A journey begins...

[Jodi]

Hi! I have been interested in changing my diet over to raw foods for awhile, but have only gotten serious about it recently. I know that if I went cold-turkey into it overnight I would fail miserably, so I'm going to do it gradually. If it takes me a year to become 75% to 100% raw, then it takes me that long. For now I am acquiring books and un-cook books to really expand my knowledge.

I also am planning on replacing one meal a day with raw foods. If I spend two months eating one meal a day raw and the rest as usual, I will. Then, I'll replace two and keep going.

Another thing I'm doing right now, is trying some fruits and veggies that I have never eaten before. With that I have two questions.

Jicama. I have eaten it before, but it was on a veggie plate. I have never bought and prepared one. I did today and my question is...how do you peel these things? I finally took a knife to it as a peeler did nothing. Is there a trick?

And Kiwi. Believe it or not, I've never eaten them. How do you peel these?

Please dont laugh....I feel silly asking these questions.

Thanks, Jodi

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi and welcome Jodi!

Congrats on taking the first step(s) towards improving your health :)

Now, I've only bought jicama once and I used a veggie peeler to peel it..I had to do downward, quick strokes and just scrap, scrape, scrape the peel off like you do potatoes.

With kiwi, usually I cut open either lengthwise into quarters and you will then be able to peel it either with fingers or using a knife OR I slice into rounds and kinda tear the peel on one side and begin peeling it off like that or eat the flesh out of the peel kinda like you do when you eat oranges that have been cut into quarters or slices.

They're relatively easy to peel though, especially when good and ripe and not too firm.

[Jodi]

Thanks so much for advice on jicamas and kiwis! I bought several kiwis on sale yesterday and am going to have an all-fruit breakfast tomorrow!




Jodi

[twinyoga]

Here's a neat kiwi peeling trick. I hope I can explain it well:

Cut the ends off the kiwi. Then take a small spoon and slip it between the skin and the flesh and rotate it all the way around the kiwi. The spoon will separate from the fruit and it's all in one piece.

Hope it works for you.

[spockafina]

I usually just slice kiwi in half and eat the halves with a spoon

[RawTruth]

I usually just slice kiwi in half and eat the halves with a spoonDitto.

Just be sure that the kiwi is totally ripe. If it's hard (means unripe), then it's really sour and not a good experience. Kiwi should be sweet.

And ... I've fixed jicama a lot. It's tough to peel, for sure. Just keep at it. It's easier to use a good vegetable peeler than a knife because it's easy for the knife to slip; it's that hard on the outside. I usually cut the jicama in half and put one half back in the fridge (they're usually quite large). Then, it's easier to work with the half (or quarter, if you wish) when peeling and slicing. By the way, it's really yummy with a squirt of lime.

How exciting that you're trying new foods, Jodi! What's next?

p.s. Do you have Alissa's book yet?

[Jodi]

Thanks for the tips! I don't have Alissa's book yet, it's on order and I'm anxiously awaiting for it to arrive! Not sure what my next food to try will be. The grocery stores in my little town don't have a wide selection. I was shocked to find jicama!

The hardest things for me to give-up will be oatmeal and milk. I love my bowl of oatmeal in the morning with a glass of milk. So, for now I am making my one raw meal a day, lunch. I have switched to soy milk...and it's not bad! Eventually I'll have to wean myself from that.


Jodi

[sailaway]

I love both Kiwi and jicama. The easiest way for me is to cut the jicama in half then use a paring knife to peel the skin. You can use a madolin to cut into paper thin wafers of strips. Very easy. The kiwi is like and avocado either cut in half and scopp out with a spoon or cut the hard end off and scoop out with a spoon then slice.

[jaurequi]

Hey, Jodi,

Maybe you need a sharper peeler? I just peel and slice jicama.

I eat kiwi whole -- skin and all; just make sure to clean them first :). They should be a bit soft and sweet with a tang.