Raw Food Tips: 5 Ways to Eat More Raw Foods

"In general, mankind, since the improvement in cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires."  Benjamin Franklin

Going “Raw” is much like yoga, very inclusive, healthy and everybody’s well-being benefits.  Anybody can practice some form of yoga but it is the distance of the pose or the depth of the breathing that sets people apart- beginners may only go part of the way, advanced can go further. Eating raw is the same. Raw foods should be a focal point for all our meals and snacks; it is only the degree of raw that sets us apart.  In our Raw Food Basics Blog, we discussed the raw food groups, and offered several recipes to get you pointed in the raw direction. In our Raw Cashew Cream & Flour Blog we shared the basis of raw food desserts, dips and dairy substitutes.  Today we offer 5 ways to eat more raw foods on a daily basis.

1. Eat 1-2 cups of fresh fruit and/or vegetables in the morning- either whole, as a smoothie or freshly juiced.  Don’t worry if you don’t have time to juice in the morning- whip up this Healing Gut Tonic in the blender. You can vary the fruit & vegetable depending on what is fresh and in season.

2. Eat raw snacks of clean foods- grab a piece of fruit, cut up vegetables, guacamole with fresh jicama, Hail Merry raw nuts, seeds or Grawnola, or some coconut yogurt.

3. Eat raw salads for lunch or dinner- make sure they contain dark leafy greens such as spinach, arugula, and watercress because these greens contain rich sources of the essential minerals (calcium, iron and magnesium) and provide plant based protein. Also eat plenty of healthy raw fats such as avocado, olives, coconut, flaxseed, and hemp seed, to provide the essential fatty acids necessary for proper brain and nerve functioning, and for a feeling of satiety.  If you desire more protein, add slices of wild salmon sashimi to your salad.  Here is a Hail Merry favorite salad recipe: Angry Grapefruit Avocado Salad.

4. Serve 1-2 cups of shredded raw vegetables (such as red or green cabbage, zucchini, or carrots) with dinner.  If you are having pasta or rice, replace half or all the pasta with the shredded vegetables. If you are eating a meat-based meal, reduce the amount of animal and eat more plants. Asian food- try shredded Savoy cabbage for half the rice. Mexican food- add 1 cup of fresh vegetable sprouts like broccoli or mustard to your burrito.  Sandwiches- replace the bread with collard greens or romaine lettuce. Not only will you lose weight naturally (1 cup of cooked brown rice has about 216 calories versus 16 calories in 1 cup of shredded cabbage) but vegetables are more nutrient dense than most grains so you will be getting more minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. Click here for a delicious raw, clean green pesto sauce that will become a family favorite in your house.

5. Replace roasted nut butters (such as peanut butter) with raw nut butters. Use as a spread on fresh apples or bread, as a basis for a dip, or to make raw nut milks as a heart healthy substitute for dairy. Raw nut butters have a higher concentration of enzymes needed for ideal digestion and absorption of nutrients than roasted nut butters.