How much food do you eat in its natural state?
Fresh fruits, salads, and cut up veggies for snacks are the most common raw foods for the majority of people. This is a great start, especially if you include them in your diet regularly.
However, there is a whole world of culinary delights most of us have never even considered.
The raw food movement has been growing at an exponential rate. Some of the reasons people choose to eat raw food include:
So what is raw food anyway?
Basically, a raw food diet consists of whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and seaweeds that are organic, unprocessed, and not cooked or heated above 120 degrees so the amino-acids, enzymes and nutrients in the food are fully available.
“Do you have to eat 100% raw to get all the benefits?”
No, you don’t have to switch to a completely raw diet. The most important thing for a healthy diet is to eat whole foods, eliminating processed foods as much as possible or altogether. Sometimes that isn’t realistic, so you just do your best and eat appropriately.
However, including more raw foods in your diet, especially green leafy vegetables, is enormously beneficial for your health. Why? Because you get the building blocks of life straight from the source, unaltered and readily available for all that your body needs.
The great thing is that there are now countless resources where you can get ideas on tasty, easy ways to include raw foods in your diet.
How do I start?
Perhaps one of the best ways to start eating more raw food is with green smoothies. Even if I don’t eat any other raw meals for the rest of the day, I start off every morning with a green smoothie.
Combining fresh fruit and green leafy veggies makes a surprisingly delicious concoction full of vitality. You can feel the energy instantly.
Here’s a great video explaining how to make a simple, delicious green smoothie.
Some days I end up having two smoothies, and just ride that energy through the entire morning.
The interesting thing about introducing more pure, raw foods into your diet, is that you notice a difference between how you feel after your green smoothie, and how you feel after having, say, eggs and toast. Suddenly, as good as they may taste, eggs and toast aren’t as appealing because you notice that they simply don’t fuel your body as effectively or play as nicely with your digestive system.
Just like anything else, experimenting with raw food is a journey to know yourself. It is another chance to find out what works best for you, what makes you feel healthy, and what makes you happy. You won’t know until you try.
What about raw meals?
It’s surprising how many creative and tasty raw recipes are out there.
Watching this video will quickly give you an idea of how varied a raw diet can really be.
Often you can find a raw food culinary workshop in your area, and learn hands-on how to work with food in a totally new way. Warning: this can get addictive, spark creativity, and inspire such excitement about eating healthy that you’ll want to share it with friends!
Do you have a good raw food recipe?
Post it on the raw recipe page for others to enjoy!
There are lots of great raw food resources out there. Search online or in your local book store to see what grabs your attention. Then head to the farmer’s market or produce section of the grocery store armed with your own reusable bags and venture into the realm of eating pure without the packaging.
Do you have experience with raw food that you’d like to share with others? Post a comment below!