How To Make Raw Food EASY!

I'm often asked how I make my Raw Vegan lifestyle seem so easy. Here are some tips for doing just that:

1) Keep is simple!
Don't make a bunch of different recipes with different sides and different desserts, etc. Simply pick out 3-5 recipes you'll make for the week. For example, this week I'm making zucchini pasta with my famous marinara. This will be our dinner for 2-3 nights. When I went food shopping today, I also bought ingredients for my Harvest Soup so we'll have this for 2-3 days (lunch) served alongside a fresh salad. I'll make a quick and easy salad dressing (like this, Fat Free Strawberry Ginger or Olive Vinaigrette or Deviled Mango), which will last for about 3 days worth of lunch salads. Making and eating Raw Vegan food in this fashion saves you so much time!

Salads are easy...get the prewashed lettuce (give it a quick rinse anyway), dice up cucumbers and carrots (use different veggies next week to get balanced variety), toss some raisins or dried cranberries in and top with delicious dressing.

Go shopping twice a week to make life easy and have the freshest food on hand.

Don't worry about eating the same thing for a few days in a row, it's so delicious, you'll look forward to the third meal of zucchini pasta marinara, for example, as much as you did for the first meal. By having a few different recipes for the second half of the week, you'll get plenty of variety.

2) Keep things on hand!
I always have raw crackers, desserts (cookies, ice cream, mousse, cheesecake), milks, cheese dip and pate in the freezer. So, all I have to do the night before we're going to eat it is take it out and thaw. Pick one or two days a month to make these recipes and freeze them. Think you don't have room in your freezer? Think again...use a Food Saver and maximize your use of the space.

Keep some bags of frozen fruit on hand for those times you run out of fresh produce.

3) Liquids are high energy and easy!
I can't say enough about how healthy, easy and high energy liquids can be in your diet. I start every single day with either Plant Blood or a smoothie (it's usually green). Often (and very often) I stick with liquids for most of the day. This ensures I have extra energy and it's so healthy because it gives your digestive system a break. So, one of the best tips for making the Raw Vegan lifestyle easy and extra healthy, drink many of your meals. Smoothies only take minutes to make. Depending on your juicer, Plant Blood can take a little longer, but still, it's quite fast. Want a meal to keep you filled up for hours that is still smoothie style? You should try this great stuff, The Ultimate Meal.

4) Eat good ol' deliciously ripe fruit (sweet and non-sweet)!
Another smart and extra easy plan is to have plain fruit for a whole meal or even just a snack, sweet and/or non sweet. You all know I love my summer time watermelon, and could eat it all day long. Other examples: I often nosh on just cucumbers for a light lunch (sometimes I sprinkle a little Himalayan crystal salt and/or dried herbs - so refreshing) and to make it more substantial, I'll add 1/2 a diced avocado. Or, for more richness, I'll dive into a phytonutrient, tropical bounty of mango, bananas, and pineapple. It truly doesn't get easier than that.

For other great tips on living the Raw Vegan lifestyle with ease, check out my ebook, Kristen's Raw: The EASY Way to Get Started & Succeed With Raw Food.