Produce Availability

[Bredelly]

I was in the grocery store today and was really struck by how little raw food there is. There is some fruit, some organic greens most of the time. It's really bad this time of year.

I'm wondering, what the heck can I eat? I'm trying to eat little fruit, because of the sugar and my teeth aren't in great shape, and it doesn't seem to make sense to eat a seasonal food all year round.

What would a raw and local foodist eat in the winter? There is lots of squash in the grocery store, but is that any good raw? I don't want to eat squash and more squash, and nothing but squash. It just doesn't seem right that you have to eat food shipped from 1000 miles away to be able to eat raw year round.

Also, I'm struggling to find things to eat because I want to give lots of options to a co-worker who is morbidly obese who wants to go raw, at least for a month. As of now I don't have many options to offer him.

[kaybee]

maybe try a couple different grocery stores too, to try to find more variety. if you live in a colder climate, it is unfortunately going to be difficult to eat only local stuff at this time of year. this wont help you now, but if you are in a position to grow your own garden, there are ways that you can preserve stuff in your garden throughout the winter by covering it, etc; that would give you more variety through the winter, also freezing strawberries, etc.

As for right now, as much as I understand not wanting to eat stuff thats been shipped for miles, you might want to break down and use some things just to get some variety. bananas are nutritious and a good filler.

Some of the stuff that might be local at this time of year are apples, squash, and greens. you can eat squash and sweet potato raw, try making "pasta" out of the sweet potato with a vegetable peeler or grating it. (look for recipes using the search function on this website) carrots and turnips might also be more local. Kale, collards, swiss chard, parsley and spinach, onions and garlic MIGHT also be local, but is more likely to be so if you are shopping at a small co-op than at the big grocery store.

You can also try sprouting your own stuff--sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts, quinoa, raw buckwheat, lentils, wheat, etc. that will give you "local" fresh food....

it is coming into the spring time, so peas, lettuce, etc should be out soon.

[JEN]

I eat more avocados in the winter. There is a great chili recipe in this forum that Yani posted. I also love Alissa's pasta marinara and Carmella's pad thai. I also just finished off a batch of Alissa's cinnamon raisin bread only I used buckwheat instead of barley this time. It was delicious!! And always make sure you get your leafy greens in!!

[Stina]

Do you have Alissa's book? I could do okay just accessing a "normal" (I resent that!) grocery store. However, I live one hour away from Eugene Oregon where the Raw movement is wonderfully thriving and lots of options at health food stores. I'm spoiled, my friend/neighbor converted to being raw and I got access to an Excalibur dehydrator and I'm pumping food out. Keep researching your options; it's so worth it and bless you for sharing this Raw message with your co-worker.