New to raw--questions galore!

[les]

Have be "dappling" in raw food--more as my fascination with food as I am a chef and I love the science behind it. I am also a long distance triathlete, so I would welcome any information regarding raw food and endurance training.
I was at Trader Joe's this morning and was wondering if dried fruit sold in most store is dried under raw food guidelines or is heated and therefore not raw "legal"

Started raw today and am giving it a month

Why is raw almond butter so much mor expensive than cooked?

Les

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!! Raw almonds are not necessarily raw anymore unless you find them that are not pasteurized. Finding truly raw almond butter is tricky business.

Commercially dried fruits are usually dried higher than 108 degrees, and are often sulphered to retain their color. Best to dry them yourself.

[rawviveyourself]

Welcome!!!!
Alissa's store has raw almonds/almond butter....
For endurance, check out chia seeds (http://www.living-foods.com/articles/chia.html) if you haven't already. I crack a young coconut and put some seeds in the coconut water until the seeds absorb the liquid.
Good luck on your raw journey!

[les]

Thank you for the feedback. Wow, chia seeds---will delve into some research.
Day one of completely raw. No coffee or tea, experimenting with the dehydrater right now. Do the flavors cross if you are dehydrating one "savory" and one "sweet" (buckwheat cereal and burgers). New husband is VERY into this but isnt ready to relinquish coffee. I didn't experience those caffeine withdraw headaches which everyone talks about.....

[spicyfull]

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

[Eva]

Hey les -- good for you on the lack of withdrawal headaches. I thought I was going to have to go to the hospital with my withdrawal. I ended up drinking a half cup of coffee on day 2 to wean myself, then didn't have any more.

As for the fruits, Mattye Lee is right -- but I do know that Trader Joe's has sundried raisins in my area. You just have to look carefully at the package because they have a few varieties.

As for endurance training, I have used date soak water for long distances before in the same way you would use something like Gatorade. So, basically you soak dates for several hours, then the dates are soft and can be used for different recipes. I have mixed the soak water with filtered water and brought it along on long distance bikes.

I'm no racer these days, though -- so maybe someone else will have more input on that.

[jacsam]

Just want to say welcome and be sure to get Alissa's book and dvd....they are the key to answering all your questions. WELCOME!!!

[StarFire]

Aloha and Welcome to RFT!!! Alissa's book will answer sooo many questions... and you'll looooove the recipes! omg - they are amazing!!

I love that you are a chef!! my goodness -- I just KNOW you'll be creating all kinds of amazing recipes ... make sure to post pics and share the recipes with us!!

check out the exercise section of this forum... If I'm not mistaken -- there are several Marathon runners here on the forum!


blessings and RAWk on!!

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