Newbie in Az needs help!

[sunnyaz]

Have bought Alissa's book but have not tried the recipes as of yet. Nor do I have any of the tools like the saladacco or Vita Mix as of yet. Can't afford all that till later in the year. Can juicing be Incorporated into the Raw Food way? I have tried once without juicing and lasted 3 weeks. My body revolted on me big time so I must have lots of toxins to get rid of. I don't know the difference between post,thread and blogs so I am not sure if I am doing this right. But have heard you are never to old to learn : )! Any help or suggestions would be welcomed.:confused:

[luckitri]

Welcome! I am also in Glendale but I don't get out much. Try freecycle for a juicer or what you think you need. Maybe someone got one for a wedding present and doesn't want it. Gotta buy Alissa's book and DVD. It will answer most of your questions. Gotta share the 'puter with my 12 year old on myspace so have to go now.

[spicyfull]

OH...I think I know someone in Glendale..I am sure she will contact you..

You have Alissa's Book and that is the No.1 thing. Juiceing works Great with RAW...Do you have a Blender? That will work. Do you have a Food Processor? that will work.

If you have niether a Knife will work. After Reading the Book you will be SOOOOO Smart.

Thanks for Saving YOUR Life and NO you NEVER are too old to Learn..

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW........Welcome to MY World..

[sunnyaz]

I have a Jack La Lane juicer. Maybe not the best but a start! I have Alissa's book and have watch the DVD that my friend bought. I do have a food processor but no blender. Are green powders considered Raw? Like Garden of Life? I am going to start Wed. my Raw food journey! I am excited to say the least. Alissa's book is jammed pack and it will take me awhile to figure out the easy recipes to start with. luckitri Where is the best place to get produce cheap and fresh? Thank you both for answering...took me awhile to figure out how to view replies...lol

[luckitri]

I am at 55th and Cactus so I like to go to Sprouts on Peoria and 51st and shoot over to Food City on 59th and Peoria. At Food City I can get cheap meat for my dogs too so they can be raw. Glendale covers alot of territory so I don't know if that is best for you. These are right on my block. If you are further north you have alot of other options and if you are further south or west your options change once again. I like to go to Manila Market at 35th and Olive (I think) for my young coconuts on Wednesdays when they come in. There are other Asian markets that are much cleaner and also have wonderful produce. (Like 43rd and Union Hills.) I just like to get some greens at Manila Market that I can't get elsewhere. . . but lately even the Food City has been carrying the watercress. Manila Market can be very interesting however because people from all over the world shop there despite the dirt and the stench.

Under Forum Announcements and Assistance there is a section called Abbreviations and Terminology. That will help.

Go to Google and type in Freecycle. You will get to the national website. Then you can zero in on Arizona and sign up for freecycles in your area. There is one for Glendale, another for Peoria, and another for Phoenix. There are many more but you need to be careful. For example Phoenix encompasses alot of territory so you may find yourself driving 30 miles in traffic for something that it would be cheaper just to go buy. Rule of Freecycle is you must offer something before posting Want or Need. It is for the purpose of recycling - not as some abuse it and put fantasmical wish lists on it.

I have been suffering much toxicity, am in my 50's and have had lots of major medical and lots of Rx and illness to detox - part of why I don't get out much.

Welcome!

[jocelynAZ]

Yay.....fellow Arizonans!!! I'm from Casa Grande (about an hour south of Glendale midway between Phx and Tucson). Welcome sunnyaz and congrats on your new journey with raw! You are on the right track with Alissa's book. It will be extremely helpful, especially for those just starting out.

Juicing can definitely be incorporated into the raw diet. And Jack-La-Lane's will work fine as a starter juicer. But you will come to find that a blender is going to be a valuable asset to your raw kitchen. You don't need a Vita-Mix, although it is awesome if you can afford one. My hubby and I did just fine using a lower end blender the first 1 1/2 years we started raw. We saved up for a VitaMix and when we got it, we couldn't believe how went so long without it. :) If you must choose what appliances to have to start with on a raw food diet, IMO, the 2 most important are a blender and food processor. A majority of the raw recipes utilize 1 or both of these appliances. And these appliances will save you tons of time in making recipes! Looks like you're starting on the right foot already with a food processor! :)

I've mentioned this before, but with lower end blenders, I've found that Oster blenders work the best. I personally don't recommend any blenders that cost less than $40 because from what we've experienced, they really don't blend well at all. But any blender is better than no blender at all. For our family, we fell in love (prior to VitaMix of course) with the "beehive" Oster blender. It blended the best out of the lower end blenders we had and it cost around $49 (I think).

