Posts Tagged ‘diet’

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Why Raw Foods Give You More Energy

May 3rd, 2010

You have heard the term “eat for energy” as it applies to a raw food diet, and sure, it sounds wonderful. But when you stop to think about it, does it make sense to you? For most of us, “energy” foods are sometimes the least healthy options, and we pull our fuel from the caffeine, sugar and fats that we consume on the go as a quick option to get something into our stomachs.

Is that what energy has meant for you in the past? Have you felt the low, hungry craving for something sweet and filling? Have you felt the lack of energy that you thought could only be rectified by devastating a box of doughnuts?

Many of us have felt this way, and that is why the idea of a raw food diet being a high energy diet can sometimes sounds like a misdirection at best, and an outright lie at worst. But the truth is, someone who eats raw foods is going to get more energy than the rest of us.

Take, for instance, that essential “energy” food, the morning cup of coffee. Many of us swear by it, and fortunes have been made on our dependence on it. Yes, it gives you energy – the caffeine gives you a boost in attention and focus, and the sugar spikes into the bloodstream to give you the extra pep. But that caffeine kick fades fast, and the sugar jolt quickly becomes a deficit. Coffee leaves you worse for wear.

Compare that to the eating for energy alternative for a morning pick-me-up, the all-powerful and ever-popular green smoothie. There is no caffeine to be found here, and no processed sugars. Instead, you have great natural fibre to fill you up and keep you full for hours; tons of vitamins to provide your body with the elements needed to keep you running in optimal health; and enough healthy calories to give you the fuel you need to operate until lunchtime.

Another example is the energy bar. This candy-bar-in-disguise has been marketed to us as the best possible thing you could eat after a hard workout, but that is only true if you want to undo all of the hard work you just performed. Energy bars are empty calories and sweet nothings, and their “energy” comes from processed sugars and other additives. If you really want a healthy – and energizing – snack after a hard workout, nothing beats the raw rush of a handful of raw almonds and a tall glass of cold water. The water is essential to keep your body hydrated after sweating away a good deal of your fluids, while the almonds provide you with fats to feed your fatigued muscles and living food enzymes to help with the digestion of the fibre they contain.

A raw food diet may sound far-fetched to some, but rest assured, it can give you much more energy than the products you have seen in commercials that promise easy energy. Raw eating gives you more flavor, more vitamins, and more energy to live your life.

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Raw Food Replacement For Milk

May 2nd, 2010

When it comes to raw food as a viable alternative for everyday life, there are plenty of things that you might not have considered replaceable. For example, you might think that a raw diet would mean you would never have a plate of spaghetti again, or never get to savor a hamburger.

But raw foods are nothing if not versatile, and you can find wonderful, delicious replacement recipes for both on any number of raw food blog sites. But there is one food item that people tend to think is fairly irreplaceable, and it’s absence in their diet is one that can have a dramatic impact.

Many of us have grown up with dairy as a vital and visible part of our everyday diets. From the milk we drowned our morning cereal in as children, to the ice cream treats we enjoyed as adolescents, and on to the yogurts we eat as adults. Of course, the dairy we consume today has very little in common with the dairy that we, as people, originally started with, and that’s where we find a conflict between eating raw and eating dairy.

Originally, milk was something that came straight from the cow or goat to the glass. But when pasteurization was discovered, something happened to the milk that we drink, both for the better and for the worse. On the upside, pasteurization greatly reduces the number of micro organisms in the milk that could cause illness. But the downside is a loss of the living food enzymes and beneficial bacterial cultures that make milk so good for us.

So, what are we to do? A good raw food diet blog will give you all sorts of examples of ways to get your daily allotment of calcium in other foods, but if you simply want a tall, cold glass of milk, you have two main options.

One way is to find a local source of raw dairy products. This can be exceedingly difficult, as laws in some jurisdictions have actually outlawed the sale of raw dairy, for fears of causing outbreaks of illness.

Many milk producers back these laws – and why not? If consumers want the beneficial bacteria that are originally found in raw dairy, they can still find them – in “pro-biotic” yogurts, which tend to cost a little bit more. If raw dairy is legal and available, by all means, take advantage.

But if you have no source for raw dairy, fear not. There are other milks available than what comes from the teat of a cow. Healthy eating advice will tell you that milks made from almonds or rice can give you the texture you crave, and a taste that might not mimic milk, but will be something very pleasing.

These alternative milks are also great in your raw recipes, making smoothies thicker and your sauces creamier. But be careful when you buy them in stores, as some of these milks also come pasteurized. Be sure to read the labels carefully, and you will be able to find a milky replacement.

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Diet Plan to Lose Weight in Seven Days

April 28th, 2010

We all know that rapid weight loss is not the ideal way to get yourself into shape. Trying to undo years of over eating and under exercising within the span of a few short weeks, or even days, can be dangerous at the extreme, and counter-productive for most. What few pounds we manage to shed by starving ourselves and working out to the point of exhaustion will inevitably come stampeding back the moment we return to our regular lifestyles.

But, if you are looking to drop a few pounds as part of a commitment to changing your lifestyle for a healthier and happier way of living, a raw food diet for weight loss might be just the thing that you are looking for. Within the first seven days of changing to a raw food diet, you will notice a change in your body.

The reason is not going to be the same as the average crash diet that you have tried in the past. Back then, you were depriving your body of sustenance, and forcing it to cannibalize itself in order to survive – and once you went back to your regular eating habits, your body stored as much excess fat as it could, in order to survive any future starvation periods.

