questions about raw diet

[reggaedog]

Hi - I started transitioning to a raw diet on Easter Sunday this year. Before that I ate a regular vegan diet with very little raw. I eat about 75-85%?? raw I'd say - it depends.. but I try to keep my percentage pretty high. I think a lot of raw food purists say you have to remain 100% raw, but I think even if a person increases their raw% even in part they will improve their health. All my labs are normal, and Most everyone has noticed that I look much better/healthier than I did before. I lost about 30-40 pounds? since going more raw??

There's a number of questions that I have.

1) How in the world do you pay for all this raw food? - I work at Walmart for a little over minimum wage and I'm finding the cost of food to be quite prohibitive. What can I do to lower my cost of food? I go to the farmer's market, I try to buy things on sale, etc. But still the cost is very high for me right now. I tried growing my own food but this year wasn't a good year for gardening due to the late winter and lack of rain in Wisconsin..
2) How do you get enough calories to fuel your body during a day? I worked 3-11 today - and that was an 8 hour shift where I was physically active the entire day. In May I tracked my calories and I was burning like 4000 calories a day and taking in 1500 or so - well you have to have enough fuel to get through your day..
3) there's several foods that I'm not sure if they are raw or not.. miso? steamed vegetables? herbal teas made with hot water from like a water cooler?
4) are there any sprouted grains or wheat grass that doesn't have gluten?
5) I had pancreatitis in 2003-2005 and I try to be very careful what I eat. According to the Pancreatitis Association - they don't suggest a raw diet because it supposedly causes the pancreas to have to use more enzymes. But I seem to be eating most of the raw foods ok - but I've improved a lot. Is there anyone who really knows anything about this? Does anyone know which raw foods are enzyme inhibiting and which ones are not? Does anyone know which raw foods are more difficult to digest than others? Obviously they aren't all the same as a banana probably is easier to digest than Kale for instance.
6) is there a list of which raw foods contain which amino acids? So you can make sure you are getting all of them?
7) Most of the raw food books don't really talk about problems you can encounter when trying to transition to a raw diet. Is there anything out there that discusses these problems and what to do if you encounter a problem?

Thanks so much!!!

Rick

[Stina]

Hi - I started transitioning to a raw diet on Easter Sunday this year. Before that I ate a regular vegan diet with very little raw. I eat about 75-85%?? raw I'd say - it depends.. but I try to keep my percentage pretty high. I think a lot of raw food purists say you have to remain 100% raw, but I think even if a person increases their raw% even in part they will improve their health. All my labs are normal, and Most everyone has noticed that I look much better/healthier than I did before. I lost about 30-40 pounds? since going more raw??

There's a number of questions that I have.

1) How in the world do you pay for all this raw food? - I work at Walmart for a little over minimum wage and I'm finding the cost of food to be quite prohibitive. What can I do to lower my cost of food? I go to the farmer's market, I try to buy things on sale, etc. But still the cost is very high for me right now. I tried growing my own food but this year wasn't a good year for gardening due to the late winter and lack of rain in Wisconsin..
2) How do you get enough calories to fuel your body during a day? I worked 3-11 today - and that was an 8 hour shift where I was physically active the entire day. In May I tracked my calories and I was burning like 4000 calories a day and taking in 1500 or so - well you have to have enough fuel to get through your day..
3) there's several foods that I'm not sure if they are raw or not.. miso? steamed vegetables? herbal teas made with hot water from like a water cooler?
4) are there any sprouted grains or wheat grass that doesn't have gluten?
5) I had pancreatitis in 2003-2005 and I try to be very careful what I eat. According to the Pancreatitis Association - they don't suggest a raw diet because it supposedly causes the pancreas to have to use more enzymes. But I seem to be eating most of the raw foods ok - but I've improved a lot. Is there anyone who really knows anything about this? Does anyone know which raw foods are enzyme inhibiting and which ones are not? Does anyone know which raw foods are more difficult to digest than others? Obviously they aren't all the same as a banana probably is easier to digest than Kale for instance.
6) is there a list of which raw foods contain which amino acids? So you can make sure you are getting all of them?
7) Most of the raw food books don't really talk about problems you can encounter when trying to transition to a raw diet. Is there anything out there that discusses these problems and what to do if you encounter a problem?

Thanks so much!!!

