Aspiring Raw Girl

[HolidayHoney]

Hi Raw Foodies :)

You guys are awesome and I loved seeing all of the before & afters. I've been wanting to do this diet for probably five years now! I already try and eat as raw as possible, but I often fall off the wagon when I think I'm going strong. I'd like to be at least 80% consistently for a few months before I go full throttle. I know it's the lifestyle for me, I just need to find the inner strength to embody it. This is definitely a good place to start, it seems.

My issues is that I know I can't afford any fancy equipment at the present time. I hope that this wont hinder me too greatly. Another problem is living in Cleveland, where we have a total lack of resources for raw (or even vegan) living. Other than a Whole Foods, I'm pretty much on my own.

If you could all buy ONE piece of equipment as a newbie, what would it be? Maybe I can start with one thing at a time. Thanks everyone for reading and hope you all have an awesome day. :p

[Dimond]

Welcome. Vitamix is the best piece of equipment and really all you need. If you can't get that, then a good quality regular blender.

There's many great raw internet stores you can get stuff from. Usually it ends up being cheaper than local places anyhow.

Here is a raw meetup group near you:
http://rawfood.meetup.com/380

[HolidayHoney]

Thank you Dimond! I appreciate the references. I also just noticed that member statuses are "seed, leaf" and so on... How adorable!! I love it. Thanks :)

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!!

[mary2122]

hey!!!! i enjoyed reading your post because im in the same boat! at first i decided i wanted to 100% but now realistically i think 80% is great. Today is my second day and I already had 2 slices of bread, ice cream, and tofu chili today but its a start. I was prob 50% raw today. Also....i have NO money and i hear vitamix is a lot. i would love to have one but right now all i have is a magic bullet. Let me know if u find any inexpensive blenders or a good deal on a vitamix. Good luck and stick with it. I know money is an issue but i also believe there are ways around it. Feel free to Private message me anytime!

[Soose]

Hi, Holiday Honey. You have a Whole Foods??!! Wow. Lucky!

I've been on this forum a short while and have seen others post about eating raw on budgets, so you might watch for those threads.

Also, know that after a time on raw, you might find yourself eating less quantity. I've definitely noticed that with my family, and the longest anyone has been raw is 2 months.

I wonder if in a large city you'd have access to farmer's markets? Summertime should be a good time to go raw, with more produce. Oh! And I saw someone recommend asking if there is anyone in their area, who would have ideas of good food sources.

Now, if you only have one piece of equipment, I say get a blender. (Some might want to juice... but I'm thinking you'd also want a dehydration capability to make stuff with the juiced pulp. lol) Still, you know yourself best.

If you want smoothies, I have made many a smoothie in a tiny "personal blender" by Hamilton Beach, bought for $9 on clearance. It holds 16 ounces? If you do use frozen fruit, just make sure it's chopped some first, and add enough water of course. (I mean, you wouldn't put a whole frozen banana in one of these tiny blenders, lol. I made a mistake and put the fruit in then stuck it in the freezer and the fruit froze around the blade -- ruined it when I tried to run it. The replacement of the same model cost $15. I found it SO convenient for traveling and my guys just took the new one to summer camp to make their smoothies and salsa.)

Also when I started with green smoothies, we made smoothies for a good while in my 25 year old Osterizer with the glass jar -- look for one at garage sales, or look for a base at one garage sale, then a jar at another -- that happens all the time. (Broke my jar, which would be as much as a blender to replace, so I sent the base to charity; then found out later my sister's base had given out and she sent the jar to charity. Sigh. But I was ready for a bigger blender anyway.)

Also watch Craigslist for good deals or freebies. I know some people who have gotten older but very good equipment off of that or from friends. People buy stuff on health kicks but don't use it. Even Vitamix's and dehydrators.

Well, that's way more than you wanted to know! :)

[nanner_raw]

good luck! if you look around you'll find some good stuff for cheap :) I got a cheap dehydrator at walmart years ago and it works great. i got my blender from Freecycle and it makes a great smoothie! Personally I am wondering if there is a small juicer out there that is reasonable. I used to have this giant juiceman that was so hard to clean and took up my whole counter. I gave it away on freecycle last year but now wish I had *something* lol

[Soose]

I'm still using the juicer I bought several years ago. It's not perfect. It's a Waring Professional, black with stainless steel. It has the mesh screen and blade, and is centrifugal. Mine was $59 at Sam's several years ago. I've seen them online for $31 lately but the shipping adds a good bit more? If you want, I can tell you more but I think they have a forum for equipment so I'll refrain... :)

[LilacLavender]

I use a Juiceman Jr. and love it :) Any juicer will be difficult to clean, though.