A raw diet plan does not work like that. Instead of starving and denying your body what it needs, you are going to flood your system with wonderful, healthy foods. Your body will learn very quickly that it does not need to store excess fat, because there is always another heaping helping of healthy raw foods coming to provide the fuel you need.

On top of that, you will be getting more ‘bang’ for your buck with the fuel that you do introduce to your body – so much so, that you will have enough excess energy to get out there and get some exercise. That added activity can only help when you are trying to win the battle with the bulge.

So, what are the keys to eating raw so that you will see weight loss results within the first seven days?

For one, make sure that you are hydrated. With all the water-laden fruits and vegetables you will be eating, this will not be difficult. Also, replacing your daily coffee and soda consumption with glasses of water will help to keep you up on your water levels.

Second, never skimp on meals. Don’t gorge yourself until you burst, but eat until you are satisfied. With the fibre-heavy foods that are available in a raw food diet, you might be surprised not only by how little that will be, but by how long you will continue to feel full, but in a wonderful, healthy way.

Third, use that fuel. No diet plan is one hundred percent effective by itself. A raw diet will give you the power to get out there and get active, and that activity will lead to greater weight loss. So use that fuel, and you will see the results within the first seven days of eating a raw food diet.

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Posted in Uncategorized, Weight Loss

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Transition to a Raw Food Diet

April 20th, 2010

Starting a raw food diet can be a daunting task. It is not simply a quick change in the way you prepare food, but a whole new way of looking at the fuels you put into your body.

It is a lifestyle change, and as such, it is going to require some work on your part in order to make the transition as successful as possible. If you invest the time and effort in these early stages, you will be paving your own way towards a healthier and happier life as a raw eater. It is often said that the lazy man works double – once to do things the easiest way possible, and once again to go back and correct all of his mistakes.

You will probably start by wondering exactly how to eat a raw diet. Unless you have recently moved, or are willing to go through your cupboards and pantry and throw out or donate everything within, you are likely going to be left with some items that simply cannot be eaten raw. Boxes of pasta, loaves of bread, and some meats like pork and chicken just have to be cooked (or already are).

A successful transition, however, does not require you to simply toss this all to the side and start anew. Cold turkey might work for some smokers, but new raw eaters might eventually crave hot turkey if they just try to switch too abruptly.

And of course, there is the financial aspect to consider in restocking your entire kitchen. Instead, a better way to transition to a raw foods diet is to do just that – transition. Use what you have, but augment every meal with at least one raw item. Do this until you are used to it, then up the raw and thin out the cooked.

If you continue this plan of attack until your supplies of cookable food are exhausted, you will find that you have an easier time adapting to your new plans, and fewer cravings for your old cooked favorites.

If you need more raw food help, there are plenty of places to turn. Go to your local holistic or organic grocery store – you will find plenty of great ingredients to ignite your imagination, and the staff there will be able to offer suggestions for new meals. Look online for blogs, articles and web sites dedicated to raw food meal plans, run by uncooked aficionados.

The biggest thing to remember when transitioning from a traditional North American diet to a raw foods diet is that not everything needs to be done in one step. Rome was not built in a day, and neither should your all-raw meal plan.

Put in the time now, and you will find that, once your cupboard is bare of cookable food, you will have no problems stocking it with great raw alternatives, without missing a beat.

And if you ever find yourself tempted to go back, just stop and think for a few minutes before you eat, and remember that for every cooked and dead food item out there, there is a similar raw option.

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Benefits of Eating More Raw Foods

April 5th, 2010

There are plenty of very good reasons to make the switch to a higher concentration of raw foods in your diet. Ideally, of course, you would make the switch to an all-raw diet if eating for energy was your main priority in life. However, sometimes life gets in the way of your ideal eating goals.

But when you feel yourself wavering between a healthy raw option and that processed chocolate bar at snack time, here’s a few thoughts you can review in your mind to remind yourself of why you chose to eat more raw foods in the first place.

Raw foods take less preparation time. Sure, it might not seem like it at time, but overall, a raw diet means you spend a lot less time in the kitchen, and a lot more time out enjoying your life. No longer will you have to baste roasts, cook pasta, thaw turkeys, or wait for water to boil. A raw diet means, at most, you have to put something in the dehydrator overnight. Otherwise, it’s a few minutes of prep time, and straight onto the plate.

Eating raw also means less energy waste, both in your home and in your body. Cooking foods means electricity-hogging appliances like your stove are used, spilling excess heat into your home and adding big bucks to your bills.

But while eating raw means less energy used, it is also a high energy diet for you, in that the essential vitamins, nutrients and living enzymes in the food that sometimes are lost to the cooking process are instead brought into the body. You will probably notice, almost immediately after you begin eating more raw foods that you will have energy levels you haven’t felt since you were much younger. You won’t believe how tired and sluggish you used to feel, and it is that feeling of power, energy and vitality that you need to remember when you feel your will power slipping, and the lure of something cooked and unhealthy beaconing to you.

What other reasons do you need to keep yourself on the raw foods straight and narrow path? Eating for energy in its raw form means you will be taking in more fibre, which will aide in digestion and help you to feel full on less food.

Eating raw also usually means an intake of fewer calories, but more good calories. Many people try to lose weight by simply cutting calories, but in the end, their body craves the energy. Eating raw doesn’t deprive the body, it floods it with good fuel, and encourages the body to become a more high-powered and efficient machine in the process.

A diet high in raw foods will, by its very nature, have less processed sugar than the average person’s diet. But with all of the fresh fruits available, you will never have to deny your sweet tooth.

In the end, when you make the change to eat more raw foods, the biggest benefit will be the higher levels of energy, and how good overall you will feel. Can a moment on the lips replace that? Fat chance.

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