Still trying in San Diego, CA

[jesdenm]

Hi, my name is Christine. I'm almost 27. I have tried going RAW but I found it to be more time consuming in preparing. I enjoyed the feeling I got from going raw, but I am in school, work full time and am a mother. I have a few questions:

1. How can I prepare food in either less time or enough to make it last for awhile?

2. What can I do to keep costs down, as I am a single mother?

3. What do I need to do to get started? I cannot throw out stuff in my cupboards because I cannot force my eight year old to automatically go raw.

Any advice is appreciated. :confused:

Christine

[TimmyC]

1. How can I prepare food in either less time or enough to make it last for awhile? Eat simply at first...don't get into complex recipes or you may get frustrated. Try eating a lot of whole foods or foods that can be blended easily or put in the FP easily.

2. What can I do to keep costs down, as I am a single mother? Buy foods at the farmer's market if possible. Those places are much cheaper than grocery stores. Just remember to wash your fruits and veggies with pesticide cleaners.

3. What do I need to do to get started? I cannot throw out stuff in my cupboards because I cannot force my eight year old to automatically go raw. Whole raw food...nothing else. I didn't start using a FP until week 3 or 4 of my 30 day challenge. I didn't purchase a dehydrator until week 5 or 6, and mainly because my wife wanted one...a blender or smoothie machine costing $20 is really all you need...if you like things mixed up together. If not, just eat whole fruits and veggies and nuts.

Hope this helps somewhat.

Tim

[RawTruth]

Get Alissa's book. It has simple, easy, and delicious recipes. Best of all, it has a plan for how to go all raw including preparing your kitchen and she tells you that you do not need to buy expensive appliances. A blender and a food processor will be fine -- and just go to Target and buy the Hamilton Beach food processor that's around $30. That's what she uses, that's what I use ... and it works great. No need for major $$ investment. From my experience, you can succeed in being all raw without raising your food bills. The hardest thing for me at first was understanding what I could eat for the different meals -- especially breakfast -- and throughout the day. Now, it is so second nature to me that I rarely give it a thought. This can be you, too, despite your busy schedule. In fact, the incredible energy and calmness you will gain from eating all raw will make your schedule much easier to handle.

There are many people living the raw and living lifestyle in San Diego area. Quite a few raw potlucks and at least one support group. A great place to live for being raw!

Good luck.

[jesdenm]

I will print out both suggestions and follow them. I enjoy mixing things. I have a blender and a food processor. I will start little and work my way up, and by Alissa's book.

Thanks for the help. I will post more as I will probably have more questions.

[JJACK]

What a great place to live. ANd as mentioned by someone else - there are plenty of health food stores, support groups in that area. Just keep it simple in the begining. You will reap such rewards - feeling good, clamer, clear head. You just need to envision where you want to go with this and it will happen.
jj

[michigan roman]

hi christine , ive been a vegan 12 years , flucuating between all raw and mostly raw past 5 years and heres what ive found : bananas and shelled walnuts or almonds ( which can usally be bought at decent price in 3 lb bags ) as a great anytime meal , ecspecially breakfast . / making meals in advance i fill big stainless steel pots (like 3 gal. ) with good fitting lids full of very vegi stocked salads , for instance lettuce , spinach ecspecially for its calcium and vita a , other greens , brocoli , raw mushroom , green pepper , what ever your favorites. point is make salads vegi rich , as much vegi as greens. you can keep these salads infridge say 4 days. but dont add tomato til eating because they make salad soggy . then i make a raw pressed virgin olive oil dressingwith your favorite vinegar plus herbs . then after i make salad and pour on dressing i squeeze out lemon juice on top . / another thing i like on salads is to shred greens thin like in coleslaw, then chop vegis into like half inch chunks so that you can then add raw seeds or nuts like sesame seed or sun flower to give salad protein and make it a near complete meal. if you dont shred greens and dice vegi the nuts and seeds fall off the big green pieces making it difficult to hold on fork and consume . / another thing i do for a good anytime anywhere meal is to make own trail mix . shop around for the ingredients you like seperately and make own mixture , watch the dried fruits because many are sugar coated . then i have 5 gal plastic bucket with lid, i called manufacturer of bucket i bought at lowes and they said they are food safe , and mix up large batches of trail mix to always have on hand. getting proper container to carry trail mix in is key to me , i like using 16 oz plastic jars with screw tops. that way i can carry around easily ,like if you and yours wear back packs to school can carry them easily in pack, throw in banana and bottle of water ( you can drink mix out of jars without using hands making it quick and easy to fuel cells ) and your a raw food ninja . healthy newyear