Staying up the tree is hard but, for me there is no option unless I want to make myself ill. I was lead to a path of raw food due to health problems which are unfortunately very limiiting. I cant eat anything remotely warm otherwise my skin starts burning and my face and upper body turn purple with urticaria popping up. This reaction occurs with every other heat stimuli. In addition, If I eat complex carbs, meat and dairy I have the same reaction regardless if the food is hot or cold, I also have Coeliac and crones disease. Eating wheat, gluten and dairy free with low GI options was not enough. So I began eating raw-with some improvement-though if I over indulge the symptoms follow. Drs dont know what the cause is!!! Im happy to eat Raw and enjoy it-its one one of the very few pleasures left in my life x

I’m new to this raw food experience and after doing one week completely raw myself and my husband fell off the wagon big style, we’ve decided to get back on a bit slower this time, glad to know that it happens to most!

I’m actually thinking to come of trees…. Mainly on Raw food for a few weeks but I lost some weight and I now feel like i have cold ( cleansing reaction?).
Also I not sure who is telling the truth about Raw food diet. High fat or low fat, more Carbohydrate or more protein??? What about bone and teeth health?
There are so much I need to know and time to eat through out the day and I do not want “eating” to be priority of my life…

Personally, after being an vegan for over fifteen years, then going back to just eating chicken, fish and turkey, then back to vegan and now raw for nine months. I was on the right path according to my blood type, I have to be an vegan due to the fact my body can not digest meats it makes it sluggish and less energized than when I eat vegetable proteins. These ideas came from within by listening to my body. I did not take into consideration that my blood has already predisposed my eating habits. Learning how to cook and becoming a gourmet chef also helped along the way as well. So I am grafeful to have listened to my body(within) and learn what islive food and what is dead food. For this is the only body I have and it is of the utmost importants that I maintain a healthly and vibrant temple.

mg777
namaste’

I’m about 80% raw MOST OF THE TIME, the rest is pretty healthy, MOST OF THE TIME. But when i do eat something cooked thats not so healthy, yeah sure i don’t feel as good physically after it, but i no longer worry over it or even have to forgive myself for it. I just let it be. I guess thats what monkeys do when they fall out of trees. They just get on with the next thing, which is probably staying on the branches! Until the next time they fall off…:)

Hi Russell…….I agree…..raw food is a way of life not a diet. I’m slowly trying to add more raw food to my lifestyle instead of cooked foods so the more I read and do the more I learn.I still like my chicken and steak every now and then but if I can learn to prepare more vegetable dishes raw, all the better for my health.  I’m making my own raw breads, kale chips and nut based icecreams and love them all. 

I agree with raw food is a way of life.  Being a beginner, I’m still learning, but through the years I have learned to be patient with myself like I’m patient with my students.  Part of growing is to learn to love yourself.  If you love yourself, you will do the right thing by your body and if you “fall out of the tree”, you won’t beat yourself up over it.  Just brush yourself off and get back in that tree.  In Genesis, the Lord told Noah what animals he could eat right after the flood, but He also told Noah “until the Earth is replenished”.  God granted Noah permission to eat animals until plant life came back to the planet; however, man did not obey and continued to eat meat which has caused many of our health problems.  That confirmed to me that we should eat plant based food and not animal products.  That’s one of the reasons I made the decision to go raw vegan.

I have trouble balancing the tastes/food preferences (carnivore) of my husband and 3 children as well as the time factor ( seems like it takes me more time searching for recipes and what I want to make than the actual preparation time-maybe I actually am addicted to reading recipes??who knows) and the other factor is budget. I am essentially preparing two different meals at supper time…one for me and one for the family. They are not quite as into raw food as me. So alot of the time the desire is there to prepare my raw food supper but alas, time runs out as the needs of the family trump my own “indulgent” food choices. I end up eating what they have for supper or just snacking on something healthy instead of going hungry..,.maybe fasting would be a better option??

Anyways, 7 years ago when I first made the connection between diet and health there were definite “falling out of the tree” moments. I have done better in recent years. Now I see it as a choice, to preserve my sanity or to preserve my body. It switches back and forth and I just go with it cause I know I love Raw food, it’s what I gravitate towards. Most days I eat well  so I don’t beat myself up over the odd “bad” meal.

