My mom has been studying and transitioning to the raw lifestyle for about a year now and the more I hear about it, the mroe it makes sense.

I don't have any books and am trying to learn as much as possible about this lifestyle.

After reading a few posts, I see that nuts should only be a small percentage of your diet. What is a general rule to follow when deciding what types of foods to eat throughout the day. I find myself using my juicer in the morning, usually citrus...A few hours later, I have a few dates or nuts. Lunch is usually greens. When I get hungry later I eat either nuts or dried fruit and in the evenings, sprouted bread and raw cheese (while transitioning) with olive oil, tomatoes, onions, avocado or whatever other veggies I can pack on the sandwich.

I find myself crazing these things everyday.

Should I be incorporating more fruit into my diet?

Any basics for a newbie would be great.

B

I would say you will know if you should be incorporating more fruit if you are getting cravings for sweet stuff. there are different opinions on fruit - some advocate a high fruit diet, others a low one. so I guess the best thing is to go with your own instincts... what you're doing already looks pretty good to me... I guess if if you're looking for advice I might say try to eat fresh juicy fruit rather than dried fruit.. and soak your nuts overnight before eating...or you could try sprouted seeds as an alternative to nuts... and be careful you don't overload on too much fatty stuff... but hey, it's all a journey, just go with the flow and enjoy yourself!
good luck ! (o:

My first month I could not get enough of nuts. Then I went totally ani-nuts, now I eat a good amount, but they are all soaked first (and seasoned, yum). I am a frim believer in eat what you body asks you to and you will find some equilibrium. I know that I feel best with a green juice during the day, and when I don't have one, I feel blech. My wife knows that she needs very few nuts, and if she has more than that, she feels off. It's a process, and it's fun. The best part is that as you figure things out, you are still eating only healthy things anyways, so no real harm! Best of luck.

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

why do raw foodists suggest soaking nuts before eating them? I have heard this before, but never understood why.

The theory (and I say theory because I am not a big believer in a lot of what I consider to be mumbo jumbo) is that raw nuts are full of enzymes in a dormant state, and if you soak them it reenergizes (or awakens) the enzymes so that the nuts become living foods. It then allows you to really extract the nutrients from the nuts. Whether it is true or not, I don't know. But as with a lot of things in my life, it doesn't harm me to do it, so I do it just in case.

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

The theory I've been exposed to is that nuts contain enzyme inhibitors, which is why they can last so long before growing (or being eaten). Both soaking or heating de-activates (kills? desolves? whatever...) the enzyme inhibitors. Eating nuts which haven't been soaked (or heated) introduces the enzyme inhibitors into your body (mainly the stomic) which isn't what you want (since you want your own enzymes to be uninhibited so they can do their jobs).

Like you say raw daddy, could be mumbo jumbo, I certain eat a lot of raw nuts without soaking/sprouting them.

When I soak nuts it normaly because I'm going to make a cream out of them and would like them softer.

Ian.