Starting A Raw Food Diet
I never thought I’d be a raw foodie. Honestly. I’ve always valued the direct connection between food and health and have eaten vegetarian most of my life, but I also didn’t like the idea of giving up cooked foods. I’m not into being hungry, and, let’s face it, I really like bread!
However, in the last few months I’ve found myself craving more raw food, and the more I eat raw the more I want to eat raw.
I’ve been eating maybe 50 – 70% raw for the last month. The biggest difference I notice is that I am more consistently happy now than ever. I feel good. I have more energy. My relationship with my body has increased in awareness. I naturally want to work out and be more active.
It all started with green smoothies. 60% fruit, 40% green leafy veggies like kale, chard, spinach and the like. The fruit makes it taste amazing, and the greens give you such an amazingly potent dose of nutrients. Because it’s all blended up the vitamins and minerals of the fruit and greens are more easily absorbed by the body. A truly awesome concoction.
Are you drinking them yet? It’s funny how many people I meet are into green smoothies. My parents are even drinking them, it’s great! When you start your day off with that much goodness in a glass, your body notices. It LIKES it! It feels good.
So the longer I drink green smoothies, the more often I make eating choices that are raw. I crave salad. Often. I don’t choose it because I think it’s the healthy thing to do either – I’d actually just rather eat salad. Weird, ‘eh?
Now, at this point I’m not 100% raw, and I still don’t plan to eat all raw food all the time. I’ll maybe do a month here and there raw, just for the cleansing benefits, but I also think there are times where eating cooked food is more appropriate, even just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Loving your food has great value. I believe in having a ‘cheat meal’ once a week. The thing is, when you eat super clean most of the time you can get away with indulging every so often.
Staying with my buddy Brian has been a sweet way to enjoy this transition. Brian’s into raw food, knows a lot about a lot of things, makes me laugh constantly, and is a fantastic chef.
Brian also turned his backyard into a big organic garden. It’s gorgeous. You should taste these tomatoes! So good. Growing your own food is one of the best things you can do for yourself, even if it’s just on a small scale like a few planters of herbs.
When you eat fruits and veggies that are really fresh you receive so much more vitality. Walking out to the garden for kale to put in your green smoothie is quite pleasant in the morning – a wonderful way to start the day. The nutritional value of growing your own food and eating fresh is enormous. And then you’re also saving a hefty amount of fuel and packaging that would have otherwise been involved in getting that food to your kitchen.
Brian makes salad dressings that are so very tasty that the salad takes on a whole new category of delicious. And they’re not all that hard to make.
There are a lot of ways to approach eating more raw, ‘cause it’s not just salad. For me, I think variety and creativity are the two things you want to concentrate on to easily and happily eat more raw food.
Variety: Use a wide spectrum of whole, raw and living foods. Explore the fruits and veggies that are available to you; for example, purple cabbage, beets and carrots are nice grated into a salad. Farmer’s Markets are great for fresh, local, vibrant food. Try different nuts and seeds. Learn how easy it is to make sprouts. Discover how good flax oil, balsamic or apple cider vinager, sea salt, pepper and nutritional yeast can actually taste on a mix of fresh salad.
Creativity: Entering the world of raw food preparation is its own adventure. First thing you should know is that you can happily eat raw very simply. You can also make the most decadent raw fudge and satisfying energy bars I’ve ever tried. The amount of raw recipes out there is vast, so don’t be afraid to play around and try something new. Also, many communities have raw potlucks where you can get ideas and try different recipes. Ask around to see if there’s one near you.
I think the most important thing to remember when starting a raw food diet is to keep it fun and not stress about it. Also, as you develop a more mindful relationship with food you will notice you don’t need as much of it. Where you once may have gone for half a bag of potato chips, one handful of nuts does the trick. Instead of a processed snack with sugar in it you develop a taste for fresh (or sometimes dried) fruit.
Eating in this wholesome way makes you feel more alive. The food is more satisfying because it’s natural. It’s such a simple concept that we, as a society, somehow steered away from for some time. But this is changing rapidly. Huge numbers of people are eating more organic, vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods. They do so for their health, for the taste, for the fact that it does far less damage to the earth than conventional foods and meat, and because they know it’s better for their families.
You don’t have to eat entirely raw to benefit from it. In fact, just starting out each day with a green smoothie would make a huge difference, even if you did nothing else. Add more raw elements as you want, as it feels right, and according to the season. For instance, when it’s colder it may be more appropriate to have soups, roasted veggies, and maybe whole grains and healthy breads. But when it’s warmer and so much fresh food is available locally, eating raw makes since and feels great.
Have fun with it! Be curious and amused with your own process. Notice any changes in your body and attitude. And laugh when you find yourself thinking things like: “You know you’ve really changed when you pack four plums and a piece of kale for a snack.”
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