I need some staples

[RawnieColeman]

Like, when I was big into my previous eating pattern's my big staples were: oatmeal, cottage cheese, whole milk etc. which made up the bulk of my calories and I just filled in with whatever I felt like eating that day.

I know opinions on this will vary, which is great I love variety, but what would you say are some of the most common raw staples are? I need a simple starting point to grow on.

[MysticTree]

I always like to have various seeds and nuts for sprouting, tomatoes, citrus, romaine lettuce, raw olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sun dried tomatoes (not in oil, just dried) and a bunch of avocados and melons at various stages of ripening and fresh herbs.

To that I can add in whatever is on sale or bulk buy bargains or pickable for free from the countryside and my garden on a daily basis.

[RawnieColeman]

Ah cool, I've always been curious about sprouting beans and seeds. Where do I get my hands on some that will sprout, and how do I go about sprouting them?

We have a home garden here atm, it's modest and not big enough to produce enough for consistency but I pick from it where I can. I love tomatoes and hearty greens like kale, swiss chard and collards.

Just the other day my fiancee made me a fresh quinoa salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and some vinegar and olive oil which was AMAZING. I'm lookin' for some more stuff like that.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Definitely sesame seed sprouts. Also chia, flax, sprouted poppy seed and sprouted almonds. That is a very important base that will supply good calories and essential fatty acids and great amino acids levels and keep you full. Those foods will also supply you with many vitamins and minerals because they are amongst the most nutritious land foods on the planet.

For your greens also try growing wheatgrass, sunflower greens and alfalfa sprouts for a great start. Drink them as a juice before a meal or eat them (except grass).

lf you really want to really fly high then try doing this after a while. Get onto the water based foods like Kelp and Chlorella. There are many good reasons why people should be doing this, but the stuff l mentioned in the first paragraph is an excellent base to start with.


Ah cool, I've always been curious about sprouting beans and seeds.
lf you can sprout some beans to fill out the diet properly then you will be home and hosed to the highest of levels. Sprout the nuts, sprout the seeds and sprout the beans. lf you are real hard core you can even sprout the grains and be eating to the highest level humanly possible.

Even just starting with sprouted seeds and sprouted beans with sprouted greens is a good solid base. You will be blitzing it to extremely high levels in nutrition terms. Look out...you will fly to the moon!!!

lf you do the things above you will actually get good levels of nutrients often lacking in vegan diets.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

We have a home garden here atm, it's modest and not big enough to produce enough for consistency but I pick from it where I can. I love tomatoes and hearty greens like kale, swiss chard and collards.
Be careful with the dark vegetable greens, you don't want to do too much of those.


Just the other day my fiancee made me a fresh quinoa salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and some vinegar and olive oil which was AMAZING. I'm lookin' for some more stuff like that.
Be careful with the vinegar. Best to avoid putting it with grains. l am really glad you like the quinoa, try sprouting it. *wink*

[RawnieColeman]

Be careful with the dark vegetable greens, you don't want to do too much of those. I head those in particular were highest in vitamins and phyto-nutrients, was I mislead?


Be careful with the vinegar. Best to avoid putting it with grains. l am really glad you like the quinoa, try sprouting it. *wink*Ah, I'm still new all this. Assuming there will be times when I can't sprout the grains, what should I do to soften them up?


lf you really want to really fly high then try doing this after a while. Get onto the water based foods like Kelp and Chlorella. Eventually I want to start a aquaponic garden and do just that. Not sure If I can grow kelp specifically, but that would be sweet.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

I head those in particular were highest in vitamins and phyto-nutrients, was I mislead?
Yes you were mislead. Sprouted seeds (immature foods) are the highest in vitamins, but other sprouts are excellent sources of vitamins also. Sprouted grains are the highest in phyto nutrients.


Ah, I'm still new all this. Assuming there will be times when I can't sprout the grains, what should I do to soften them up?
lf you choose to eat raw the only way is to sprout the grains.

[MysticTree]

Greens are fine. Don't worry about them; just mix them up a bit so you don't just do kale for example.

If you haven't got Alissa's book, Living on Live food, it's worth getting. It's good for beginners. Alissa promotes a varied raw and living food diet that is vegan (plus honey). She doesn't advocate the sproutarian diet like Mr Raw does although she recognises that sprouts have a place in a raw, vegan diet.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

As Mystic Tree said, mix up the vegies (if you choose to do them) and don't eat too many foods containing high levels of oxalic acid unless they are seeds which can be sprouted.

Foods and oxalic acid:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/oxalic-acid-foods-list.html
http://www.juicingbook.com/oxalic-acid

Alissa's book is good for getting you introduced to a raw diet and lots of interesting and nice meals too. A good recommendation.

[Steven]

Like, when I was big into my previous eating pattern's my big staples were: oatmeal, cottage cheese, whole milk etc. which made up the bulk of my calories and I just filled in with whatever I felt like eating that day.

I know opinions on this will vary, which is great I love variety, but what would you say are some of the most common raw staples are? I need a simple starting point to grow on.
I use bananas and dates as my main staples - easy and cheap for me to get enough calories in with. I buy a case of organic bananas a week and am able to get a 10% discount for buying in bulk from my local health food store. Also things like watermelon, persimmons, figs, grapes, etc are good staples when in season and can be bought pretty cheap.

