New to raw and loving it..but..

[GoNeRaWLiNz]

Hello all, i am new to the raw lifestyle! i love the changes my body is making like the lovely 10 pounds lost so far YEAH!! but i didnt chose this lifestyle for the weightloss. that is only a perk to the sucess of this life style. now i may make some people a little mad but i am in no way vegan or vegetarian *. *. my hubby is not a raw foods man so yes it is in my house, besides i chose this lifestyle for the simplicity. i am a christian woman and believe in the bible and it dawned on me that i didnt read about God preparing a meal of baked potatoes and fried lamb chops etc.. it was simple, all the nuts the seeds the fruits from the tress, herbs etc, etc. meat (which i am no scholar but it was use as sacrifice or for feasts)
but there was a certain way in which we eat it etc.. *so here i am thinking that what could possibly go wrong with this simple way of eating then i begin to look in to books and sprouting and dehydrating and these exotic fruits or mecca or seaweed etc that all costs an insane amount of money im from canada close to detroit michigan and our economy is comparable to flint michigan! so just imagine all these costs and recipes that take 3-5 days for this and that.. it is very frightening! i am not 100% i have caved and had a*cooked food*and it bugs me because i want the full benefits of healthy living but i know they use alot of junk we cant spell or name in our foods..but for the most part i enjoy on a typical day a bunch of fruit in the morning i love melons now i never could eat them before, now i eat them when i have them, i love mangos too again i used to hate them but have developed a lovely craving for them, apples or oranges etc whatever and not huge amounts then more towards the afternoon i make my green smoothies i use alot of kale and spinach and sometimes lettuce but i do prefer the kale and spinach with a banana and either freshly made fruit juice with coconut milk or 2 cups water. i blend it all and drink it all :D and im usually satisfied for the rest of the day. if i am hungry i will grab some nuts usually almonds or walnuts and have a little handful. i find this simple but will i be lacking if i dont eat certain things. i am no friend to eggplant ive tried dehydrating (moms dehydrator thankfully she had it) and i just cant get a crave for it, i like the simple salads vinegar and oil with some sea salt a little cucumber tomato red pepper etc.. its sooo yummy.. but with all these amazing recipies that i would love to make or have the time to make will i be lacking? i feel fine now but some times i do tend to worry about it.. and another question since i am not a vegan does that mean cheese is out of the question? i just dont know what the process is of cheese but i dearly miss feta cheese and really enjoyed that with my homemade greek dressing.. i havent tried the almond cheese yet which i will do when i get a milk bag but if anyone has a mock recipes for feta cheese that would be doable. anyways i like the recipes that are for desserts because i enjoy apple pies and cakes and have already made a raw apple pie and it was amazing. what im wondering is if the ingredients like that i dont have for certain recipes is something my body might not be getting certain nutrients from? does anyone out there eat "simple" or do you find yourself making these amazin dishes? i dont need my raw food to look like cooked food i dont have much of a craving for them i really crave fruits and salads for the most part and herbs i enjoy the smell in the air especially fresh dill or mint. but if your alive and healthy roughly eating like i am please let me know.. ive seen alot of supplements on many raw food websites and i dont want to live off "vitamins or supplements" anyways i hope i make sence. and in no way do i intend on turning this in to a religious debate im simply saying what brough a raw food lifestyle idea in to my head we each have a right to choose to believe what we want and i support your rights to do so. same with the meat issue i am simply stating how i feel towards it and in no way want to argue about it ive seen earthlings and still feel this way. i personally do not like how full and tired i feel after eating meat so i chose to cut majority of it out. thanks for reading!
Linz

[claudmac]

glad for see you here man :)

[rawconvenience]

rather than looking for a taking meal supplements, look for a raw food replacement. They will have more substance and will give you the live enzymes you want and need.

[PansyLo]

The majority of people eating raw keep things simple, veg, fruit and nuts are all you need to stay healthy.

