Raw Food

Who else is trying to increase the percentage of raw food in your diets? Thing about raw food, it of course still has all enzymes, aminos, vitamins and nutrients, nothing lost. It's easy to get 10-20%, fruit, nuts, etc. Try getting over 50%, starts getting tough. My wife just purchased a dehydrator, is going to learn how to use it. She's just purchased a week of raw food preparations from a vegan about an hour away, lasagna, pizza believe it or not, various items and they're not bad. Not bad at all. And we're hiring a raw food chef to spend a few hours with her teaching how to prepare in our own kitchen. Just one more step toward pain free, tasty and fun right living. I'll take pics of the prepared foods next time. Forgot.

 

A couple of handfuls of raw food per day is adequate. I put kale or supergreens in my shake every morning, have nuts in the car, and nibble on a piece of whatever's in the fridge while I'm preparing a meal.

-Billy

 

I snack on raw greenbeans, snap peas or carrots. Eat raw nuts between meals if I am feeling hungry. An apple a day as well, and sometimes a banana before or after a workout (depending on how I feel). And I do green juices 5 or 6 times a week.

It does take some doing, but you can definitely add a lot of raw to your diet. Just make sure you are still getting enough calories and protein, especially if you are working out.

 

I picked up this book about 12 years ago - it's a really nice, almost "coffee table" level cookbook. Over the years I've probably made every recipe a few times.

Raw: The Uncook Book: New Vegetarian Food for Life: Juliano Brotman, Erika Lenkert: 9780060392628: Amazon.com: Books

 

Sounds interesting.

I eat some sort of fruit, vegetable, and/or nuts in some fashion every day.

I'm not going to overkill it though.

 

Don't forget your meat!
Too much fruit will make you fat
Protein, some veggies, for meals
fruit nuts and seeds for snacks
Sweet potatoes brown rice are ok
Too much raw is a fad and IMHO not that good for you. Humans were never grazers of raw stuffs.

 

almost daily with my VitaMix. good stuff.

 

I still juice quite a lot so I get raw food from there. Although I don't drink much due to high calories, I also drink raw milk. Not sure if that counts.

GT

 

Sure, raw milk counts. And if you're using a high speed juicer, that actually may not.

 

No high speed juicer. I use an Omega masticating juicer. I'm looking to get a Norwalk as a replacement for it.

GT

 

This is worth reading. My wife and I are increasing the amount of raw foods in our diet. But, like virtually everything, there is no panacea. Cook your tomatoes, and consider cooking other things. Raw does not always equal good, just like natural does not always equal healthy, and so on...

Fact or Fiction: Raw veggies are healthier than cooked ones: Scientific American

 

Good article. Thanks.

 

Here's another great article--this time on the relative merits of different veggies.

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/01_09/ratings.pdf

I don't think it is included in this article, but there is some interesting reading out their on baby greens versus mature greens, and whether veggies do better stored in the light or in the dark. The answer, from what I recall, is it depends. Certain vitamins degrade with light, but even some cut veggies can apparently continue to make vitamins if exposed to light. This even extends to mild nutritional difference between flat and curly versions of leafy greens (curly versions are more relatively protected from light exposure).

 

Scotty, thank you. Good reads.