Easy Steps to Start A Raw Food Lifestyle

Yes, lifestyle, not “diet”! So before we start talking about the how, let me just clarify this important difference:

A diet is a short-term regime of selected food intake, mainly meant for weight loss. It’s something you do with the end in mind, so after the diet you basically go back to where you started from. That’s the reason why diets never work!

A change in lifestyle is for good. And only a lifestyle change will lead you to an improved health in the long run and is the most rewarding. It is going along with steadily acquiring new knowledge about what is good for you, implementing this knowledge joyfully into your daily life and really customizing it for yourself.

To start something new, we need a motivation to change. The stronger the motivation, the greater the commitment, the easier the transition. Your “why” must be strong enough and you have to want the change for yourself, not because someone else would like you to do so!

The realization of the importance of having more raw (life) food on our menu was just the push I needed to start to learn more about it, and still do. The first thing I noticed was the thought of: “Oh, I can’t have a particular food anymore, because it is not raw!” This thought triggers our mind to fight and find reasons to defend ourselves, which will make it difficult to move into the direction we actually want: more raw foods on our plate.

It is much easier to think in terms of “What can I add” to my daily food consumption. The “What can I add” approach also keeps you curious to find out more options and to test different kind of raw foods. Because of the amount of food you can actually eat in a day, the less nutrient food will automatically fade off your regime. Especially once you notice how good you feel, how much more energy you have and how vibrant you look.

If you want to be successful with living foods, you definitely need to enjoy the food you eat. You can start by making a list of your favorite ingredients like tomatoes, spinach, mangos, etc. and see if you can find raw recipes on how to convert these into great tasting raw meals or look for a professional consultant who will do this for you.

Find yourself in the fresh organic produce section of your supermarket and see what fruit or vegetable you feel drawn to, which one attracts you either through its look or smell. If you don’t smell anything yet, don’t worry. Through consuming all the processed food, we actually have lost a big part of our olfactory sense, especially smokers. But once you start eating more life food, you will experience heightened senses, gustatory as well as olfactory. I found that another reward I would not like to miss. Another thrill for me was and still is, to explore our plant and fruit kingdom. It is amazing how many varieties I discovered, that I have never tasted before. This definitely keeps me on the life food path for good.

One more suggestion on how to get started: Our lifestyle in Malaysia calls for eating out a lot. So when you’re committed to start making healthier food choices, you don’t want to go on a confrontational course with your friends and associates before you are comfortable in your newly acquired regime. Most of us though take at least breakfast at home, and I think one of the best ways to get started on a raw food lifestyle, is changing your breakfast from processed cereals with milk, cooked porridges, or wheat bread to a breakfast that will boost your energy unlike any other breakfast you had before. Remember, just by taking a healthy raw breakfast and a green smoothie (as described in last month’s issue) a day, you improve your eating habits about 30%!

That is really great for a start. And you will get better at it, because you slowly re-train your taste buds. That’s right, we have to learn again, how good natural food tastes. Our tongue is so used to the chemical additives and artificial flavorings in processed food that it may take you a week or two to get used to the “new” taste.

That’s when your determination kicks in, your intelligence, which tells you: “I know it is good for me.” You know the saying “Fake it ‘till you make it”. In other words, if you stick to your commitment to incorporate more raw food into your life, and you search for the foods you really enjoy eating, you will experience great satisfaction. So, be patient with yourself and acknowledge your progress.

Super Endurance Breakfast

The best source of plant based omega-3 fatty acid on the planet are coming from Chia Seeds.

The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio is in a healthy balance of 3:2. Furthermore, Chia is high in complete protein (21%!), packed with essential vitamins and trace minerals, a great antioxidant source and high in fiber. It is a great addition also to a diabetic diet, because it absorbs more than seven times its weight when placed in water and forms a gel that produces a physical barrier between carbohydrates and digestive enzymes in the stomach. This process effectively slows the rate at which carbohydrates are converted into blood sugar.

Recipe: Basic Chia Seed Gel

• 1/3 cup Chia Seeds
• 2 cups filtered water

Stir and let it sit for about 20 minutes to form a gel. This can be stored in the fridge for a week.

Directions for Super Endurance Breakfast

• 2 tbsp Chia Seed Gel
• 2 small bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp raisins
• 1 tsp goji berries
• 1 tsp pumpkin seeds, chopped

Mix well and enjoy!

If you are a bit more adventurous, you can also experiment with the taste of some superfoods like Maca, Bee Pollen, Raw Cacao, Coconut Oil or Spirulina!