I'm against meat for ethical reasons. As it's a cooked food that's one reason that it'll probably now make you feel sluggish, a tad unwell or slow you down. So most people will advise against eating it but if you find just cutting it down works for you and that's what you want to do feel free.

Everyone believes in peoples right to choose, experiment and find a diet that is right for them but rules of this forum prohibit the discussion of cooked food in detail because it might be triggering to those detoxing from it.

Raw diet doesn't have to be expensive. I'm probably one of the poorest people on here! I'm not long out of hospital with still really poor health so I only work two days a week while still paying for a city central flat. Most of the really expensive ingredients I use very sparingly. I'm trying to cut down the amount of nuts I eat as they're so expensive to keep stocked up (and I've not lost any weight since my first week!).

Fresh produce is really cheap, bananas are my favourite as they fill you up, are so cheap it's just silly (I got like 15 and it cost me £1.03), and you can chop and freeze them as soon as they're ripe. You don't have to go for mad exotic fruit, just a good mix of whatever is cheap or in season.

If you haven't got it I recommend Alissa's book. It's really helping me get started and the recipes are mostly very simple and it's easy to choose ones that are quick to make.

So far my expense problem has simply been stocking up on things to begin with and coping with the sheer amount of food I'm eating. But I hear a while in that all evens out. :)

[snoops]

In future if you want more people to read your posts can I suggest you use more punctuation and spacing., It is very hard to read your post and I stopped after a couple sentences. I do not mean this meanly - just if you want more readership. Good luck with your journey:)

[GoNeRaWLiNz]

Sorry i do have a problem with proper grammer. im a texter lol i hardly ever write on blogs or online at all. i did cut meat out of my diet because of the way i feel after consuming it, i will however have a meal with my hubby and kids rarely that involves meat being my only cooked item. and i have an awesome farmers market that i go to and get alot of fresh fruits and veggies there which is very reasonable price, its the other stuff i was wondering if it was necessary. things like spirulina? or these different types of nuts, and seed. the equipment for sprouting. im just wondering if i dont purchase these more expensive items ill start having issues because im not getting certain vitamins and nutrients. im slowly learning mostly i keep it very simple myself and if i am feeling a bit bored i will make a nice raw meal. i do feel great i am not having any issues other then feeling a little bloated after having my smoothies but that probably because i have to down them before i go to work. i havent shut up about this healthy way of eating at work i have a few people who are already making green smoothies :D im definatly going to be 100% raw which i pretty well am. and my plan is to not take any supplements or anything that comes manufactured in a lab some where, i love the idea of grabbing a fruit or veggie and just eating it. no mess no cooking and cleaning and it feels like my sences hightened lol. i just love the smell of certain foods when i walk in to the farmers market, lately cucumber has been my addiction along with melons and mangos!
Thanks for all the input. i hope to keep discussing my raw adventure and it really helps considering my hubby is on the SAD diet lol with no desire to eat raw, it is nice to have a community of supporters!
thanks again
linz

[PansyLo]

^ As I said, a lot of people keep it simple. As long as you're getting a wide variety of fruit, veg, nuts and seeds then you're unlikely to suffer from lack of nutrition.
I recommend googling things like vitamin B, iron, protein etc and seeing what foods are high in these so you can make sure you have plenty.

You don't need any equipment for sprouting all you need is a glass jar, some gauze like fabric, an elastic band and whatever it is you're sprouting. There are threads on here telling you how to do it, most people agree it's very easy.

I would still recommend try a few raw recipes as it's good to have as a back-up when you need a heavier meal. Alissa's book will give you a good idea of where to start as well as giving you lots of information of raw food, what you need and how to do it and recipes.

[SunshineMN]

You can keep it really simple but you still need a decent variety. Some plants have more of one nutrient and less of another so variety is key. Also, your body stores many things so you don't need to eat ALL nutrients every day. Sprouts are a great way to get easy to digest proteins and other vitamins/minerals. As far as equipment for sprouting, you can use glass quart canning jars with nylon netting held on by a rubberband (or the metal ring). Also adding raw fermented foods are wonderful for a body, pickles, sauerkraut, pickled cauliflower, carrots, pearl onions. You can get a pickling jar (http://www.therawdiet.com/pisaandkimch.html) for under $30 and ferment your own!

