Many people find a raw food diet life changing. They are amazed that something so simple could make such a difference in their health, mood, and energy. When you eat a raw diet, the food becomes the medicine, gradually healing the body by providing essential nutrients. Most people experience some difference within a few days.

Keeping Life Simple

Raw cuisine is elegant, nourishing food made with basic kitchen techniques. This chapter will provide you with an introduction to raw foods prep, with checklists to simplify shopping and menu planning. You'll be surprised by how easy this approach is and what it can mean for you, including:

• Less time in the kitchen — With these recipes, you can prepare a scrumptious raw gourmet meal in about twenty minutes — equivalent in elegance to a cooked meal that might take an hour to prepare.

• Faster cleanup — With this approach, there are no dirty pots or greasy pans to scrub.

• Lower grocery bills — Some people report that they've cut their spending at the grocery store by over 25 percent. If you have a discount natural food store in your area or if you buy staples in bulk, you may save even more.

An Ecofriendly Lifestyle

When you eat locally grown foods, you reduce your carbon footprint — you're no longer using processed foods manufactured six months ago, stored in a box or can, and shipped thousands of miles across the country. In contrast, food from local growers provides you with the flavor of fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden. Eating locally grown or homegrown foods also helps you:

• Be empowered — You have the option of growing your own sprouts and herbs at home, grinding your own flour, and making your own bread. This enables you to be less involved with food as a consumer and more as a producer.

• Create less waste — Whenever you simplify your lifestyle, you consume less packaging, plastic, paper, and aluminum, which means less waste that will end up in the landfills.

• Conserve water — A vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water a day, whereas a meat-based diet requires more than 4,000 gallons daily: The simpler lifestyle consumes less than 10 percent of the water.

Starting with the Basics

When people visit their doctor, they usually hear the recommendations, “Cut back on the red meat. Lower your salt intake. Stop eating fried foods.” You'd never hear your doctor say, “Cut back on your fruits and vegetables.”

Most people need to eat more fruits and vegetables, but that raises the question of how to prepare them so that they taste really good. This book will give you hundreds of new ideas, delicious recipes, and a step-by-step guide to eating raw. You can tailor your approach to your lifestyle and your response to the food. Remind yourself that you don't have to eat 100 percent raw to enjoy the health benefits of this wonderful cuisine. Proceed at your own pace.