Finding The Ingredients For Your Raw Food Diet

Raw food diets have become very popular with many people throughout the world. This kind of diet provides many health benefits and advantages to all who use it. However, getting started in a raw food diet can be a bit of a challenge, not only in the actual transition from a traditional diet to a raw food diet, but also where to go to find the foods for it. The aim of this article is to help you find those foods.

Because of the interest and growth in raw food dieting there are some raw food specialty markets available in some locations. This is especially true for the larger cities where there are more people, all with different eating interests. Some people, who live in big cities, may be fortunate enough to have one of these stores in the city in which they live. If you don't have a raw food store near you, do not worry.

Your local grocery store has always carried many types of raw foods, and many of these stores are expanding their raw food inventories to meet the ever increasing demand for raw food products. Raw foods that have always been stocked in your grocery store are all your vegetable needs, which are located in the produce section. Often, this section will also carry bagged nuts, including sunflower and pumpkin seeds. In addition, you should be able to find sprouts and organically grown produce. Farmer markets are another hot spot for finding practically any raw produce that you might like.

Around many cities, out in the country, are farm lands owned by private farmers. Many of these farmers sell portions of their crops, at a stand along the road side of their farms. The good thing about these vegetables sold at these stands is that they are very fresh and the variety is often larger than what you would get at the grocery store. The down side is that the pesticides are generally unwashed of pesticides.

Raw grains can sometimes be a little more difficult to find, especially those of a specialty kind. However, many grocery stores do carry a limited type, such as raw oats. If you don't have an alternative foods store near you or can't find that special you want you may be able to go on-line and order them.

One advantage of a raw food diet is the costs. Because you have basically eliminated meat products from your shopping list and are not buying prepackaged foods you could easily find your bill at the checkout counter to be much less than it has been in the past.

Another advantage of raw food diets is that many raw foods can be grown right in your own backyard. Most vegetables and some fruits are fairly easy to grow, especially if you have a green thumb. Carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, strawberries, green beans, are examples of raw foods that can be grown in the back yard and some of these can even be grown in pots on the patio. Both tomato and strawberry plants grow very well in pots and do look attractive placed in the right spot.

An advantage of growing your own is that you don't have chemicals and pesticides. Many foodist seek an organic raw food diet and growing your own is one sure way to get organically grown foods. As the grower you are able to control what you use to help your garden grow and protect your plants from the invasion of insects. And besides garden can be nice places to hang out. Toiling the soil of the garden is very relaxing, gratifying, and fun for many people.

Raw foods are actually all around us and available for our use and our health.


 

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Vegetarian Table

What does the typical vegetarian dining table look like? The answer is – just like any other dining table. The only difference is that there won't be any meat on it. Vegetarians give up meat for a healthier eating style, so their dining table consists mainly of vegetables and fruits. But most people can't really tell. Why?

Well, the truth is that there are many recipes and dishes that can be adapted so that they don't include meat. For example, instead of adding meat to their spaghetti sauce, they just add some fresh mushrooms and onions and find that it is just as satisfying, if not more. The vegetarian dining table will have a lot of vegetables and healthy foods that look very appetizing and often taste even better.

Back in the 1960's, my aunt was a "hardcore" vegetarian. She wouldn't eat anything she didn't grow herself. That meant there was no meat at all, no fish, and no milk on her dining room table. When I went to visit her at the young age of 10, I was appalled. How could she possibly make lasagna without cheese – and living in Wisconsin of all places! As I watched her work flour and water into a dough and then cut them into lasagna noodles, I started to get very interested although not excited at that point.

Then she and I went out to her garden with a large basket and began picking. We gathered tomatoes, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and other ingredients that I really can't remember in detail. All I really do remember was thinking "How in the world will this combine together to become lasagna?"