Rick

Hey Rick, A warm welcome! Congratulations on already taking the steps to being a vegan. Going raw will be even more significantly healthy than that, even for the pancreatitis. You'll want to get in the habit of soaking nuts and seeds to be rid of the enzyme inhibitors but the point of the raw food is that it practically digests itself because the fresh enzymes are intact. Like kale; blend it in a blender to break it down, and you've got a very digestible food. Even massaging it into a salad with an avocado and soy sauce will soften it up.
Most importantly, do you have Alissa's book? It's the best comprehensive guide on the market. This is my suggestion. Buy her book. It's well worth the money. Study it and implement it. When you're ready, use the search button here, check up the titles for other books and ask your library to do inter-library loan and keep reading on the subject. This is your quality of life on the line; it pays to keep educating yourself.
Many of us still drink herbal tea. Personally I don't think it's a big deal. But the steamed vegetables take turning on the stove right? Not raw! I've been on a horribly tight budget but I've been very determined and in two years I've managed to accumulate the raw vegan appliances I've felt like I needed: Cuisinart food processor, the Vitamix blender, the Excalibur food dehydrtor and a Greenstar juicer. It's been quite an investment, but what's more important than spending money on my health and vitality. However, you can still easily do this diet with nothing but a knife and a cutting board. You can make do with an old blender from a thrift store.
There are some threads floating around about doing this in a tight budget. It would behoove ya to use the search button and study them. There's a wealth of experience and information there. It certainly can be done, especially with implementing sprouting. Sprouting buckwheat, gluten free, has been a staple in my diet. Cheap and filling.
Miso, by the way, falls into the category of not being fresh but is alive, since it's fermented and teeming with life. Don't sweat the small stuff; do the best you can and don't give up. There's lots of support at this board. It's worth prioritizing in your budget for this; it'll pay off energetically.

Love and Peace

[MiahTay]

Regarding your calories question. You might want to do a search of posts by raweater who is always talking about how to add more high calorie food to the raw diet and usually VERY cost effectively.

Blessings,
Heather

[Raine]

I have found that periodic water fasting allows my body to stay detoxed and to better assimilate my food. I am full faster with less when fasting is part of the regimen.

Paul Bragg's book on Fasting suggested water fasting in the following ways: Every Monday, the first 3 days of the month, 10 days each quarter.

Not only does this fasting keep your body running better, it saves about 15% on your annual food budget.

ALSO -- click on "Quick Links" in the top navigation, then click on "Social Groups" and you will find a group on Frugal Foodies. RFT won't set up an actual forum that's quick to find on this popular topic so the "social group" is the best that can be done.

[berrymarymac]

"7) Most of the raw food books don't really talk about problems you can encounter when trying to transition to a raw diet. Is there anything out there that discusses these problems and what to do if you encounter a problem?"

I know the books I have help with the transition, and I don't have the names. Basically be prepared for your body to have an overhaul. You might be hungry...so EAT! lol. Seriously, just eat raw and live well. This site is the best to help you, in my opinion. No book can give you the advice that members of the board can't.

[Ife]

First of all i would like to congratulate you on making your transition. Cost is something that we struggle with too. As mentioned above, sprouting is good - you can grow alot on a little; and many raw books give guidelines on how to sprout. Also you can find this easily by running a search online (i.e., http://www.sproutpeople.com/devices/jar/jar.html). Depending on the direction of the windows in your living space, you may be able to grow things like lettuce, tomatos, peas indoors. I have read this, although haven't yet begun to do it. (haven't yet gotten organic soil - everywhere i go they sell that genetically modified soil!). Some of the more expensive foods, we tend to avoid unless they are on sale somewhere like, unfortunately, cucumbers (they have been sooo expensive). Also, we don't juice much because so many veggies are used to make 1 cup of juice. We generally juice 1-2 times per week. And when we juice, we use the pulp in salads or spreads so nothing gets wasted.

It is a bit easier now given that farmers are harvesting. But is there anyone who lives in a cold state that can write on raw on a budget in the winter months?

Nuts are filling, but expensive. I tend to use more sunflower seeds (because they are among the least expensive nut) than other nuts. You can make some nice spreads easily. A staple that is filling is a collard wrap filled with a sunflower spread, tomato and a basil leaf. Good, easy, filling and don't need much.

As you continue to make your transition continue to write about how you do it. I am always looking for ways to save!

best wishes to you!