Raw Food Diet Menu
The food in its cooked form loses many of the naturally present nutrients. Following a raw food diet menu plan should help preserve these nutrients and offer maximum benefits to the development and maintenance of the different systems of the body. Main emphasis in a raw food diet is laid on green vegetables and fruits. There many facts which need to be considered before switching onto a raw food diet. Let us have a look at the important points to consider.
Raw Food Diet Menu Ideas
The foods which are cooked only up to the 118 F temperature are termed as raw food. The literal meaning of raw food can be taken as edibles which are not cooked/processed at all. However, it not possible to eat some of the foods in complete raw state. Therefore, minimal processing (cooking, frying, etc.) is allowed. Raw food is mainly used for detox i.e., for a short period of time. Let us have a look at some of the raw food menu ideas.
- It is necessary to strike a balance in terms of nutrient intake by means of raw food diet. Incorporation of a variety of vegetables in a single-day or weekly schedule must be helpful.
- Making banana pancakes is one of the ideas to make the raw food diet tasty and also heavy enough. These pancakes are prepared by mixing smashed bananas with coconut meal and cinnamon; the pancakes need to be finally dried in sunlight.
- Vegetables can be used to make various other dishes than just salads. Vegetable-based smoothies and chopped vegetable blends are amongst these dishes.
- Nuts used in this menu can be made tasty by preparing many different dishes. Preparing sauces out of nuts, nut pastes and other dishes with raw food recipes is possible.
- Smoothies, puddings, raw fruit ice creams and salads made from fruits can be used for a raw food menu. Intake of sprouted seeds along with blended vegetables is also considered to be a good idea.
There are many different raw diet plans that one can follow in day-to-day life. The sample raw food diet menus presented below should prove to be useful.
Plan 1: In the first diet plan, fruits smoothies need to be used for breakfast. One can prepare these fruit smoothies with almond milk. Vegetables and nuts should form the main part of lunch. Many different salads can be made out of vegetables. A salad/raw food dish can be made by wrapping lettuce leaves around fruits like avocado; other vegetables can also be used instead of avocado. The evening snacks should mainly include nuts like almonds, cashews, etc. A handful of nuts are enough for snacks. A whole fruit should also be included in the diet. Zucchini pasta should be the main course for dinner. Fruits, garden salad and sun tea should complete the dinner.
Plan 2: Soy milk smoothie along with a fruit need to be used for breakfast. The banana should also be used for breakfast. Cauliflower salad can be incorporated in this raw vegetable diet at the time of lunch. Along with cauliflower salad, the mushroom onion broth need to be included in the lunch. Vegetables such as cauliflower, carrot and broccoli can be used as snacks. Frying these vegetables adds to the taste. Salads need to be used for dinner. The use of salads with raisins is an option to consider.
Criticism of Raw Food Diet
The practice of switching from cooked food diet to a completely raw food diet is not recommended by many of the nutritionists. According to these nutritionists, such kind of a diet should restrict the intake of certain nutrients. The intake of some of the vital compounds, calcium, vitamin B12 and certain proteins is restricted with such a diet plan. One should therefore, be careful about making any changes to his/her diet plan; consulting a doctor beforehand is advisable. It is important to check whether one receives all the desired nutrients through his diet.
The raw food diet menu should include as many of the healthy foods (vegetables, fruits, sprouted seeds, etc.) as possible. Nuts provide the body with necessary fats; fruits are known to provide fibers. Information (in the form of ideas and plans) presented above, should make us aware of how we can satisfy nutritional needs of the body with this diet menu. One should however, consult a doctor before making any kind of major dietary changes.
