Guest guest Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Greetings everyone, I am new to this board, and have been reading the messages here for the past week or two. I actually have a few issues that I would really appreciate help with: 1-I am having the hardest time with variety. I tend to eat melons for breakfast, salad for lunch, and salad for dinner. What would be a good beginners recipe book...one that doesn't include mostly dehydrated meals since I have not purchased any equipment yet, and literally only have a blender and junior food processor. 2-My main weakness is beans. I absolutely love them, and have no clue how to sprout them. How is this done? And is there anyplace where I can buy already sprouted beans such as black beans, chick peas, etc. 3-Since changing to mostly raw foods I have developed this awful craving for extra crunchy foods (think salted nuts and chips...not carrots). I don't usually eat salt, so I figure it's the texture that I'm going for. What are some healthy raw snack alternatives? 4-And lastly, are there any raw places to eat when out for the day besides Everlasting Life? I love them, but again I need some variety. Thanks everyone. Please forgive my lack of knowledge. I truly appreciate your help. This takes so much more planning than I assumed. Vegan is one thing, but raw is another. And I want this lifestyle change to be a healthy one. I wonder if there are any raw food coaches in the DC area? Or upcoming classes? Safiyyah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Hello, Safiyyah, Variety in a raw vegan diet is actually much easier than you may think on the surface. Melons are great for breakfast; I assume you're smart enough to eat them as a mono-meal, since melons should only be eaten alone, unlike other fruits. Cucumbers are also melons, so be sure to keep them out of your salads, especially those including acid fruits, ie. tomatoes. Rather than a salad for lunch AND dinner, how about trying several pieces of the same juicy fruit, followed by a stalk or 2 of celery or a few romaine leaves? I usually bring either 3 red delicious apples, 6 peaches, 3 large Asian pears or other types of sub-acid fruits, for example, along with celery to offset the fruits' sugar. For dinner, I alternately (every other day) eat a raw pasta (made from either zucchini, yellow squash, celeriac or beets) dish with a nut or avocado-based tomato or orange sauce and a head of lettuce with a few vegetables (mainly celery, sometimes sunchokes, etc.). I usually base the sauce on 1/4 soaked sun-dried tomatoes with its soaking water in my blender. The other night, I like making a smoothie based on 6 medium-size bananas, 4 dates, another type of soaked dried fruit (raisins, sun-dried figs, sun-dried apricots, etc.), the water & flesh of a young Thai coconut and 1/4 cup of raw cacao or 1 Tb of spirulina powder. Sometimes I combine 2 Tb of raw carob powder with 2 Tb raw cacao. I also add about 1/8 tsp. each of 2 different dessert spices (which I'm deliberately using up incrementally). I generally use about 1.5 cups of coconut water & drink the rest alone. I can understand why beans are so addictive, but they're as unnecessary as grains, flesh, bee-barf and bovine mammary secretions. Sprouting beans may make them more palatable and digestible as a transitional food. You can soak 1/4 cup of most dried beans in 1/2 cup purified water in a Mason jar for 12 hrs., covered by a fiberglass screen. Then turn the jar upside down on a 45-degree angle resting the back against the side of a large bowl. Rinse them 2x/day and sprout them for 2-5 days, depending on the bean. Some beans should only be sprouted for 2-3 days, lest they become fermented and smell nasty. I've found tiny seeds, ie. alfalfa, fenugreek, radish, much easier to soak and sprout for the right amount of time than beans, so that's what I periodically do in Mason jars, but not often. You can also buy various concoctions of sprouted beans at most natural food stores, ie. Whole Foods and moreso at Roots Market in Clarksville, which are mostly organic. Crunchy sprouts (several types of sprouted beans) are also a great snack to handle your craving for a crunchy snack that's good for you & low in sodium. You may also find celery will satisfy you crunchy appetite, especially after sweet fruits of any kind. IMHO, celery tastes much sweeter after being stored in the fridge for a few days than when you first buy it. That makes it less bitter so the organic salt doesn't bite your taste buds as much. Unfortunately, there are very few raw-friendly restaurants in the vicinity of MD and DC. The Yabba Pot in Baltimore, MD, is supposedly a great place for raw foodists to find a hearty meal, though I've not