raw assortment

[Gillian]

Hey, I'm another reasonably newie to raw. Are there any other aussies out there? This is a challenge to stay the whole 100% with kids who want some other stuff too. But I know how much better you feel all raw. Has anyone noticed the difference sprouts make ? I have just started with sprouts and they are good! What percentage of nuts in a raw diet should there be? Is it any different for kids?

[Jackie1995]

I'm pretty new to this myself, but I've learned a lot from this message center.

Also, there are some really terrific links I picked up from here and there that helped me answer a lot of questions and gave me even more information before I knew what questions to ask!

First stop was
http://www.nutritiondata.com/
where I found out the ideal balance of fats, carbs and protein for my specifics. Also, a great way to find out information about which foods provide what vitamins and minerals you may be lacking.

How do you know what you need? Easy! Go to
http://fitday.com/WebFit/nutrition.html

There I put in the foods I've eaten for a day, and I go to the reports and see what I've gotten as far as calcium, B vits, trace minerals like selenium and zinc, you'll see when you go to the site.

I'm not really zealous about this, but it sure helped me to visualize what's happening since I've gone raw. Plus you can enter in "custom foods" that they don't have on the list. Sometimes I go to nutrition data and get the info I need, and enter it into my custom food on fitday.

With kids, I'd probably be more attentive than I am for myself. I just needed guidelines so I know what to eat more of (leafy greens) and less of (nuts, dried fruits) to stay balanced.

Well, hope this helps, and good luck. I'm having fun! Hope you will too.

[Revvell]

I started on raw about 5 years ago. One thing I have found is that unlike the SAD, one does not need to count calories, carbs, fats, minerals, etc. The main thing is to eat a varied diet and often ~ such as 5-8 small meals per day. Focus a lot on greens as in large salads, smoothies and yes, sprouts are good. They can be eaten alone, with a bit of dressing or incorporated into so many things.

For children, if you go to the home page (oranges up top) you will find a whole section relating to children and things you can have on hand for them.

A few things I've found which keep me fortified are raw crackers on which I can put almond butter and raisins (or agave syrup); guacamole and/or sliced tomatoes, cukes and a basil leaf. Raw cookies are easy to make as is fudge.

The thing is ~ enjoy and play with your foods!

Revvell

[RawTruth]

Welcome, Gillian. There is at least one other active member in Australia and one in NZ.

I've been on this path for a few years and have been totally raw for 4 months now. If you don't already have Alissa's book, I strongly encourage you to acquire it. In it, she addresses your questions completely and with authority, coming from her experience training so many people in eating completely raw. As she explains so wonderfully, a delightful aspect to eating this way is that you don't have to be overly concerned with "nutritional" value since everything you eat will be alive and bursting with true nutrition.

I attended a lecture last week given by a raw N.D. He suggested that you eat no more than a small handful of nuts (total) a day. He specified that it be your hand that does the measuring since it's naturally sized to your body <grin> and that he didn't mean a heaping handful -- enough to fit in your palm. He did state that this is when starting out; that the body does best if that is reduced to few or none eventually. Doug Graham advocates a low fat raw diet, so, for him, that would be too many nuts.

When you first start out, you may find that eating nuts daily gives you a feeling of fullness similar to when you ate cooked foods. Raw "gourmet" recipes will do that, also. Many people find this helpful as they miss the feeling and the types of meals to which they were accustomed. After a while -- usually a few months -- most people begin eating more simply and according to what their bodies truly need since they're then much more in touch with their bodies' true need as opposed to "hunger" that we feel from the deficit that cooked foods has left our bodies in. By then, we've also hopefuly recovered from the emotional "hunger" that we often use food to try to fill. Again, Alissa does a great job of explaining this and includes examples of simple eating from her own life.

I'm so glad you've found this forum, Gillian. It can be a supportive, warm, enlightening place. There are also lots of information and recipes to be found if you search past threads. And ... browsing through members' journals as they've taken the 30 Day Challenge ... and beyond ... can be a great experience. It sure made me feel less alone when I first started ... and gave me a good idea how others were doing.

Oops! I've gotten rather long-winded and forgot to respond to your other questions. Sprouts are great. In my opinion, they should be a major part of the "greens" we ingest as they are indisputably the most "alive" food available. I have an automatic sprouter that I'm building from instructions from another Australian. I plan to use them for my green smoothies each day in addition to a green soup and add them to my salads. Soon ....

I'm really not sure about kids. I have some opinions, but they haven't been tried out on any since mine are grown. There are several well-known raw food authors who have or are now raising raw children. Perhaps they can guide you.

Best wishes to you :)