Planning Meals and the Great Vegetable Balancing Act
Raw foodists must be the best planners in the world. I say this for a couple of reasons. First, organic fruits and vegetables can be pricey and fresh produce does not last as long as something that comes out of a can or package. You have to know the best way to store these items and how long they will last before turning rancid.
The same goes with nuts and seeds. Soaking nuts is favored by most Raw foodists I have met primarily because it makes them easier to digest, yet soaked nuts only last a day or two before going bad. I have been doing pretty good so far with timing and planning, but it is a balancing act. You may plan a dinner and then find that you've been invited out to dine at the last minute. Things can keep getting in the way of preparing your food and next thing you know that beautiful cucumber in your crisper has turned into a wilted blob. It sucks.
My Raw food diet is almost at it's three week anniversary and I have learned so much in this short amount of time. A lot of being a beginner at anything means that you have to go through a period of trial and error. I think it's important to acknowledge this when beginning a Raw food diet. It's not perfect right away, it takes time to learn how to do it right. Thankfully, I am a fast learner and even though I had to throw away that beautiful cucumber and a few handfuls of nuts, doesn't mean that I am ready to throw in the towel yet.
A few things I learned the hard way...
1. Always buy a little less than you think you need.
2. Eat more leafy greens than anything else, then fruit. Nuts and seeds should be the smallest percentage of your diet. Eating by this ratio has pretty much destroyed almost all cravings I have for any food product outside of the Raw food diet.
3. The best coffee replacement is a green shake (talk about an early morning energy boost).
4. Kelp noodles are better after they have been soaked in warm water a little. This makes them less crunchy and more like pasta.
5. Know how to store and care for your produce. I can't stress this enough. I recently picked up A Field Guide to Produce at my local bookstore and it has been like a bible to me. It's small enough to fit in your bag and tells you how to identify, select, store, and prepare almost any fruit or vegetable you can think of.
6. Connect with other Raw foodists. They are everywhere...all you have to do is look. Find a Meet-Up group online, go to events, listen to Raw Vegan Radio for free on iTunes or some other Raw food podcast (there are a lot of free ones on iTunes), read as much as you can about the diet, etc.
7. Don't worry about what other people think about your choice to go Raw. More times than not you will receive overwhelming support and interest than anything else.
8. Always have a piece of fruit or some nuts with you...just in case. You never know what could happen and where you might get stuck.
9. NEVER put bananas in the refrigerator. It turns them black.
10. Allow yourself to transition slowly and never feel bad about slipping. It's damn hard going 100% Raw right off the bat. If you can, more power to you, but I know very few Rawists who were able to do it this way.
11. Always carry a small, reusable, fold-up bag with you for shopping. Plastic bags are bad!
If anyone has anymore tips they learned the hard way, I would love to hear them...if not for some education than some good spirited humor.
Best!!!
The same goes with nuts and seeds. Soaking nuts is favored by most Raw foodists I have met primarily because it makes them easier to digest, yet soaked nuts only last a day or two before going bad. I have been doing pretty good so far with timing and planning, but it is a balancing act. You may plan a dinner and then find that you've been invited out to dine at the last minute. Things can keep getting in the way of preparing your food and next thing you know that beautiful cucumber in your crisper has turned into a wilted blob. It sucks.
My Raw food diet is almost at it's three week anniversary and I have learned so much in this short amount of time. A lot of being a beginner at anything means that you have to go through a period of trial and error. I think it's important to acknowledge this when beginning a Raw food diet. It's not perfect right away, it takes time to learn how to do it right. Thankfully, I am a fast learner and even though I had to throw away that beautiful cucumber and a few handfuls of nuts, doesn't mean that I am ready to throw in the towel yet.
A few things I learned the hard way...
1. Always buy a little less than you think you need.
2. Eat more leafy greens than anything else, then fruit. Nuts and seeds should be the smallest percentage of your diet. Eating by this ratio has pretty much destroyed almost all cravings I have for any food product outside of the Raw food diet.
3. The best coffee replacement is a green shake (talk about an early morning energy boost).
4. Kelp noodles are better after they have been soaked in warm water a little. This makes them less crunchy and more like pasta.
5. Know how to store and care for your produce. I can't stress this enough. I recently picked up A Field Guide to Produce at my local bookstore and it has been like a bible to me. It's small enough to fit in your bag and tells you how to identify, select, store, and prepare almost any fruit or vegetable you can think of.
6. Connect with other Raw foodists. They are everywhere...all you have to do is look. Find a Meet-Up group online, go to events, listen to Raw Vegan Radio for free on iTunes or some other Raw food podcast (there are a lot of free ones on iTunes), read as much as you can about the diet, etc.
7. Don't worry about what other people think about your choice to go Raw. More times than not you will receive overwhelming support and interest than anything else.
8. Always have a piece of fruit or some nuts with you...just in case. You never know what could happen and where you might get stuck.
9. NEVER put bananas in the refrigerator. It turns them black.
10. Allow yourself to transition slowly and never feel bad about slipping. It's damn hard going 100% Raw right off the bat. If you can, more power to you, but I know very few Rawists who were able to do it this way.
11. Always carry a small, reusable, fold-up bag with you for shopping. Plastic bags are bad!
If anyone has anymore tips they learned the hard way, I would love to hear them...if not for some education than some good spirited humor.
Best!!!
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