In a while if you want to get a juicer there are some sturdy manual ones (http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Juicer-Manual-Powered-Wheatgrass/dp/B0002LY8PA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331328602&sr=8-1) that work well for around $50 that can juice wheatgrass and many other fruits and veggies. With ours we've done apples, carrots, pineapple, lemons, limes, oranges and I'm sure many more will work. We're currently saving up for a dehydrator and possibly a vitamix or blendtec, but you don't absolutely need those things to be raw and healthy.

I really highly recommend sprouting for you if you're on a tight budget. It takes 3 tbsp of alfalfa seeds to grow 4 cups of sprouts. Clover, amaranth, fenugreek are the same. For lentils 3/4 c. grows a quart. Seeds may be a little more expensive to purchase at first but it's like buying bulk toilet paper, they last quite a while. I think our alfalfa was 2 lbs for just under $12. 2 lbs of alfalfa is 4.5 cups. 4.5 cups equals 72 tbsp. At 3 tbsp. per quart of sprouts that 24 quarts or 6 gallons of lovely sprouts. 6 gallons of fresh sprouts for $12 is a good deal in my opinion! I'd take this further and tell you how much $ per pound but I haven't actually went as far as figuring out how much a gallon of sprouts weigh. Water is about 8 lbs a gallon, sprouts probably don't weight quite that much. If they did though then they'd be around 25 cents a lb. Even at double that they are a steal. :)

[GoNeRaWLiNz]

ive been looking into sprouting im soo excited to try it! how long does it last and do u just add it to a salad or eat it plan. ill have to do more research on this forum! ive been in love with this healthy choice and am soo glad i made it.
I do have one question again, how many green smoothies should we have a day? i made mine this morning with an amazing mango, strawberries, spinach, kale, banana, apple and i think thats it 2 cups water and blended away. i find i am stuffed just from my drink alone. and how do you store yours? do u have to drink it right away or can you keep it in the fridge for atleast a day?
sorry everyone im in the process of learning. i work 2-10 every day it seems and in the morning im busy with my kids the only time i have is like 10:30 till i fall asleep lol. hope im not a pain, im really looking to learn alot from this forum and everyone seems to be amazingly helpful

[GoNeRaWLiNz]

i think i started brooling when i read pickled cauliflower!

[SunshineMN]

I've read that sprouts will last in the fridge for a week, ours don't typically last that long. We've gotten into a great routine with them quite quickly. We always have 5 quart jars sprouting. Sprouts take anywhere from 3-5 days with clover taking an extra day because it's cold here. When a jar is emptied it is put back into use the next morning. We keep the sprouts in bpa free plastic quart containers in the fridge.

As for eating them, right now we just throw them in our salads. About 1/3 of our salad is sprouts, the rest is mixed greens. Some people juice them. I believe DebB is juicing sprouts every night. We're going to throw some in our smoothies tomorrow for breakfast. It'll be our first green smoothie. LOL

I'm going to see if I can get a pickling jar in the next couple months so I can start making our own pickles. I adore dill pickles and I miss them! And I haven't had pickled cauliflower since I was a child. I'm really looking forward to having it again. :drool:

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

Reading about the sprouting pleases me very very much.

[Dent de Lion]

Keep it simple and eat what you like. I've on a very tight budget and don't bother with all that fancy powdered gook: cheap foods are my staples, and more costly are occasionally treats. I enjoy tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, etc.) when I can afford them and not otherwise. Bananas are tropical and very cheap, though. If you enjoy things like seaweed, raw nuts, etc. then enjoy them in moderation as your budget allows.

It really isn't necessary to bother with dehydrating stuff, etc. and I only do it once a year at most. I use a blender sometimes and that's it, although I think I would use a food processor if I had one handy. Otherwise a knife is really the only tool you need.