Well, we started chopping and mincing and combining and before I knew it there was a pan in the oven that was cooking and it smelled amazing. To say I was apprehensive to take my first bite is an understatement. We sat down at my aunt's dining room table and she served me a nice big slice of vegetarian lasagna. Apprehensively, I picked up my fork and took my first bite. It was amazing!

The point of my whole diatribe was that even though there was no Italian sausage, no ricotta or mozzarella cheese, and no parmesan cheese, my aunt had brought a delicious lasagna to the table that was completely healthy, amazingly delicious, and it all came straight from the hands of my own aunt.

So, please remember that if you have a vegetarian in the family, even though they aren't using meat in their dishes, their dining room table might just contain foods that will surprise you.


 

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Cleanse Yourself and do Body Detox for Better Health

There's fastfood and processed food and practically a deluge of preservatives in the food we take in these days. Our awareness on healthy lifestyle, particularly healthy eating started at the height of the uproar over the use of genetically-modified organisms of fastfood chains like McDonalds.

People are starting to be more aware of their food intake, starting a new hype over the need for detoxification. Detoxification is the process of removing toxic substances from the body. Primarily referred to as a treatment for alcohol and drug dependence, body detox can also refer to the use of diets, herbs and other methods to remove toxins from the body for general health.

So, are you thinking of cleansing your body? Here are a few tips for healthy and wise and effective detoxification.

Go for a non-toxic lifestyle. This means going for natural food, drinking lots of fluids, especially water, exercising regularly and avoiding toxic food like junkfood, canned good, and other processed food. At the same time, you can try out a Detox Diet that will cleanse your body and give relief to body aches, allergies, digestive problems and other related concerns.

If you're on a detox program, take as much fresh fruits and vegetables as possible, nuts, beans, rice and grains. On the other hand, take note not to indulge in sugar, caffeine, yeast, alcohol, chocolates and other food rich in additives and preservatives.

Plan your detox program. You can do a weekend fast. It is good to start on a Friday, with the weekend giving you the transition in and out of your detox program. Likewise, make sure that your detox plan is something that you can follow. Detoxifying does not mean starving yourself.

Appreciate nature. Exercise outdoors. The fresh air can do wonders for your lungs and circulation. If you live near the beach, it's always good to take a walk or sprint early morning by the seashore. Have a balanced schedule of activity that will give you time for work and fun at the same time. Try yoga or pilates. Skip rope or walk in your neighborhood. Do anything to keep that body of yours up and running and always on the go.

Go for the spa. Take a shower and do skin brushing to help you detoxify. Rubbing your skin improves circulation and helps you shed off those dead skin layer.

Make sure that you have a regular bowel movement. Eat food rich in fiber. There's also tea and other herbs which can help aid bowel movement. When you're detoxifying, bowel movement is important as it lessens the possibility of toxins being absorbed into the body.

Be positive. A healthy mind means a healthy body. Rid yourself of all negative thoughts. They're added toxins to the body. Smile and have the will and the commitment to your detox plan.

It's never too late to start cleansing yourself, especially your body. With our hurried lifestyle in this up and busy and polluted world, we're all entitled to some personal pleasures as simple as taking care of our health. Body detox may be as simple as ridding yourself of your negative thoughts by taking a walk in the park and letting the fresh air wash over your thoughts. Or it can be as complicated as following a strict detox diet to eliminate toxins in our deigestive system. Whatever it is, the important thing is, you find a way to cleanse yourself.


 

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Veganism and the United States

Have you stopped to consider exactly what it is that you specifically can do to help improve the earth? Most people never really stop to consider the options that are open to them. Rather they simply read an article or see a clip on the news that looks interesting and decide to become involved in whatever they just read about or observed. Little time is typically taken to even ensure that the chosen activity is a proper event and typically even less time is taken to actually participate in the activity as well. Veganism has been considered by many to fit into this description, after all how many people actually choose to knowingly avoid eating all animal products?

