Tips for Starting a Raw Foods Diet

Interested in starting a raw foods diet or a high raw foods diet? Here are a few helpful tips!

photo by muammerokumus on flickr

1) Try to avoid combining fruits with fats during a meal. Because fruits are fast-burning sugars, they do not mix well with slow-burning fats. Combining them can create digestion discomfort. 

2) To avoid fast food places such as McDonalds and Taco Bell, consider traveling with some water, a cutting board and a knife. This way you can stop at any grocery store and eat "fast food"... the raw way!

3) If you have trouble eating 100% raw foods, try going "raw until dinner".

4) Find a friend or two who will encourage your "healthy habits". Joining a raw food meetup group (www.meetup.com) may be a great place to start!

5) Be flexible. While some people thrive on a 100% raw vegan diet, it is not the only healthy option. Other similar diets that are healthy are the High Raw Diet, a Whole Foods Vegan Diet and a Whole Foods Vegetarian Diet.

6) "Supplements" is not a bad word. Deficiencies are common in any diet and can be easily avoided through some simple supplementation. Check out my list of beneficial supplements Here (This website makes no money from promoting any supplements).

7) Avoid stomach discomfort by limiting your intake of nuts to a handful or two per day.

8) Forgive yourself if you "mess up" by eating unhealthy food sometimes. While raw foods do help increase our health and vitality, it is also helpful to not freak out about maintaining complete perfection! That being said, lots of "cheating" on any diet will likely delay the positive results we are looking for.

9) Finding enough calories on a raw food diet can be tricky. Some great raw, vegetarian calorie sources include:

- fruits (bananas, dates, figs, mangoes, watermelon, cantaloupes, apples, pineapple, etc.)
- green smoothies (50% fruit and 50% greens plus water, blended). A green smoothie makes a great breakfast (and lunch if you want)!
- salads (click Here for many different salad ingredients!)  
- juices (carrot celery juice, apple cucumber juice, etc.). 
- fats (Up to 1-2 avocados daily, nuts, seeds, etc. For Ovo Lacto vegetarians: raw milk cheese, raw free range eggs, etc.)

10) Variety helps. A balanced raw food diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Also, people on a high raw vegan diet should include healthy foods such as beans, rice and baked potatoes. Ovo Lacto vegetarians can also consider grass fed dairy and/or free range eggs.