I am new to the world of the raw food lifestyle and am having a hard time finding recipes that I like aside from plain fruits and veggies. Can anyone suggest some good raw food recipes??? (no nuts please.)

When starting out with raw food, a diet plan is immensely important as that helps you stay on course and makes sure that you have the least withdrawal symptoms. Initially if you are totally into cooked food then it will be wise to have a raw food diet plan which has 50% raw vegan food while having the remaining 50% as cooked food. This is just an estimate and you should figure out the ratio which you are most comfortable with as initially your job is solely to get acclimatized to the new raw vegan food diet plan.

At this stage it will also be wise to invest in some raw, vegan food cookbooks as those will give you a whole lot of recipes to play with. And playing is exactly where the fun is! When you start on a raw food diet plan there is just so many new things that you can try. In a raw food diet plan you can start with making delicious desserts, hemp dishes, raw soups, entrees, snacks etc. Also as time goes by you will learn which recipes and what kind of a raw food diet is best for you and stick with that.

People who are already living on a diet of this kind food cant stop raving about its benefits. Raw diet is rich in everything your body will ever require from dietary fiber (**extremely important** for a good digestive system) to vitamins, minerals, proteins.

You can try some raw recipes and see what works for you and what you personally like. Who knows this just might be all that goodness that you were looking for…

It is hard to even begin somewhere when you are trying to discuss raw food benefits. In fact it is for it’s benefits that the raw food is now becoming so popular. For those of you who have been wondering why and how people can start to live completely on raw vegan food, it is important to look into your own life to see the problems that you have faced. Seldom do people realize that almost all of their problems have their starting point in the diet.

Whether it is stomach related issues like heartburns, gastritis, constipation, stomach ulcers or even appendicitis has been linked to a high intake of sugar related foods and a low intake of healthy nutritional dietary fiber which is abundant in raw foods. A study conducted in England and Wales revealed that a fresh intake of cabbages, cauliflowers, peas, beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes can significantly reduce the occurrence of problems such as appendicitis.

Over every step it is revealed that raw food benefits are just too big to ignore. One of the biggest gain that you get to have with such food is dietary fiber which is all **too important** to be ignored. In fact more than half of the health related problems experienced by people living entirely on cooked food can be traced to having a low intake of dietary fiber. Other unparalleled benefits of raw vegan food include – low LDL cholesterol, low fat content, high vitamin, mineral and yes, even protein, seasonally available to name a few.

People who have tried to live on a raw food diet can stop raving about its benefits. In fact they say that raw food benefits outweigh nearly every other available means to control health related problems in their life. It is only reasonable that you try out some recipes and see for yourself, who knows, you just might find all the goodness that you were looking for.

A diet is considered a raw food diet if it consists of at least 75% raw, uncooked fruits, vegetables, sprouts, etc. Raw and living foods are believed to contain essential food enzymes (living foods contain a higher enzyme content than cooked foods). The cooking process (i.e., heating foods above 116°F) is thought to destroy food enzymes.People who follow the raw diet use particular techniques to prepare foods. These include sprouting seeds, grains and beans; soaking nuts and dried fruits; and juicing fruits and vegetables. The only cooking that is allowed is via a dehydrator. This piece of equipment blows hot air through the food but never reaches a temperature higher than 116°F.Do you have to follow the regimen that strictly? Of course not. But it’s certainly worth it to incorporate some of these techniques and ideas into your diet. If you tend to snack at work, try taking in carrots or apple slices. Many of the bigger grocery stores now offer packaged vegetables or fruits that make it easier to pack them and take them to work. We’re a nation of convenience, and much of the resistance to healthier eating is that it does generally take a little more effort and time to buy and slice fruits and vegetables. Food retailers have been catching on, slowly, and it’s much easier now to get bags of sliced carrots, celery, apples, nuts and raisins. Of course these aren’t necessarily organic foods, and organic is the better way to go, but we think anything raw is infinitely better than cooked, processed food. If you have the time, do buy organic and slice them yourself. But if you’re in a hurry, and nowhere near a natural food store, then don’t beat yourself up or sabotage your efforts because you can’t do this 100% all the time. That’s not realistic. Anything from the fruit and vegetable aisle is going to be better for you than a potato chip, or worse yet, a french fry!

I am writing a paper about the health benefits of the raw food diet. One of my sources has to be a scholarly book/monoraph, but so far I can not find one. Any ideas would be highly appreciated!