Help For Raw Success/Suggestions/Feedback Appreciated

[luckitri]

OK. I have been here for more than a year now and I just keep trying.

However I am really sick of salads.

I realize that I probably will never be able to afford the equipment to do the recipes that would satisfy my SAD cravings and entice my family to raw.

For a long time I consoled myself with the knowledge that long time raw fooders mono-eat.

I don't know how many people visit here, want to be raw, also realize that they can't afford the equipment, and just go away.

Therefore I am wondering if there would be interest in a thread dedicated to recipes that you can make just with a breadboard and a knife - and maybe a cheapo $20 blender for sauces.

I say this because in my quest for variety I often look up recipes about something I want to eat - eggplant for example - and then find it requires a food processor to make those eggplant burgers.

Maybe newbies would like such a thread to try out raw before they invest in all the equipment. In my case my finances have gone from bad to worse and I just have to accept that it ain't ever gonna happen.

So all are welcome to weigh in on this idea. I would like to know if there are others who share my frustration and also if the owner/moderators of this board would be interested in pursuing this.

[sherahtaylor]

I got my food processor at a garage sale for $2.00!! Can't beat that - I also got my blender at a garage sale too for $2.00, and my juicer for $4.00. I've often seen these things at thrift stores too, so I would highly recommend you at least look - you can also check out www.craigslist.com - lots of people getting rid of these strange looking contraptions that they never use, for cheap! :D

[Coriander74]

I think that would be a RAWKING idea, to start a thread under recipes for those who don't have all kinds of equipment... maybe call it, knife and blender recipes, or whatever floats your boat.

Great idea though. I remember when I started Raw, all I had was a knife and a blender from 1960! :D I would have loved to find more recipes that didn't need the processor or dehydrator, etc.

[luckitri]

Sherah, that is exactly the advice I myself have given many newbies to this forum. But it is not working for me. In my area the people know the value of what they have and even the used Excaliburs are hundreds of dollars and the food processors the same. Just maybe $60 off from new. It is too much for me. Plus they want to charge me delivery as I lost my car from being too sick to work. So now I see that my advice was probably frustrating and worthless. I have seen dehydrators on freecycle - but the old round kind which I have one and many recipes cannot do on it. Plus it does not uncook even and bears constant watching and moving.

I had two of those dehydrators and I gave one to a newbie here and I think that it caused undue stress for her in the frustration of it not working like Excalibur kind. She is not posting anymore but I know that her excitement went quickly to extreme frustration with the dehydrator.

I am glad to read that you were able to do so well but now I see that it is quite the exception.

I have a juicer that is almost as old as I am (1/2 century mark) and a cheapo blender and another juicer that is 1/2 year old and they are all getting ready to kick because of me trying to do recipes with them that they are not designed for.

[luckitri]

Thanks for the support Coriander! I just think that alot of people don't make very much and still deserve a chance for enticing recipes even though they cannot afford the equipment.

My husband always asks me how these people ate before electricity and before the equipment. I wonder also.

Then I think that there must be green designs that would be cheaper to buy as well as operate so I could learn to make the creamy cheesy raw replacements of SAD foods.

I would love to be able to challenge some engineers to make non-electric food processors, juicers and blenders. I think that there were links to green dehydrators posted on here a year ago but kindof beyond my abilities to make.

[ChaiLife]

I truly wish I had the funds to send you what you need. I was talking about it with hubby tonight. Unfortunately at this time I do not. I am sorry.

I do have a nice cutting board and knife recipe for you that we love:

Storm's Raw Tabouli! (Our special staple "green stuff" recipe):

* one bunch cilantro
* one bunch parsley
* one bunch green onions
* two tomatoes
* one avocado
* half a cup of raw almonds
* cold-pressed olive oil
* unrefined sea salt
* raw honey
* half a lemon

Chop up cilantro, parsley, green onions, avocados and tomatoes in a bowl. Blend almonds to a fine flour in blender and add to bowl. Add the juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of honey, and a teaspoon of salt. Change it up each time by adding a different vegetable/herb like corn, broccoli, or fresh basil, or a different spice like Italian or Mexican seasonings. Serves 3.


