help (affording this lifestyle)

[myfathersdaughter]

I need some pointers. I love living raw and have recently gone back to eating this way and I'm frustrated because we have a low income and I find it very challenging to get the things I need. I can't even afford to breath the air in Whole Foods, let alone buy a decent juicer, dehydrator and all of the other groovy things I need. Could someone please help me figure this out?

thanks!

[Ariannah]

Welcome to the Raw food talk!

Juicers, dehydrators, food processors and such are nice to have. But they are wants, not needs.

When I first went raw a year and a half ago, I had none of those things. I just went to the produce section and took this and that and ate it. I took "raw food" very literally.

Nothing wrong with doing preparations and recipes, they are very yummy!
But if you really want to do raw, and don't have fancy equipment, just start simple!

Make fruit salads, sprinkle green salads with nuts. Discover the joy of pure and simple food on its own, make nori wraps with dried nori, sesame seeds, ginger, and sprouts, yum!

Buy some seeds and a mason jar and learn to sprout!

Raw does NOT have to be expensive. :) Keep posting and searching around for ideas which do not require those things, there are many! For lots of things all you need is a cutting board, knife, and an appetite :)

[Elizabeth]

I agree that Raw can be done without all of the extras...but they do make it easier and more fun.. :-)

I moved in late summer to start Grad. school..and was not able to bring all of my stuff with me. I have gotten quite familiar with my local "freecycle" groups.. where people post things they have to give away and also things that they are looking for. It is a yahoo group and they are all over the country if you are in the U.S. There are also other barter and recycling groups that are local...

You would be amazed at some of the things being offered..and the responses you will get to your requests...

Blessings...

Elizabeth

[Beckla]

We're not rich either so I hear you loud and clear!

One week into eating raw, the fancy food processor we received as a wedding gift broke. I found my replacement - a relic from the 80's that works just fine - on craigslist for $15.

I also save by not buying organic (much as I really want to!).

Just do what you can and make it work for you... that's my approach.

[Purl]

can you get food stamps? This is my third time around with raw (hopefully I will finally get it thru my thick head and stay raw). This time I haven't cracked out any of my expensive gear yet. I am having a grand ol' time just eating food the way it was grown. I've been eating grapes or apples, or salads, or nori rolls with raw feremented carrot/ginger and sunflower sprouts. I made the collard wraps. For desserts I've been eating a few dates/raisins soaked in fresh OJ with coconut on top. I haven't felt like spending alot of time preparing the food.

[quotidianlight]

I am in the same boat. I actually saw some juicers at the thrift store when I was looking for a food processer. I did get a fancy cookie maker/cake decorator kit for 2 bucks and I keep looking for the food processor. If I buy a kitchen gadget from a thrift store I soak it in bleach for a while but it saves a lot of money. The food is the problem for me. I live in an area without any inexpensive grocery stores and money doesn't last long at safeway. I shop out of county and constantly look for sales on veggies and fruits that can be stores. Farmers markets are really good for inexpensive produce at well.

[Ariannah]

I actually have a dehydrator but I don't use it. It just sits there. I just tried too many recipes I didn't like and found out I preferred fresh anyway.

But I did buy a cuisinart mini-prep for myself, and I enjoy that! I also bought a cheap blender, and both serve me well for time saving blends of food.

[oranges]

I agree with everyone, although appliances might expand options, they are by no means necessary. Nor is organic. Yes, preferable, but please do not feel discouraged. You can do this. Find what works best for you and your lifestyle. There is no wrong way! A quick suggestion to save for a blender or food processor if you still really want one - if you can stash a dollar a day or every other day somewhere for safekeeping, then in a month or two you should have enough to buy a blender or food processor, maybe both! Good luck :)

[Purl]

oh yeah. I don't buy all organic, not even close. We are a family of 6 on a tight food budget due to gf/cf needs of 2 of my dc. In the winter I buy ALOT of our produce at a discount grocery store, called Price Rite. Apples are always 99 cents a pound and bananas are always 3lbs for a buck. Avos are 99 cents each, greens like kale are usu. 79cents/lb, etc.

