Healthy Foods That You Can Eat When Transitioning To A Raw Food Diet

There are 2 ways to switch to a raw food diet: go 100% raw “cold turkey” or transition to it at a more gradual pace.

For some people it is much easier for them to go 100% raw overnight, whilst other struggle and often fail if they adopt this ‘full-on’ approach.

If you are one of these people, then consider transitioning gradually, adopting a high-raw, low-fat vegan diet and then gradually shifting towards a 100% raw vegan diet.

There are certain cooked foods that will allow you to transition much more easily and satisfy any wants that you may have for ‘the old foods’.

So if you want to transition more gradually, or perhaps even stay on a high-raw, low-fat vegan diet, then these foods will be ideal for you (although, we must stress that optimum results are usually achieved when people adopt a 100% raw food diet).  
 
What is the purpose of cooked transitional foods?

• To allow you to gradually come off cooked foods, which in themselves can be addictive
• To allow for easy digestion/assimilation and elimination
• Give you the nutrients that your body needs
• Not to bring toxins into the body
• Keep your diet high in raw foods and low in fat, which in itself is health promoting

What are the best transitional foods and how to eat them? 

We recommend that you eat raw until dinner time and then include some cooked food for your dinner. You need to keep your diet at least 80% raw if great health and vitality is your goal.

For most people, raw breakfast and lunch do not seem to be much of an issue where cooked food cravings are concerned so these two meals can be relatively easy to do 100% raw very quickly.

When cooking food, it is known that steaming is one of the better options due to its lower temperatures and the fact that any nutrients that leech into the water that is used for steaming can be consumed as part of the meal.

For example, you can add it to potatoes or butternut squashes and mash them together to make them more creamy in texture, or even make a soup.

Cooked vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower can add subtle yet different favours to your meal, while peas are another good option for adding a different flavour and texture.

Below is a list of cooked foods that you can use as part of your own transition to a raw food diet:

• Sweet potatoes
• Butternut squash
• Pumpkins
• Beats
• Peas
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Parsnip
• Brussel Sprouts

We recommend that you stay away from grains as they tend to be acid forming and are much more complex to digest, if compared to vegetables like sweet potatoes, for example.

Legumes (beans) are also pretty heavy to digest for many people as they contain what are called ‘oligosaccharides’, which can lead to problems like flatulence, due to humans limited capacity to properly digest them.

When you are more comfortable with eating a low-fat, high-raw, fruit-based diet, have learnt to eat enough during the day to keep you satiated and know how to combine your meals well, then move on to the next stage.

You can introduce 100% raw food days, just 3 days a week to begin with (i.e. Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and then continue to follow this pattern for a while.

Then, introduce more raw days and see how you feel with that.

You will almost certainly be able to feel the difference in your energy levels and overall health between 100% raw days and high raw days, which should help motivate you to move towards a 100% raw diet, if this is your goal.

Remember, that it is the overall direction, rather than the speed that matters most. How many years have you been eating an unhealthy diet?

Then switching to a healthy raw vegan diet is not something that can be achieved overnight – at least not for the majority of people.

Embrace your journey, remember to acknowledge all the positive steps and changes that you are making towards your new and healthier life and keep moving forward!  

Photograph of sweet potato (1) source : http://eijra.blogspot.com/