been there yet. I've never been to Everlasting Life in Capitol Heights either, which is a mostly vegan, somewhat raw, establishment, though I know they sometimes host raw events. I'm more familiar with its store in DC, across the street from where Delights of the Garden used to be. As far as I know, raw restaurants are thinly scattered around the nation, albeit gradually expanding. You'll find raw (sometimes 100% vegan) restaurants in the strangest places sometimes, including a rural town in Massachusetts outside Boston, along with Chicago, IL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, and Las Vegas, NV. Of course, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, NYC are famous for their vegan & raw-friendly restaurants to their credit. As far as recipes go, I recommend you click onto www.living-foods.com for umpteen ideas. That's how I started several years ago when I needed some guidance. With a little imagination, you'll be amazed by your own talent. Doug Graham's " High-Energy Diet Recipe Guide " as well as Ann Wigmore's " Blending Book " both have simple, delicious recipes to help too. I can give you various other practical tips on your raw journey, but it would exhaust too much space now. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Suffice to say, simplicity is bliss. Namaste, David " safihan126 " <safiyyah wrote: >Greetings everyone, > >I am new to this board, and have been reading the messages here for >the past week or two. <snip>> >Safiyyah -- " Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. " --Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, 1908 ________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. 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Guest guest Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 David, I can't tell you how much this info means to me. I will definitely try your ideas. Thank you for taking the time to respond. Be well, S~~ , dapperd72@n... wrote: > Hello, Safiyyah, > > Variety in a raw vegan diet is actually much easier than you may think on the surface. Melons are great for breakfast; I assume you're smart enough to eat them as a mono-meal, since melons should only be eaten alone, unlike other fruits. Cucumbers are also melons, so be sure to keep them out of your salads, especially those including acid fruits, ie. tomatoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Safiyyah, You're very welcome. I also forgot to strongly suggest that you & all others (raw, vegan, carnivorous, macrobiotic, etc.) click onto www.naturalzing.com. Natural Zing, IMHO, has most of the best prices on raw vegan food, as well as mostly raw (ie. Organic Food bars), that I've yet to find anywhere on the net, not to mention some of the friendliest & most knowledgeable staff. Whether you want exotic sun-dried organic fruit from around the globe, raw vegan snack bars (both for lunch & desserts) or umpteen different cosmetic household supplies, Natural Zing has your number. They also now host monthly potlucks at their 5-acre Mt. Airy farm since June on the 3rd Saturday of each month (except last weekend was the 4th Saturday). Helen & Jeff Rose co-own it & they're looking for part or full-time employees also. There won't be a potluck there in September though due to health expos where they'll table. I most likely plan to host my own potluck in my new house where I just moved in last weekend, probably on the 3rd Saturday. I want to host more in following months too. I live in Owings Mills, MD, & I'll keep everyone posted. Namaste, David " safihan126 " <safiyyah wrote: >David, > >I can't tell you how much this info means to me. I will definitely >try your ideas. Thank you for taking the time to respond. > >Be well, > >S~~ > > , dapperd72@n... wrote: >> Hello, Safiyyah, >> >> Variety in a raw vegan diet is actually much easier than you may >think on the surface. Melons are great for breakfast; I assume you're >smart enough to eat them as a mono-meal, since melons should only be >eaten alone, unlike other fruits. Cucumbers are also melons, so be >sure to keep them out of your salads, especially those including acid >fruits, ie. tomatoes. > > > > -- " Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. " --Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, 1908 ________________ Switch to Netscape Internet Service. As low as $9.95 a month -- Sign up today at http://isp.netscape.com/register Netscape. Just the Net You Need. New! Netscape Toolbar for Internet Explorer Search from anywhere on the Web and block those annoying pop-ups. Download now at http://channels.netscape.com/ns/search/install.jsp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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