Any Raw Vegan's on here?

[burnmarie]

I don't post much on here, I usually just read to gather info, but I do have a question and I think I may get some really good answers here.
I want to start eating RAw Vegan, about 60%-75%, I have read all the info on the benefits about it, I am just stuck on the recipes. I have hard time finding books that are good for transitioning recipes, easy recipes, and recipes that are actually doable.
If anybody knows of some good websites or cookbooks I will really appreciate the info!
I have been looking at Kristen Suzanne's ebook recipes, anyone try those?

 

[kathryn]

Hi, Marie!
I'm a long-time vegan, and have dabbled in raw foods at various times. Last year I was raw (which I consider to be 80% raw foods or more) for about 9 months, then winter set in, and the transition was a bit rough. I got back to eating more cooked foods, to the point where I was/am eating more cooked foods than I think is ideal (for me or in general). I'm getting back into 80%+ raw in summer/60%+ raw in winter, which I think is a near-ideal balance for me. I feel much better when I eat that way.

As with anything that interests me, I did extensive reading, and picked up a lot of books and DVD's along the way.

I would highly recommend the following:
www.reneoswald.com has a "Transitioning to Living Foods" program (ebook or print book: I got mine when she was having a special of both for the same price, plus some other stuff. She often offers deals like that). The program is a multi-step (7?) progressive program with transitional foods and lots of helpful tips and info (some of which I'd never seen elsewhere). René also has videos up on Youtube. Her info on making a staples stash is very useful, IMO.

In addition to René's program, the following books offer easy-to-make foods that don't fall into the raw-food trap of overuse of nuts, and are a good start to a raw-food recipe library:

Any of Ani Phyo's books (she is also on Youtube).

Jennifer Cornbleet's "Raw Food for One or Two People"

I also have some recipes in my blog here (lots of smoothies, a couple of soups, etc.).

I have most of Kristen Suzanne's books (book form, not ebook), and while I found the recipes I've tried to be tasty and easy to make, I'm not sure they'd be worth it to anyone who is not a bit OCD about having as many references as possible on a subject. The first 20+ pages of almost all her books are the same info, and most of them (1 exception I know of) don't contain an index of recipes, and there's no way to easily find a recipe that uses a particular ingredient (the e-book versions may be easier to search).

IIRC, there are 2 or 3 other raw-fooders on the forums, so you should get some more info from them.

HTH!

 

[burnmarie]

Thanks kathryn! I have never heard of Rene Oswald I will definetly check her out. I have heard of ani phyo and jennifer cornbleet alot since I started doing research on subject. i will ahve to check them out also a little more.
that was a concern of mine also, was no hot food in the winter, I live in Wisconsin and it gets really cold here in the winter.

 

[kathryn]

that was a concern of mine also, was no hot food in the winter, I live in Wisconsin and it gets really cold here in the winter.

I've lived in Wisconsin (and Minnesota), so I know how cold it can get!

One thing to remember: you can heat raw foods up to above body temperature (keeping it below 105 degrees/115 degrees/118 degress, depending on who you are going by. I've even seen some people say that food shouldn't be heated aboe 95 degree, but since human body temperature is 98.6, that seemed a bit silly to me!). I've warmed soups and stuffings and other things in my dehydrator (if you don't want it to thicken the soups or dry the other foods, put an upside-down glass container on the foods to keep the moisture in). It works nicely to heat the foods in the bowl or on the plate, so the bowls and plates warm up as well.

My main problem with winter is lack of variety of fresh foods. Somewhere around October last year, I went from having an abundance of choice to having relatively scarce pickings. It took me a while to 'recovery' from that, LOL! A good fix is to sprout (which is actually easier in cool/cold weather than in the summer, as you don't have to rinse as often, and any risk of mold is reduced---I would never try to sprout garbanzos in hot weather again, as they quickly get too warm and can develop mold--but they work great in the winter.