The Rawtarian Community
The Rawtarian Community is one of the largest online raw food communities. In addition to this community forum, you can browse and search thousands of community recipes added by over 5000 talented Rawtarian Community members just like you!
Visit The Community
Comments
hello All4Raw,
personally for me the thing that saves my life is having a food processor. I tend to buy lots of veg and I have a good supply of herbs and spices and I pretty much live off of blended salads. It works for me because I feel as though I’m getting a lot variety and the flavors are different everyday. I also have a good veg peeler that I use to make pasta. Also invest in some good storage containers, as I find its best to whip something up in the morning and then take it with me so I have something to eat when I can’t get back to my room.
Another thing to look into is if there are any farmers markets near your college as being a poor student its pretty difficult to buy mass amounts of fresh produce from the grocery store. I don’t know if that will work for you as you may not have a car or public transport but I find its the best way to go.
Also a trolly helps if you dont have a car. I’m not sure if you can get these in the states but basically its a large nylon bag on wheels. They allow you to carry more produce than you could in just your hands and keep you from having to return every other day to the market/store.
See if you cant get yourself a cheap sprouter as well. I toyed around with just trying to use mason jars, however do to lack of space it didn’t work well. So I bought a small 2 tray sprouter from amazon for about $10.00 and they work much better.
The other thing I use daily is my water filter. I use it for soaking sprouts and nuts, and fresh drinking water.
Anyway hope this helps some… I know it seems pretty daunting at first, but it is fairly manageable once you get into the swing of things.
here a link for the trolley… though i think this ones pretty expensive… i got mine for about $20…
http://www.atrendyhome.com/foshca.html
and heres one for the sprouter
http://www.amazon.com/Hirts-Seed-Sprouter/dp/B0…=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1195911407&sr=1-1
if you are in the choosing stage, consider weather as a factor. it will be a lot easier (and cheaper!) to continue being raw in florida, say, than in rhode island. this isn’t just about raw food… imagine how much more OUTDOORS you could be in a warm clime. (that said, most of the better schools are in the colder climates unfortunately)
start or join an on-campus co-oop. buying in bulk.
get a small blender and a mini fridge. love rawmonster’s shopping cart idea. i built quite some upper arm strength carrying grocery bags without a car.
don’t dispair. try the salad bar a few times, maybe bring your own dressing or olive oil… make yourself some nut and date bars. bananas are cheap and filling, and travel well. don’t forget greens… while you are home to you can make your own green powder from leftover greens in your dehydrator (if you have one). then you can have that on hand in times of shortage. blend with an apple and a banana. great breakfast.
campus stores usually have the standard apple, orange and banana…
Raw Monster, Thanks What water filter do you use? Does it eliminate floride and clorine? That could be an issue.I soak almonds a lot!
I solved that problem by going to: http://www.tru.ca/ (click on “distance and open learning”). It really is a great university. You never have to worry about a class being full, and you can do 3 semesters a year instead of 2 if you want to finish quicker.
If I were to stay in rez I would buy a) a great blender b) a mini fridge c) a sprouter d)some Sigg bottles and some pyrex/glass tupperware.
This is also where green smoothies come in . . .
What degree are you going for?
I have applied to a BFA degree program. What blender do you recommend? How about the oster fusion?I want something that will do green veggies not just soft fruits.
Are you going away to the college? Are you going to be living on campus? Are you just going to college and living off campus? Will you be full time or will you be part time? Are you also going to work? I go to college from home and work. The best advice I can give is more fruits, more salads.
I had little to no social life and I stopped visiting forums. As a person who works and goes to school, there is little to no time to sleep, eat or even take a shower. I do not know how women who work and go to school full time can do that with kids.
Those dishes that seem simple that require a food processor and dehydrator will quickly become obsolete. I also consume cooked foods like beans and rarely tofu (sliced it put it in rice paper with some veggies (vegan spring rolls lol)). I spend about 5 to 15 minutes max to prepare something. I ate many mono meals such as cucumber, tomatoes, grapes, lettuce, and apples (I didn’t peel these foods so it was easy).
If you feel you will be able to have time to prepare a meal that is more than 15 or 20 minutes then if you will be on campus and the dorms allow food processors and dehydrators then take one. I know some dorms are stricter than other and may not allow something like a toaster oven but they would allow a microwave. If you will be on campus find out what they will allow you to bring with you as far as food equipment (food processor, blender, juicer etc). Get a mini fridge; those are usually allowed. The dehydrator may drive your roommate bonkers though.
Focus more on those simple meals. There are different types of salads that do not use the typical salad ingredients such as lettuce or spinach, for example cilantro salads, parsley salads, beet salad etc.
There are times where I was so deprived of time I cut up some cucumbers threw it on some lettuce and ate it, no plate, no seasoning, ran out the house and that was it. I hate celery but in my time of need, I would break it off and eat it as is. After time passes and food shopping becomes hard, time is rare because you have a zillion tests and papers, you will start eating anything or just forget to eat. Try to remember to eat. Try not to overload your schedule, with determination, you can do the work and pass but it is extremely hard.
Good luck!
After Sunday I will be back at work and school so I hope I get to respond tomorrow. If not I will try to respond when my classes finish in decemeber. Take care.
For sprouting you can check out:
http://sprouting.org/
http://www.sproutpeople.com/
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/sprouting….
As for blenders, I bought the Oster behive and I’m quite happy with it. It’s not a vitamix but it makes green smoothies quite well. Is the fusion an upscale version? If it is you’d probably be fine going with that.
Raw_Chocoholic , Can you tell me what the behive will and will not do?
I’m able to use it for my green smoothies, and I usually do about 70:30 greens to fruits, and I don’t get any lumps if I blend it for about 1 min. I couldn’t really blend up some thick dough for crackers/breads, but then I usually just blend the wet ingredients and then mix in the dry ones (using a coffee grinder for the nuts/seeds). With those two things I’ve been able to make everything I’ve wanted to (well, a dehydrator would also help sometimes). Plus, if you haven’t yet read the thread on the dangers of plastic containers I suggest that you do. You can read it here. The beehive has a glass container. I chose it for that reason, and that it was on sale at the time. I also find that it looks nicer than a lot of blenders I see.
Anyone else headed to College(or in college) as a Raw Foodist?
I went for a college visit. The college as an organic salad bar. Yeah!