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Hi HepKittenBettie,
I'm new to this site as well, there is lots of great info and some relly tasty looking recipes posted here. So far though folks have been slow to say hello. Oh well all in good time I supose.
What is your regular diet like right now? I was a long time vegitarian befor I went raw and found it's helping the transition to eating raw. I think the key is to make the change slowly to let your self and those around you ajust. listen to your body and not try to push it along.
Betty
Keep it simple sugar.
Eat lots of fruits and salads, expand your repertoire when you're ready, you'll get there.
Don't get caught up with all the packaged and processed "raw" foods and look at what's good in the produce section.
Eat organic what you can and try not to get too rigid with it.
Enjoy the simplest of food, for instance a banana or an apple or lettuce or a sweet bell pepper.
If you make a recipe, try halving it and do it over the weekend or when your time is freed up.
Instead of eating something different, just eat more of the same thing. Focus on changing your variety every day or so instead of at every meal.
Focus more on the journey than the destination.
Just have fun!
Good advice Raw Curls.
I would also add what helped me a great deal was to have some raw packaged foods that helped me transition. Raw bread ( I didn't have a dehydrator when I first started ), ulimana's raw cacao brownie bites and Dr. Cow's cashew cheese. Without these three things I would have had a really hard time. For me it was important to have them at hand to substitute in.
It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the options and opinions, remember to do what feels best for you.
Welcome!
HepKittenBettie - For me the secret was to start with a raw breakfast, usually a tall fruit smoothie (20 to 30 ounces). I added lunch a few weeks later, a fruit or green smoothie, and/or some fresh fruit. I'm still working on dinner (mostly salads or soups right now), but I'll get there. At first I was overwhelmed with all the recipes, thinking I had to do a lot of uncooking. Once someone suggested keeping it simple and just enjoying the journey, it was much easier. I'm experimenting with a little uncooking, and will eventually find a few recipes that will be my staples.
Don't let all the recipes discourage you. I tend to think of most of them as special occasion dishes. Maybe when I retire they will become more of my standard fare. Until then . . . I'll just enjoy the journey. ;-)
Betty - I've been straying to vegetarianism for several years now with my occasional weakness for dairy. Due to my many food allergies, I've decided that making this change in my life would benefit me more than the constant agony I put myself through with not looking after myself. I'm glad there are new people amongst me. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one. =) Thank you.
Bettie
Raw Curls,
Thank you so much for the advice. After reading everyone's great responses I calmed down and felt a little more secure. I honestly was really nervous posting. I know it may sound silly but I was really afraid of being ostracized for not being completely knowledgeable about Raw. But thank you for the advice! I'm going grocery shopping in the morning and am excited to start on the journey. =)
Schmoopee,
Thanks for the response. I don't have a dehydrator and only have a hand blender. So everything will be amazingly simplistic. I'm admittedly a carboholic and hopefully I can find some Raw bread until I can afford a dehydrator. I might just have to look for the brownie bites and cashew cheese. ;)
Thanks for the warm welcome. =)
I'll keep in mind...SIMPLE, FRESH. =P
Emtpdmom,
That was very encouraging to hear. Small steps and I'll get there. =) Good luck to you and I hope to share some of my own journey stories in the moments to come. Thank you.
Just to chime in, welcome! This site is chock-full of information and advice. It just depends on how much surfing you feel like doing.
In addition to the "sticky" threads at the top of the forum pages, which have the general info, if you ever get bored and crave information, try to page back through previous posts. I estimate that every four days, someone new to raw posts a "new...help me" thread, with their own personal spin on things, so if you poke around you might find lots of additional advice.
I'm new as well but here's my tiny contribution. The following link for a list of pesticide loads for fruits and vegetables. Although it is preferable to buy organic whenever possible, we're all on different budgets and this information can prove useful when trying to make shopping decisions.
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php
Green Smoothies.
Big ones as often as possible. There are tons of recipes on this site and all over the internet. Best transition food ever. I am surprised to be the first to stress it, as it is the general recommended getting started food.
Like everyone else says, take it slowly. Don't beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon--changing to RAW is a long-term goal. When I switched from SAD to RAW just over a year ago, I vowed never to eat meat, cheese or any cooked food again. Guess what? In spite of what I believe to be the healthiest way to eat I still get tempted by all the bad stuff. I just read a story by Rhio about a woman who shrunk a grapefruit-sized cancerous tumor to pea-sized. But she was so zealous in her determination to eat healthy that she wouldn't even eat RAW dressings on her salad. Eventually she went back to eating cooked because she couldn't resist the temptations. Her cancer returned, she chose to use conventional treatment and eventually succumbed to cancer. So......just allow yourself to make mistakes, keep learning and increasing your RAW repertoire at a pace that works for you.
Hi there
I found that not setting my goals to high helped me. If I wanted somthing cooked I had it until I was able to not want it any more. You don't need to carry guilt around with you if you decided to have somthing cooked.
I started by juicing, reading Jason Vales books kept me motivated and inspired. I still go back to them if I am feeling tempted. I still do juice at least twice a day. I find that simple salads are my fav eat but I do also like to make the odd raw choc pud and some crackers. Before I got my dehydrator I brought flax crackers, they can be expensive but stopped me eating crisps.
Best of luck it is well worth all the effort at the start.
Kaz
Everyone has good advice. Green smoothies are the best! Find a combination you like and it will be a good staple. If you like making recipes, just try one new one a week. Set aside a little time on the weekend to plan ahead and shop. Eat/Drink your greens!
Hello HepKittenBettie
You will be alright everyone here has given you good advice. Continue to share whatever you're going through.Get yourself a food processor and you can create some good raw meals for yourself. I started out with just a food processor and made some good raw foods.This site has very good raw recipes,so try some .Then later you can get your dehydrator and blender take your time and enjoy the journey.
Hi HepKittenBettie,
When I am tempted to stray, I come to goneraw.com. Seriously. I come here most everyday anyways, sometimes posting, sometimes just reading. But I can always find a recipe or two that will get me past the occasional urge to stray. That's not to say that I never fail. Being raw is definitely a journey. But when I fail, I get back up, shake the dust off, and just keep moving forward. I also love going to youtube and searching for juicing, blending, or raw vegan videos. I try to learn something new every day.
One thing is for sure...no one here will ever judge you. :) This is the place where everyone is on the same journey. The beauty of it is that everyone is at different levels or stages in their journey so everyone has something to offer.
Welcome and good luck on your journey!!!!
Great advice has been given to YOU, keep in mind green green green!!! A multi colored fruit smoothie in the morning, a multi colored green smoothie with dates for lunch.... Anything for dinner but make it colorful, remember dark red, dark orange and more dark greens than anything at lunch and dinner where you can add seeds and/ or nuts...
I dry and freeze "meat" recipes. Sausage, patties, bacon, and ground. smile, These are always ready for salads, wraps, sandwiches, etc
Nuts and some seeds, soak quarts of them, then dehydrate and freeze, always ready when needed.