The First Step

[princess tonya]

I need help. I've been researching raw for quite a few months. I feel that I know all I need to know to start it. I know our reasons, understand that there will be struggles with it and my husband is 100% on board for doing it.

I'm just terrified to take that first step. We had a start date set up, and that has come and gone without us starting. We've expiermented with green smoothies, some are ok, others we've made were awful. We don't eat a SAD diet, we actually eat really healthy already. I just can't figure out why I am so scared to take that first step.

How did you take your first step???

[Thick]

Make the investment in a vitamix, excalibur and Alissa's book. That should get you going=)

Go to the store or farmers market and really load up on foods you like.

[iluvmangos]

You take the first step by taking the first bite. Just do it. :)

What is scary about raw food to you? Maybe we can help you better if we know what your fears are.

[contessa20]

It's only scary if you're thinking about it in relation to the rest of your life. Just start with one meal and go from there moment by moment, meal by meal.

When I went raw vegan in December of 2008 it was on a complete whim. I had no grand plans of doing a 30 day challenge, staying raw forever or anything like that. It just all sort of happened.

[Veganforlife]

It's the unknown that is scary. I READ and READ and READ all that I could. Still do. I will never know all there is to know about Raw food and a Raw lifestyle.

I did purchase Alissa's book and DVDs and after reading (highlighting), I wanted to make everything, but was a little taken back that I didn't know how. But, think of this. We didn't know how to cook. We had to learn it.

You might want to keep it simple at first or you might want to go gourmet.

It's going to be as complicated/scary/intimidating as you make it. It's great you have support - THAT is a huge help.

Have fun with it. Listen to your body. It knows what it wants...

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

What is this first step you are talking about?
I guess that you have consumed raw foods in one way or another in you life, and you have obviously started experimenting with green smoothies. So it seems to me that you have already taken many steps a long time ago.

Just start making some raw food dishes, find out which ones you like and have them on a regular basis. If there are raw counterparts to the cooked dishes you eat now, just make the raw version instead. Switch out some ingredients in your cooked dishes for raw ones. Just enjoy the food and before you know it you will be on a high raw diet.
Then you can decide from there to take the step to 100% raw or not.

I know that's not the approach Alissa suggests, but it's the one that I've found works best for me with any lifestyle change. Some people are better off going cold turkey though.

[princess tonya]

I don't know why I'm so scared. In June 2008 I changed our diets. My daughter is autistic and we changed to a gluten free casein free diet. My hubby and I don't follow it perfectly, but she does. He usually does low carb and I just eat what our daughter eats just on wheat bread. I know I need to stop the wheat, it makes me feel absolutely horrible. I look like I'm 5 months pregnant when I eat it. We've cut out dairy completely, and have even found raw cheese at our commissary for my husband.

I mean I've been making almond milk with raw almonds for longer than I've known about the raw food diet. When I go grocery shopping Friday I just need to only buy the raw ingredients.

What would/did you start out with??? Making it easy so I'm not so intimidated. Please keep in mind that my blender is not the best. I will be getting a vitamix, but right now we are in the process of selling our home and moving into an RV (that's a whole other story), so the blender has to wait until we are in the RV. I really want to get to 90-95% raw by the time we move into the RV in about two months.

[Veganforlife]

I would eat seasonally for now. This is an excellent time of year to do that. I love cutting corn off the cob, chopping up 'maters, throwing in some cilantro, or some onion, a drizzle of EVOO and wham, I gots me a GR8 salad. Just eat what you FEEL like eating...

[Dimond]

I started out simple and have kept it that way for years. First started with soups (aka savory smoothies). I also stopped buying things that weren't raw and got rid of things. If you surround yourself with raw food, that's all you'll eat. The key is to always have plenty around and bring food wherever you go. It doesn't need to be complicated and you don't need much equipment if any. If you can get a decent inexpensive blender, that can help.

