First Week 100% Raw Vegan!

I started my raw vegan experience officially on Thursday.  I've been vegan for 14 years and had tried to go raw a few times before but it didn't last due to my sugar addictions. Now that I'm over them, this is starting out fabulously! I'm loving the food and the changes I'm feeling. I love that I can be creative and come up with new ideas and they almost always work! This is unusual to me since I've never been a great cook. But apparently, I CAN "uncook!"

Here are some Tips for the First Week I've come up with that have worked for me:

-Keep a blender full of green smoothie in the fridge at all times. My main mix is kale, apple, banana, and some lemon or lime.

-When a craving hits, IMMEDIATELY grab either a banana, apple or chug some green smoothie.

-Don't drink water with meals, but DO drink plenty of water, which will also help with cravings.

-Dehydrate stuff! It's nice to have the stable munchy things around, plus, as it's dehydrating you can steal some throughout the day (like warm chewy banana slices awaiting to be "chips!!")

-Check out http://www.goneraw.com/. That's become my favorite website this week. It has tons of recipes people send in and they are rated by those who try them.

-Find inspirational websites and books and dvds about raw food to keep you enthusiastic.

-Get at least one raw cook book to look up the basics and get ideas and recipes. The one I have is "Raw, The Uncook Book" by Juliano. I haven't made any specific meal from it yet this first week but have used it countless times to look up ingredients, ideas, and information. The entree pictures in it are great and there are some really cool recipes I can't wait to try once I have the hang of all this!

-Keep stocked. That's been the hardest for me so far. We've gotten groceries 3-4 times this week already. Go to the store as often as you need so you have food on hand. You don't want to run out of fresh fruits and veggies on a raw diet. And the first week, you don't want to run out of those specific favorites that are keeping you going!

-Make it pretty! Arrange your foods in a way that's pleasing to your eyes. Make it beautiful and a pleasure to eat!

-Be creative! Like I mentioned above, you can use your own ideas too with little risk of something failing when it's raw. If you use sea salt use it sparingly however. Nothing worse than a beautiful raw meal that's too salty to eat!

-I read on a forum once a post that said "Nothing cooked tastes as good as raw FEELS." I said that to myself over and over again this week.

-ENJOY all the amazing changes as your body detoxes and improves. You are becoming a new and healthier you! Embrace it. Make it part of your new identity! Some small and some huge new benefits pop up every day raw!