Lately I've seen the same ones being sold at the regular supermarket, and even at Long's Drug Store!

They take a long time to chew, but they taste really good, a burst of seed oil with each bite. YUM!

A LOT cheaper than organic almonds or walnuts (which of course are good too if they're fresh and you find you can afford them).

A word of caution: If you eat nothing else organic, try to buy your seeds and nuts organic. I've gotten really sick a couple of times eating conventionally grown sunflower seeds and walnuts.

Hello.

This is my second week transitioning to raw, but I¡¦m no stranger to healthier foods.

Budgets can be tight sometimes. While I feel organic produce is best, buy what you can afford. I still feel produce grown with pesticides is far healthier than processed foods laced with sugars, preservatives, and chemicals. Just wash it as thoroughly as you can (which you know).

I find that Sam¡¦s Club has some organic foods such has spinach and it¡¦s relatively inexpensive. Bananas (not organic there) are 99 cents for a big bunch. I buy apples (not organic) there on occasion as they are much bigger and have less marks than our local grocery, not to mention cheaper. So, Club Stores like Sam¡¦s and BJ¡¦s can be a resource for you.

As mentioned in a previous post, sunflower seeds are inexpensive. They were $2.5 here for a pound or raw organic; I live in CT.

What I¡¦ve also been doing is grinding flax seed (have always been a big fan of flax) and putting them in my smoothies. It¡¦s $2.5 for 14 oz. Flax seeds have so much goodness in them; fiber, omega threes, amino acids. . You can buy milled flaxseed in the store health store too, but like any thing once its ground it starts to lose nutrition, but it¡¦s still healthy.

Someone gave me a link to sproutpeople.com last week, and I¡¦m looking forward to sprouting my own seeds when my package arrives. That also seems to be a cheap way of getting nutrition. Raw organtic and grown in your own kitchen.

I was also in the health food store this weekend and did see sprouting seeds in the produce section. I suppose you could buy some in a store local to you and grow them in a jar and see how you like them. I really like the idea of sprouts from a nutritional standpoint.

I¡¦m really not having a problem sticking to the basics. They are what I know anyway; I just eat more of them and try really hard to eat enough variety to round out my nutrition, and it seems to be working! I feel better than I have in a long time, and it¡¦s only been a little over a week.


PS: I typed this in word so I could do a spell check, but when I posted strange things happened and strage Characters appeared. I don't have time to edit it right now, but I wanted to post it for you. So, sorry for those strange things! I'll edit them out when I have a chance! Have a great day!!!

Raw wheat germ is another cheap food that is packed with protein, vitamins, and minerals. It is a great addition to salads.

Unfortunately I have never been able to find ORGANIC raw wheat germ, but I eat the conventional brand anyway with no problems so far (although it is always better to buy organic whenever you can find it and afford it). Keep wheat germ in the refrigerator once the package has been opened.

Another cheap healthy food is raw organic peanuts, often available in bulk at the health food store. They may be one of the best sources of protein. The "jungle peanuts" however are VERY expensive.