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.
