Starting Raw food

[~LovesToEat~]

I will be starting Raw Food Next week. I need to know what I need to get started. I plan on ordering some things form Alyssa’s site.
Book and foods.

I also plan on starting a garden this spring.

But what else do I need? Food processor?

Also I like "heavy" meals. What do you recommend I eat? I dont think I will survive on salads and shakes all the time.

Thanks

[contessa20]

The one thing I recommend to everyone who asks, "where do I start?" is to not only get Alissa's book but get the DVD too. The book itself is GREAT and chock full of information and recipes but it's also a bit overwhelming for the newbie. I found that the DVD let me see things being prepared quickly and easily and it gave me the confidence that I could do it too.

Beyond that I would say all you NEED is a good, sharp knife but that won't get you far. I think the bare minimum in appliances would be a really good food processor (I have a Kenmore Elite & love it) and juicer (I have a Breville & love it most of the time) and maybe, if you like "spaghetti," a Saladacco (spiral slicer).

If you like heavy foods then you'll want to get a good dehydrator. The Excalibur 9-tray is what I have and I LOVE it. If you want to go for broke and add in a good high-end blender that will do everything but wash your dishes, pick up a BlendTec or Vitamix.

[MelanieM]

I'm new to eating raw, but I can tell you what has helped me these past couple of weeks...

I'm eating lots of yummy fruit and veggies. I keep all my favourites on hand and eat as much as I want.

Green smoothies with spinach and banana as the base have been a great way for me to get in lots of greens. You can throw pretty much any other fruit in there and it tastes great! I'm a fan of frozen blueberries.

Yummy chocolate treats make me feel really satisfied, and help me avoid lesser temptations. Raw chocolate pudding (avacado, banana, carob powder, raw honey) or chocolate nut balls (chopped nuts, honey, carob powder) are fabulous!

When I'm feeling really hungry I have something with avacado or grab a banana. Both are pretty filling. A hand full of nuts also works.

I like sprinkling seeds or nuts on my salads to make them more filling. Otherwise I'm really hungry again shortly after eating.

I don't have a food processor and don't even feel like I need one. I keep thinking I don't mind chopping or mixing by hand, and would prefer that to washing another appliance... Though I might not know what I'm missing! Either way, I would certainly put a blender way above a FP in priority. (If you already have a great blender, then maybe the FP is the next best choice for you!)

I am somewhat missing bread and crackers and crunchy treats, plus I want to try all the yummy recipes I read about, so I think I'll be ordering a dehydrator this week as a birthday present to myself. :D Again, I'm putting this above a FP for me.

Have fun! It's a really amazing way to eat! :D

[spicyfull]

Get plenty of Fresh Fruit.

[rayofsunshine]

"Living on Live Food" has a lot of heavy meal and dessert recipes in it. I find them richer and denser than their cooked versions. You will not be disappointed with her book. The pad thai and pizza recipes are very satisfying.

[Blazin'Jane]

I use my blender and food processor most often, my dehydrator and juicer less so, but I'm glad to have them all. When I started out I had a blender wich I thought would give out at any time. So I bought a K-Tec, but my old Osterizer still cranks along --smoothies almost every morning. I got a Hamilton Beach Big Mouth fp, which I like alot, but then got a smaller 9 cup one (Cuisinart) for smaller jobs.