Don't know where to start

[Rockgurl]

Hello everyone. I'm new here but have been following the forum for a while. I have been plagued by some worsening health problems of late, including Chronic Fatigue, severe Vitamin D deficiency, Candida, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Endometriosis and am reaching the end of my road. I simply can't go on like this. I am only 44 and desperately want to do the things I love...running, cycling, lifting weights, hiking...but the fatigue is kicking my butt and this is the last card I have left up my sleeve. I feel exhausted and achy most of the time.

I need to severely address my diet. I'm pretty healthy compared to most people I know...I cook all my food from fresh, don't eat fast food or in restaurants and eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, but something is missing and I feel sicker by the day.

I have bought Alissa's book and I am keen to start being raw but I just need some good ideas for basic staples. I don't have a dehydrator and am not sure when I'll be able to get one so I could use some reliable basic raw recipes that don't need one. Does anyone have any advice they can give as to where to start? I'd love to hear about other people who were in the same position...feeling ill and now feel better because of eating raw. I look forward to hearing from you!

[Revvell]

Which of Alissa's books did you get? Her first one and her dvd's are what you need to begin. Plus, if you search here, there are LOTS of simple recipes.

[kaleboy]

you could try replacing 1 meal a day with a green smoothie, thats what I did and it gets you headed in the right direction and you'll notice a massive change in your health and definate weight loss.

Here is my staple green smoothie;

1 banana
1/2 cup mixed frozen berries
small handfull of alfalfa
3 to 4 stalks of spinach or kale with stems cut out (some say leave stems in for silica though)
1 teapsoon of spirulina or green powder
1 teaspoon bee pollen
1 teaspoon lsa mix
cup of pineapple juice or water

you can add other stuff like broccoli and dulse if you want and it doesn't change the taste.

[modernmonkey]

Hello.

You certainly don't need fancy equipment to get started. In fact it is best to wait until you find out what kind of raw foodist you are. There are many different types on this forum and they all prepare food differently. When you just start out you want things easy and simple and cost effective. If you have no food equipment you can start out with fruit. Either mono-meals of the same fruit or platters with 2-3 varieties. Then there are salads for your greens. Throw some avocados, soaked nuts or seeds in and you have a complete diet. But if you have a blender or smoothie maker this would give you more choice. The possibility of fruit or green smoothies. A favourite way to get lots of nutrition down.

I'm concerned that you are low in vitamin D even on a regular diet. In my opinion it takes practice to include healthy levels of vitamin D in a raw food diet. So I would hate to see your deficiency stay or worsen. You may need to talk to a doctor or nutritionist about that.

It sounds like you already eat pretty well so you are unfortunately plagued with many ailments. Again, for this reason, I think you may need some sort of guidance just to keep these in check. These worsening conditions even with a relatively healthy diet could implicate something else. Have you been checked out?

[Hopandskip]

Do you have food processor or a blender?

[Rockgurl]

Hi and thanks for all your replies. The book I have is Living on Live Food and I found it inspirational. I'm not sure at this stage I can truly be 100% raw but I am willing to give it a go and be mostly raw. I live in the North Eastern USA and we're going through the coldest winter ever here, and to be honest I crave warm food at this time of year so I will probably continue with cooked soups to satisfy that. I have made my own successfully, and have also bought some organic healthy ones with no artificial ingredients. I do have a blender and have experiemented with smoothies. I usually add berries, kale, spinach, coconut oil, bananas and grated ginger. In the summer that's great but in the winter I really don't like drinking a cold drink all the way down. This morning I had a small bowl of blueberries, strawberries, grapes, a handful of broccoli sprouts, half an avocado sprinkled with lemon juice and a couple of rice cakes with raw honey and almond butter.

I think what I am struggling is finding alternatives for warming meals in the winter. I just don't feel like eating salads so maybe if I add soup then I won't mind the salads so much. I have read that a few people here are not quite 100% so I hope I'm not given too hard a time! I usually cook for my partner too, so I am not sure how to navigate that as my partner is not interested in a raw diet. Anyone else have a family that they have to cook for? What do you do?

