Raw Food

Thanks to my friend Elaine I've become interested in eating raw foods.

The definition of being a raw foodist is eating unheated and unprocessed fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds.

As a vegetarian for the past 25 years I thought that it would be easy to just jump into it. Not so. Also being a diabetic has given me some problems if I just want to eat fruit. I'm afraid that my blood sugar would go up.

I found Shazzie.com and that has helped me immensely. She kept a fantastic food diary when she began and I've been checking out what she ate. While reading raw food 'cook' books, reading what a raw foodist eats so much better, in my opinion.

http://www.shazzie.com/


Also Karen Knowler, the Raw Food Coach, has a fantastic site for information.

http://www.therawfoodcoach.com/start_here.php


Karen puts food into different groups:

"Fresh fruits; Vegetables; Salad vegetables; Leafy green vegetables; Herbs and wild greens; Nuts; Dried fruits; Beans, pulses and legumes (sprouted); Grains (sprouted); Seeds; Sprouting seeds; Indoor greens; Vegetable seeds (sprouted); Edible flowers; Mushrooms; Sea vegetables; Algaes; Oils; Stimulants (e.g. chilli, ginger, onion); Spices; Superfoods; Flavourings and natural sweeteners (e.g. agave nectar, stevia)."


I already have at least 1 salad a day so I am on my way. One huge problem is I'm going to visit my parents in May/June and I can't eat raw foods when I am there. After all these years my mom still can't understand my vegetarianism.


A great vegetable nutrition chart produced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can be found at:

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/issues/Issue%20400/Vegetables%20Nutrition%20Chart.pdf

I never knew that onions were that high in carbs.

You know those little Chia animals that you can buy and then 'grow' their hair? You can eat the seeds.

Information on chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) and recipes:

http://www.naturalnews.com/022468.html

Chia Pets are grown by applying moistened seeds of chia (Salvia hispanica), the sprout-like plant from whose common name the Chia Pet gets its name, to the grooved terra cotta figurine body. After three to five days consisting of filling and refilling the Chia Pet with water as well as discarding water that has accumulated in the provided drip tray, the seeds sprout, having formed a gelatinous coat that adheres to the Chia Pet's body. At this point, little effort is required to maintain the Chia Pet, whose plant counterpart grows into a verdurous covering.

Chia is grown commercially for its seed, a food that is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, since it is the vegetable source with the most Omega 3 content, specifically α-linolenic acid or ALA. It also adds antioxidants and a variety of vitamins, minerals and fiber.


Here's Garfield as a Chia Pet




So come Monday I will start to eat 3 meals as a raw foodist. I'll keep you up-to-date about it.




The books I've bought so far are:

'Raw Living' by Kate Wood

'The Raw Energy Bible' by Leslie Kenton

'Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People' by Jennifer Cornbleet

Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Raw Food comes highly recommended as was Natalia Rose's Raw Food Detox Diet.