Interested newbie! Where/What/How?!!

angie207

Manna Bread isn’t any more raw than Ezekiel or any other brand of sprouted bread, tortillas, etc. The reason some people use it is as a transition food; it has a lot of nutrients still intact because of the low-temp. baking, but the enzymes are just as dead as in those other brands, so none of them is really raw. The reason nuts are sprouted is to activate the enzymes and convert them from raw to “living” foods, and yes, a lot of people have to have them this way for digestion. Grinding them up isn’t going to make them any different in your digestive system. You can order really raw almond butter from www.pemierorganics.org – I love the Rejuvenative Foods brand of raw sauerkraut; I hadn’t heard that they make nut butters…interesting. How’s it going so far?

xeno

Man… so many book suggestions! I need to thumb through this thread and write them all down!

So I tried another recipe from the Detox book tonight… a Coconut-Butternut squash soup… yuck. I also did not like her gazpacho recipe… it tasted nothing like gazpacho. I’m now wondering if it’s a better idea to look for recipes online, like on this site for instance, because at least they are rated. You really have no idea when you try something out of a book.

My workout went much better tonight. Yesterday night I totally bonked and was nauseas afterwards, but tonight I made sure I ate more in hours leading up to my workout so that I would have enough fuel for my hour of Plyometrics!

So I found the Lara bars recommended in the book, and they taste great. As far as I can tell, they don’t have any weird ingredients in them. Is it safe to assume these are raw?

So far I’ve been feeling pretty good. It feels good to eat and still feel energetic and light instead of heavy and drowsy! :)

melissa7857

thats why i didnt like her book. her recipes were sick! im a picky eater. it just has to taste good. lara bars are raw, but i have to say that if you can find raw revolution bars, they are delicious! i seriously recomend the 3 books above especially if you’re just starting out because they have more comparables to cooked foods. if your library doesnt carry them then all you have to do is fill out a material request form. i am always requesting books for my library to purchase, then they hold them for me. every raw book ive read has been from the library. im to cheap to buy any for myself!

Winona

Xeno – most varieties of larabars are 100% raw. They even say so on the package. there are only three brands that are 90% raw, and they indicate this on the package as well. i have a couple tips regarding recipes. Don’t try making soups. Most new raw foodists have tried many many soup recipes with no success.

I have tried many recipes and not of them came out well. When you’re new to preparing raw foods, complex recipes can be very difficult to prepare. Eventually they get easier. Instead of you having to test a bunch of new recipes, I’ll make it easier on you and indicate what recipes are good.

Send me an email at gloria9858 at hotmail.com and I’ll send you a free 100 page recipe word document, already formatted for easy printing. You can use a three hole punch and put it in a binder. These recipes were carefully selected as being easy for new raw foodists to prepare. I’ll let you know what my absolute favorite recipes have been and what new recipes are good as I try them.

let me know if you want to join an email support group that pianissima and angie and i have started.

melissa7857

hey winona! i want one too!

xeno

Yeah, I should def. see about requesting materials at the library if they don’t have them! I buy way more books than I can even read!

Thanks for the info, Winona. I feel like I’m learning a bit more every day.

have_mersey

I do not shop anywhere special. In fact I can rarely make it to a decent health store. I shop at the closest place, and occasionally buy things online.

I do not consider a dehydrator or super-blender as a nessecity. It might make things easier, but I make simple things.:) It helps to have a food processor OR a regular blender though. One or the other. A cheap one, doesn’t matter, though you don’t. HAVE. to have one.

I spend the same amount on food (I would say less but I also ate beans,rice and whole wheat alot, those are extra extra cheap). Not only because I can feel better on less, but because I don’t buy useless sugar filled processed supposedly “healthy” cereals etc. It does add up. Very tiny things you don’t notice. With a little planning you will do fine on your budget and maybe have some leftover! In the beginning you may eat more as your body is trying to get all of it’s vitamins built up from malnourishment, then you could end up eating half or a third of what you do now! I do. I eat much much less.

You can go back to cooked food. You might have to add it slowly though. And you can enjoy the occasional bite, so long as it isn’t completely sugar or oil filled to ungodly proportions. Though you will not want to after you try eating this way. :)

I would say the guide is: Two bunches of greens per each day (kale, spinach or whatever), bananas, apples, nuts or avocados, a bag of carrots, a red veggie such as red bell peppers or tomatoes, some onions, and something blue or purple, this could be a certain type of lettuce/veggie or some blueberries or grapes. Try to eat all your colours, doubly so of greens, get in some good fats and you’ll be fine. It doesn’t have to be expensive if you plan ahead. Flax seed is also a good option because it is cheaper than other nuts/seeds but has fiber and your omegas/good fats. Look for whatever veggies are on sale, and buy those. Whatever it is, there are a thousand ways of preparing it, and you will enevitably like it some way or other. You can come here and on the homepage there is a recipe search bar. You could type in “figs” or whatever it was you bought and recipes show up underneath. Perfect. :) It may help to buy a few things bulk online as well. Like different seeds and nuts, and while you are at it the store probably carries something like raw cacao if you are interested in that or other “exotics”. So far I think the best thing I could treat myself to is mango smoothie. I like it simple. And you can’t get simpler than “peel, and drop in the blender with 1/4 cup water”!. It also makes a great sorbet/gelato. You dont need anything but a bowl/container to put it in and let it get really cold.

Hope that prattling on helps you or someone else. :) Remember to have fun! And don’t beat yourself up if you do end up eating something cooked, the next meal will be better and if you are eating 80% that in itself makes a very big change in the best way possible. :)

moxandspaceships

I mostly shop at Trader Joes and Whole foods. Luckily neither is too far from where I like (I have a trader joes a block away)

On this site there was a topic for daily/weekly meal plans and ideas for starters. (this site has helped me sooo much)

I currently can not afford a dehydrator and do most of my planning with blenders and food processors but do have a juicer. I say you should have a blender because smoothies are a key source of food for me and food processors help as well.

If you are already spending your money on the good stuff the price difference shouldn’t be too bad espcially fresh produce. But back to the mechanics if you are looking into a dehydrators I’ve found them to be expensive.

You can go back to eating cooked food but if you are comfortable in raw foods it’s good to stay. Also if you are thinking of going into raw from a standard diet you should make it slow and transition into it. But there are some things to think about if going back. Not sure you might want to look into it but I’ve been a vegetarian for 9 years and if I wanted to go back to eating meat I’d have to go back slowly and if I was to have red meat tomorrow I’d probably get very sick.

First time raw shopping list for me was lots of frozen fruits and veggies, your favorite fresh fruits, raw nuts, spinach, other greens, and so on.