Is Raw in the Caribbean Possible?

[prettybrowngrl]

Hello all. My name is Carla and I'm from Trinidad & Tobago.

I am new to the idea of raw and i need help. Please help!

My Health is in a deplorable state as I'm 125 lb's overweight and have PCOS, asthma, high blood pressure and a slew of other medical problems im too fed up of to list. I think it goes without saying that I need to go raw! Even though Fruits and veggies are readily available here, so many other things are not. I've been reading about raw for months now and i'm afraid if i start i won't get optimum results or will become ill (from detox) and unable to recover using the naturopathic remedies I've read about. This is because I feel all I have available is just the bare necessities- fruit & vegetables. I have yet to encounter wheatgrass, the enzymes, dehydrators or any other such wonderful things.

I would really like to hear from you guys if anyone is raw in the Caribbean and how do you do it? If you have any contacts for naturopaths and know of any health food shops that sell more than granola and soy-based cooked food ( I go into health stores and inquire about stuff and none of those so-called nutritional gurus have any idea of what I'm referring to. They either tell me that with a tone of voice that implies that I'm crazy or look at me as if i really am crazy.I normally leave health stores sorely disappointed).
Anyway, I would really like to hear any experiences of Raw in the Caribbean. Is it really possible to be raw in the Caribbean as comfortably as folks in the US or Europe? Kindly help as i feel like i'm lost in the dark on how to sucessfully go raw in the Caribbean and as though it may be just wishful thinking to be able to do it.

[Oceana]

Of course!
You will have the fresh es exotic fruit available! (exotic to me anyways)
The weather seems perfect for a raw person!
Lucky gal!
I am sure many will chime in; but i would also do a little research fro the net!

P.S. I have pcos also!

[Oceana]

Carla,
I would invest money into a few raw books!

[swingbolder]

Hi Carla, welcome to the board.

You are in the PERFECT place for raw food eating.

You have access to fresh fruits and veggies year round, that other stuff you mentioned: dehydrator, enzymes, is just extra. And you do have nuts down there, right?

You might want to check out this DVD:

Sunfire Cuisine: The Art of Raw Foods by longtime raw food chef Aris LaTham. You can get it at rawfood.com. Also, LaTham maintains a website at vegsoul.com and you can email him (check the bio page), since he lives in Jamaica he might know some good resources near you. He also conducts raw food retreats and in the DVD he uses a lot of the foods local to your region.

Besides Alissa's book, which is great and has tons of information and good recipes, you might want to download the ebooks at thegardendiet.com. All their recipes are simple and don't use dehydrators and other fancy stuff.

All you really need is a good blender and/or food processor and you're good to go!

[Tombi]

I second Swingbolder and wish I were there with you and all that fresh fruits and vegatables that are probably outside your door going pick me pick me!!

Happy Journey!!!

[lissomllama]

Oh how lucky you are! The Caribbean is actually the IDEAL place to be raw because you have access to fresh, exotic fruits and coconuts and all that wonderful stuff that we in the USA must get imported and buy it after sitting in a big pile of other not so fresh fruits and veggies. Seize the day, I actually think it would be wrong of someone in the Caribbean to NOT be raw.

[RowanC]

I lived in St. Croix and Water Isle for many years. One of my sons was born there. I promise you, you CAN stay raw there! You may not be able to have the grains, but the fruits and veggies are awesome!

Fill up on all the bananas, coconuts, genips, pineapples, mangoes, papaya, guava, and any other fruits you can get.

You can grow a lot of vegetables there, like lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, onions. I know you can get yams and if you need recipes, email me privately and I'll try to send you some.

Eat all the fruit and vegetables you want.. you will drop weight!

Swim in that beautiful sea for exercise and begin taking walks in the sand on the beach. And DANCE, girl... DANCE!

[rawpriestess]

I would think eating raw in a tropical place would be easy, fresh fruits all year round.

so, eat as much fresh, raw, ripe delicious exotic fruits and veggies that you can find, and enjoy all of that wonderful fresh raw ripe delcious food that they have over there, that costs us a fortune each here in the states.

[spicyfull]

I live in California and I am sure we have like weather at times. On these hot days I have been using my Grandmothers dehydrator. although Grandma has been gone for some 50 years she left me with the wonderful knowledge of using God's wonderful Sun to dehydrate. It was a common thing for her to spread out a table of Apples, peaches,grapes even tomatoes. So I am giving my dehydrater a rest, the sun is much faster. I'll save it for the rainey season.
Do take care of yourself. HighBlood Pressure is no joke. Make sure you get some form of exercise that is very important.
You can order nuts and grains over the internet. Hold on Help is on the way......

[asil]

Well, I was in the Yucatan for 3 months raw. It was before I knew anything about dehydrators or gourmet recipes so it didn't even occur to me that I was missing something. :)

[prettybrowngrl]

ok, I wish to order some items from Alissa's site, but i have a question first :

can anyone tell me how long a container of each lasts you?
also, how long does each keep? and under what conditions?(spoilage)
These are the items: Alissa's Theraputic enzymes, Premium enzymes, hemp protein powder,organic green food supplement,hemp seed nut and hemp oil.

Many thanks for the help and advice. :)