[Nectarine]

Yes, with my own situation, full-time study uses up quite a bit of my finances for books etc, so I save money buy not buying anywhere near 100% organic produce. I only buy organic sultanas and carrots, and sometimes tomatoes. A juicer would be nice though as I like juice in the morning. Everything that has been said already is true; all you need is the basic raw produce, a knife, a peeler, a bowl and a fork, and you're good to go! That's all I use at the moment :)

[Morn]

You already have a lot of great advise, so I won't repeat any of the above suggestions. All I will say is You may also want to try some of the warehouse stores like Sams Club and Costco. You can get large quantities of fruits, nuts, and vegtables there at very reasonable prices. Also check your grocery store ads for sales on fresh produce and buy things when they are on sale. If you have Aldi supermarkets, they are also great for finding inexpensive produce. Also EBAY is a good source for finding lightly used kitchen equipment. I found my old kitchen center on there for next to nothing (made by Ooster) and it has a blender, food processor, etc. all in one unit (just different attachments). You might even find a local seller where you can pick up the stuff instead of paying for shipping. Garage sales are also a great way to find appliances. Good luck in your journey. This can be done. IF there is a will there is a way!

[trinity082482]

The food in my opinion is more expensive then the equipment. The food is a constant expense because produce doesn't stay fresh long.
I struggle with this also. Our food bill went from $60 a week for a family of 3 to $115 a week. Needless to say my spouse was very pissy with me for a while. He has since became more supportive to the raw life style.
:o

[moonstone523]

I recently met an French Canadian couple at the World Rainbow Gathering in Thailand. We were sitting next to each other at the meal circle. They were eating their longans and oranges while the rice was being served. After a long hug I began to inquire about their eating. They were RAW!!! The man has been eating raw for over 30 years. He has 2 raw children, and 2 100% raw grandchildren. He is an inspiration. His partner, she has been eating raw since she met him 6 years ago. She told me she was looking for paradise and she found it in raw foods.

They eat raw fruits and veggies only. They don't make things to mimic pizza or pie. They use only their hands to cut open their food.

I found them as a major source of inspiration.

You too, don't need all the fancy equipment. Just eating simply and maybe paradise is around the corner as well.

[moonstone523]

I recently met an French Canadian couple at the World Rainbow Gathering in Thailand. We were sitting next to each other at the meal circle. They were eating their longans and oranges while the rice was being served. After a long hug I began to inquire about their eating. They were RAW!!! The man has been eating raw for over 30 years. He has 2 raw children, and 2 100% raw grandchildren. He is an inspiration. His partner, she has been eating raw since she met him 6 years ago. She told me she was looking for paradise and she found it in raw foods.

They eat raw fruits and veggies only. They don't make things to mimic pizza or pie. They use only their hands to cut open their food.

I found them as a major source of inspiration.

You too, don't need all the fancy equipment. Just eating simply and maybe paradise is around the corner as well.

[Rawzula]

When I first started out on raw, all I had was a juicer and a $20 a week food budget:eek:.

[moonstone523]

I recently met an French Canadian couple at the World Rainbow Gathering in Thailand. We were sitting next to each other at the meal circle. They were eating their longans and oranges while the rice was being served. After a long hug I began to inquire about their eating. They were RAW!!! The man has been eating raw for over 30 years. He has 2 raw children, and 2 100% raw grandchildren. He is an inspiration. His partner, she has been eating raw since she met him 6 years ago. She told me she was looking for paradise and she found it in raw foods.

They eat raw fruits and veggies only. They don't make things to mimic pizza or pie. They use only their hands to cut open their food.

I found them as a major source of inspiration.

You too, don't need all the fancy equipment. Just eating simply and maybe paradise is around the corner as well.

[Rawzula]

What's up with the multiple postings:eek:?

