Transition to a raw food diet with great recipe alternatives!
Eating a diet high in raw food does not have to be boring. You can create incredible meals that are full of flavor, super nutritious, and remind you of your old cooked and processed favorites – but better!
Some of the hardest foods to give up in the Standard American Diet (SAD) is anything made with dairy, like cheese, milk, ice cream, and yogurt; as well as chips, bread, pasta, and eggs. The cool thing about eating a “raw” version of these delicious – but “bad for you” foods, is the raw version not only is better for you, but it’s such a close reminder of your old favorites but better! You may not agree at first, but the more you incorporate raw foods into your diet, the more creative you can be, you will start to notice the difference. You will notice how oily, salty, sugary, and just plain “blah” the old standards are – while the raw versions taste fresh, alive, flavorful, and just down right yummo!
There are hundreds of raw food recipe blogs and sites to search, and tons of fabulous raw food recipe books! One of my first raw recipe sites I ever visited was Gone Raw. It’s become a super large raw food community that shares wonderful recipes for all to try. One of my all time favorite raw recipe books is Ani Phyo’s Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen
Just to give you an idea how SAD favorites are exchanged for raw food favorites, here’s a brief list:
Breads And Crackers – exchanged for unleavened flax, nut, and vegetable based breads and crackers dehydrated to the desired texture (although not a full replacement to bread – definitely a great substitution that grows on you quickly!)
Butter – exchanged for raw hemp butter
Corn Chips – exchanged for corn chips
Chocolate – exchanged for CHOCOLATE (or raw cacao). I have to tell you, the best chocolate in the world has to be RAW CHOCOLATE! It’s dark, it’s creamy, and perfectly sweet. Most raw chocolates are made with agave, or dates, maple, super food powders, raw coconut butter or oil, and lots and lots of raw cacao! Once you start eating a raw chocolate candy bar, you will never enjoy the standard chocolate bars again – seriously!
Dairy Milk – exchanged for nut milk (usually made with soaked almonds, purified water, and a few dates).
Dairy Cheese Spreads – exchanged for nut or cheese based cheeses (some of the best nut cheeses are made from soaked cashews).
Dairy Whipped Cream – exchanged for coconut or macadamia nut based creams (these raw versions are so light, creamy, and out of this world – they will become a real favorite).
Ice Cream – exchanged for either a frozen banana mixture, or a coconut-based mixture, or a nut-based mixture (preferably cashews). Raw ice cream has to be one of my favorites. You don’t even need an ice cream maker to make it!
Sugar and Artificial Sweeteners exchanged for dates, raw agave nectar – but the best choice would be stevia! Choose stevia brands that are naturally processed with water and no added chemicals or artificial fillers, such as SweetLeaf Stevia – the number one GRAS approved brand!
Tuna – exchanged for a nut and seaweed based mix (this is all about the spices, and soaked nuts you use – as well as the seaweed. Add a little avocado mayo, and you have your self a mighty tasty mock tuna salad – Great for sushi too!)
This list could go on and on and on – but you get the idea! So don’t worry about what you are going to eat while transitioning to a raw food diet, there are so many options you for exchange you can’t go wrong. The most important thing is to eliminate as much of the SAD processed foods from your diet as possible, and to eat as much of the raw and living foods as possible. The raw food exchange is there to help make it easier for you.
Be sure to check out as many raw food recipe blogs, websites, videos, and books to help inspire you and give you that necessary push to make the change, and have fun while you do it!
Go Raw!
Vega-Riffic Recipes 