Raw Is Not Difficult!
At what point do we start realizing how important what we eat is to our quality of life. I was listening to Dr Christiane Northrup, MD, author of “Women’s Health, Women’s Wisdom”. She stated, “What we eat and exercise are the single most important things we can do for our health”.
I was informed by a good friend of mine that she and a friend were looking at the Rawmazing.com site the other day. How on earth do you eat like that. It is so hard and complicated! And the ingredients are so exotic…where on earth do you buy all of that stuff.
I sat, mystified. Was she really looking at my site? My *I am impatient in the kitchen site*? My *I need my food to be simple site*? It couldn’t be MY site…but it was.
There is a huge misconception among traditional diet eaters that raw is more difficult and time consuming than traditional cooking. I can honestly say, I spend less time actually preparing my raw food than when I made cooked food. I am not including dehydration time but that is just a matter of planning. I am talking about actual food handling time.
Many of the raw food recipes here are very easy to make and require very few ingredients. You can find raw food recipes that have a large number of ingredients, just like some traditional recipes can contain a lot of ingredients. If you want quick and easy, choose simple recipes.
My daughter was home for the last few weeks. She is a vegetarian, loves raw but still wants her veggie sausages in the morning. I bought a box from the coop. The next morning, I opened the cardboard box, and plastic packets, containing the sausage fell out. I opened them and dropped the sausage into the fry pan. It felt amazingly foreign to me. This “making of food” without ever touching one ingredient.
It felt so strange, so foreign. That’s when it hit me. There are a lot of people who’s idea of cooking involves opening a box. It is a different kind of fast food. No wonder why people think that actually touching fresh ingredients, cutting the vegetables, creating a raw meal is time consuming.
Along with this “fast box” mentality has come a fast decline in our health. Since we are an “I want it now” society, the need for instant gratification overwhelms the inner knowledge that this fast answer could create some really bad, very time consuming health problems down the road.
So, when you are contemplating the difficulty of incorporating more raw foods into your lifestyle, think of the big picture. The future picture. Know that taking a little more time with your food now could save you in the future.
Susan wrote on June 15, 2010
Zemira: It is interesting, there are not many people out there any more that push 100% raw. I certainly don’t, but encourage people to incorporate as much as they can into their diets.
Kat (My Fruity Life) wrote on June 15, 2010
Great post…today the most I’ve done for my food preparation is to wash, then eat. Couldn’t be more easy than that! And I know for sure I spend under $10/day on my food. It can be done.
kelli wrote on June 15, 2010
in our society we have been conditioned to “invest” in our health via health insurance. i skip the health insurance and use that money to buy the best quality food possible. sometimes the food is “expensive”, but hey, so are medical bills!=)
Zemira wrote on June 15, 2010
While I agree with you for the most part, I’ve found myself a bit stumped at making a full commitment to the raw food lifestyle. Let’s face it, eating %100 raw is extreme in a society that still barely understands the missing nutrient quality of its own conventional diet. Also it’s still true that not all ingredients are easy to find (and I shop only organic). I haven’t yet found raw oat flour locally (purchasing food items on-line feels like burning cash with the shipping charges)or more choice with high quality raw agave syrup. The expense of buying a dehydrator plus finding a place for it is not a small matter either. All this can seem complicated (it’s been frustrating!)especially when one isn’t certain of the longevity of such a lifestyle for oneself. Will I actually like it? I was once a macrobiotic too.
Susan wrote on June 15, 2010
I would recommend starting with the simpler stuff that doesn’t require the equipment. For me, mail order is a godsend. There are only a few things that I mail order but it is worth the extra cost to me. It’s funny, we are so used to having such cheap food available that we have a mindset. I think it is time to start seeing the value in those products, not just the expense. 🙂
Pam wrote on June 15, 2010
Great post!
MB wrote on June 15, 2010
I am a fellow raw vegan who agrees with those critisms of raw diets. Sometimes it’s easy. Whipping up a raw cobbler for breakfast, easy! But making chocolate crepes…not so much.
I can’t afford a good dehydrator and so I have had to avoid anything dehydrated (my oven doesn’t give me good results). And since I am working full-time and parenting full-time, I just don’t find the time to plan ahead. I can’t tell you how many times I couldn’t eat what was on the meal plan because I forgot to soak nuts or whatever.
It does require a level of organisation that I don’t have time for right now. BUT…
There ARE easy recipes and there ARE less dishes to clean afterwards etc. And I LOVE the way that my body feels on raw. And so, I am devoted to the lifestyle even if it means I have to plan further ahead.
And it does get expensive too. Especially when I am making dessert. I don’t know if everyone experiences this but I have to pay about $2.25/lb for raw cashews or walnuts. That makes for a really expensive dessert.
I know it is worth it. And the fact that it does cost so much does mean I eat smaller portions. But I do understand where people are coming from. The veggies don’t bring the price up that much but the nuts sure do.
Susan wrote on June 15, 2010
MB: Wow, 2.25 for raw cashews is a great price in my world The cheapest I can find them is 5.89. But most desserts don’t call for an entire pound. So think of it in those terms. Also, I have really started doing a lot of comparison shopping. I can find golden flax seeds anywhere from 1.99/lb all the way up to 2.49. There are amazing deals to be found online, also. And they are delivered to your door.
Rick wrote on June 15, 2010
that is one of the best posts i’ve read in ages, and i agree on all fronts. i am amazed at the questions i get when people hear me labeled as vegan, or high-raw, or a raw foodie. Everything from “well what do you eat” to “how can you afford to eat this way?” People would rather stay ignorant than just do a little research to see how easy and accomodating our lifestyle truly is!
again, fantastic post! 🙂