[klomasius]

I've definitely been there before. The huge amount of veggies for a family can cost heaps!

We have three in our family on one income, so we don't have too much to play around with.

But we have a back yard, and a bit of time (not much but some) to put into a veggie garden. We were also lucky to move into a rented house with fruit trees, oranges, apricots, persimmons, almonds, and also a fig tree hanging over from the neighbour's house.

Of course the food we grow in our back yard is nowhere near enough to feed us totally, so we often make trips to our local fruit and veg market. We get there about half an hour before closing when all the fruit and veg starts to be discounted (especially if the market is closed the next day) and it's often very good quality and super cheap.

And we make good use of the freezer. We buy in bulk fruit and veg on sale and make sauces etc. out of it to freeze. Also, something like a $5 box of very ripe mangoes will go into the freezer (whole mangoes) to be used in icecream and sorbet.

We've also just joined a fruit and veg swap network. None of us like the taste of either figs or persimmons, so we usually find someone who does and give it away. With the swap, we can exchange our spare or unwanted fresh food for the stuff we want. Great!

We also don't buy a lot of organic food. The only organic food we have is the stuff we grow ourselves and the things we get at the wholefoods store like coconut oil, agave nectar, olive oil, some nuts etc.

There are so many different little things to do to save money. We put our minds to it and got creative.

As for the equipment, I find that a cheap blender (bought second hand at an opportunity shop) makes almost anything, from sauces and creams, to nut butters (add extra oil), ice creams, smoothies, milkshakes and even juices (we got creative and blend the heck out of veg and fruit and strain/press the juice out of it).

The other equipment simply does it a little bit better or is more convenient.

I do however now have a dehydrator, and a better blender, and both do make life easier. But we got by with the old blender and nothing else, in fact, it was fund to get creative and be successful with dodgy equipment!

Good luck, I know it's hard sometimes, but so worth it!

And now here's a message from my soon to be 6 year old son, who also loves the raw food I make (sorry, he's been hassling me to put some icons in!).



:eek: :cool: :p :) :confused: :D

[Bobbie]

I agree we don't really need any equipment.
The only things I "think" I "need" are a cheap blender and a food processor to grind nuts and seeds. If you don't have these maybe you could ask your relatives if anyone has one to spare. Cooked food eaters often have these sitting in their cupboards and never use them. Maybe someone has a coffee grinder they don't use - that could be used to grind nuts instead of a food processor. A blender and a chopping knife will do everything else.

I don't really like zucchini made into spaghetti with a £20 ($40) spiraliser, but I love it sliced into paper-thin ribbons with a £1 potato peeler so thats what I use for pasta.

Dehydrated food isn't as healthy as fresh anyway, and lots of raw foodists feel ill after eating it. There are lots of fancy recipes that don't require a dehydrator.

The food is expensive. So you could try halving your portions of tasty food and eating them with the same amount of something cheap.

When I find a food on sale I buy as much as possible and put it in the freezer. For instance this week my greengrocer was selling blueberries at 50p per packet. Usually they're £3. So we bought lots.

Is there any wild food near where you live? Weeds are higher in nutritional value than domesticated greens like kale and spinach. Common grass is what Anne Wigmore's grandmother used to heal soldiers during the first world war, which is how Anne learnt about the healing properties of grass. You could pick that and use it in green smoothies instead of expensive greens or juice it instead of wheatgrass. Wild seaweed is also packed with nutrients.

If you know gardeners you could ask them for any weeds or grass they throw away.
You could ask the local greengrocers if they would let you have any produce they throw away - tell them you're trying to help the environment.

Visit friends at mealtimes and they'll offer you a salad!

