Raw Food Diet for a Week?

Question

I've always wanted to try a raw food diet. I keep talking myself out of it because I'm convinced I can't do it for life and keep thinking about work lunches, family thanksgivings and all this other b.s. that keeps me from trying it. I would like to try it one day at a time and just see what happens. I'm hoping to try it out for at least a week before going through all the steps of really researching nutririon needs, buying a juicer and dehydrator and whatever else comes with making this a life style. Can anyone provide tips, sample menus, experiences or advice to someone wanting to give this a trial run.

Answer 1

You can eat tuna fish raw. It is delicious with the correct salsa. Smoked salmon is raw fish as is other smoked fish. Beef jerky is dried meat and good if you are lost in the desert. Many meats are eaten raw, but is that included in a raw diet that you would be on.

Answer 2

First, since a raw foodist is defined as someone who consumes 75% or more of their food raw- there is always some wiggle room.  For example, I still drink tea, and have an occasional veggie burger.

Second, if you aren't already a vegetarian or a vegan, it will greatly simplify things if you take that step first.

Third, since raw foodism is strictly about diet and has no ethical belief system, there is no reason you can't take days like Thanksgiving off and have some Tofurkey, mashed potatoes and pie.

Before jumping right in, I would recommend two books:

Raw Food Made Easy by Jennifer Cornbleet and

The Complete Book of Raw Food by Lori Baird and Julie Rodwell.

The first contains great recipes which only require the use of a blender or food processor.

A possible menu:

Breakfast:  Smoothie- 1 cup fresh squeezed oj, 2 frozen bananas, 2 T agave nectar  Blend until smooth.

Lunch:  Lara Bar and a Coconut Water

Dinner:  Nut Burger on Spinach Leaves

Snack:  Veggies with Cashew Ranch

Nut Burger Mix:

1 cup raw almonds, soaked 3 hours

1 cup raw walnuts, soaked 3 hours

1 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked 3 hours

1 1/2 cups mushrooms

1 diced onion

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup organic soy sauce

5 cloves garlic, minced

Blend or process all ingredients until crumbly, serve wrapped in spinach leaves.

Cashew Ranch

1 c soaked raw cashews

3/4 c water

1 T lemon juice

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t salt

1 t dried basil

1 t dried dill

Place all ingredients in blender.  Process until smooth and creamy.

Good websites:

http://www.rawfoods.com/

http://www.rawguru.com/index.html

http://www.rawfoodlife.com/

http://www.living-foods.com/

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/

Answer 3

WOW! Even the vegetarians are speechless!

Work with a blender for now, then move to the juicer if you like it. Melons work really well in a blender as do other fruits.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Would you diet include raw meats and fish? If not, its going to be hard to get in your protein. Definitely have lots of nuts. Its going to be really hard to get in your calcium and whole grains as well. You can make whole grain cereals and other things, but they aren't going to taste fabulous. You also can get raw (which is whole, unpasteurized) milk.

Be wary of buckwheat, kidney beans, and potatoes, they can be toxic when raw. And obviously be extremely careful of your meat and fish.

Answer 5

Consuming a raw foods diet is usually done to lose weight and detoxify. If you go head on into the diet, you'll experience headaches and other symptoms at first, so it can be hard. I'm not sure that a week is enough time.

As somebody else mentioned here, raw foodists don't necessarily consume 100% raw. 75% is the usual reference point, but maybe starting off at even 50% and working your way up might be the way to go rather than trying it for one week. Just be aware, that when you change your diet in any way, you'll experience some side effects and it takes time to adjust.