With regards to green powders, they must say "raw" for it to truly be raw. Otherwise, it's been processed. I'm personally not big on green powders because I haven't found one I like the taste of. I did switch to Raw Power, and I like the nutty taste of that. RawFood.com (http://www.rawfood.com) sells it if you want more info. You will find that there is debate as to whether or not we need to supplement if we're on a raw diet. You will need to research this for yourself and make a personal decision. I hardly use supplements at all, just every once in a while when I feel that my body needs it. And even then, I pretty much just use raw power. But I'm starting to look into enzyme supplements though.

Well, I hope this helps you some. :) You'll do just fine!! RFT and Alissa's book are great resources to help you stay on the right track. Don't hesitate to ask your ??'s and seek encouragement here!

Btw...the best places for cheap organic produce is your local farmers market. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are also good places to buy organic produce. Organically Grown For You is a place I used to buy my organic produce. They're based out of Phoenix, but they deliver. If you're not in their delivery area, there might be a "drop off" location started. You can go to their site at www.og4you.com (http://www.og4you.com) for more info.

Take care and be blessed!

[luckitri]

Hey jocelynAZ! I was wondering where you were! Just visited your personal link and want to go back and read more on some of your favorite links when I have time!

[jocelynAZ]

Hey luckitri ~ Thanks for visiting my personal blogsite. :) It's brand new - just a couple of weeks old - so there's still things that I am still planning on adding.

Btw...I just found a great site that lists some raw resources in AZ! (www.rawinaz.com) (http://www.rawinaz.com) Don't know how I hadn't come across this earlier! :) I started to feel like there wasn't a whole lot of interest in raw in the Phx metro area! I think Phx is slowly getting into this lifestyle of eating though. I would love to see more raw restaurants pop up here.

[chilove]

Hi there,

I think that just a food processor and a blender will get you very far. I don't think you really need anything else.

You can often find blenders at thrift stores for just a few dollars! Blenders are a huge help because then you can do fruit smoothies which were the base of my raw diet for a long time because they are super cheap, easy, fast and yummy and filling.

The cheapest places to buy produce are produce stores and asian and other ethnic markets.

There are many threads on here on doing the raw diet cheaply. Do a search with the banana at the top of the screen. Maybe start with "saving money".

You can do this!!! :-)

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[daimajin108]

like others have stated, juicer/processor you're all set. Save a little to afford a blender. That's all I have. Sometimes I think it can get a little overwhelming for "newbies". Keep it simple!! I haven't changed much of my diet since I've started. I try to keep it simple. Green smoothie in the morning , salad for lunch , either a juice or another green smoothie for dinner . I usually snack on dried fruit or nuts . Once and a while We'll make brownies or something a little more "complicated" for dinner. Usually on weekends. I never used to eat much salad before but now I crave them. Oh yeah, Olives rule , so do avacados!
I still use my Lalane juicer more than my champion . Nothing wrong with that.
Remember there is a huge support group here. The people on this board are "wicked cool" as we like to say in New England.

[smith30]

I just started the raw diet this week. I went to Wal-Mart and found an Oster blender with a food processor attachment for 39.00. I also went ahead and got a dehydrator for 44.00. You might check your Wal-Mart to see if they carry the Oster blender. I have already made a banana smoothy in the blender and a nut mixture for a bread to dry in my dehydrator and both the blender and processor worked very well.

[sunnyaz]

I am so glad that I decided to read some of luckitri's threads? Still trying to figure out terms here. I see the answers to so many of my questions here. I am close to you luckitri. I am at 67th Ave and Cactus Rd. Where did you get the good buy on strawberries? I also have alot of medical problems and have a whole bag of meds that I must take at this time. No Gallbladder to worry about but every time I change my eating habits especially raw I have to stay close to my bathroom...not sure if it is due to raw or lack of gallbladder???Hope that goes away! I have put many of these sites in my favorites and can't thank you all enough for the info. Have had a bad start but I am starting tomorrow with fresh veggies ,music and a short walk instead of sitting in front of the TV. And now I have to go visit JocelynAz site. TC, Lu

[luckitri]

Probably too late. Sprouts at 51st and Peoria. They usually do something special for Easter like that. There are so many things to consider with your health.