[HolidayHoney]

hey!!!! i enjoyed reading your post because im in the same boat! at first i decided i wanted to 100% but now realistically i think 80% is great. Today is my second day and I already had 2 slices of bread, ice cream, and tofu chili today but its a start. I was prob 50% raw today. Also....i have NO money and i hear vitamix is a lot. i would love to have one but right now all i have is a magic bullet. Let me know if u find any inexpensive blenders or a good deal on a vitamix. Good luck and stick with it. I know money is an issue but i also believe there are ways around it. Feel free to Private message me anytime!

How funny, all I have right now is a magic bullet too! I looked on a raw store and on amazon and vitamixes were around $350. Maybe next month I can justify it. Looking forward to sharing the journey with you!

[HolidayHoney]

Well, that's way more than you wanted to know! :)

No way, it's all fantastic information that I greatly appreciate :cool:

[spicyfull]

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

[Soose]

I use a Juiceman Jr. and love it :) Any juicer will be difficult to clean, though.

My juicer is very easy to clean. I've always been very happy about that. One of the reasons I limp along with it instead of buying one of the fancy ones.

What I would like improved is that the pulp is all collected inside the juicer so it does get full. It would be nice to have one where the pulp is collected in your own bowl, so I could keep juicing without stopping to empty it, or more easily run the pulp through twice without disassembling. This morning, I filled the large stainless cup (32oz) with apple juice before I have to stop. Not too bad. Carrots have more pulp.

[Mamoo]

Wow, you have gotten a lot of really great tips and ideas on what your next purchase should be. I have been trying to get a new piece of equipment about every 2 months. Surf the internet and follow specific companies that look good. They may offer something you want on special and don't forget to look for coupons or discounts. Sometimes it will be a link somewhere on their website and sometimes you have to email and ask for it.

If I could only have one piece of equipment to start with it would be my Champion juicer. I found it online last week and paid only $209 new with coupon and no shipping. Still a lot of money, at least for me it is, but the pulp comes out the end into my bowl and the juice tastes really good. Last night I made ice cream in it. I was surprised to find out that it really did work for ice cream but it did and was soooo good. It says it can also quickly and easily make nut butters. I am really liking it.

Just look at what you have in the kitchen that you can work with and then go from there. As your equipment wears out you can worry about upgrading then. When you decide on what you will get don't forget to try all the recipes out and add them to your recipe collection. The new recipes will make the wait for your next purchase a little more bearable.

My next major purchase will be to upgrade my food processor. Those Wal-Mart specials are really great to get us started, but they do wear out quickly.

Have fun with this.

[hapahaole]

I think a Vitamix is a must! I had a regular Bosch blender and it died within a week. It was a couple years old but it just couldn't handle making a green smoothie everyday.

I've been drinking green smoothies for a month and a half now, mostly raw for the past two weeks and I've already dropped 6 pounds and I really don't have much to lose so for me 6 pounds is a lot in that short period of time!

So if you really want to do raw you really need a heavy duty blender in my newbie opinion. I would not be able to eat as many greens as I do without one.

-K

[back2healthy]

Hello Holiday!

I am waiting for my husband to get me to the mall to buy my juicer, but in the meantime... I make great smoothies in my blender. Today I experimented with some greens and it came out perfect! 2-3 stocks of Kale, 1tsp of Barley Greens, 1 apple, 1 banana, little agave and tsp of flax oil. Bright green and tasted like a deliciously ripe, sweet banana.

I also bought some frozen bags of organic fruit blends that I add water to... strawberry/banana, mango/orange.... yum:)

[Soose]

So if you really want to do raw you really need a heavy duty blender in my newbie opinion. I would not be able to eat as many greens as I do without one.
-K

I do really like my heavy duty blender (it's a Blendtech; tried the Vitamix new but I tell you, at 30 days my food still tasted like rubber from the lid VERY strong so I sent it back. <blush> All friends with older blenders did not have that problem)...

But some just can't go out and buy one. So, I want to say, many times a cheaper blender will work even with greens -- just by pre-cutting the foods some. You just have to try your own blender. And I think it depends on your sensitivity to smoothness -- some won't mind the textures while some depend on totally smooth creamy in whatever they're making.

Also, sometimes if you freeze a food, then blend, the cell walls will have been broken down. (Depending on the food!)

Another hint, sometimes the food that turns up gritty in a machine will not turn up gritty if it's soaked first. Depending on the recipe of course. :)