By Natalie Norman
Making Raw Vegan Food Simple
Have you ever thought about starting a raw food diet but felt totally overwhelmed by how to do it?
Here’s the secret: Keep it simple!
Start with everyday ingredients that you can find in most supermarkets or even grow in your own garden. Build fast and simple raw food recipes into your daily diet and before long your body will crave them! Over time you will naturally increase the quantities of raw plants that you eat, and in no time you will discover that most if not all of your calories are coming from fresh, juicy, tasty fruits and veggies.
So, exhale. You don’t need to soak, sprout, dehydrate, and spend 24 hours to make a raw vegan pancake topped with lavender-infused cashew cream. Those kinds of foods you’ll find in many gourmet raw food recipe books are beautiful, tasty, and festive, but they are just not realistic for most of your everyday meals in the long-term. And I don’t know a single long-term raw foodist who relies on complicated, time-consuming meals.
I am a busy working mom of two very active boys, and I could never have stayed raw going on nine years if my diet were that complicated on a daily basis. I need my food fast, easy, nutritious, energizing and delicious.
The longer you consume an all-raw or even high-raw vegan diet, you’ll begin to notice that your taste buds change, too. Plants harvested straight from your garden taste amazing with very little preparation. Not only do they taste great, but they are also packed with nutrition.
Confession – I have no green thumb. But I have successfully grown the following fruits and vegetables with almost no maintenance:
Zucchini
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Kale
Peppers
Herbs like cilantro and basil
Heck, I even planted a plum tree and an apple tree a few years back, and now I’ve got fresh organic fruit coming out of my ears every year! Try kale and strawberries if you are new to gardening. Those plants spread like the most wonderful weeds, my kind of gardening. Plus, kale can even grow during the cold winter months.
Plants like the ones listed above are not only easy to grow, but you can also find them just about anywhere, and at reasonable prices. In addition to your neighborhood grocery store, check your local farmer’s markets, as well. You’ll find great deals and hopefully develop mutually beneficial relationship that supports your local farmers. You will be amazed how inexpensive a plant-based diet can be when you keep it simple.
This colorful salad contains mostly foods grown in my back yard!
Late & Lazy Summer Garden Salad
1 head green leaf lettuce
2 medium zucchini
2 tbsp raw hemp seed
2-3 sweet red peppers
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Juice from 1 lime
Instructions:
Break up the washed lettuce with your hands, then toss in a large bowl with all other ingredients, squeezing lime juice all over and tossing a bit more to let all the juices mingle.
You can stick the tongs of a fork into the lime halves, then squeeze around the fork in order to extract more juice.
If you want zucchini noodles as pictured, slice them with a spiral slicing tool. Otherwise, you can grate it or even slice it into strips with a potato peeler. There is no wrong way; it’s totally up to you!
Always have fun in the kitchen. It’s a place of health and joy!