Twelve Reasons to go Rawr!

I started playing with adding more raw foods into my diet around five years ago. It naturally seemed like the next step for me …I’d had a plant based diet for twenty-five years and I wanted to step-up and eating more raw food resonated with my common sense and intuition, and I found I loved them. At first I thought of raw food as salads; carrot sticks and lettuce leaves, but I was quickly inspired to realise that it’s oh so much more than that.

One of my first raw food experiences was at Blossom in NYC where I had zucchini linguini, another was lasagne at Pure Food and Wine (and the oh so good juices from One Lucky Duck!), and then it was raw pizza, quiches, goulashes, raw vegetable burgers, curries, cookies, crackers, breads …the opportunities are endless and often you don’t need fancy equipment either. There’s so much you can do without a dehydrator for instance …and there are ways to play with your conventional oven so that you can achieve similar results without the initial investment.

If you’re thinking of moving to a more plant based diet, with more raw foods, maybe incorporating super foods, it’s good to know why it’s good for you so that you can start to make intelligent, discerning decisions about what you put on your fork.

Here are my favourite reasons to go rawr!

1. There’s no guilt. It’s just nutritious and delicious, and because it’s nutrient rich, it’s easier to eat less which means you’re likely to spend less on your weekly grocery basket.

2. It doesn’t take a lot of extra time to prepare dishes …it really truly doesn’t!

3. When we roast, boil, steam, grill, bake foods, the heat kills vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes in our foods. When we eat raw, those nutrients are alive and so we feel nourished and satisfied much much faster.

4. We not only include more nutrients in our diet, we also get more digestive enzymes which enable our bodies to utilise those nutrients so we’re less likely to need expensive supplements.

5. When we upgrade the foods on our plate, we naturally crowd-out foods that don’t serve us so well like sugar, junk foods and process foods.

6. This all means stronger immunity, sky rocketing energy levels, fewer cravings, weight balance and elevated moods. The list is endless, and it’s true to say that including more raw food pretty much has a positive effect on many health conditions out there …from acne, blood health, cholesterol issues, diabetes, fatigue, pms, reflux through to water retention and weight issues.

7. You can not only reverse many health conditions on raw, and be proactive about upgrading health so you avoid many conditions/getting sick in the first place.

8. You become aware that you’re actually accountable for your own health and that’s empowering. When we’re responsible for our own health, little miracles can happen.

9. Weight loss is a naturally occurring benefit because you’re naturally adding more fibre and more fluid through your day.

10. It’s environmentally friendly. Animal products contribute a very large percentage to our greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention the land and water usage and pollution.

11. You’ll get all the protein you need …goji berries, hemp seed, bee products, cocao quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat all contain all 9 essential amino acids …and from those our bodies make all the others they need for optimal function.

12. Last but not least, for me, raw is a diet and lifestyle that’s easy to get passionate about because I have more energy, haven’t had a cold in four years and I feel vital and alive!

…and one more for the road! When you eat more raw you wise up and become accountable for the fuel you’re putting in to your body. You clean up your diet naturally …and naturally upgrade your diet with cleaner foods, super foods and super herbs …and you make discerning choices around how to you do that. When that happens, little miracles can occur!

For the record too, you don’t need to go 100% raw …start out with 20% or 30% and take it from there. Integrate it slowly …that way it’ll be easy and effortless and then you can build in a way that works for you.

See, no need to stress about your diet, just get a new attitudetofood.com

Want to learn how to prepare raw food? Raw Food classes running throughout August, September, October and November. Please email [email protected] for more details.