Although, admittedly, I am not 100% raw myself I do completely back the principles of the raw lifestyle. My diet is probably 60-80% raw (depending on when and where I am) and on those days that I do eat raw my energy is sky high and I have far more clarity. It really does do what it says on the tin!
Having said that – going raw is not easy. Most of the alkaline lifestyle is raw so for me I was able to do two transitions in one when I adopted these principles. From my experiences, I think life would have been a lot easier if I had followed these five tips! Oh well – hopefully you guys can learn from my experiences!
- Start slowly! Don’t feel like you have to go cold turkey or do things all at once! - By gradually adding more and more raw foods you will start to get used to the different textures and tastes that raw foods bring to your meal times. For instance, you could start by just making sure that 20% of all of your dinners and lunches are raw. Alternatively you could approach it a meal at a time, starting with breakfast. However, you chose to start – do not put too much pressure on yourself too early in the game!
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Buy a reputable raw food book and read, read read! - There are some great raw books out there. One I particularly recommend is Eat Smart Eat Raw by Kate Wood. Kate really knows her (raw) onions and has hundreds of great recipes. Aside from books, I would recommend blogs and forums too (as ever). We Like it Raw is a great read, as is Karen Knowler’s Living in the Raw blog. As for forums, I recommend the forum at Raw Food as it is always busy and always welcoming!
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Get the Equipment You Need! - There are loads of bits of kit available to help the raw foodist but the two that you cannot go without are a decent juicer and a decent dehydrator. On top of this I would also recommend a Spiral Slicer/Saladaccio to help you make raw treats!
- Don’t Forget – Raw doesn’t have to mean cold! - This is particularly important with blended, raw soups. You can still warm them gently – this can really help in winter and when you are first starting out. As a rule of thumb (literally), if you can place and keep your finger in the food without it hurting, then you are still raw. Remember that the emphasis is not to cook the food.
- Plan Until You Cannot Plan Any More! - Like all lifestyle and dietary changes, the most critical element is the planning. If you do not plan then you are far less likely to succeed! By ensuring that you always have the right foods at the right time you are at much less risk of temptation and you will always have snacks, treats and meal ideas when you need them.
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Other great raw resources include:
- Funky Raw
- Wiki’s Raw Food Page
- Shazzie’s Raw Food Site
- Alissa Cohen’s Raw Site
Good luck and get in touch if you have any questions or comments by typing below!
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