Raw Food Storage

[drraw]

Hi All,

I have been raw for a little over 3 months now. I tried it several years ago and I think I just wasn't ready for the food preparation. This time I am equipped with a juicer, vita-mix, and two dehydrators so I'm ready to go. I tend to be pretty dedicated and haven't had issues with wanting to cheat but I have two issues that have caused some problems for me.

I live in a mountain rural area which has very limited shopping and I drive a lot for work (~12 days/month but lots of miles). The local area has no organic produce whatsoever. If I drive 20 miles, there is more selection but still not much raw produce. I am able to buy raw and organic regularly but the problem is that when I run out, I'm out and usually too busy to make a dedicated drive until my next scheduled stop.

If I don't pack food (or enough food), I usually stop by a sandwich or juice shop which is IMO much better than say a Burger King, but still not what I would like to do. Ironically, when I crunch the numbers I actually save money by eating raw and organic if I can avoid eating out -- I just need to figure out how to do it all the time.

Tomorrow, I'm going out and have kale chips, applesauce, raisins, an apple, a banana and some cherries in my to-go bag. This time I have prepared a lot better after stumbling many other times.

So, my question to all of you is what food makes better for long-term storage and to-go meals that I can stockpile to keep from running out when I can't get fresh organic produce easily?

Thanks,

--drraw

[MysticTree]

The obvious answer is to grow your own if you can. Anything from a full blown veg/ fruit patch to a few jars and trays for sprouting and some herbs etc on the window sill.

[drraw]

The obvious answer is to grow your own if you can. Anything from a full blown veg/ fruit patch to a few jars and trays for sprouting and some herbs etc on the window sill.

Thanks for the response. I have quite a decent sized garden now and am preparing to can extras when winter comes but unfortunately at 6500' elevation the growing season is 6 months/year max.

--drraw

[GoodCat]

I would buy more of fruits/veggies that don't go bad too quickly... Like apples, oranges, pears, green bananas (you can eat them as they rippen), sweet potatoes, onions, garlic. I've also kept bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, zuchinni, ect. in my frig. for over 2 weeks at a time.

You can also store nuts, seeds, and beans to sprout. Those will last a long time!

Cathy

[MysticTree]

Thanks for the response. I have quite a decent sized garden now and am preparing to can extras when winter comes but unfortunately at 6500' elevation the growing season is 6 months/year max.

--drraw

That's where sprouting comes in handy and during the winter things keep better anyway.