mixin it up

[CocineraVerde]

well, i am a young professional chef who just got back to chicago from traveling and volunteering over seas on organic farms (eating as much raw produce as i could!) so, yeah i ate and always have eaten a wide variety of cooked and uncooked foods and produce. I came a cross some material on RAW eating, and dabbled with it for a bit. now i think i am ready to take the plunge. have been doing it on and off with vegan and vegetarian the past 2 months. i always feel better when i eat just raw, but then i repeatedly crack. as a chef i am really interested in making new foods and have been having fun with making new veg. based smoothies (as opposed to fruit). its hard as a professional where i have to taste cooked food as part of my daily routine (maybe it is time i find a raw restaurant to work at, huh?) well, if any one has any tips on not cracking let me know! also, wine, vinegar? they can both be raw, is that ok? and what about eating late at night as long as its raw, is that ok, or not recommended? THANKS & PEACE!

[spicyfull]

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

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!! Raw apple cider vinegar is used often in raw cuisine. As for raw wines, I believe anything organic is raw. Wine is a personal choice thing - some choose to include it in their lives, and some don't. Everyone is different:D. Some go 100% with this and others go 50%-75%-99.9% - it's about finding what works best for you and not making yourself miserable in the process. Being stressed out about your lifestyle robs you of the benefits you are trying to reap. Have FUN with it and us! :D

[jen0]

I think the most important part of healthy eating is being in CONTROL of what you eat. I have only recently (about a month) started eating raw, but I am not 100%, nor do I want to be. I like incorporating raw food into my already healthy vegan diet, but I still enjoy the pleasure of eating out, and sometimes even cooking non-raw at home. I am probably about 75% raw right now, and that works well for me. I pack a raw lunch almost every day for work and at home eat almost exclusively raw, but when I eat out, if I don't choose raw, I try to always have SOMETHING raw in what I eat, like getting a soup and salad or a veggie sandwich. There are lots of ways to be semi-raw and be happy, but the key is to not be ADDICTED to food, to be able to indulge and not binge or give up on your everyday healthy diet. Don't think of it as "crack"ing, just work at having a balance, whatever that may be for you.
Good luck on whatever you choose and welcome to raw. :)

[jacsam]

WELCOME....you'll enjoy this forum. You'll love Alissa's book "Living on live food" and the DVD that you can buy with it is really good too, it will be especially interesting to you as you are a chef. As far as vinegar and wine....I used apple cider vinegar with the mother in it for basically dressings now and then and I don't do wine because as a personal choice for me I don't drink alcohol. Good luck in finding what works best for you....after reading Alissa's book you'll have alot of information to help you work out what's best for you.

[CocineraVerde]

jen0 thanks! i think you are completely right, its about being healthy and making healthy decisions all the time, there is no way, at least that i can see right now, going 100 percent raw for the rest of my life. who knows that all might change after these next 2 weeks when i do it 100 percent. but i will take it step by step, for now i will enjoy the thrills of making new recipes but i also know where my true love lies is over the flame, so thanks for your support. peace

[StarFire]

Aloha and Welcome to RFT!!! DONT CHA JES LOOVE IT??? you jes got soo much AWESOME ADVICE on these posts!!! so all I can say is...

Yeah!! what they said!!

I'm so glad you're joining us here on RFT!!! enjoy the adventure.... and being a Chef to boot... omg... can we say -- 'GO FOR IT?'!!!! You can go CRAZY in the kitchen!!!!

nothing more creative ~ exhiliarating, beautiful than RAW GOURMET CUISINE.... or even simple meals can be fabulously beautiful!! All the colors of the rainbow right there in your kitchen, sharing their vibrant Vibes and 'Happy energy' all over the place!!!

RAWk on.... blessings on your journey.... you've got the whole world in front of you ... and you can do ANYTHING you want !!! how beautiful is THAT???

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