Raw without the gadgets

[catscharm74]

Does anyone have a resource for going raw/vegan without having to buy all the gadgets? I have read Helen and Scott Nearing's books and I would like to do something simliary. Any suggestions? Part of simplifying my life is to live with less things in my life. Thanks!!!

[Revvell]

I have no idea who Helen and Scott Nearing are yet, for me, a Vita-Mix, a food processor and a citrus juicer make life simple for me. I cannot imagine making smoothies w/out a blender or just eating oranges one at a time only. I LOVE orange juice; I LOVE smoothies and smoozies and occassionally I'll break out the food processor for something different ~ but that's rare. The VM and citrus juicer are my basic stand-bys. Truly, one doesn't need anything else.

[Tangerina]

hmm.... just eat more whole foods and mono-meals... there are also many recipes that you can even make with just a cutting knife, but you probably will have to give up on the more gourmet stuff and the smoothies, etc.... Personally, a huge attraction for me to RAW is making the recipes because cooking is one of my hobbies and I probably couldn't have given up eating cooked food if it meant giving up food prep and recipes and kitchen gadgets and feeding and impressing people with the food I make, but its a bit of a fetish for me... (my room mate calls me the Kitchen Appliance Queen.... oh goody, raw foods? an excuse to buy a dehydrator and mandoline!) I admire those of you who go for the simple approach, though... there are many things I enjoy that don't take all the prep... just a salad with a whole avo on top is heavenly! or a handful of nuts... yum... dipped in honey for dessert... dates with almond butter, veggies and dip, salad salad salad... and fruit salad... coconut with a straw in it... raw phad thai or other noodle dishes..... sprouted grain pilafs.... etc ad nauseum...

[Dimond]

Other than eating produce as is, a blender is really all you need.

[lavendarJ]

I don't have any of the gadgets. At first I was worried about doing 100% raw without the gadgets for some of the wonderful sounding recipes I've seen on here. Now, I am sort of glad because its like, the simpler way of eating is probably best for me and my digestion and it helps me as far as food combining goes. I do eat snacks in a mono-fashion - I've noticed that. My main goal is now is to try to achieve a balance in what I am eating (like right now, I know I'm not getting enough green veggies or veggies period in comparison to the fruit). Basically, I the only gadget I use is a nice when chopping or cutting fruits and veggies.

[Pierre]

I mash frozen fruit with a potato masher. It doesn't make smoothies as smooth as a blender does, and adding cacao nibs doesn't work, but for fruit, it works.

[Tirza]

The thing that I would find hard to deal with if I didn't use gadgets, is getting enough veggies. I find it very easy to get more than enough fruits just by eating them out of hand. But veggies require a lot more chewing. I read somewhere that we would get aching jaws and ground-down teeth if we really tried to consume all the veggies we need by just chewing them. I think that might have been Gloria Boutenko. She maintains that we need a LOT of veggies (greens) and that the easiest way to make sure that we get them is by using them in smoothies. (I would say raw soups as well) That will take care of the bulk of them, then we add as many salads and dipping veggies etc. as we can for the texture variation etc. Otherwise, people are taking vitamin pills in an effort to supply what they are not eating. All good intentions, but people just don't get enough. And if what they say is true that the nutrient level of the produce is down, we need to be vigilant about this more than ever. I tend to agree. So at least have a blender for smoothies and raw soups and USE it. A hand grater will do for salad things.

[Nenyath]

-shrugs- I started with nothing and then later got a blender, it broke though and now I have no gadgets except for a mini hakker which serves for making guacomole and deserts. I quite thrive though on simple salads and fresh fruits! Good luck and have fun with it!

Fly forever free..

