I am married with a 3 year old child. When I am at work I eat RAW all day with an occasional Pita Chip. The hardest part is when I get home. If my husband cooks dinner I am so hungry that I just eat or sometimes we go over the In Laws for dinner and it's the same way. I know the food isn't healthy but I just eat. I usually want something filling at dinner time like mashed potatoes but I don't have a lot of time when I get home and I would like my daughter to eat RAW as well. I bought the RAW uncook book by Juliano but the ingredients list is so long. Does anyone know of any simple recipes I can prepare easily and affordably without a long list of ingredients that filling? PLEASE HELP. Thanks.

Yes I do...I find that most of the recipes in the cookbooks can be made with less of the listed ingredients...for example...This began as a recipe from the cookbook that you mentioned and I didn't have all of the ingrediente either...

Tomato sauce...Put the following in a blender or use a hand held blender and put in a tall slender container and pulse blend:

2 cups of chopped tomatoes

2 cups of chopped mushrooms

fresh or dried basil to taste

sea salt to taste

cold pressed olive oil to taste

garlic to taste

OH...and I add some hot pepper...for a little kick...

I usually plan on spiral slicing or shredding a zuke but end up just scooping this up with celery...I'm usually so hungry...also I eat this once a week because of the tomatoes and mushrooms...I could have this everyday...I'm Italian so I always have garlic, basil, and a high quality olive oil on hand... with this you can adjust the ingredients as you like...for example add onion if you want...leave out the oil if you are watching calories...ect...ect...

One night I just wanted something like a comfort food so I chopped up a small cauliflower then added a splash of lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, and a splash of olive oil...pulse blended everything and scooped it up with celery...I do this with zukes and kale...the zucchini comes out more like a dressing because of their water content...and the kale is thicker so I add it to other cut up veggies or a salad and toss them together...

It is best to make everything as you need it so as not to loose any valuable nutrients so perhpas your husband can start chopping things for you before you get home or just use a food processer...

I'll add more to the list as I think of things...OH...let seeds and nuts soak while you are at work and when you get home drain and rinse...pulse blend and add veggies and herbs to make pates or add sweeteners like stevia or dates ect for a sweeter treat...sunnie butter with bananas...the moisture in the nuts and seeds is enough to hold them together after blending so you shouldn't have to add any oil...YUM...

very large salads with a lot of ingredients (i food combine, but if i want my husband to join me, i have to meet him halfway)

lettuce
arugula
spinach
avocado
pumpkin seeds
nuts of whatever sort he wants/or i have on hand (almonds usually)
dried papaya
or cranberries
or diced date
i grate raw romano cheese on his
apples
cucumbers

and for dressing,
ACV or lemon with olive oil, sea salt, lots of cracked black pepper, and sometimes sesame seeds or sesame oil

somehow this is usually a satisfying meal for him. sometimes i add meat to his, since he loves meat. i don't force my way on him but allow him to join me as he can. he comes home from work and begs me to make him a salad because he finds it energizing and cleansing.

for yourself, i would say have the items on hand. invest in the prebagged greens because i know for me it makes it so much easier to eat. i eat all my prebagged greens, and my husband's one head of lettuce will rot if i don't stop and prepare it for him (he forgets/doesn't want to take the time, and neither do i!). and also, buy fruit that you like. lots of it. and if it's not smelling amazing, let it ripen on top of your fridge. easy to prepare fruits are the ones with pits, but they're not in season. melons are, though i would NOT eat them with anything else, they can really cause intestinal discomfort that way. coconuts are something you clean up ahead of time and have on hand to snack on (brown ones) and they also are filling. i can't handle long prep times, so fruit is ideal for me, and avocado/tomato/cucumber/spinach salads are just amazing to me.

my son eats anything i put in his mouth, so i just keep pumping in the veggies (there is spinach sprinkled over my floor as i type, he ate a good bit of it, yippee) and he will devour fruits by the pound. i make sure he eats a good bit of fruit and veggies before any other meal of cooked food/meat that might occur. people think i'm HORRIBLE, but he's healthy, and the doc is supportive.

what can you do to enlist your hubby's support? i don't use the term 'raw-foodist' with my man, and i help him with cleanses and fasts and other things, so he respects my diet because he knows i'm in tune with those things. but the term would probably bother him. i also expose him to the research and the books. the other day he was saying how glad he is that our son has incredible white perfect teeth, and we almost never brush them (he doesn't eat sugar), and other kids are already showing signs of decay. he is glad that my body provided the right nutrients and that my son's body is obviously thriving and that we have no health issues (contrary to all expectations) to slow us down. i wish the same for you all.

peace-

Try my book RAW IN TEN MINUTES it is very fast, fun, easy, no dehydrating and well researched recipes! THE BEST:

[www.RawInTen.com]

Bryan Au

sndnance- this was often my problem too! Getting hungry and finding myself in front of non raw (sometimes junk) food.

