New to Raw

[sevenperfumes]

:) Hello All,

I just found this site yesterday. Looks awesome. My name is Tracy, from NJ. I live in a little log cabin village right on the edge of the Pine Barrens-- with tons of trees and lakes. My community is a peaceful and earthy one for raw living (hard to believe in NJ!), but if I wanted, I could go out and collect acorns and dandelions and eat them all day long. Trouble is, I have no sunlight where I live and cannot grow any kind of garden whatsoever. I am very new to raw living and basically am just winging in now. Sticking with just eating veggies, salads, fruits, nuts etc. But I have prepared NOTHING. In fact, I find the idea quite daunting! I don't have a juicer or a dehydrator. And I'm wondering about so many darn things that may seem obvious to everyone here, but not me...can I have hot tea? how long can I save things in the freezer/fridge? How can I do strenuous exercise if my meals aren't filling me up etc...

I truly WANT to go raw, but I'm not sure I'm ready.

Anyway, nice to say HELLO to everyone!

Tracy

[aliciamatheson]

Hi Tracy, Welcome and your home in NJ sounds beautiful. Many people on this forum started off with Alissa Cohen's book, which you can buy conveniently on this website. It will answer many of your questions and make the whole journey to raw less duanting.

Welcome, alicia

[rawzeit]

You don't need a juicer or dehydrator.


How can I do strenuous exercise if my meals aren't filling me up etc...
Eat more! You're going to be eating a LOT on raw in order to feel filled up, so eat. :)

[StarFire]

Aloha and Welcome to RFT! It would be really great if you could get a copy of Alissas Book and DVD! I'm sure all your questions would be answered after reading her book. It is so filled with wonderful information... AND easy to follow recipes. There are a lot of recipes in her book that do not require a dehydrator!


The area where you live sounds beautiful! :D

blessings on your journey... and enjoy the ride!!

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/welcome.gif

[margi]

Hey Tracy,

I've been to NJ before so I totally believe that it can be beautiful! I attended Tom Brown Jr's Tracker School in the Pine Barrens.

You can totally do strenuous exercise while eating raw. It's actually way easier to do lots of exercise when you're eating loads of fresh foods. I am an endurance runner and couldn't conceive of running until after I had been raw for a while. There are lots of raw folks out there who are endurance athletes and raw foodists. Check out Dr. Ruth Heidrich. She's in her 70s and still running marathons. She started as a vegan but now is a raw foodist.

As for equipment, the best tool you can have is a blender in my opinion. I never use a dehydrator and rarely use a food processor or juicer, but I use my blender every day.

[Coonlie]

Margi,
I'm curious about your diet. You say you never use a dehydrator and you don't use a food processor. It seems to me that I use my food processor almost daily and the things that fill me up best are crackers, food bars, etc. that I do in the dehydrator. At the same time, I truly enjoy simple, fresh things the most, but I don't get satisfied/full with only those. Do you mind sharing your basic eating plan? I'm intrigued, since you are a runner, as well.
Thanks so much!

[Radiantly Raw]

Hi Tracy, welcome to the group!! Your home sounds lovely!

My family of 4 did raw for 3 or 4 weeks without much equipment at all! Even longer without a dehydrator! It can be done.;) You've gotten great tips here. Just keep it simple!! But, like rawzeit mentioned, you will need to eat a lot! Most folks don't realize the caloric difference!

[spicyfull]

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

[norvegan]

Welcome!

You'll have no problem filling up on raw food, I promise you... Just make sure you have plenty of food around the house. There is a great variety of filling foods in Alissa's book, such as the Fettuccine Alfredo, the date nut torte and and mock salmon pate to name a few.

Good luck on your raw journey.

[RawHeaven]

Hi Tracy & Welcome! I'm from south jersey originally and my Dad used to go to Pine Barrens to obtain pine to make wood furniture. You live in paradise. You lucky woman you. :)

You can do it, simply pace yourself. I know it's recommended to just plow in 100%, but there are many ways to reach the same goal. I personally have had better success gradually working my way up. I'm feeling great overall...having a very large percentage of my diet being raw.

Best wishes to you and enjoy your holidays.

Peace,
Crystal

[klomasius]

Welcome!

Don't worry too much about jumping in the deep end, just ease yourself in, and ask as many questions as you like and read up on raw as well.

And just experiment, that's what we all did!

:)

[jacsam]

Allissa's Book and DVD are your answer....you'll love it and you'll have every question you just posted answered. I can't reccomend her book enough!!!

[sevenperfumes]

I appreciate all the answers. I'm starting off slow. I'm any where from 1/3 to 2/3 of my daily diet is now raw. I think I'm wearing out the blades of my blender! Lol.

I also bought Alissa Cohen's book and DVD. It's GREAT.

Tracy

[lavendarJ]

Hey there!

Just wanted to say hello. Lots of people have already given you some really great advice. Don't think your not prepared...You are doing great by eating fruits, veggies, and nuts...Ditto to what everyone else has said and keep it simple like you are doing. I bought a dehydrator early last year and brought a cheaper model that works great as long as you don't mind the fact that it's donut shaped (hole in the center - Nesco). I haven't even got out of the single digits in as far as the number of times I've used it goes. So don't worry, you have plenty of time to explore the raw horizons and be creative.

Just by surfing around on this site alone you will find a lot of great recipes that don't require dehydrating. Also check out some of the salad recipes so you don't get bored with the same salads or dressings...I tend to eat a lot of salads and am always looking for different types of dressings just to have variety.

Tracy,
I'm curious to know the meaning behind your name, seven perfumes...

See Ya.........

[Dancer]

Hi Tracy & Welcome!

Your community sounds very peaceful and inviting. Do you have any pictures to share with us?

Anyway, I too had a hard time with using all the "equipment" that goes with a lot of the prepared recipes. I am attempting to blog my January Challenge on my new blog and include meal preparation in video format. I'm hoping this will help other "equipment" challenged people too!

Check it out at: http://www.roundvibrations.com

Namaste,
Dancer