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DoveyLovey – I’m not in your area, but another option is eBay, that’s where I got my Vitamix which I use much much more than my dehydrator. There’s also lots of online sources for rawfoods – I’ve ordered from www.alissacohen.com and www.sunfoods.com but there are many others. You can put in requests at your local health food store or organic farm/market, they’re cluing into to this new movement and our store has more and more each week. Also check the message board at local health food stores for raw potlucks.
Thanks! I’ll look at those websites right away. What is a Vitamix? Do you have any suggestions on dehydrator sizes? I saw some at target online for 39.99 with 5 trays. Is that big enough?
Some of their food isn’t raw? I read the dead food list by Zoe from www.purelyraw.com and there seem to be conflicting views on what is raw and what isn’t. I want to do this right when I decide to go all the way RAW. I sent Zoe a message on her website and am waiting for a reply. I’ve noticed that alot of recipes on here include foods that are on her Dead food list. I guess I’m looking for some clarification.
DoveyLovey, My thought and understanding is that there a many people who eat predominately raw foods that are happy at a high percentage of raw (high raw), but still use certain ingredients in moderation (such as agave and Bragg’s). If you want to be 100%, then you’ll want to avoid those foods. What I appreciate about Zoe’s list is that it gives you the information to make the decision yourself (and often gives you ideas for substiting 100% raw items for the ones listed). You’ll find that, here on this site, there are people that represent a large spectrum of raw percentages.
A Vitamix is a high speed blender – it has a much more powerful motor than a blender you would buy in a store so it pulverizes everything which means your smoothies won’t be lumpy and it can handle much tougher foods without straining the motor. You can make things like whipped cream from cashews that will turn out smooth, but it also makes greens more bio-available by breaking down the cellulose. They’re not cheap, which is why I went the eBay route, but I use mine many times every day so it was a great investment for me.
As far as the dehydrator, I’ve heard the most recommendations for the Excalibur, which is what I own. The one you saw at Target is probably a different brand and may have smaller trays. It may be fine for drying fruit or vegetable slices, but if you wanted to make breads or crackers you’d would need large mesh trays with non-stick liners (Teflex sheets). Just depends on what you’re hoping to prepare. I don’t do a lot of dehydrating so you might want to check the food preparation section for more advice.
I was just concerned with buying raw foods from people who claim dead foods as raw.
amysue thanks I’ll be keeping an eye out for those!
I also use my vitamix WAY more than my dehydrator. its SO so important to blend and drink greens. It will help you get the nutrition that you need.
I bought the Excalibur 2500 when I first started on a raw diet. I love it! I thought about getting one that was smaller, but now I wish I would have bought one that was larger. You will be surprised at how often you use it and how quickly the trays fill up. I use it for everything, from fruit, granola, dog cookies, etc. Even items that aren’t on the raw diet (like soy products).
Like some of the other members mentioned, there’s an abundance of sites out there that have raw food items that are much cheaper than places like Wholefoods. I’ve shopped on www.hempsisters.com, www.iherb.com, and they’re both great.
Granolagirl
Thanks for the help! I have a few people on craigslist that might sell me their stuff. A woman wants $200 for her 9 tray Excalibur[I’m trying to talk her down] and I found a magic bullet for cheap too.