Once the decision has been made to eat more raw foods, one will most certainly begin to see improvements in his or her general health. What works for one person, however, can make another person miserable.
For most people, taking small determined steps to change a lifetime of not-so-great habits is do-able. Making changes to eat healthier by adding reasonable amounts of raw food daily is one way to make a change. Others find it simpler to have one whole day set aside each week to cleanse the body with living, raw foods.
Healthy Weight Loss with Raw Foods
Simple to do, a day of raw foods might look like this:
- Cantaloupe or a fruit smoothie for breakfast.
- A salad or a fresh gazpacho soup for lunch.
- A bowl of homemade guacamole with raw chips for one snack, raw almonds for another snack.
- A Nori roll (sushi rolled in a dryed, flat seaweed sheet)
How to Eat More Raw Foods
Start gradually or try going raw only one day per week. Make sure to drink plenty of water, at least one half of the body weight in ounces as it helps rid the body of toxins. Shop at a local farmer's market where fresh, local ingredients are abundant. Buy enough fruit for a whole week.
Purchase a blender, food processor and some good, sharp knives to easily cut fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Use natural sweeteners in smoothies like agave nectar with its low Glycemic index or organic honey with its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. Mix fruits with dark leafy greens such as spinach or collard greens in smoothies.
Instead of fruit juices, add nut milks with good protein, flavor, soy-free, lactose-free and healthy ingredients.
Stock Up the Pantry with Healthy Ingredients
Keep a variety of these to embellish your salads:
- raw cashews, almonds, macadamia nuts
- almond and hazelnut butters
- dried fruits
- fresh fruits
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegars
- lemons, limes
- Nori (dried seaweed sheets for wrapping sushi)
Reasons to Eat More Raw Foods
Choosing a raw diet might be in response to being diagnosed with cancer, being overweight, or simply wanting to live by eating no meats (cruelty-free diet). According to The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw (by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi, Jennifer Murray. July 1, 2008), "You don't have to be 100% raw to experience health benefits."
In The Complete Idiot's Guide to Vitamins and Minerals (2nd edition), it is pointed out that, "Americans eat very few dark green, leafy vegetable and deep yellow vegetables. Fewer than one out of five people eat five fresh fruits and vegetables a day." Knowing what should be done doesn't always make it any easier to complete the task. Motivation must be found somewhere.
Chef Matthew Kenney points out the main reasons why we should eat more produce:
- reduced risk of heart disease, cancers, age-related eye diseases and lower blood pressure
- produce is filling and low in calories
- veggies and fruits are a boon to those who want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight
Chef Tania Mercer of D.C., a living foods chef running the health counseling service and blog, Nourishing You explains, "Once you start eating this way, you'll feel differently, you'll have more energy, and you'll lose more weight." For a cauliflower mashed 'potato' recipe, try Chef Tania's way of adding one great fiber-filled food to help control blood sugar and lower cholesterol levels.
Going raw, as the experts have pointed out, doesn't have to mean only raw all the time. Add more raw. Have a raw day or just eat two salads or two raw meals a day and see what happens. See how the body reveals its health and vigor through simple steps. Then keep adding more fresh, raw, living foods to your diet.
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