Thinking About a Raw Foods Lifestyle

I'm interested in learning more about and trying a raw food diet plan. Anyone else ever done this or has already part of their lifestyle? What are the pros and cons? My biggest challenge would be access to a wider variety of foods. Hit me up please with advice or support.

Replies

  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Are you already vegan or vegetarian? Do you have a plan for meeting nutritional requirements (protein, etc)?

    I'm not a raw diet person, nor do I think it would be good for me (I already get digestion issues if I eat too much raw fruit/veg), but I don't mind peeking into this conversation.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I guess the first question is what interests you? What makes you want to try that lifestyle?
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    As @pixelpuff asks, what does your diet look like now? Raw food vegan is an enormous departure from a traditional diet, and frankly it's a pain in the butt if you have any social life and eat out occasionally. If you eat meat now, you might want to give some form of vegetarianism a whirl first.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    Confused. Those this diet mean you can't even cook garlic? Or grill the onions? I just want to learn. Never heard of this before.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Confused. Those this diet mean you can't even cook garlic? Or grill the onions? I just want to learn. Never heard of this before.

    If I'm assuming right, it would be 'Raw Vegan'... Unless they allow for sashimi. I only just thought of that. Hm.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    PixelPuff wrote: »
    Confused. Those this diet mean you can't even cook garlic? Or grill the onions? I just want to learn. Never heard of this before.

    If I'm assuming right, it would be 'Raw Vegan'... Unless they allow for sashimi. I only just thought of that. Hm.

    And steak tartare.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I watched a documentary must be a good decade ago now about people who ate raw. I can't say there was any appeal there whatsoever for me, was a lot of work. I can't remember the reasoning behind it. Even Freelee (who I have an extremely low opinion of) eats a cooked dinner of sorts.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited July 2017
    I googled this and found kids tasting raw meats. They did not have fun. But the variety was there. Salmon, steak, chicken.
    Removed video took too much space. "www.youtube.com/watch?v=brtNkgqAJ04
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    edited July 2017
    Check this link for vegan, then don't cook anything:

    http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/a-guide-to-healthy-weight-loss
  • LRai132
    LRai132 Posts: 34 Member
    edited July 2017
    I was raw for a bit but had trouble making it work mostly because I suck at cooking and most friends/coworkers eat out for socializing, which is difficult to do when you have to be strict with your food. Ultimately, I'm hoping to go back to it though.

    There are different forms of raw, like you can do a "Raw til x'oclock" which (if I remember correctly) is what Freelee does, and that's why her dinners are cooked. Raw doesn't mean no cooking at all, it's just that food cannot be cooked above a certain temperature. The reason for that is because some food loses its nutrients when cooked at a high enough temperature.

    Similar to the "Raw til x'oclock", lots of people also do "x% raw" like only having 80% of their day's food be raw.

    You can also do raw but non-vegan. I saw someone mention this once, but the only uncooked meat I can think of is sushi, which has cooked rice, so I'm not really sure how that works??

    I'm mostly in favor of what's probably just considered more "clean eating" where it's vegan and no processed foods, but I don't mind cooking them. This allows me to have things like warm oats for breakfast. :smile: You pretty much have fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans, but I really like that you can eat a lot more overall (not calories, but in size).

    One youtuber/blogger who has a lot of info on raw veganism is Fully Raw Kristina. Her videos are a bit long for me, but the info is definitely there. Lots of recipes, too.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    edited July 2017
    Just heated then? I guess microwaving is out, since it an cook the food. Mildly heating food sound easy.
    LRai132 wrote: »
    I was raw for a bit but had trouble making it work mostly because I suck at cooking

  • SABoj
    SABoj Posts: 88 Member
    I've been vegan for over 30 years. I tried going raw for a period of time, about 6-8 months. I enjoyed the health benefits but It is a full time commitment to the lifestyle.
    Personally, I missed 'cooked' foods. I am still vegan & will occasionally dabble in a raw lifestyle for a week at a time, but long-term it wasn't for me. Regardless of what you decide, best wishes! Do what works for you & have fun with it.