How do you feel about packaged raw food?

[AliCat]

At the local health food store and Whole foods Ive found 2 brands that are VERY good for food I cannot make cause I dont yet have a dehydrator. EATRAW ( eatraw.com ) and PUREFOOD ( www.oneluckyduck.com ). I was just curious to know how you all felt about package food. :)

[juliebove]

I am not familiar with those brands. I have bought these:

http://goraw.com/

I have no reason to doubt that they are raw and everything I tried tasted fine although the one flax cracker with no salt in it had no flavor. Didn't taste bad. Just had no flavor whatever. My only problem with them is the price. Kind of expensive!

[greeninloanageles1]

Well, dehydrated stuff is definetely not as healthy as truly raw fresh stuff, but it is good as a treat or helping to transition from cooked to raw.
As for fresh packaged foods like carrots or lettuce, they are full of chemicals that preserve them and they are not required to put them on the label, maybe because they are added not directly to food, but to wash water. Even organics are allowed to do it. Unfortunately organic standarts in US are not very strict.

[Revvell]

I think they are overpriced and only "resort" to them when I'm out and about and want something filling.

[eatyourbroccoli]

ill grab a larabar if im on the run and know ill be gone awhile and think ill probably get hungry. its only on occasion though bc i prefer to be at home, sitting down, eating fresh food when i eat. :)

[webgurl]

The only bagged produce I buy is organic baby carrots.

Are those full of chemicals? ooh yuck I hope not :confused:

[DavidZaneMason]

I agree with Green. Go for it - if it helps you to eat more fresh, raw plant food! :)

-David Mason

[dreamrawalwz]

I say that it's not as healthy and sometimes not even raw when they say they are, but MUCH better for those transitioning then stopping at McDonald's or something gross like that!

[Nini]

Really, the only ones I buy are Lara Bars and sushi chips from Audreys Pleasures. They come in handy.

Audrey's Pleasure Products (http://www.audreyrochester.com/)

[lissomllama]

I believe that packaged raw food is becoming a bit of a marketing ploy. Raw foodism is mostly about getting back to nature and back to health and eating things in their NATURAL, raw state. Alissa only sells a few little, hard to find raw products that are packaged and I don't see a problem with that, but sites like nature's first law and one lucky duck etc. are selling TONS of it and making it seem like these things should be the foundation on one's diet. When in reality, the foundation should be simple, fresh, raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds that aren't dehydrated or changed.

These sites are also selling very large amounts of supplements and it's beginning to look just like some components of a cooked/SAD diet ("oh here, just take this little pill and it will take care of all your deficiencies"), by selling so many suppliments, these people are basically outrightly saying that the raw, vegan diet is deficient in certain nutrients and that to me is a red flag of someone who doesn't fully practice raw foodism and I don't want those people to be selling me supposedly 'raw' foods. Another concern is that many of those packaged foods are either questionable in their rawness or/and are not healthy for the human body to begin with.

Many people are turning raw into just a business ploy and making themselves 'raw celebrities' and then people lose sight of what really matters about raw and fall in love with the Big Money and celebrity hero worship that should really have no part in raw.

Personally, I like to stick with as many natural, fresh foods as possible and I only buy a couple packaged raw things once in a great while and even then, I'm discerning.

[codajess]

I think that, obviously, the fresher and more basic, the better; however I think of buying pre-packaged raw stuff the same as me making them at home, just conveniently packaged. Whether I'm making my own nut clusters at home or buying them from a website, it's all the same. If I make my own brownies, or buy them pre-packaged, it's all the same.

I don't think it's a big deal. Obviously I understand those who DON'T make those kinds of things at home don't want to buy them. I think those that do make them at home, there's really no difference.