I tried raw fooding for about a week right after Christmas but was drawn back to cooked foods because my boyfriend has to eat SO much all the time (high metabolism, I hate him a little) and I was constantly surrounded by food that still tempted me. I’ve been vegan for almost two years (with a few dairy and egg weeks here and there out of monetary necessity, unfortunately) and he is mostly vegetarian. Even though I went back to cooked foods, I kept up with juicing and I believe I eat around 50% raw on most days, usually because I just keep a lot of dried fruit and nuts and seeds around that I buy in bulk. Most of what makes up my cooked foods are grains—oatmeal and whole wheat pasta, specifically. I do make some cooked soups every now and then and sometimes still saut
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I’ve chosen not to call myself “vegan” or a “raw food” person. I’m not 100% raw, don’t really plan on it, but I do choose to eat a healthy way which means organic fruits and veggies (and a lot of them). I don’t so many weird looks, then.
Though I do have a raw food t-shirt that I love to wear and have people ask about.
Good information, Winona! I know that the food co-op from which I get my bulk “raw” foods would know whether or not the food is really raw, they’re all pretty knowledgeable. Dates dry right on the tree, right? So those are generally raw…but I’ll definitely have to look into the others. I think the dried cranberries I just bought aren’t really raw, the bin said that it had added sugars. :(
But I’m pretty excited nevertheless! I just need to learn about growing wheat grass so I can try some juice.
Debbie, my dad told me the same thing when I went vegan…he said that he didn’t want me to classify myself as one so that I didn’t limit myself to only vegan things… “Who knows what you’ll want to try someday that you think you can’t have because of a label you give to yourself?” So I didn’t really call myself vegan for a while until I had kind of figured out that I wasn’t really making any exceptions to the vegan rule! And then I went to Russia for a month and had to eat dairy the whole time, so I kind of kept making exceptions every now and then when I came back home because I saw that it wasn’t the end of the world. I really hope to be at least 95% raw this summer though! Just for the challenge.
I recall saying I would only eat raw foods and then I really felt guilty when I ate cooked oatmeal. Mentally, I have to tell myself that it’s ok, that’s why I don’t use a title for how I eat. That’s why I like this site. Some days I’m 100%, some days I’m close, some days I just have to survive with what’s offered (not often, thank goodness).
Anyway, enjoy.
Also, if you have a blender, you’ll be fine. I have a dehydrater and used it a lot at first, and now not much.