Getting started with Raw Foods...

My leg feels straighter than it looks!
Ask and you shall receive...questions! Here is a comment from a reader..

Just let me tell you how I got to your website. I was searching about raw food online, and got to you. I believe I was directed divinely to find you. I think I will know better now about raw foods and juice feast; you will be my source, huh? Maybe you can give me some tips in how to start. I have been hesitating to start eating raw food for the last few years, tough wanted so much to start. I think, the idea of juice feast is wonderful. Health food, yoga and meditation are also part of our spiritual practice to enlightenment; you are on the right path, and that is why you fell so much love and joy in your heart. I do perfectly understand.
Looking forward to reading your blogs.
Namaste.
Female, 43 year old from California
Lake Balboa, CA

First off, for tons of info on Juice Feasting, go to www.juicefeasting.com. When in the solid food world, there are simple things to focus on and add to your diet to start going raw. Try to eat 1-2 lbs of green leafy vegetables everyday! That may sound like a lot, but it's actually pretty easy and definitely delicious!

Green Smoothies - frozen berries, 1/2 lb green leafy veggies (spinach and lacinato kale

are my faves) and water are the basic base. In addition, you may like to add any other kind of fruit (bananas or oranges tend to be my mainstay), superfoods such as bee pollen, Spirulina and Vitamineral Greens and perhaps a few drops of stevia if you like an even sweeter taste. Yum!

Salad - Eat at least one every day! If you are still eating cooked food, start each meal with a big salad. This will fill your tummy with live enzymes and also begin to fill you up, so you eat less of the cooked food. Over time, increase the size of the salad and begin to cut out the cooked food. I like to add lots of sprouts and some avocado and olives...yum!

Green Juice - Are you getting sick of the word green yet? It's called chlorophyll and it's molecularly identical to the hemoglobin in our blood except for one molecule (where chlorophyll is magnesium, hemin is iron). And it tastes good too! Whether you make it yourself or go to the juice bar, drink your green juice often - it's such a great way to start the day! I use the Green Star juicer. Don't be shy to drink a quart rather than the standard 12-16 oz, or even better yet, simply juice extra so you can enjoy a pint later in the day! My mainstay is celery, cucumber, chard or kale, ginger and a little apple. Oooh, baby!

A good daily habit...

early am - quart of water with fresh lemon juice and cayenne

breakfast - green juice

mid-morning goodness - green smoothie

lunch - big, yummy salad

dinner - green smoothie or salad

As you have time and interest, pick a raw recipe you want to expole. Some can be ridiculously time consuming, others are very simple. last night, we filled spring rolls with red bell pepper, sprouts, shredded carrot and spinach. I made an impromptu diiping sauce in the blender (Vitamix or Blendtec are amazing!) with tahini, garlic, ginger, Bragg's liquid aminos and a tangelo. It is such a delicious way to eat raw veggies and took barely any time at all to prepare. It just takes the step of making something new for the 1st time. My husband even decided to save his meat/noodle/veggie dish for lunch the next day because he loves spring rolls!

As well as adding these new yummies, what do want to stop putting in your body? In October, when I started getting really excited about raw food, I decided to go for it and eliminate all beer, wine, alcohol and meat. I was ready to do it...to feel my best...aaah, life without a hangover ever is truly fabulous!! This has to go beyond pure willpower and be fueled by your spirit because you love the way it makes you feel. Yes, the body feels great, but the mind is also clearer and spirit feels illuminated! What works for you?

Another comment...
I really needed to read that post today. Thanks so much. I'm off to write my love letter. See how that ripple effect works?
Would anyone like to share their love letter? You can always be anonymous! xoxo, Kelly O