Raw and on a budget

[granolamama]

I would love some suggestions about how to eat raw on a budget? Which foods would be the best to buy organic? What are some good "fillers?" Do any of you in the West order from Azure? How can I get my hands on some really healthy oils? Is it okay to to fill in with brown rice and homemade bread in the winter, when our garden is down? I was thinking maybe you all know some money-saving food preservation techniques besides canning?
Rana

[spicyfull]

Seeds and Sprouting are always a Good way to fill and Stay RAW....Check the bottom of this page and you will find a link on Sprouting.........

[michigan roman]

hi granolamama , welcome to the site :) !

there was just a good thread on this last week . go to top of page search icon and type in ' help with the food budget ' . thatll get you to the thread thats got many good ideas .

[star1919]

Hi granolamama...

I'm going to check out the link Michigan Roman mentioned too.

The following is a list of produce that I've read... is the most important to buy 'Organic' ... apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries,
(imported) grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, strawberries.

Also, Doubleg had a great suggestion some time ago regarding greens. If you have some greens going bad, before you can eat them all... cut or tear them in pieces and freeze for green smoothies. I also do this with any fruit that may go bad.

Eating cooked grains, breads, beans isn't raw... some people have mentioned doing well with high raw eating (small percentage of cooked) and others have not done well with that. A personal choice... the focus of this site is raw eating.

You may find it helpful to buy some things in bulk and then freeze them... like nuts, things you make. There are lots of recipes ... in the Raw Recipes/Food Preparation section. Some people have mentioned... getting to know the produce people in their grocery... it can help to find good deals on produce that may start going bad. Lastly, I drink hot steaming tea in the winter which helps me a lot. Others prefer not do that. Again, a personal choice and what feels best for you and your body.

All the best... and Welcome! :D

[RowanC]

Depending on where you live, you can forage too!

If you are in a good sized town or city, put a rake and some lawn bags in your car. Then get in the car and take a drive up and down every street. Look for trees full of fruit or nuts that is falling on the ground. Then go up to the house and say, "I see that your tree is making a mess in your yard and I really would love to have those pears, apples, figs, nuts that are falling. Would you mind if I pick them? I'll clean up the mess for you?"

I've had GREAT luck doing this. I found one little older lady who had a messy fig tree. I pick a mess for her and take the rest to eat and dehydrate. I've also done it with apples, walnuts, filberts, and pears.

Some people have nut trees in their yards and don't have a clue what to do with them.

If you are in the country, there are a LOT of edible salad makings around. Find a good wild edible guidebook and go shopping on your walks.

If you're in the forest, you can pick berries and wild greens.

If you're at the coast, there is a nice list of free food there too.

[michigan roman]

ive in the past grew wheat for juicing but never ate it after soaking .
then today i was straining a jar of wheat berries i had soaked for like 24 hours for sprouting and ate some and they tasted excellent .
im thinking of eating them mixed with either fruit like strawberries etc , or say like a tomato dominant vegi mixture .
so if this would taste good to one it could become a great cheap staple if buying the berries / seeds in bulk sizes of like 50 to 100 pounds . im wondering about oat groats this way also .

[bittersweet]

If you're going to be using grains as a staple, you may want to do some research. In my experience, which has been reinforced by research that I have done, grains are quite dangerous.
Not as bad as animals product or chemicals, but still not ideal.

My budget recomendations:

-bananas are cheap

-buy fruit in bulk from family-owned stores, talk to the owners to get great deals
asian markets have seaweeds, veggies, and fruits, often for quite cheap (try wakame)

-you can probably buy things like oranges in bushels

-freeze greens

-if you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate veggies for soups and thusly store them safely

-if you have a blender/food processor, you can make smoothies and soups that are healthy, yummy, and made from economical ingredients

-zucchini is cheap and yummy- easy to find free from people with gardens in the summer, make noodles with it using a veggie peeler. You can make all sorts of sauces to have on the noodles.

-do a search on this forum and on rawfoodsupport.com, this has been asked many times, and there are lots of great ideas floating around.

Good luck!