[RawnieColeman]

Wow, that list of oxalic acid foods is surprising:

Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Carrots, Green Pepper, Spinach, Okra, Celery, Blueberries, Raspberries, Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews, Sunflower Seeds, Whole Wheat, Oatmeal, Cinnamon, Ginger, Soy Products & Tea.

When I think, healthy and wholesome, these are the very foods that spring to mind. I can hardly imagine living without a few of the more popular of those (nuts, green pepper, celery, carrots etc) let alone all of them??

Do you really advocate avoiding this list of foods?

I'm all about simple, hey. I'm very much a minimalist at heart, so the simpler the better. I guess I need to read up more on the subject!

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Do you really advocate avoiding this list of foods?
No. The body does rid itself of a certain amount of oxalic acid everyday. Just be aware of the foods and try not to go too hardcore on those foods without having days free of those foods.

[MysticTree]

Now read the whole thing again but concentrate on the first and last paragraphs ...


Oxalic acid is a colorless chemical compound that naturally occurs in many plants, animals and even in human body cells. Organic oxalic acid, in low concentration, is essential to maintain peristaltic motion in our body. However, when it is processed or cooked, it becomes inorganic and may have certain negative effects on the body. This is mainly due to the property of oxalic acid to bind chemically with certain minerals in the body. This results in the formation of oxalate crystals and may be harmful for those prone to gout, rheumatoid arthritis and kidney diseases (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/kidney-diseases/).


This was all about oxalic acid foods. One thing to be kept in mind is that, oxalic acid is harmless if consumed in organic form and moderate amounts.


http://www.buzzle.com/articles/oxalic-acid-foods-list.html

So on this forum, we are raw foodists - we are not cooking our oxalic acid rich foods. Chances are we are eating only moderate amounts BUT the really interesting thing is that this website fails to even intimate what is either moderate, low or high in quantitative terms. So, for the most part the information is worthless because how do you act on it.

[Raw Angel Mom]

The beginning of my raw journey: Nuts, banana and greens

Now: young coconut, still banana, microgreen and fruits

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Now read the whole thing again but concentrate on the first and last paragraphs ...

So on this forum, we are raw foodists - we are not cooking our oxalic acid rich foods. Chances are we are eating only moderate amounts BUT the really interesting thing is that this website fails to even intimate what is either moderate, low or high in quantitative terms. So, for the most part the information is worthless because how do you act on it.

There are arguments for and against oxalic acid in raw v's cooked foods. This is but one view. Some claim that after drinking spinach juice on it's own there is no oxalic acid build up left over because the cleansing nature of the spinach juice ensures the excess leaves the body. Then again other people claim different. Some people claim drinking green vegetable juices does cause oxalic acid issues, and others don't. lt's best to take caution.

As l have said all along, low concentrations are o.k, just be aware of what foods contain it and don't go overboard. Best to be cautious and be aware of the potential problems.

[MysticTree]

There are arguments for and against oxalic acid in raw v's cooked foods. This is but one view. Some claim that after drinking spinach juice on it's own there is no oxalic acid build up left over because the cleansing nature of the spinach juice ensures the excess leaves the body. Then again other people claim different. Some people claim drinking green vegetable juices does cause oxalic acid issues, and others don't. lt's best to take caution.

As l have said all along, low concentrations are o.k, just be aware of what foods contain it and don't go overboard. Best to be cautious and be aware of the potential problems.

It was your link; I have no idea whether it is accurate or not I was just commenting on how little information there actually is on that link. It says raw is ok. We are raw foodists so it should be ok.

Your initial point was that dark greens should be eaten sparingly but you don't say what levels of oxalic acid is the threshold and neither does that site. If we should be eating dark greens (and other oxalic acid-rich foods) sparingly then that link is a lousy support of that view.

[Revvell]

lf you choose to eat raw the only way is to sprout the grains.

That is SO untrue! I NEVER eat grains and have been eating raw for over 15 years.

[Revvell]

When I think, healthy and wholesome, these are the very foods that spring to mind. I can hardly imagine living without a few of the more popular of those (nuts, green pepper, celery, carrots etc) let alone all of them??

Do you really advocate avoiding this list of foods?



Understand that is only ONE person who does this. I eat most of those on a regular basis (in season)... That's why forums like this are confusing. You get ONE person who does things his/her own way and advocates everyone and everything else is WRONG and for a newbie it's very disconcerting yet..... it is what it is. *shrugs*

[13WaysToFeed]

That is SO untrue! I NEVER eat grains and have been eating raw for over 15 years.
I do believe he's saying that if you are going to eat raw grains, then they must be sprouted. Not if you're eating raw you must eat grains.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

That is SO untrue! I NEVER eat grains and have been eating raw for over 15 years.

No, l don't mean it like that, it was badly written. What l meant to say was that if you have raw grains, the only way to have it is sprouted.

[Revvell]

I do believe he's saying that if you are going to eat raw grains, then they must be sprouted. Not if you're eating raw you must eat grains.

Can only go by what's said and not assume.

[Revvell]

No, l don't mean it like that, it was badly written. What l meant to say was that if you have raw grains, the only way to have it is sprouted.

o.k......