[Rockgurl]

Hello.

I'm concerned that you are low in vitamin D even on a regular diet. In my opinion it takes practice to include healthy levels of vitamin D in a raw food diet. So I would hate to see your deficiency stay or worsen. You may need to talk to a doctor or nutritionist about that.

It sounds like you already eat pretty well so you are unfortunately plagued with many ailments. Again, for this reason, I think you may need some sort of guidance just to keep these in check. These worsening conditions even with a relatively healthy diet could implicate something else. Have you been checked out?

Yes I have been checked out. Right now I am on prescription Vitamin D, 50,000u, and I have been supplementing with a tanning bed. I know people don't like them but as sunlight is not an option right now I have to do something to get my levels up so I can feel better. It appears I may not be absorbing my food properly. I have had an upper GI and may have to have a lower as well if things don't improve. I also have Celiac/Gluten Intolerance so I've been gluten free for a while but may have damage to my intestines from that.

[Aleesha Sattva]

mmm raw soup is yummy!!! and you can warm it slightly... just like having cooked soup only more healthy!!!

i let my family fend for themselves for the most part but in the beginning i just tried to only prepare what i had to ... having them help out as much as possible. now it doesn't bother me to prepare food for them (as long as it doesn't involve cooking animal products).

welcome welcome welcome!!!

[Rockgurl]

mmm raw soup is yummy!!! and you can warm it slightly... just like having cooked soup only more healthy!!!

i let my family fend for themselves for the most part but in the beginning i just tried to only prepare what i had to ... having them help out as much as possible. now it doesn't bother me to prepare food for them (as long as it doesn't involve cooking animal products).

welcome welcome welcome!!!


Thanks for the welcome! I didn't realize you could warm the raw soup. My mother used to make cold soup in the summer and I hated it so I have negative associations with it, but now you've put the seed of interest in my head! Maybe I'll give that a shot. What's your favorite soup?

[rawmiss]

I make my soups alot like this recipe. Greens, celery, tomato, avocado, lemon and then I sprinkle in some cayenne pepper. I make it just for myself in my little Magic Bullet so I use far less ingredients than he does: 1/2 celery, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato and a leaf of kale etc.
http://www.rawfamily.com/raw-family-green-soup
The avocado is the most important part because it keeps all the greens in suspension and if you don't have avocado everything will float to the surface. Another thing that keeps things in suspension is okra and I buy frozen okra chunks for when I don't have avocado.

When you make a soup, the first thing you want to do is heat some water on the stove while you are cutting up your vegetables. If you have a blender that heats while it blends you won't need to do this. Don't use all the water for blending, leave some heating on the stove while you blend and then you can add more water and adjust the warmth of the soup when you are done blending. Some people will heat raw soups on the stove just a little bit!

[Raw Angel Mom]

Get also her dvd, you will learn many raw food basic and good tips.

If your health is in such poor condition, i would without question have a lot of leafy greens. Green smoothie is a good way to do that. I recommend also that you do a detox to reset your body when you feel ready of course. The best one i have done is from simplyraw.ca just google. She sell also a book. It isn't easy to do the detox but the health benefit is amazing.

I am very sensitive to food, i had also chronique fatigue and i had to do something more to reset my body and the program was a great help.

All the best for you

[Aleesha Sattva]

Thanks for the welcome! I didn't realize you could warm the raw soup. My mother used to make cold soup in the summer and I hated it so I have negative associations with it, but now you've put the seed of interest in my head! Maybe I'll give that a shot. What's your favorite soup?

i looooooooooooooooooooooooove tomato soup... but i make a lovely carrot curry soup that's lovely. not sure where i found it... but it's super yummy.

Thai flavoured soup... quick and easy version.

