Going raw turned out to be pretty easy for me.

- Food. Check! Tasty goodness and my body encouraged a complete change.

- Creativity. Check! No lack for this. Loving that I can keep it simple, too.

- Education. Check! You guys have been, in my opinion, my best resource. Actual people, not gurus.

So, what's the hardest change for me in going raw?

- Grocery shopping TEN times as often as I used to!!!! Being without a car, or a bike, grocery shopping is a bear. It takes a LOT of time. I used to be one of those people who stocked-up at Costco for items I used a lot. I'd give a friend some gas money and stock up on everything I could because I didn't have transportation. I only bought toilet paper once a year! (I had enough toilet paper after one trip to actually get married!) Can't quite do that with fruits and veggies...

This is true. I do have a car. I drive 20 minutes to a market where everything is SUPER cheap... but because the drive is so far, I only go once a week.

This means 11-12 BAGS of produce (durians included!) up and down the stairs, fiddling with apartment keys, opening all the doors to get through the halls... whew! It is a workout. It usually takes 3-4 trips to get everything inside.

So I really can't imagine doing it all on foot. O.O At least you're using the best of fuel, getting some exercise, and feeling extremely thankful for what you eat (I would imagine). I salute you! >8)

Sprouting is something low-maintenance you may want to consider. My roommate also gets his groceries delivered to the door, I don't know if that's available in your area or something you'd want to do (I would still prefer to pick my own produce).

Um... how much toilet paper do you need to get married?

I agree that raw foods are generally a lot more perishable than what I was eating before (a large portion was dried beans and grains). I usually only shop once a week, but I can see how even that can be difficult if you are carless in an area without good public transportation.

I don't have much good advice, but I would suggest that sprouting, if done on a decent scale, can supply a significant portion of your diet. Sprouts grown from small seeds (broccoli, clover, alfalfa, etc...) produce many many times their original weight in edible food by the time they're done growing.

Also... consider mail ordering food. Some sellers have subscription programs where they'll automatically ship you the same crate of fruit every week (or month, or whatever).

edit: I know some of the food products on Amazon.com can be ordered as subscriptions.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2008 06:27PM by frances.

I just thinking that too. I shop most every day.

I hate it when I run out of ripe bananas. I have to remember to buy them days ahead because it's hard to find ripe ones in the store especially in the winter. Avocados have to be timed right too.

I'm used to the shopping now though. On the plus side I don't have to buy bags and bags of stuff, just one or two a day. It's a quick in and out of the store too cuz I'm mostly in the produce section. Lugging watermelons home can be tough though. The personal size ones they have everywhere now are just too small for me. : )



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2008 06:33PM by Dulset.

There are, perhaps, those that historically....in more rural areas....would make a trip to their local produce market every day! For my part....I usually shop every other day...or every 3 days. For a larger family...it might be more of an issue. For me? It's easy and promotes a nice conversation with my local produce guy!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

There are grocery delivery services available, but, as phantom mentioned, it's nice to pick out your own produce. I'm very fussy with it.

I'm looking forward to moving at the end of April. Being without transport, I'm going to make sure that I live as close to a grocery store as possible. I usually do anyway, but now it's more important to me.

Greens seem to wilt after two days in my fridge. I started a thread awhile ago regarding the optimal temperature setting for a raw refrigerator. (It doesn't seem as if the coolers in grocery stores are set at 40*F.) There didn't seem to be any concrete advice on it so I'll just play around with the temperature and see what happens.

Without a car, the simplest chores take SO MUCH LONGER to accomplish. There is no "popping in and out." Truth be told, I've been without a car for eight years and I'm getting over it. I want the freedom that a car offers again.

The Hardest Adjustment Going Raw??
All the fruit going away in the winter as well as Farmers Markets closing for about 4 months at a time. Years and practice get one through it though. At least where I live it's pretty scarce.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2008 07:15PM by tanawana.

Simple Living- I find that the most important thing for keeping greens fresh in the fridge is keeping them from getting dehydrated by the fridge, which is actively pulling moisture out of the air at all times to prevent frost build-up. When I can't seal them in an air tight space (e.g. a crisper, a tupperware, or a plastic bag) it helps to dampen a cloth towel and either wrap the greens in it or just drape it over the greens. After a day or two the towel dries out and needs re-dampening. I rarely have trouble getting greens to last at least a week in the fridge.

Quote

Simple Living- I find that the most important thing for keeping greens fresh in the fridge is keeping them from getting dehydrated by the fridge, which is actively pulling moisture out of the air at all times to prevent frost build-up. When I can't seal them in an air tight space (e.g. a crisper, a tupperware, or a plastic bag) it helps to dampen a cloth towel and either wrap the greens in it or just drape it over the greens. After a day or two the towel dries out and needs re-dampening. I rarely have trouble getting greens to last at least a week in the fridge.

A WEEK? You're my hero! I'm going to give this a try with a little renewed enthusiasm. Thanks frances!

Greens last a week or more for me too. I keep them in air tight containers. I always buy produce to ripen, like green bananas and hard avocados. Apples and oranges last a long time. I make sure to keep my fruit in the open air and rotate them. Wire baskets work well. I really only have to shop once a week but usually go twice because I am wanting something specific.

I only saw this commercial once (I hope I didn't dream about it) about some kind of new bag that some lady is selling on TV. It's supposed to keep stuff fresher longer. It has to do with the way the chemicals that produce emits and how it reacts with the lining of the bags.

It was during one of those daytime yenta shows that was on when I was sick from work. I haven't seen the commercial since. Anybody hear about this?

-DaveK

Yes I have a small used Japanese economy car (Echo, manual transmission) and it makes groceries a lot easier. We go through at least 40 lbs of produce per week in my house for one person and two large dogs. We also use about 10 lbs of grains and beans mostly for them.

I used to do it on a bicycle, 1-2 trips per day, was forever warping the wheels and getting chewed out by the bicycle repair people.

I also find I'm making a lot more trips to shops because no matter how much I buy on Saturday, by Wednesday we seem to be very low on fruit! Especially bananas.
I also spend a lot more time shopping since going raw because i've sussed out prices and foods all over the place so I get my produce from 7 different shops instead of 2!

Maybe these are the bags:

[www.greenbagsdirect.com]

I saw them for sale at Kroger too.

I can vouch for those green bags! The link above is correct. I thought they were a bit pricey, but they are well worth it. If you greens and herbs will last several weeks... broc, cauli, zukes, cukes etc. last very long without any noticeable decline in flavor or "crispness". I bought them a while ago and have used and reused them much longer than it suggests on the package and they still seem to work.

Aloha Nui Loa,

Greg

A great many people think they are thinking when they are really rearranging their prejudices. - William James

There is no pill that can be swallowed,
There is no guru, that can be followed, - Michael Franti (Pray For Grace)

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. - Albert Camus

Quote

I saw them for sale at Kroger too.

I haven't been Krogering in years! Oh shoot, now you've done gone and made me crave some sweet tea! There are times I miss Tennessee....

I'll have to see if I can find some of those bags. It seems unnatural to keep fruit and veggies for weeks, though. A little eerie!

I don't use the green bags. My greens stay good in tupperware and my fruit stays good on an open shelf.

Sweet tea. I wouldn't miss that. LOL. My man and kids love it. Now they use agave.

I find myself going grocery shopping every day too. I'm lucky I have a car though and that both Whole Foods and Sunflower Market are on the roads I drive to get home. Really I should be biking, it's only a 5 mile ride to work and I buy such a small amount of groceries that it would be easy to carry them in a basket on my bike.
I really like shopping every day for the food I'm going to eat for dinner and the next day. I feel like I buy more of a variety of food than I would when I went to Costco. Costco is definitely cheaper, but I find that my husband and I can't eat the bulk produce fast enough and it tends to rot. I think I'm going to have to check out those green bags, I always see commercials for them but never knew anyone who used them.

brenna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I really like shopping every day for the food I'm
> going to eat for dinner and the next day. I feel
> like I buy more of a variety of food than I would
> when I went to Costco.

Me too. I would love to shop every day, but I don't own a car by choice and it's a bit far to bike it. I just moved to a new city...used to live in SF where there was citycarshare and zipcar. No such luck in my new town. :-( So I take public speedway transport which is fast and easy...only 20-30 minutes door to door. I find I go produce shopping at my co-op 2-3x per week, at least 2x per week.

When I lived in Italy this is the way it was done. Shop every day for fresh food and produce. Albeit it's nothing that I would eat now, but certainly the vegetables and fruit were always so very fresh and yummylicious. Italian people really know how to eat and enjoy life. Raw or not. ;-)

When I first started carting groceries this way I was beginning to hurt my back, so I purchased one of those rolling carts. I now look like a little old lady carrying my groceries home. (No offense to anyone who is a little old lady). Anyway, it's weird the reactions you get from some people when you're carting your goodies on the bus and strolling down the street in the suburbs. It could lend itself to a sociology class experiment. I'm generally treated with a lot care, like I'm this fragile thing when I use the cart. hahaha. I'm pretty athletic for my build, so they're straight up trippin'. lol.

Every day is an adventure being a raw foodist for sure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2008 04:51PM by rawangel.

You need a cart.

Check out www.instep.net

I have the $99.00 bicycle cart. You don't get the features of the $400 BOB cart that REI sells (has more drag during accelleration, is heavier), but it does the job. I lived without a car for 7 years, and biked 5 miles to and from work every day, and shopped at the co-op and hauled LOTS of fruits and veggies around!

Also, CABBAGE is a great standby - it takes nearly a month to go bad!

Angie


Me (30), Joseph (24 mo.) Jeremiah (4 mo.)

We are enjoying spring and being outside!!!

I have a car and a 21 speed (3 front X 7 rear) city bike. Once a week I make a fairly long drive to a co-op and get organics but I like fresh produce almost daily so during the week, weather permitting, I frequently use the bike to do neighborhood shopping. In my neighborhood I have a small Safeway store (.19 cent/lb ready to eat bananas), A large competitively priced grocery store with a good produce dept, and an Asian market store. My bike has a luggage rack on the back and I can put and bungee cord items directly onto the luggage rack like a case of coconuts. Or I can bungee cord a 10 3/4" x 15 3/4" Rubbermaid clear plastic box onto the luggage rack that I can set items into and go. This is about the same size as those hand carry plastic shopping baskets in the stores but with lower sides (5 3/4 high) which holds two of those soft plastic shopping bags filled with enough room at the top to close and tie them. This works very well for most of my loads as I can just set the bags into the bike box and go. Very occasionally I get larger loads (coupon sales etc) and I will take off the medium sized Rubbmaid box and put on the large 16 1/4" x 22 1/2" clear plastic Rubbermaid box. I like to take the bike when I can because it feels good to ride, is good exercise, and saves gas.

angie1 -- I like the bike cart linked in your post and if I ever sell the car or maybe even if I don't I will look into one of those.