Preparing for raw

Unlike my colleagues, I did have a last supper, and a fine one at that (thank you, Dish).

But I also started moving onto raw foods last week, making a (mostly successful) effort to keep raw for breakfast and lunch.

Those meals aren't complicated: Fruit smoothie for breakfast, guacamole and salad for lunch. Easy. And I don't mind repetition, either, so I could happily survive on the same fare for the whole 30 days. Dinner is going to be trickier, though, and will necessitate a trip to the grocery store after work for the makings of avocado gazpacho or nut pate.

Speaking of which, my grocery bill last week dwarfed Joann's: I spent nearly four times what I normally do. Some of that was staple food – almond butter, raw cashews, a probiotic digestive supplement – but organic fruits and vegetables ain't cheap.

My shopping haul included (all produce is organic unless otherwise noted):

• Four avocados
• Two bunches of  bananas
• Two pounds of conventional strawberries
• A half-pound of conventional blueberries
• Sea salt
• Almond butter
• Almond milk
• Two conventional jalepeno peppers
• Two tomatoes
• One green pepper
• Flax seeds
• Three oranges
• Two-thirds of a pound of kale
• Four pounds of celery

I confess, my kitchen is not terribly well equipped for raw foods. Although I have a blender, many of the raw recipes I've looked at so far call for a food processor and/or a dehydrator. I'm not keen on laying out the cash for either, which is going to call for creativity on my part when it comes to making dinner.

Comments

[Flannery]

Thank god for facebook stalker feeds or I probably never would have found this blog.

Good luck to you three! I'm really interested to see how you all manage to sustain this for a month. Not just cravings-wise but meeting minimum nutritional needs and making this work in the real world.

Also, is coffee raw? How's that going to work?

Eric replies: Coffee is not raw -- the beans are roasted -- so I will be deviating from rawness if I have coffee (battling a cold today, so I didn't have any).

[mary]

Eric:
Way to go! I wish you all the best with your participation in this experiement and to the other two gals as well! I'm curious to read about your experiences as I have been reading a lot about the benefits of eating raw. Not sure if it's for me but will be reading the paper and this blog for your reports!

One comment about your food purchases. You might not want to purchase conventional strawberries again if you can't find organic. Non-organic strawberries are highly sprayed with pesticides so are not a good choice. Some conventional fruits and veggies are ok but others can be "deadly" and strawberries are one of them.

Anyway, just wanted to add my two cents but I am proud of you and wish you well!

M :)

[Bette Shaw]

Eric....I love your grocery list.Inspired me! When I shop for these foods,hear the bill,and rejoice....because my health insurance and energy inducers cost so LITTLE.Hooray....have the best 30 days ever!!!