Starting Simple With Raw Food

Okay so you are beginning to experiment with raw foods. Well as I advise most people, begin simple. That is, unless you have been researching for a while and have been waiting to take that plunge. In that case you may still want to start off simple, so that you don’t get too overwhelmed with trying all of that stuff you’ve been learning--all at once.

When I first started, I chose to begin with simple fruit and salads. I would experiment with fruit bowls, salad toppings, and different salad dressing as well. Dressings are fun for me because I have always been one to like to make everything from scratch. Most things that you see in packages, I would figure out a way to make it from scratch, guaranteed. That would always be so much fun for me!

So if you are looking to begin your journey it is time to get creative! Don’t worry, we all have creativity within, we just have to tap into it.

Another way to start is to vary your usual meal menu. For breakfast, maybe have a mono-fruit meal (one particular fruit), fruit salad, or a fruit smoothie. Fruit is the ideal breakfast because your body is technically breaking a fast when you wake up and fruit is very easy on your system to digest, compared to some of the cereals, grains, and meat that some people consume first thing in the morning. Fruit is also a great way to start your day and be energized with the life force energy that they will provide you with to have a most productive day! Remember: you are what you eat! That is one reason why some people are brain dead at work first thing in the morning, because they are feeding their brains dead food, pun intended.

For your mono fruit just choose a particular fruit from the market that you would enjoy alone. I personally love mangos and could eat them daily. Next to that I may eat melon chunks (ALWAYS eat melon alone as the digestion time is about 30 minutes—they will spoil in your stomach before the other food digests causing gas, etc). Another option is to use your favorite fruits to make a nice juicy, colorful, and sweet salad. Imagine nice beautiful rainbow of kiwi, grapes, strawberries, mango, apricot slices, peaches, and cherries! Berries are also great when ripe and in season. I sometimes juice or blend citrus like grapefruit and oranges.

If I am feeling really good and don’t feel like chewing a whole lot, I will blend my fruit into a smoothie. I may throw in a banana, kiwi, handful of strawberries, a mango, and maybe a little coconut oil if I want a truly tropical experience. One trick I learned with using mango and banana is that they make for a very creamy smoothie usually. If I want something to be a little thicker and creamy, I use one or both of those particular fruits. Remember, there are endless possibilities with fruit smoothies and it is pretty difficult to mess them up. Just follow your own taste buds and enjoy!

Try experimenting with different types of lettuce and other green leafy vegetables like kale or spinach, for salads. Then add in other different vegetables such as cabbages (napa, red, green, etc), carrots, okra, cucumber, tomato, onion, broccoli, bell peppers, maybe even some herbs like fresh dill, cilantro, and parsley. Next you could even add in some fruits like avocado, tomato, or even strawberries. A salad medley if you will. It’s my belief that most people get stuck on salad because of lack of creativity. Some people are used to eating salad as a starter meal at restaurants along with much larger and filling items to come. Of course a lot of restaurants do not have time to create such beautiful salads when their main profit comes from huge bloody steaks, bottom feeder seafood, and those huge lab chicken breasts.

Some other salad options are broccoli salad or even a simple chopped salad with maybe bell peppers, cucumber, and tomato. You could get a little more creative by experimenting with some various seaweeds for flavor (i.e dulse, kombu, kelp, wakame and others). Seaweed provides you with complete protein and can also serve as a substitute for sea salt, as some of them impart a salty flavor when used. You may also top your salads with various nuts and seeds (almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc). Nuts and seeds are a way to get some added benefits of certain nutrients and fats that you may need. They may also help if you are trying to get that “meaty” effect without meat substitutes. Some other options are raisins, cranberries, jalapenos, hot peppers, etc. There are endless possibilities for you! You better work those veggies!

One great benefit to salad is that you can make plenty of it to have as a quick lunch and pre-package for a few days. It can also serve as a dinner if you so choose. This way you are still able to get more of the nutritional value from the vegetables but you do not have to make a fresh one at each meal. Oh and speaking of dinner, actually something light is ideal for dinner because the body has slowed down greatly during this time of day. As the sun goes down, we are not as energized to digest all of the heavy food we sometimes consume at night. A lot of other countries actually have lunch as their heaviest meal, because the body is more active during the early afternoon. Also, many other cultures specifically schedule time for families to get together during lunch, by closing down actual cities almost, as opposed to the rush and crunch culture of lunch here in America. I mean really, how can you prepare or go to buy food, eat your food properly, and be prepared to go right back to work in 30 minutes? Ahhhh, I shall not digress (not at this moment anyway)….

Some snack options when first starting out are raw snack bars. A few to start with may be Raw Revolution, LaraBar, or Pure Bar. They are usually available at your local Whole Foods or other organic or natural health food market. These are pretty handy to carry around. They taste much better and are much healthier than the usual Snickers, Mars, or Hershey bar that a lot of people pack or feign for at the vending machine. You can find some pretty good flavors of raw bars-- from chocolate flavored to tropical, or dried fruit and nuts to granola.

Next, you have your nuts and seeds. I usually like to toss mine in some olive oil or almond oil and maybe a dash of sea salt or other flavor like garlic powder, cayenne, chili powder, etc. You could also try dried fruit (make sure it is UNSULPHURED). Other options are dried veggie chips, trail mix, raw granola bars, energy chunks, and fresh fruit or veggie sticks.

Well, this should be enough to get you started. As I said before, the possibilities are endless but try not to overwhelm yourself. Remember your reason for deciding to start on your path to a healthier lifestyle and optimal health and well-being. Do not let the technical issues deter you from your goal. If you are just beginning, some of this may be new. Either that, or it’s so simple that you looked right over it. I wish you the best on your journey!

Thank you for reading

Go back to articles