In reality, there are a lot of people who choose to avoid eating animal products. The United States has been well known as a melting pot for many years, and this extends far beyond ethnic cultures. The number of different diets that are consumed in the United States is incredible, Vegan is just one of the many choices that are available to people and it certainly is not the most popular. Anybody who has ever done much research is well aware that there is a huge plethora of options available; however, some are easier to handle than others are.

In the United States the push towards a Vegan lifestyle has primarily been attributed towards trying to be much more earth friendly. With so many consumers struggling to help protect the environment any way possible it has become a much more popular diet choice than previously which has helped to substantially increase the popularity of the method as well. While many people are uncertain on the exact number of Vegans in the country, it is for certain that the numbers are growing steadily.

Vegans are certainly finding a lot of support, with several members of the government also being predominant vegans lately it is a trend that is growing even more support by the day. Of course, the idea of protecting the earth is not something that is only native to the United States, there are plenty of other countries that are just as concerned with protecting the planet, however the Vegan lifestyle is something that is extremely popular in the United States as compared to other countries.

It is expected that the Vegan lifestyle will remain increasingly popular. While many people have argued that it is a lifestyle that would simply become classified as a fad the number of people choosing to live as practicing vegans has continued to grow and will likely further increase. Growing in numbers is an incredibly helpful benefit that has helped the Vegan lifestyle to continue growing rather than turning stagnant.

Trying to decide if a Vegan lifestyle is perfect for you is not always simple; there are many questions that you need to be able to answer in regards to your own personal preferences and eating habits as well as feelings in order to determine if this is truly a lifestyle that you are comfortable leading. It is very important to note that many people who are not Vegans are still equally concerned about the environment as well as animals, however they choose to practice their beliefs in other ways which will allow them to still eat meats and other animal products if they so choose.


 

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Vegetarian Sushi

What do you think of when we write the words "vegetarian sushi"? Fish, right? Well, sushi can be raw fish, so it is inherently vegetarian, now isn't it? But sushi isn't always raw fish. It is a combination of a lot of different ingredients that come together into a great piece of food that is popular all over the world.

How do you make vegetarian sushi? I have no idea! But I had a feeling you'd like to know, so I did a little research. I have found a couple of recipes for vegetarian sushi that you might want to try out yourself, so try out the following:

Vegetarian Sushi

6 cups water
3 cups short-grain brown or white rice

Any combination of the following vegetables:

cucumber
zucchini
green bell pepper
red bell pepper
carrots
daikon radish
asparagus
scallions
mushrooms
sesame seeds
avocado fresh spinach

2/3 cup rice wine vinegar
6 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 package pre-toasted nori sheets
Prepared wasabi paste

Preparation: Bring the water to a boil. Add the rice, lower the heat, and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Seed and julienne the cucumber and julienne the vegetables. Steam these vegetables, except avocado which should be raw, over boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

Mix together the vinegar and brown sugar, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. When the rice is cooked, stir in the vinegar and brown sugar mixture, and cool to room temperature.

When the vegetables and rice are cool enough to handle, lay out the first nori sheet. Place a handful of rice in the center of the sheet, moisten your hands with water, and gently but firmly press the rice to the edges of the sheet so that there is a thin layer of rice in a line on the sheet. Spread a bit of wasabi paste on top of the rice, approximately 1 1/2" from one edge of the nori sheet. Lay vegetable strips parallel to the wasabi in a width of approximately 1" along the wasabi line.

Carefully wrap the closest edge over the vegetables, then roll the nori delicately but tightly. Seal by moistening the edge of the nori. Once the nori sheet is completely rolled, slice the roll into 6 pieces and arrange on a platter. Repeat with the remaining nori sheets.

Makes 6 rolls.

From experience, we need to say that when making this vegetarian sushi dish, be careful of the wasabi. My husband told me it was a mild horseradish type sauce, but when I had just a small taste of it, I drank every bottle of water in the house and then went to the garden hose. It can be hot, people, so be careful!


 

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