Transitioning to a Raw Food Diet

A raw food diet, once a very strange niche in diets has now become a lifestyle. Whether you want to try it for heath, moral or weight loss reasons, it can be tough to transition from a regular diet to a pure raw foods diet.

Why Go Raw?

Fruits and veggies are usually better for you in their raw form. That's just science. Cooking developed as a way to kill germs, parasites and cover up the fact that the meat or vegetables weren't fresh. Today, with refrigeration and other storage techniques, there's really no need to do this.

Once you cook a vegetable you start to break down the enzymes and you start to change the chemical makeup of the food. Most of the time, the original chemical makeup is exactly what our body needs. Not cooking something means that our body takes longer to process the food and spends more energy doing so. For many people going to a raw food diet, weight loss can result.

Making the Adjustment

Most people think of a raw foods diet as purely vegan or vegetarian. The truth is that there are many types of raw food diets out there, including raw diets that incorporate raw meat and fish. If you're looking at this guide though, I'm going to assume that you're looking to transition to a traditional raw foods diet.

Your stomach will rebel a bit if you go straight to a raw foods diet. Most of the time our digestive system doesn't have that much work to do because the average American eats lots of processed foods. Cooking foods makes food easier to digest too, so it will be more than your stomach is used to.

If you're starting out as a run-of-the-mill omnivore, you're going to have a tougher time adjusting. That's why you'll want to start by going vegetarian and cutting out all processed foods such as sugar. Do this over about two weeks.

While doing that, investigate many of the websites on raw food. Start making recipes at home using raw food techniques. Use this time to explore and build up a repertoire. It will give you an idea of what supplies you'll want to buy and what foods you'll want to keep stocked in the house. Set a date for when you want to go all raw foods and work toward that goal. This should take about a month total, from the time you started going vegetarian to the time you've gone all raw food.

When eating raw, freshness is key. Many hard-core raw foodists shop daily for the freshest produce that they'll be using for the day and they only cut up their meal just prior to eating it. Not everyone finds that practical. For convenience, you might want to keep some pre-chopped veggies in the fridge for emergencies. Instead of heading to the store every day, you might just want to loosely plan your menu for the week so you'll you use up all your produce.

Dos and Don'ts

Don't cut sweets out of your diet. Raw foods do in fact include some desserts that taste quite creamy and sweet. Make sure you know how to fix them and have the supplies on hand, or you'll fall off the wagon the first time you pass an ice cream store.

Do wash produce even more fastidiously than before.

Do go organic.

Do know your options. You can make cracker-like materials in the dehydrator or in the oven set at a very low temperature.

Do have a community. Whether it's in person or online, it's good to have a place where you can get advice and info.

Supplies

Here's a list of things to get you started. Some are essential; others are just good to have around.

1. At least one good sharp knife.

You're going to be cutting lots and lots of veggies and nuts, so you might as well have good tools to do it with. Get yourself one or several decent knives.

2. A blender.

When making sauces or smoothies a blender is an essential of the raw food diet. If you know you're going to end up using it a lot, do make sure it's not a cheap blender that will burn our quickly.

3. Cutting boards.

Cutting boards are cheap, they come in many forms and they just make a raw foodist's life easier. You can always use a plate to cut things in a pinch, though, something I've done before.

4. Slicers and dicers (food processor, mandoline, spiral slicer)

Humans crave variety. The various slicers and dicers on the market can give your food a different texture than you can achieve with a knife. Spiral slices are especially handy for things such as zucchini.

5. Dehydrator.

While not everyone would agree with me, I think a dehydrator is an essential to the raw foods diet. This is because a dehydrator can help make you crackers or bread-like substances. I deem it essential because in about two weeks you may be willing to kill for a Ritz cracker.