For those of you who have dabbled in or tried a raw foods diet, what were your experiences?

I did it for a week. I felt extremely healthy and very happy (I tend to have depression). It was also cheaper than my usual diet. ..... but then I had strong cravings for meat.. so I caved.

I am working on transitioning to a raw foods diet. I got interested in it after watching Food Inc and I basically decided that I didn’t want anything to do with it. Plus with food getting more and more expensive I figured I should probably start to grow my own food or live off plants that I find.

The book that has been the most inspirational to me is green for life by victoria boutenko. She made a statement in that book that really made sense to me: When she was talking about protein she pointed out that the biggest strongest animals on the earth don’t eat meat… they eat plants and they do just fine.

I have also found that ani phyo has a lot of good information and videos on how to make tasty stuff. I have one of her cookbooks.

This is a work in progress but I will get there.

What’s a raw food diet…..everything you eat is uncooked?

Does this include meat?

Does this exclude cooked pre-packaged foods too? soup, popcorn, chips, ect….

@coffeenut raw food diet is comprised of eating only uncooked food from the earth (greens, vegetables, fruits, nuts, sprouts etc).

@mrlaconic but no meat right?

@coffeenut correct no anything that didn’t grow in the earth.

I think adding nutritious raw foods to your diet is a great idea for health and nutrition. I am a vegetarian (not a vegan) and I have eaten some very tasty raw foods in several restaurants. One of my favorites is a restaurant in Fountain Valley (Orange County, CA) called Au Lac and you can see their menu here

Just be aware that certain nutrients are more accessible from certain foods when they are cooked. I don’t think it’s wise to eat only raw foods. Some foods need to be cooked or fermented for you to be able to properly absorb the nutrients from them. You can read more about this on the World’s Healthiest Foods site.

I have not tried this, but here is an online book called The Best of Raw Food that looks like it has a lot of yummy recipes that are not too “weird”.

I also love to “cook” (prepare foods, if you’re talking about raw foods) and one of my favorite new recipes came from Vegetarian Times magazine. It’s a Raw Kale Salad with Root Vegetables. It tastes fabulous and I actually made some (for the 4th time in as many months) last night. I even took this dish to a family potluck (of people who are pretty opened minded about trying new stuff, but are mostly meat eaters and they loved this salad).

I love fresh foods, but I don’t believe in any diet that eliminates any class of food. I am a meat eater, but I accompany it with as much fresh, raw fruits, nuts and vegetables as I can. I cook my grains.