Hi Russell, Yes, raw food is definitely a lifestyle, not a diet.  I am adding raw food into my diet(vegetarian) – seem to be able to go raw at breakfast and lunch but evening meal harder. I am new to raw foods and still in the learning process and need to get more creative. Thanks for your support and your delicious recipes.
In Gratitude
brooke

Fun and encouraging article , I enjoyed reading it . As long as we are breathing there is always room for improvement in our lives :)

I am just beginning this lifestyle and I love your videos and recipes. Thank you.

I just discovered raw food about a month ago, so I’ve never actually been on the wagon, and not really sure how to get on! I’m 9 months pregnant so probably not the best time to start anyway, but have tried a few raw recipes, as I became totally sick of eating cooked food. I wanted to give my baby the best start in life, and spent one day, almost 80% raw and got a glimpse of how good it would feel if I could keep up a raw diet. But now I am battling nasea and food aversions, which are getting worse by the day. Now most days I’m on a diet of chips, ice cream, and cheese, as well as a few raw food dessert treats. I’d really like to start afresh when I’m breast feeding and give up this terrible diet, but with pregnancy cravings, I just don’t feel in control of what I eat anymore, I was almost vegan before I became pregnant so not sure what went wrong! How do we get on the wagon, and try to stay on it, at least most of the time? I have a lot to learn. 

Russell, 

I have been enjoying your receipes for some time now and it’s such a magical experience,  full of flavour and rich taste! I honestly don’t know how I would have managed to stay raw without discovering you.  Thank you so much!

One of the most interesting and even I would say enlightening moments in my raw life was during my summer  vacation, when I had a tour of south of France and Provence and spent a few days in various locations, which excluded the possibility of eating any raw food (except maybe for some boring salads).  

By going back to eating cooked “normal” food, my initial feeling was one of regression, of having wasted down the drain all my raw food experience up to that moment. However, on second thoughts, I realized the following positive things: (i) I had not missed cooked food nor was I feeling any particular pleasure in eating it again (although French food is one of my all time favourites) and (ii) it struck me just how obviousely different I was feeling after eating cooked food (e.g. continousely hungry and lacking  the energy I am used to) compared to eating raw food.

After coming back home, I went back to raw food, ultimately convinced it’s a natural choice for me and one of the best I’ve ever made. I do have moments when I eat certain cooked dishes (especially at social events) but without having any guilty feelings about it because raw food is a conscious choice not an obligation or a diet which I impose on myself.

It’s a good positive way of looking at it. You’re right. It’s not a diet, it’s a life style. I started mid-July while on vacation in Grand Marais, Minnesota on Lake Superior. They have a whole foods co-op which was visited daily. Recently there was a 2-week compromise when the food processor broke. Now there’s a new processor and a 5-tray dehydrator.

Thanks for posting, it is so true and what is great about what you are doing is educating us and giving us better ideas and ways to prepare quick and easy food, so that we are not apt to fall out of that tree….

This is all still relatively new to me being vegetarian for the last six years, moving on to becoming vegan, and finally adding much more raw food recipes to my diet. At this point I’ve not committed to a 100% raw diet, but certainly there is more in my life than ever. I never thought that I could commit to a vegan diet because I thought it would be too difficult. I proved myself wrong on that, so I did learn not to say that I won’t commit to a complete raw diet because it would be too hard. What I’m learning from you is beyond what I had ever thought a raw diet could be, so it’s VERY possible that a complete raw diet can become a reality for me.

More than anything, I love the looks I get from people (like I have three eyes or something) when I talk about a raw food diet. Then I show them your website, and some of your recipes! They flat out freak.

My husband does eat meat on occasion, but none of it makes its way into our home. He’s very supportive of my choices, and I’m working on turning his around.   I believe his time will come, but he’s just not ready right now.

I totally understand “falling out of the tree”. You just pick yourself up, and keep on going! You have to walk with purpose, and you will indeed succeed. Never stop trying is my motto!

Thanks!  I needed that!

Good article.  My favorite thing to make right now is onion bread.  It has become a staple in my diet. What I love about it is that I can put any other dried fruits and seeds that I want in it. YUMMY!!!
Pam

Thank you Russell,   I enjoyed this very mcuh – well and truely fell out of the tree on Xmas Day but had given myself permission to do this and am now going back to 100% raw.   It was interesting how bad I my boidy felt after having “Xmas goodies”   I have now relearnt that to feel really well I need to be 100% raw.
Deep down I knew but my mind keeps telling me that just a litle buit of “processed food” will not hurt me and every now and then I have to relearn that it willl definitely make me feel really horrible, headachy and sick.

Happy New Year everyone and I am off to enjoy a green smoothie.

Rae  Brisbane Australia