You could try buying a box of raw food bars such as Lara, Trek or Nakd and keep them in the kitchen or in your handbag, so if you arrive home STARVING, you can eat the raw food energy bar to temporarily fill you up until you get a chance to make a raw dinner

That Juliano cookbook is very beautiful but it kind of reads like some kind of fantasy ;-) www.goneraw.com has quick, convenient raw recipes. Do a search for dinner or entree for main courses. You could be having things like guacamole, salsa in burritos, courgetti and marinara sauce, stuffed portobellos, funky salads etc.

I had to fight nail and tooth to insist on eating a raw xmas lunch at the family dinner table, but I did it. People thought I was a bit mad, but nevermind ;-)

of course, eating raw is not that hard but with pressures around you like other people eating cooked food, is not good but you can do it, the main thing is don't give up, you need a easy to understand book with simple recipes and transitional foods like raw cakes and pies, strawberry crepes made out of dehydrated strawberries, called fruit leather, i would suggest doing a search on google for other raw food forums, there is some good advice out there, you just have to sort through and use whats best for you and your family, there is an awesome blog i would recommend with some good info on this matter at www.fredericpatenaude.com/blog Go check it out! and good luck and congratulations on your new life of eating good for you and your family. linda

Here is the easiest and fastest soup ever, and your kid will like it too....
It is NOT raw, but it IS fat-free and VEGAN.

Cauliflower-Potato-Leek Soup:

Steam together: 1 head of cauliflower
2 medium potatos, chopped into cubes, skin on.
2 leeks, chopped


After they steam, puree all in a processor or blender. Return to pan over low heat.

Add the following: 1 box (or 2 regular cans) of vegetable broth (low-sodium/fat-free)
3-4 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Dash cumin (optional)

Serve.

This is so fast and yummy. If you add less broth, the consistancy is like a veggie mash, and is also really good. I make various versions of this to supplement my raw food diet, as I am not 100% raw. You can swap out ingredients like parsnips, turnips, carrots, squashes, beets, rutabaga, etc...Just remeber to Steam, blend and then season!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 10:21PM by dafodil.

i think the best suggestion was to soak seeds or nuts while you are at work and when you get home make a pate out of them. i use sunflower seeds a lot cause they are the cheapest around here. you could use sesame, pumpkin, almonds, walnuts, your favs... then add whatever spices and flavors you like. you can add carrots or other veggies to get more colour in there too. i like sunflower, carrot, garlic, lemon juice, and whatever fresh herbs i have on hand, maybe sea salt if you like that, process then mix with greens or make a wrap with a leaf of cabbage or collards or romain... its up to you. add toppings you like, tomatos or whatever.
also, something your kids will like feeze a bunch of bananas then when there is a nedd for a sweet treat cut them in pieces and throw them in the processor with any yummy ice cream like toppings (cherries, strawberries, mint, cacao, cocoa powder, walnuts, hemp seeds, coconut oil adds a crunch which is yumalicious).

guacamole is good and filling. mash it w/ salt for simple or add cilantro, onion, tomato, lemon. scoop it with red pepper. yum!

mashed avacado with zucchini shreads and tomato is good and filling.

you could make pies in advance and those are always filling. there's a good apple pie recipe on this site. simple apple pie is what its called.

sunny raw kitchen forum is very active and there are always people on there with quick replies.

also, smoothies are quick and filling. just throw your fav fruit in the blender with bananas or soft nuts to make it creamy. gulp away.

lara bars are good too when you need held over. huge salads. love huge salads, love'em.

RAW FOODS MADE EASY is a really good book that I would recommend to most folks just getting started. Really excellent, yet simple, book!

I can really identify with this...was all ready yesterday for my first 100% raw day, ended up working from 7:45am to 7pm, got home STARVING at 8pm with my partner saying "shall we get a pizza"....we got pizza

I felt bad after eating it, but it was my own fault...just no willpower at that time of day!

Claire I can DEFINITELY relate to that one!!! LOL!

definitely have raw and filling snacks available when you get home, like bananas and nuts. then after you've eaten it should be easier to think about what to do next. also, try eating more calories at work. many raw foodists believe it's best to eat our main meal midday instead of at dinner.

I can't believe the issues I am having with trying to eat raw. I never thought it would be so hard as I ate lots of raw food anyway! so far I have been bingeing really badly most days on junky cooked stuff when what I really want to do is go 100% raw. don't know what is going on but hope I get to grips with it soon. Had to have the day off work today, was so exhausted with eating too much junky food couldn't get out of bed

All I can say is preparation is key

If you get home to nothing, you are going to stray often!!

If your after easy then

Huge super salads

Pasta and sauce (pumkin pasta, kelp, cucumber, zuchini) -- marinara sauce, cheeze and chive sauce -- cashew cheeze or mac

Soups-- big wholesome raw soups-- you can add seeds on top, or avo, have some raw breads with, or make a nice chunky

If you have time to have a raw prep day-- say sundays

You can prepare breads, trail mixes etc

----

At first it can be easier to eat more heavy meals.. trying to be simple straight away can make you slip up..esp with a SAD eating spouse.

All the best!

Thanks rawdancer...if I keep coming back to this site it helps me to feel more encouraged!

I am also in London!

Claire