11 things every beginner must know
I’m going to get straight to the point and list’em out for you. After all who reads the long intro paragraphs these days anyway? Getting started with living foods is easier and more exciting than the thick intimidating tomes lead us to believe. Here’s proof. And what I wish I’d known when I started (excerpt from One Day Raw)…
1. THE LINGO
‘Raw' food doesn’t exactly sound sexy or appealing and I have to admit- it isn’t my favourite word. It’s correct only because it is used to describe food that’s uncooked (or heated below 46 °C / 115 °F). But the appeal of this ‘radical diet’ is all about how incredible, youthful and ‘alive’ it makes you feel, so you’ll hear many refer to the cuisine as ‘living' food. Now that’s a word I like! The enzymes in these foods are still intact and if you sprout them, they will grow, hence they are ‘living’. Also ‘cold-pressed’ and ‘extra-virgin’ both mean that the oils/juices has been extracted out of plants by using specialised equipment that is temperature controlled. This process is usually more labour intensive and time consuming, so you’re likely to find cold-pressed juices costing more. Totally worth it, because of all the nutrients being preserved, the taste and the health benefits.
2. YOU’RE NOT LIMITED TO FRUITS & VEGGIES.
I was pretty lost at first, but there is such an abundance out there. Think sprouted grains, seeds and legumes, wild and indoor greens, edible flowers, nuts, oils, superfoods galore, sea vegetables and algaes, herbs and spices, dried fruits, fermented foods and teas, medicinal mushrooms and sweeteners. Some even include raw dairy and raw meats as part of their raw food diet, but that’s a personal choice and I choose plant-based.
3. CHOCOLATE IS ON THE MENU!
Just know that Cocoa and Cacao are two very different products, even through they come from the same tree. Cacao is what you are after. It’s raw and is one of the highest sources of antioxidants and magnesium there is.
4. SOAK YOUR NUTS.
And dried fruit for that matter. If you think about how much easier it becomes for your blender to blitz up the dates and seeds after they soaked in water for 5-10 hours, just imagine how much easier it would be on your digestion. Having said that, don’t be put off your trail mix if it hasn’t been soaked, it will still be 100 times better for you than a packaged snack of sorts.
5. HOW TO MAKE ALMOND MILK.
I really really really wish for everyone to know how to make nut milk. Even if they aren’t interested in trying living or vegan foods, they'd still enjoy drinking their vitamins in such a creamy delicious way. Watch me make it on
my YouTube channel>>
6. YOU CAN GET ALL YOUR PROTEIN & CALCIUM, EATING PLANTS!
In fact, the highest amount of calcium is not in dairy, rather in sesame and poppy seeds. Add them to your nut milks. The most digestible form of protein is in your green leafy vegetables- they contain all the essential amino acids for your body to scoop them up and construct its own building block of health, none of the bi-product, second-hand stuff that you get from eating dead flesh.
7. IT’S OK NOT TO HAVE ALL THE EQUIPMENT.
It’s so easy to feel completely overwhelmed with the exciting new world of kitchen gadgetry, but all you really need is a decent knife and a blender. Or a juicer, depending on what you prefer or what menu option you choose from this book. Borrow one from a friend to ‘try before you buy’ or see my suggested list,
here>>
8. JUICES & SMOOTHIES ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
One requires a juicer to extract the pulp and the other requires a blender to whiz up whole fruit and veg. Nutritionally they are rather different too- you are likely to take in more vegetables drinking a pint of juice, than a pint of smoothie which would have added water to liquidise it. On the other hand you will get more fibre with a smoothie. Still confused? Here’s more on
Juices Vs Smoothies>>
9. DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE COOKED. BE A NUTRITARIAN.
Think about all the reasons why you are getting into raw foods in the first place. It’s a fun, delicious, energising, exciting, healing and creative way of eating and living. You are not joining a cult or signing a contract of no returns. There’s always room for a little cooked quinoa or sweet potato in your life, because a nutritarian will choose the most nutritious foods available to him/her at any given time.
10. WINTER IS NOT ONLY POSSIBLE, IT’S PRETTY AWESOME.
This has been a big concern of mine at first and that of my clients, who would just get into the groove with eating raw and then feel like a failure for not sticking to it when it’s cold. I even wrote a whole book about it! Check out Nourished- Comforting Raw Foods For Winter in our shop or this little video with my top tips on
how to rock the cold months>>
11. INITIAL PAINS, HEADACHES & DISCOMFORTS ARE A GOOD THING!
Welcome to the detox club! Oh how I wish someone told me that detox symptoms are normal. And especially that they DO go away and once they do, you feel reborn again. Years of toxins, piling inside of your body and congesting your colon, kidneys and blood are not normal. They are exactly what eats away at your healthy cells, destroys your immune system and invites disease. Stop and recognise the wonderful thing you are doing for your beautiful body and celebrate every little sign of the toxins leaving it, especially if it’s via a headache, a pimple a big cry or a poo poo.
That was an excerpt from ‘One Day Raw- A beginner’s guide to living foods’, which also happens to be totally FREE to you!"
And just take a peek inside this beauty…
Wanna know what else you will find inside?
- Two 24 hour menu plans, one for a juicer and one for a blender.
- Done-for-you shopping lists.
- My favourite snack ideas, that don’t require any equipment at all.
- What to do if one day just isn’t enough.
- A tutorial on weekly menu planning and how I do it.
- Tips for better digestion.
- What you can eat on a living food diet.
- Which celebs love raw foods.
- My own personal struggles with food and the car crash that got me here.
- How to tell which foods are best for healing which organs.
- A 10% OFF discount code on any of my eBooks.
