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Pre-Making Meals

Girlfridae1Girlfridae1 Raw Newbie

Before going raw, I used to start cooking on Sunday afternoon and make pretty much 3-4 days worth of lunches for my husband and myself. Now that I’m eating raw I’m not sure if that’s something that is still okay to do (i.e. does live food taste like cr*p if left to sit, the vitamins diminish, etc.)

With live food, is it better make things the night before? I’m sure it’s best to make it directly before eating, but I work outside the home so it’s not possible. As well, yesterday I made a carbonara sauce I found on this site and it rocked, but ate it today and…not so much. So I’m a little confused…

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc.???

Comments

  • Maybe it depends on what you are making? I make salads and wraps to get me through 3 days of work lunches, and I eat leftovers all the time. I’ll make a large batch of smoothies to keep in the fridge as well, although they don’t tend to last…

    The way I see it, maybe it’s not ideal, but it keeps me from making poor food choices.

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    I know exactly what you mean. I tend to resort to cooked food if I don’t take the time to make something.

    Although I think you do lose some enzymes, I make some things ahead and freeze them. For example, I have several coconut wraps and curried crepes in my freezer that I made in my dehydrator. They still taste great and only need to thaw for a few minutes. All I have to do is cut up the vegetables/fruit and add the sauce for a good raw lunch.

    I recently started making juice or smoothies and freezing them in ice cube trays and then taking them out and freezer bagging them. I can take a few and drop them in the thermos for a drink later in the day.

    I have read on here that many raw foodist believe that frozen raw food still qualifies as raw because the enzymes have not been denatured as they are with heat.

  • lzhptlzhpt Raw Newbie

    I know Jackie and Gideon Graff of Sprout Raw food advocate freezing their soaked nuts. I make burgers ahead of time, crackers are always brewing and I make at least 1-2 great dressings for the week.

  • Try my ASAP Smoothie BASE,,,hope it helps :)

  • The best is always to make your food just before you eat it, however for the most of us, who work or study it is generally not possible. I think that if you make your RAW food days before it is even much much better than eating cooked!!! If you make something in advance make sure to store it in an airtight container in the fridge. For the taste, sitting in the fridge doesn’t alter it too much, but SOME of the vitamins and enzymes decrease. Gererally I cut up veggies before I go to work or arrive home and want to eat. But I make some pates for a few days, for example tahini, zucchini hummus, almond butter, ‘cheezes’.

  • kminty3kminty3 Raw Newbie

    I always make several recipes on the weekend and have never had an issue. I made a batch of a cheese, a hummus, two desserts and then usually a bread and one other hearty thing like live burgers. For me, having the food convenient is key! It’s become a strange ritual for me actually.. I never use to prep food but now I spend about 1 1/2 hours saturday morning!

  • Flybaby, can you recommend any good airtight containers for things like juices?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I have read in a couple of books that freezing for a long time destroys enzymes, but in the short-term it’s not bad. Either way, it’s WAY better than whatever else I would eat that isn’t raw, like flybaby said. I like to make dressings, crackers, marinara sauce and desserts on the weekend. I also like to chop up veggies (celery, cauliflower, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.) and keep them in baggies in the fridge. Then when I want a salad during the week, I get my salad greens, add the chopped veggies and a premade dressing, and I’m done unless I decide to add avocado, which doesn’t take long! Great when I get home and I am starving:) I also sometimes make my zucchini noodles a couple of days ahead of eating them and they have been fine (also kept in a ziploc bag).

  • What about storing things that go through the dehydrators and such? I don’t have one yet but I’m still trying to research it before I invest because they seem to be soo expensive.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    With me it really varies how long food lasts. The cheeze I make and the onion pate lasts for 2 weeks not even in the fridge, but anything with cauliflower is rotten within 2 days.

    Things that contain salt and oil do last well. They are both natural preservatives.

    There’s a good article on Debbie Took’s blog here about freezing

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    moxandspacechips – I used to think a good juicer and dehydrator were way too expensive – until I got them. Then, I realized that if I were eating cooked food and moved into a house with no stove/oevn, I would have no problem spending $500 to get one immediately. I spent that same amount for my juicer and dehydrator together – cheap for what it does for my eating possibilities, and it saves me money making my own cheap breads and crackers, rather than having to buy them, and juicing my own fruits and vegetables rather than buying them at the juice bar which is 20 minutes away. Totally worth it to me!

  • msrawdivamsrawdiva Raw Newbie

    has anyone used the “green bags”? i just got some yesterday and they are supposed to keep produce fresher longer.

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