Just curious, have you tried dehydrating things in the oven on a low temp. I have heard of some folks going really natural and using the sun to dehydrate. I would be conrened about bugs but I guess you could use a table and use cheesecloth to keep the flies off. Just a thought.

I'll keep my eyes open for appliance free recipes for ya.

[CaliRaw]

luckitri, are you in the US?

[Strawberry Smoothie]

Luckitri:

I'm interested in this thread.

I don't have a recipe to offer right now. I do have a blender and make smothies, but that's about all I have. I eat my greens in my smoothies so my other meals usually consist of some sort of lettuce wraps.

For lunch yesterday I chopped portabello mushrooms, grated zucchini, sliced 2 green onions and threw it in bowl together with Nama Shoyu, a tiny drizzle of agave, grated fresh ginger and some hot pepper flakes and ate the concoction in lettuce leaves.

I saw a good recipe that I'll be making for lunch today:

3 grated apples
juice of half a lemon
berries (any kind you have or like)
cinnamon
if you like, you can top with chopped nuts of your choice
eat it out of a bowl like cereal

[CaliRaw]

I have several raw books that contain recipes. I'll look through them and post any recipes that don't require equipment. There must be at least a couple. :)

[4forme]

I understand where you are coming from actually. I do have a juicer and a pretty nice blender. But, will not be able to get a dehydrator or food processor. I don't feel this is a lifestyle I can realistically carry out 100% considering the kind of life we live. In Asia there is an abundance of veggies, but organic is hard to come by and not to mention outrageously priced and very little variety. Plus with the enormous amount of travel we do, to impoverished countries, it would be difficult at best to succeed.
My husband thinks I am weird for all the ideas I come up with for our eating habits, and can't beleive some of the ones I stick to, there will be no convinceing him to be raw or even have the family go raw. I know this is best for me right now and all I can do is live by example.
I have brought our family from a typical SAD diet to a pretty healthy (yes cooked) variety of veggies, clean meats, extremely low sugar and tons of fruits. We have come a long way.
All that is said because I would love simple recipes that don't require many tools but that would enable me to get a good variety in.
The green smoothies are amazing and definately help get different greens in each day.
I am actually trying a raw granola with just using the oven on the lowest temp. Will let you know how it comes out.

[Strawberry Smoothie]

I understand where you are coming from actually. I do have a juicer and a pretty nice blender. But, will not be able to get a dehydrator or food processor.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. Unless I can find a food processor and dehydrator really really cheap, I won't be getting those items.

I have a Vitamix & a Champion Juicer and I've had both for several years. I had a food processor that i lost some of the essential parts of it when I moved. I'd found this food processor at a garage sale, and unless I can find another one for 5 bucks, forget it. I'll find a way to live without it. I'm not really interested in owning a dehydrator either unless I can find one really cheap. My sister bought one one from Bed Bath & Beyond, (a cheapy one) and i tried to make one recipe, couldn't stand the smell of it in my house, and returned it. So...whatever.

[EZ rider]

I don't think a person needs any equipment to be a raw foodist. Did our ancient ancestors have equipment like a modern kitchen in their cave ? Certainly equipment helps, starting in importance with a knife and then beyond that some electrical appliances. I don't have a food processor or a dehydrator and probably many other things that may be in various raw food kitchens (See the thread on dream hitchens) but I use what I have and I'm a raw foodist one meal at a time.

[tali]

A couple things .. I'm new to raw so I'm just learning. I do have a Vita-Mix that I bought years ago and am very happy I did so.

I don't own my own food processor or dehydrator. I can see where they would be happy and perhaps I'll get them in the future, but not right now.

Now, couple things .. Craigslist.com and Freecyle are two great resources to look for others who've made the big purchase and are wanting to sell cheap or just get rid of items.

How about borrowing them? For example, my brother has a cuisineart that he hasn't used since the holidays ... if I borrow it then I get the benefits without the payout. Sometimes relatives or friends have equipment that they don't use and will either sell cheap or lend to you. You'd have to be careful with them but I assume you'd be as careful if it was your own equipment as well.

Also, Storn and Jinjee's (http://www.thegardendiet.com/) recipe booklets rarely require anything more than a blender. I don't believe they use a dehydrator at all. The tabouleh recipe from above is their's -- as an example.

I think that green smoothies are the best conversion tool we have in our arsenal. If you get people to drink green smoothies they'll feel better and very often be more receptive to adapting their eating because regular SAD food won't be as satisfying to them.

Hope that helps. :)

I do like the idea of recipes which are non-appliance recipes (aside from a blender since I think everyone has a blender of some sort *G*)

Tali

[dreamrawalwz]

You don't need any equipment, but I understand how it would make it much easier to make recipies to stay raw. I don't have a food processor. I have a blender that I use for sauces and stuff. I'm not sure, it may be a food proccessor also because it has buttons to grind up nuts/seeds, and chop ice into shaved ice texture and stuff. Wouldn't a blender work for some things? I don't do recipies much at all so I wouldn't know.

[CaliRaw]

I think it depends on what kind of blender you have. Mine has buttons for grinding, chopping, mincing, etc. A $20 store-bought blender may not have those options.

If there's a Goodwill, thrift store, or pennysaver in the area, maybe they can try those as well.

[styersky]

I understand where you are coming from actually. I do have a juicer and a pretty nice blender. But, will not be able to get a dehydrator or food processor. I don't feel this is a lifestyle I can realistically carry out 100% considering the kind of life we live. In Asia there is an abundance of veggies, but organic is hard to come by and not to mention outrageously priced and very little variety. Plus with the enormous amount of travel we do, to impoverished countries, it would be difficult at best to succeed.
My husband thinks I am weird for all the ideas I come up with for our eating habits, and can't beleive some of the ones I stick to, there will be no convinceing him to be raw or even have the family go raw. I know this is best for me right now and all I can do is live by example.
I have brought our family from a typical SAD diet to a pretty healthy (yes cooked) variety of veggies, clean meats, extremely low sugar and tons of fruits. We have come a long way.
All that is said because I would love simple recipes that don't require many tools but that would enable me to get a good variety in.
The green smoothies are amazing and definately help get different greens in each day.
I am actually trying a raw granola with just using the oven on the lowest temp. Will let you know how it comes out.

Please share when you have it the raw granola recipe. I am hoping to find ont that will permit us to not buy any more for my husband. He buys one and eats it every day . . . it has dried milk and some other things I hope we can get rid of from his diet!

[luckitri]

Chailife! Thanks for the good heart but really I am a grown up and ought to be able to get this myself. Just finances are really really bad and no hope for better. Also thanks for the recipe.

Cali, Yes I am in the U.S.

Strawberrysmoothie: Another good recipe! Thanks!

Hi 4forme - yes I wish to make raw renditions of SAD food to entice my family to healthier eating as well as expand the variety of what I am eating. Although being in a semi-tropical area and having those fruit selections is to be envied - but you say you move alot.

EZRider - exactly what I was thinking today. I have been making green drinks because I just can't handle all that fruit. They taste nasty. I decided to just eat everything. Even if it means that I have to eat almost constantly - no more nasty drinks. They taste much better before they are juiced.

Hi Tali, we don't have any friends or family anymore, just kinda something that happens when you are low budget for many years and can't meet them for their anniversary in Vegas type thing. I explained about the Freecycle and Craigs list locally at the beginning. I suppose if I watch it closely every day I might luck out but so far no and I have been watching since becoming raw. I really want the Excalibur because you can take middle trays out and make bigger things like those tortes and zucchini roll-ups and stuffed mushrooms. I am kind of confused at this point as to wether I need a Vitamix or a food processor or both. Alot of recipes say food processor and on another thread someone told me that Alissa uses a food processor as well.

Hi Dream! Yes today I got off the pity pot and decided to just get back to the cutting board and the knife. And just eat alot more salads. I just look at all those food pics and I had my husband eating flax crackers for awhile with fresh made salsa and avocado which is really good for his heart condition but we are both tired of it. I see those chunky raw breads that I know I could entice him to if I could process them enough for his dentures and pour them thick enough to get them like in the photos and this round dehydrator will not let me pour that thick. This is a diabetic who eats a half a loaf of junk bread a day. I just want to entice him to healthier foods so I can have him around a bit longer.

4forme! Ditto what styersky said! I would love a granola recipe to get my son off that processed stuff (and believe me it is progress that he is even eating the processed stuff!)