A few questions before I start

[Chachi1984]

I am getting ready to start the raw food diet and I am a little nervous. I want to make a complete lifestyle change but I am worried that it is going to cost a small fortune. I dont make very much money ( I am school district employee). I was talking to a young lady that I work with that eats only raw foods, although I am assuming that it isnt Alissa Cohen's plan, but she says that it can get very expensive. I am ready to make a change in my life and I had considered becoming a vegetarian but my doctor shattered that by telling me that a girl of my size should never giving up protiens and I would always be overwieght if I made that change, so my next question is about protiens. I dont know how they factor into anything except that I need them to attain muscle. Does the raw food diet offer enough protien to sustain this change for a lifetime? Thank you very much.

[RowanC]

I know this is a concern when you first start, but I swear, it's no more expensive than when I ate SAD. In fact, it's a lot cheaper once you have your pantry stocked with the basics.

I have a box of organic food delivered to my home for $25 per week.
On top of that I spend maybe another $20. that's it. and it's not always that much. That's $45 a week. For the lady with 10 people to feed, that's only $450 a week, not $1000!

I buy a lot of things in bulk.
Try adding one or two bulk items to your list each week instead of doing it all at once.

Bulk items that you probably will need more of at first would be dates, flaxseed, braggs or nama shoyu, sundried tomatoes, olive oil, honey or agave.

I sit down once a week and figure out my menu depending on what comes in the organic box. Then I look at Alissa's book, find recipes I want to use, and make a grocery list for the items I need. If i need one cup of almonds, then I buy ONE cup of almonds! That way they don't get rancid.

It's an art.. you just learn as you go.
Cut the recipes in half.
Have a cracker and bread making weekend once a month.

Really, you're going to save money.. not only on groceries, but on medical costs and time.

Good luck!
We're here to help.
RowanC

[Rawkinlocs]

In total agreement with RowanC! Also, here are a couple of other threads where grocery bills and ways to help save money are listed:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20558&highlight=grocery+bill

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26081

As for protein, read this article posted by Alissa:
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3708

Just keep in mind that protein doesn't create protein, amino acids are what our bodies need to create protein and you can find an abundance of ASSIMILABLE nutrients needed in green leafy veggies as well as fruit and other veggies. Don't forget nuts and seeds too!

[RowanC]

1. Don't buy honey at the supermarket. Find a beekeeper and buy it a gallon at a time from them. If it crystalizes, you can still use it. It doesn't hurt the honey.

2. Don't buy dates from the supermarket. Buy them directly from the Palm Desert and have them shipped to your door.

3. See if you can find an organic farm who will deliver. This saves you time, gasoline, and you can build your week's recipes around FRESH LOCAL produce!

4. Grow a small tomatoe, lettuce, parsley garden outside your door.

5. Buy at Farmers' markets whenever you can.

6. Find someone else in your area who wants to eat raw and buy in bulk with them. You can buy things like flax, nuts, seeds for sprouting, very very cheap in bulk bags of 10 to 25 pounds. Store it in tight containers or take it to your local LDS Bishop's Storehouse and drypack can it -- you do NOT have to be LDS to use this facility.

Good luck! :D

[Rawmney]

Do you possibly have a farmers market with good prices on seconds produce? I find that's great for peaches and apples. Be careful with tomatoes as they often go bad quickly if they have cracks.

The suggestions on bulk are good. It took me awhile to see that buying a bag of apples or oranges was often much less than the loose fruits. This works well if you start eating mono meals (a lot of one fruit) or have several recipes across a few days that utilize the same food. I have had some problems with mennu planning where you didn't use all of something quickly enough. Waste is probably my most expensive raw habit, but pales in comparison with how much I waste on junk food normally.

Good luck!

Best,
Rawmney

[chilove]

Hi there,

Congratulations on going raw!!! You have discovered a wonderful way of life!

Don't shop at supermarkets! Find produce stores and produce stands and ethnic (asian, mexican) stores to shop at. They are usually 50% cheaper than grocery stores on many items.

Make friends with the people who work there (and with produce managers at the grocery stores near you for when you have to shop at grocery stores) and let them now that you'd be interested in purchasing their "un-sellable" produce. It is usually just perfectly ripe (you have to freeze it or eat it up soon) or bruised.

Don't worry about protein! It is impossible to be deficient in protein as long as you are eating enough calories to support your body/activity level.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[RowanC]

So I'm sitting here reading these threads thinking while I'm eating lunch. And it occurred to me that my lunch was not expensive.

I'm eating guacamole that I just whipped up in 2 minutes with crackers I made last week.

Cost?

Guacamole - total cost is $2.45 (that's if I eat the WHOLE bowl!)
1 avocado - 99 cents
1 tomatoe - 1.25
1 slice onion - 20 cents?
salt - 1 cent?

Crackers - well, I'm gonna eat about 8 so I'll say $1.00

Then maybe I'll pop a RHP brownie for desert for $1

So my entire lunch with desert is $4.45

You can't get a Big Mac meal for that and I'll have plenty leftover for dinner!