[josephina]

I started out with a blender b/c I just already had it. I really now only use it to make almond milk. Now I also have a food processor that I found on craigslist for $25 and it is an insane time saver. I could easily go without it, but it's useful. Some of my favorite things to make that don't require any gadges are marinated portabella mushrooms, raw sushi, huge salads with tons of colorful veggies, guacamole, and wraps with collard greens. You can go raw without any special equipment, but if you get bored easily with food choices or want to do this long term I would recommend investing in a couple of pieces (you can always use ebay, craigslist, classifieds, etc to stuff super cheap)

[spicyfull]

Sorry, I'm no help......I Love gadgets and I think I have them all.....

[luckitri]

I agree with GilmoreGirl and others. You don't need any of it. Someone wrote on here that long-time raw foodists don't use that stuff. I have been wondering about it because it was never natural to make smoothies and juices - Adam and Eve didn't have a Vitamix! I started out doing the smoothies and the juices and not only do I not like them but my teeth and gums started feeling like they needed exercise in just 2 weeks! Now once in a blue moon I might want to blend a honeydew melon but I don't do much fruit as the sugar seems to be too much for me. I want to get the spiral thingy that Alissa sells just to make more enticing stuff for my family to become more raw. I will have to check if it is an electric appliance or if I can find something to do that that is purely mechanical. A $20 blender is nice. I do use the blender regularly to blend the meat and juice from the young coconut but I don't have to do that....Just the other day I read here somewhere that if you juice things you get the nutrients but not the fiber so blending is best because you still get the fiber.

Edit: Most of the time I am happy just raw but I may want a treat or to entice my family (doesn't work) but these recipes just don't work for me because I only want my veggies fresh and once they are cut into they start spoiling so like I made my first recipe this weekend and I had too much because my family wouldn't eat it and honestly it did not set well with me eating it the 2nd and 3rd day and I don't ever plan on doing that again. I will make stuff with dried fruit and nuts for the kids for the holidays but it is too much sugar for the adults in my house.

[healthisraw1]

smoothed rocks and a knife, she called it the Hardcore Cafe if I remember correctly and we made the Zucchini Tahini without electricity and raw pies too.

Anybody seen Rob & Anna lately?

Peace to all Bill

[chi-iris-73]

I allready had the gadgets.... I want a good dehydrator though,the one i have is too small,i can only put 3 layers in it.

I think you need the gadgets....to make it easy....

You have to ask them for christmas :rolleyes:

Don't put wheatgrass in a cheap juicer,like I did.......now its broken... :(


Iris.

[fikustree]

I think most will tell you to get a blender, but it certainly doesn't have to be an expensive one. The Raw Gourmet and Eating for Beauty are both books where most of the recipies are don't involve gadgets. I haven't read it yet but Raw for 1 or two people doesn't use a lot of gadgets either, I think.

And don't forget the sun for drying some items, especially herbs.

[sptygl]

blender are real cheap
as for a dehydrator, i didn't bother...........too many things
you have an oven right??!! well, set at 100-125 degrees works just the same.
i have been doing all these recipes that way

blender i use like crazy, for my green smoothies, to make my nut milk, etc

also -- for me, i have a juicer, because i absolutely LOVE IT
seen a big difference in my health, wellness, and overall being and skin!!

i would say that is about it, oh and by the way............
i do use my coffee grinder for nuts, but since that broke i found a very cheap (mini processor -- about 20$ in the local market) to grind and use as a little processor, and it works just fine!!

hope this helps........ :)

[luckitri]

fikustree is right. I think that years ago people used windows. Buy some windows in the frames and lay some plywood on some sawhorses and put your windows over it and they will make maximum use of the sun in your colder climes. Also a few years ago I knew some people that went to a farm when they have the pick it yourself specials and they picked grapes and laid them out on their roofs and made their own raisins! I just don't know how they kept the birds and ants from having a feast on their roofs - they didn't tell me that part! I think that they had some large screens - like for sliding glass doors - that they put over the grapes. I was thinking that I could get 2 of those and use some c-clamps to clamp them together and then the birds and roof rats couldn't get to it unless they chewed through the screen.