Other simple meals besides eating food on own:
Puddings (can even add greens to these)
Wide variety of salads and dressings
Lettuce wraps
Cucumber slices with salsa, guacamole or other spread.
Zucchini Pasta

[Seedy]

I started by having fruit for breakfast. Just mixed seasonal fruits topped with sunflower seeds or walnuts. Nothing scary there. The I started having a BIG salad for supper. Lots of greens, fresh veggies, bean sprouts, tomatoes and avocado. Then I started making my own dehydrator goodies like flax crackers and corn chips. Bought an el cheapo American Harvester dehydrator for <$75.00. No big scary investment. Then I started making green smoothies in my 20 year old Osterizer blender. Haven't needed a Vitamixer yet. Simple smoothies: bananas, oranges, berries, baby spinach, water, ground flaxseed. Nothing scary here. Finally I started making raw soups to take for lunch. This time of year I like gazpacho and corn chowder. Easy to make and cheap. Lunch = Raw soup and an piece of fruit. A few flax crackers. Nothing fussy. Sometimes I make a raw pie or crumble. Thinly sliced fruits mixed with agave nectar topped with a mixture of dates, walnuts and sunflower seeds that I pulse together in a food processor. Nothing scary about that. Just start - its easy. Eat when you're hungry. As much as you want so long as its raw. Have fun. Don't get bogged down by the different raw gurus. Just get Alissas book and DVD and see what fun you can have.
Seedy

[Care4raw]

Maybe as someone suggested, going cold turkey is not for you, hence your fears.
If your fear is lets say to give up wheat and the thought is scaring you, how about saying ok, "I will allow myself one slice of wheat a day".That may feel more in your control.Then gradually your taste buds will change.
I have done both an "allow list" and cold turkey approaches.
Right now i have a couple of unraw hot drinks on the allow list and the rest is raw...what ever works at whatever time. Keep in mind sometimes these foods actually drop us, rather than us fighting to omit things..anotherwards cravings can eventually fall away naturally.
Going into this with fear probably means you are having to set your goals higher that you may want right now.Make a gentle change and you'll feel more enthusiasm and excitement about your goals.
Hope my 2 cents helps.....

[GlimR]

Hello~
I like Seedy's post....simplicity makes things so easy but you have to find what works for you. For me it's best....lots of fruit, smoothies, almond mylk, granola, buckwheaties, guacamole, salads of all varieties, puddings, sorbets of frozen fruit, veggie crudities, etc...
I've made a ton of recipes over the last couple of years and most I didn't care for. I think it's like regular cooking...you find a dozen or so things you really like and make them again and again as your standby foods. I shop at the commisary too, not a great asst. of organics but they do have some...there and Native Sun.
Wishing you the best.

[DeborahB]

From the first moment I read about the raw diet I knew it was right for me. I didn't commit to it because it seemed so extreme from the diet I was eating at the time (when in reality, raw is as natural as it comes!).

I completed a 5 day herbal colon cleanse and at the end of it raw was the only option I wanted to take. I didn't want to fill my body with junk after witnessing what came out during the colon cleanse!

[EZ rider]

How did you take your first step???
I went to the store and put some raw food from the produce dept into my shopping cart. Thats it - I have found that the easiest place to make changes is right at the shopping cart. What you take home is what you eat. Everything else takes care of itself.

[princess tonya]

I want to thank everyone for your advice. I talked to my hubby last night and he agreed that when I go grocery shopping Friday I'm just going to get raw things. He's ready to start too. We are mostly doing it for our daughter, and we want her started on it before she goes back to school in a week and a half.

I did make the cheezy corn chowder for lunch yesterday. It was awesome. My daughter didn't like it, but I think that was mostly because she didn't like that it was soup. It's hard for her to eat liquid off of a spoon and she didn't want to drink it out of her bowl. She has texture issues with her autism. She did like the cheddar sauce though, and she actually ate red pepper strips to dip in it. That's a first, she doesn't eat vegetables.

So I need to make a list to take with me to the store on Friday, to make sure I stay on track.

[smiley]

I believe it is "The Secret" at work. Have you seen the movie?

Everyone is different but here's my story:

From the day that I announced to the world that I was to be 100% raw, it took me 8 years to finally do it. I thought it would be a great challenge...that I would overcome! Every week, I would declare a day that I would start. This day would come and would go ok...until dinner time. Then, I would feel defeated and make a new start date. I even paid a personal chef to make me food for 1 month (expensive, but at least I was raw for 1 month).

8 years later, I was reading the 12 steps to raw book while I was eating a Del Taco taco salad - with meat, beans, everything. Well, something finally sank into my brain. I realized that eating raw is NOT a challenge! It is EASY!!!

I woke up the next morning and have eaten raw ever since.

My biggest challenge was making food (I was a fast food'aholic). I experimented with many recipes (and threw away more food than I want to admit to). I finally learned how to make delicious food and have even won a couple contests! :cool:

Like everyone else says too, eat as much raw food as you can...your body will crave more.

I wish you the best in your raw food journey. It's very personal and rewarding! :cool: