how long do you spend preparing your meals?

[Aleesha Sattva]

i'm very very new to raw... as a matter of fact, i'm new to fasting (since aug 2007) and i'm attempting to add raw into my diet... i would love to be 100% raw.

but... i look at those amazing pics... and see the recipes and think "there's no way i'll have the time to be raw"

so - how do you all do it? how long does it take to make these yummy meals (at least they look yummy)

what things do you need to have to do this. i have a champion juicer being delivered on friday. i have a blender... but just a normal blender (although it is good quality)...

give a girl a hand please.

[Dimond]

Everything I prepare takes about 5 minutes max. I keep it very simple-soups, smoothies, wraps, salads, puddings, etc. Using just a Vitamix & mini chopper. You should be fine with a good quality blender & juicer. For the more complicated recipes, many take a day to prepare them in advance.

[Aleesha Sattva]

I loooove gilmore girls!!! My daughter and I used to watch that together every week. (((hug)))

Oh and I have one of those little electric choppers as well.

[Dimond]

:) :) :) :)

[MysticTree]

I don't have a dehydrator so I just make meals using raw ingredients and which are basically salads. They take minutes to make and clear up after. I cooked my bf a meal yesterday and some sandwich filler for today and I think it must have taken an hour at least including the cooking, clearing and washing dishes afterwards!

Georgina

[EZ rider]

My meals usually take less then 5 minutes to prepare. I make lots of green smoothies and if you have ever made one you know how fast and easy that RAWsome meal is ! Other "fast" food I like to make is fresh made juices, especially green juices. Another fast food I do a lot of is to grab a fruit like an apple or a mango etc and a knife and cutting board and have a quick meal. I like salads to. I'm a fresh raw foodist and don't dehydrate so everything I eat is prepared fresh and eaten as soon as possible. Try it, you'll like it -- its fast, simple, and easy. :)

[tanishamarshall]

I use to spend a lot of time un-cooking now I'm learning how to balance it out. I Dehydrate foods on the weekend and during the week I just whip up the toppings in about 5 -10 mins. I also use lettuce as my wrap, I'm trying to not eat a lot of dehydrated but I like to have some dehydrated food available for cravings that might pop up.

[trinity082482]

10-15 mins.. sometimes only 3-5 mins.. If I am making something like a pie.. anywhere from 25mins - 1 hour.

[ladypeace82]

too long. But then again all my stuff is stuffed away in a tiny cabinet, boxes, dresser drawers and one shelf of a pantry.....

(live with mother in law while husband and I finish school)

I seem to create a lot of dishes too...... which is quite annoying.

Why o' Why did I not find this before we moved in so I had my routine down?
:o

[Revvell]

At the outside, 15 minutes and that would be working around Him. Long as I have a knife and cutting board, I am good-to-go these days. Oh, the VM comes in handy as well.

[Aleesha Sattva]

I'm trying to not eat a lot of dehydrated but I like to have some dehydrated food available for cravings that might pop up.

is dehydrated food not a good choice?

[lafsalot]

Gr smoothie this morning - two minutes. Same with lunch - just cut up some tomatoes, onion,avo, and added a little lemon juice, cliantro, and garlic. Voila! ~ Cathy

[EZ rider]

is dehydrated food not a good choice?IMO dehydrated food that has been dried at at an acceptable level is a "good" choice but its not the "best" choice Because it has had some of the water removed.

[Aleesha Sattva]

so then why are so many of the recipes i'm seeing here using dehydrated foods?

(i'm curious and confused)

[EZ rider]

so then why are so many of the recipes i'm seeing here using dehydrated foods?I think its because dehydrated foods are a good choice.

[Aleesha Sattva]

oh okay... so raw is best, dehydrated is next on the list... not great but alright?

superior compared to cooked foods but less-than in the world of raw?

am i guessing this right

[EZ rider]

dehydrated is next on the list... not great but alright?yep, dehydrated is good raw food if the temperature is low enough to spare the enzymes and avoid the other problems introduced by cooking.

[EZ rider]

Its always amazed me what cooking does to a carrot. In its natural form a carrot is a hard fibrous woody vegetable but when cooked it becomes soft and mushy. The heating of the carrot (and other foods) causes changes for the body to deal with. Cooking also causes some interesting changes in things like the mineral chelate's etc.

[Lilly the Naiad]

There are tons of dehydrated foods in gourmet recipes because they taste more like cooked foods and help people transition. They are definitely better than cooked so there's no argument about dehydrating foods, and if you were a hardcore SAD a dehydrator helps a lot.

But ideally fresh is best.

[Aleesha Sattva]

ah that helps alot. so i can still make all those yummy things you all post without dehyrating?