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Staying Raw
September 21, 2004, by Thomas Keenliside
You've just made one of the most crucial, health-affirming
decisions in your life – you've decided to stop consuming
cooked foods. Now the real adventure begins - how to stay
on your raw food path. Not only are you swimming upstream,
against the currents of your surrounding social life, but
you are also hearing diverse and conflicting messages about
what you should and shouldn't be eating. You must remain strong
and steadfast in your sense of purpose.
The first thing to realize is: eating raw foods should bring
you a positive state of personal empowerment and great clarity.
Only you need to decide what to put into your body, and soon
you will be able to listen to your body tell you what it wants.
Don't worry about being 100% raw. The more raw, unprocessed
and organically grown foods you eat, the better you will feel.
And if you succumb to temptation and eat something ‘bad',
don't beat yourself up about it. The fact is that after you've
been raw for a while, you will have such terrible side effects
from ingesting cooked food that you won't need to torture
yourself mentally. Just step back onto your path and treat
yourself to something nice, your favourite raw treat. Try
to surround yourself with other raw-food people. There is
a burgeoning community of us here on the lower mainland with
regular potlucks and social gatherings. Get out and socialize,
share ideas and recipes, offer to help others and don't be
afraid to ask for support in return. It's not an easy path
to follow, and just as life has its ups and downs, peaks and
valleys, so does staying raw.
We are constantly being tempted by the sights and smells
around us as cooked food smells so good, especially when those
odours are subliminally associated with the comfort foods
of our childhood. It's just an illusion though, the hollow
facade of so many things that we are expected to consume in
a spiritually bankrupt society that is based on conspicuous
consumption. Turn off your television, stop being bombarded
by those subliminal messages that tell you what to eat, how
to look and live your life. Go into a supermarket and observe
the way people stare at the packaging of those lifeless foodstuffs
that have been processed and packaged for the shelf. They're
no longer buying what's inside; they're just consuming the
idea, the image on the package. It's scary! This is important
to remember that when you find yourself craving something
cooked.
Decide on alternative, uncooked treats that you can have
to satisfy those cravings. Once you lose the taste for cooked
food, you will be amazed at how good raw organic foods taste,
how satisfying it feels in your tummy. Things like baby carrots,
grapes, cherry tomatoes, radishes, plums, celery sticks and
sweet peppers become great snack foods. Don't be afraid to
experiment with food. Eating raw is about being creative and
celebrating the spontaneity of life. Have fun with your food
and explore the endless variety of naturally grown fruits
and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Try shopping locally and seasonally,
supporting organic growers and markets. Make up your own dishes,
or take cooked food recipes and convert them into raw ones.
Sometimes it might not work and you'll end up throwing out
your creation, but usually it turns out surprisingly good,
which will give you such a positive, satisfying feeling.
Listen to ideas of other raw foodists and try them out if
they sound worthwhile, but ultimately it is for you to decide
what works best for your body. There are no rules! More and
more, raw foodists are succumbing to what is known as ‘the
guru game,' where an assertive and often self-righteous personality
decides what you should be eating. Try to listen impartially
to what is being said, and then make your own informed decisions,
taking care to observe the effects of different foods on yourself.
Always be mindful of the great benefits of what you're doing.
You are creating positive thought and intention in a world
that is suffocated by negativity. You are helping the environment
by eating organically grown foods in their natural state,
saving considerable costs of energy that is used to process
and cook foods, and eliminating the wasteful packaging that
ends up in the garbage that is suffocating our natural world.
Support yourself in this great endeavor by finding a regular
spiritual practice like meditation, yoga or Tai Chi, and try
to spend as much time as you can out in the natural world
amongst the trees and by the ocean, away from the polluting
effects of artificiality. It is important that you breathe
fresh air and absorb natural sunlight into your skin and eyes;
a vital part of any raw food diet. Most importantly, always
trust your intuition and let the fruits of creation guide
you in living a healthy and conscious existence.
Raw and Living Food Articles and Links to Articles:
On Site Articles:
Raw Health
Fruits, Roots, Stems, Greens, Flowers, and Nuts
Growing Food
Lifestyle
Off Site Articles:
Raw Health
Fasting and Cleanses
Growing Food
Misc.
Free Books Online:
- Soil and
Health Library - This is a specialist library about holistic agriculture,
holistic health and self-sufficient homestead living. Most of the titles in
this library are out of print. Many are quite hard to find. Here are a few
by Shelton:
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