How/when were you first introduced to raw foods?

[Analeah]

I am curious to know how people got started on the living foods path. I am wondering if most people learned about it from a friend or on the internet or from reading a book etc. My first introduction to the raw way of life was two years ago when I was sixteen years old. I went to a seminar given by the Boutenkos with my roommate. After attending the workshop I immediately stopped eating all cooked foods for about six months I think. After my roommate moved out I was stupid and started to eat cooked food again. I have recently started eating raw food again and I forgot how wonderful it makes me feel!

[ConsciousCuisine]

[QUOTE=Analeah] I went to a seminar given by the Boutenkos with my roommate. After attending the workshop I immediately stopped eating all cooked foods for about six months I think. After my roommate moved out I was stupid and started to eat cooked food again. QUOTE]

Sweetie, you were *NOT* "stupid". You were, and are human and far more wise and courageous than many 2 or 3 times your age to consider living "in the Raw" at all, ever! I admire it when very young and very old people open their hearts to change, drastic change from societys' standpoint, and do somthing positive for themselves, the environment, the animals such as you are doing and have done in the past! RAW-k on ! :)

[Analeah]

Hi ConsciousCuisine, thanks so much for your words of encouragement! It's nice to know I am not alone out there!

I just read one of your other posts about how you are a raw food chef. I am curious about how you got into all of that. It is something I am very interested in and one of my goals in life is to open up a raw food restaurant and/or possibly a raw fast food restaurant. However I also want to travel around the world and educate people about raw foods and inspire people to change their lives.

[thunderdancer]

Hiya Analeah :)

Check this thread out...

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96

Night night :D

[Analeah]

Okay cool, thanks thunderdancer I didn't see that post before! :D

[Jeanne]

I was first intoduced to the idea of raw foods at, believe it or not, a macrobiotic cooking class. The teacher made some mock tuna salad and said that when she made a sandwhich for a friend he didn't know the difference. She mentioned her growing interest in raw foods and gave me some information on how to learn more.
At the time I was living about 40 miles from Boston and signed up for a seminar at the Hippocrates Institute which was run by Ann Wigmore.
I went for a weekend. It was wonderfull. It was held in a townhouse type of building in Boston's back bay but when you were in there it was hard not to feel like you were anywhere but in the middle of a beautiful country setting. The air was fresh, with many shelves of sprouting trays. The rugs were soft and the color of wheat grass. The walls and ceiling were painted sky blue. It proved that one can live in/with nature absolutely anywhere. The fist thing I noticed about Ann was her pink cheeks which she later demonstrated came from the juice of beets. Ann was an inspiration and quite a feisty character.
I was raw for a little over 6 months. But becuae I was doing this alone I slipped back into cooked food. My awareness never slipped all the way back though. So now here I am again almost 20 years later, on my eighth month, feeling great and having a wonderful raw food community to share this great lifestyle with..( my husband, son and all of you)

[smasty]

Very nice post CC!

Me? One of my friends on another board I'm part of began experimenting with raw. I don't know why my mind was open to it, because I've been a high-protein person most my life. I was just starting a juice fast, when I really got into reading her posts. I didn't know what I would do after my juice fast and decided I'd try 80% raw. By the end of my fast I decided I'd do 100% raw for the same number of days that I fasted (21). So, by the end of 21 days, I was hooked, I've not eaten a single cooked thing since May 21.