1 young thai coconut, meat and water
3 med carrots, chopped
1 apple, chopped
2 T lime juice
1 T curry
1 T coconut oil
2 tsp fresh ginger minced
1 tsp salt
pinch cayenne

blend all ingredients until smooth. pop into Dehydrator to warm. (i often just put it on the stove and mix with my finger... when it no longer feels cold... i turn off the stove and pour into a bowl) also you can leave it on in the vita-mix longer and it'll warm that way too - just be careful not to get it too warm... you'll kill the goodness

[Rockgurl]

I make my soups alot like this recipe. Greens, celery, tomato, avocado, lemon and then I sprinkle in some cayenne pepper. I make it just for myself in my little Magic Bullet so I use far less ingredients than he does: 1/2 celery, 1/4 avocado, 1/2 tomato and a leaf of kale etc.
http://www.rawfamily.com/raw-family-green-soup
The avocado is the most important part because it keeps all the greens in suspension and if you don't have avocado everything will float to the surface. Another thing that keeps things in suspension is okra and I buy frozen okra chunks for when I don't have avocado.

When you make a soup, the first thing you want to do is heat some water on the stove while you are cutting up your vegetables. If you have a blender that heats while it blends you won't need to do this. Don't use all the water for blending, leave some heating on the stove while you blend and then you can add more water and adjust the warmth of the soup when you are done blending. Some people will heat raw soups on the stove just a little bit!

Thanks so much for all that information. I will definitely try this and be sure to add the avocado. I've never tried okra. Probably time I did! This is the kind of information I am really grateful for...tried and trusted things that people have actually experienced. This is stuff you might never find out from a book.

[Rockgurl]

Get also her dvd, you will learn many raw food basic and good tips.

If your health is in such poor condition, i would without question have a lot of leafy greens. Green smoothie is a good way to do that. I recommend also that you do a detox to reset your body when you feel ready of course. The best one i have done is from simplyraw.ca just google. She sell also a book. It isn't easy to do the detox but the health benefit is amazing.

I am very sensitive to food, i had also chronique fatigue and i had to do something more to reset my body and the program was a great help.

All the best for you


I would love to check out her DVD and thanks for the tip about the detox. The trick is finding the time to do a detox because my job is so hectic and unpredictable, it's tough to find the time to do this and not be stressed and have to run off somewhere. I will check out that website and do some reading. I always figured I wouldn't be able to tolerate a detox and that I'd be starving all the time.

I've been doing the green smoothies. I made one last night with spinach and kale and a bunch of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries and some fresh grated ginger. It was delicious! I felt very full after it.

So tell me...if you had chronic fatigue, how long did it take for you to feel better, and have you experienced any fatigue since eating raw? I am trying to pin all my hopes on this but I can't forsee a future where I feel better right now. I'm really interested to hear your experiences.

[Rockgurl]

i looooooooooooooooooooooooove tomato soup... but i make a lovely carrot curry soup that's lovely. not sure where i found it... but it's super yummy.

Thai flavoured soup... quick and easy version.

1 young thai coconut, meat and water
3 med carrots, chopped
1 apple, chopped
2 T lime juice
1 T curry
1 T coconut oil
2 tsp fresh ginger minced
1 tsp salt
pinch cayenne

blend all ingredients until smooth. pop into Dehydrator to warm. (i often just put it on the stove and mix with my finger... when it no longer feels cold... i turn off the stove and pour into a bowl) also you can leave it on in the vita-mix longer and it'll warm that way too - just be careful not to get it too warm... you'll kill the goodness


Oh my gosh this sounds delicious! I LOVE curry and I adore coconut so this is somethign I will try next time I go to the grocery store. Thank you! BTW, where can I get a young Thai coconut? My local store only has the usual coconut with the brown hairy shell.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i get them at my local market. i have them bring me in two cases at a time.

[yoga cat]

i'm curious...can i ask what you pay for them? they are 3 bucks each at my co-op. i am thinking i may get a better deal ordering them from from one of my local ethnic groceries. i've not purchased them before because of the price. i come across quite a few recipes that call for them.