[fruitcake]

I only have a hundred dollars a week to feed a family of 5, and that includes the DH's splenda, meat, peanutbutter, milk and coffee. At first I was spending way too much and would run out of money. I just took me a little while to get smart about how to shop this way for our family. We eat food 'as is' because that's the way my kids like it, they're suspicious of anything that's been chopped up and mixed together. It's cheaper that way since recipes tend to get expensive. Once or twice a month I try out a new recipe just to liven things up but I try to find one that I already have the ingredients on hand for. The main thing that help with expenses was deciding what was going to be our staples and sticking with that. Each week I buy 6lbs of apples, a few bunches of bananas, carrots, kale (it's really cheap), and at least 5 heads of romain, and a bag or 2 of sunflower seeds (the kids are allergic to nuts, and they're too expensive anyhow, but seeds are cheap and full of iron). That's about $25 and it pretty well covers our needs. They are things I know my family will eat and won't go to waste. I add on to that what ever extras I can afford too that week. Doing it this I even come out under budget a lot of times. No organics, that's just an added expense right now, plus they are hard to come by here. We don't have healthfood stores or co-ops nearby. I make do with what I can get between Wal-mart and Kroger.
Don't worry about appliances. There are raw foodist out there who believe it's unnatural to so much as own a blender :D it just makes things a tiny bit easier that's all. Don't worry about dehydrating either. It causes bloating. But if you really want to try a dehydrated recipe turn you oven on warm and crack the door to let the extra heat out. Good luck!

[luna99]

And we make good use of the freezer. We buy in bulk fruit and veg on sale and make sauces etc. out of it to freeze. Also, something like a $5 box of very ripe mangoes will go into the freezer (whole mangoes) to be used in icecream and sorbet.

what a great idea. you know, it's so simple, but I didn't even think to freeze some of the sauces for a later date. I know I've had the problem of making sauces or things and they go bad in the fridge cause I only use a little at a time. doh, I feel like an idiot for not thinking of that sooner! haha. thank you!

[Ariannah]

I stretch out my budget with buying seeds and sprouting them in a jar.

Seriously, it works out to pennies a pound if you have enough variety going. Adding sprouts when more expensive food is out of reach is a great way to go.

At my local health food store I bought organic seeds of: French green lentils, ordinary green lentils, mung beans, adzuki beans, garbanzo beans (chick peas), unshelled raw sunflower seeds.

Seeds are not often advertised as "for sprouting" - the ones that are, there's rarely anything special about them and they are often jacked up in price a bit because they make money on the idea that they're something special.

The seeds themselves have a long shelf life and are storable so you don't have to worry about a bag of seeds "going bad" if you don't eat them all right away.

A little resourcefulness goes a LONG way. Find out what is available in your area and educate yourself as to initial purchase vs longevity of food.

I, too, find myself tempted by some of the richer foods and pictures I see on this website. I cannot afford pounds of cashews or other nuts, or raw cacao, or maca or any of the exotic things, but I'm finding plain ordinary food to be quite affordable.

Other inexpensive foods I eat:

Fruits on sale (I always check flyers)
Veggies on sale
Dates
regularly have bananas, frozen berries (fresh if on sale)
carrot tops (don't throw away edible greens)

[mongomango]

Hi!

You might consider growing yourself some greens for salads as well. You only need potting soil, cheap containers, and VERY economical seeds. If you think you have no room, think again! Here is a tutorial that shows you how to do it. If you'll have 5 or 6 containers growing, you'll be able to harvest salad greens almost daily that are not only inexpensive, but the most tender, tasty and nutritious greens that you've probably ever had since you harvest right before growing. If you get a good organic potting soil and organic fertilizer, your greens can be completely organic. It's very easy to do. And check out the main site of this link. There are a number of very small plants that you can grow in containers.

http://www.containerseeds.com/articles/mesclunarticle.html

edit: the baby greens don't need nearly as much light as when they are getting older and a few hours by a window is good...where I live, they get mostly only ambient light from fixtures.

[chilove]

Buy your fruits and veggies at produce stores and ethnic stores. They are usually 25 to 50% cheaper than grocery stores. It makes a huge difference! I could not afford to be a raw foodist if it weren't for produce stores! :-) Make friends with the managers and let them know that you are interested in buying their "un-sellable" (usually perfectly ripe, but seen by a lot of people as too ripe and/or bruised) produce. You can get awesome bargains this way. One produce store near me lets me buy their "too ripe" bananas for 10 cents per lb! I either eat them up in a day or two or freeze them.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[mershwista]

Yeah, I don't know how people can afford to spend so much on food each week either. To me, spending $20 a week is a lot....that's too much, and that's more than I normally spend.

Ditch the recipes except for the ones you can make in a blender or on a cutting board. Eat more foods in their natural state. Get creative with salads. Drink green smoothies. Sprout things and use the sprouts in your salads and smoothies. Drink water; buy seeds and nuts in bulk.

[FirstGarden]

In the good ol days, Ralphs supermarket had the less-than-perfect produce bargain section -- usually a rack with nicely marked down Fruits & Vegs. Despite a slight bruise somewhere, the food was fine, and that alone made me shop there. Then the whole district stopped doing that. Maybe someone somewhere got a little tummy ache from bad pizza and made noise, so they quit for fear of a lawsuit.(?) But, if you have a Ralphs near you, check it out.

I did find another market near me that still does a bargain section, so I go there often and load up on bags of apples, oranges, veggies, etc. A whole bag of this yummy stuff is like 59 cents, and there's really nothing wrong with it. Just wash your goodies well before eating. I should practice what I preach here cuz I don't normally wash them (shame on me) and I do just fine, and even keep a stash in my car at work. I just eat the older looking stuff first, but the food is fine. It's way above what most Americans are eating, in this day of rampant disease & ingestive insanity!

If you are near any large metro area, there will likely be discount grocery stores. And their regular produce is way cheaper then the big chains because they are not unionized.

If you are near rural areas, maybe there are farms or orchids not too far away where you might be able to strike some real bargains.

But, don't be fooled by street fairs and such that seem to have bargains, but are still pretty pricey.

Also there are animal feed places. For instance, you can buy a huge 50 pound bag of carrot pieces for 6 bucks (carrots sold for horses) and go to juicing heaven, once you get a juicer.

You can really be quite creative here in your quest for a cost-effective, raw lifestyle. And remember, in any scenario, you come out way ahead with several bags of produce for the same cost as *one* bag of chuck steak, ice cream & other costly disasters to the human body.

If there's a Trader Joe's anywhere near you, you can get raw, hulled sunflower seeds, dried fruit & such for terribly reasonable prices. (Most "health food" stores are too high). I miss the 70s where good, earthen Nat food stores & restaurants sprouted like mushrooms overnite across the lawn. The prices were righteous, especially bought in bulk. Then there were the CO-OPs.

And if you have the survivalist twitch in you (and are a little bit crazy like me), get a book of herbs & wild edibles and get to know what's out there in the countryside. I'd like to live in Oregon one day cuz the berries grow wild everywhere and they are YUM!!!!!

:-{) -- a smile with a mustache.

todd

[Apasaraw]

I recently met an French Canadian couple at the World Rainbow Gathering in Thailand. ....

You too, don't need all the fancy equipment. Just eating simply and maybe paradise is around the corner as well.

Moonstone,

Are you the Thailand Trading Co.? I saw the linky at your signature. This is fab! Thanks for supporting Thai artisans and sharing your story of the French Canadian family. In Thailand we always ate with our hands...sometimes it puts people off here...isn't it fun to be so organic and close to the food? I'm going to go check your site out again...

Kap Khun Ka for supporting village life...my family is in the Northern Hills...

[rawxanne]

I totally agree with everyone. I mean, you pay a huge premium just for the word 'organic' on a food item. its ridiculous. And you dont get very much for your money either. I certainly cant afford to eat totally organic and prices of some dehydrators and the like, are not really that affordable on a budget.
But like all of you, I just eat simply and easily. Moonstone, I LOVED the story of the french canadians - thats more like it! :D