Raw Uncooked Food in Winter

by Esmé Stevens from http://www.thebestofrawfood.com/

You like the idea of raw uncooked food. But you live in a cold climate and it's winter. You've been working in the garden outside in the cold wind. Snow flakes are falling and you're cold to the bone.

You're going inside put on warm slippers and sit down at the fireplace. If you could just warm up with some hot chocolate or warm soup. The salad in the fridge you prepared this morning is the last thing you want right now.

It's one thing to be a raw foodist on Hawaii, but eating raw food in a cold climate in winter time is a completely different story. I currently live in the Netherlands. It's December now - windy and rainy. There are no (local) fresh fruits available and most people want to warm up.

How to enjoy eating raw uncooked food when you live in a cold climate is one of the questions I'm asked most here. But when you know what to do you might feel quite nice and comfortable in winter.

Gabriel Cousens did research in Alaska and found that 95% of the raw foodist were successful. He asked them what they did and I'm sure these tips might help you to stay warm in the winter. I'll write their suggestions down below.

Why do you feel cold?

When starting a raw food diet, many people release toxins. This might make you feel cold. Further when you're raw, you're body temperature drops. It takes some time to get used to the new body temperature.

However, after a while on raw food, your arteries clear up and your circulation improves. Actually, most people that have been eating raw uncooked food for a while say that they're never cold! They even swim in ice cold water in the winter. So it seems to be a transition issue.

But there are things you can do to stay warm in winter. First of all, it's a misconception that you can only eat COLD foods when you're on a raw food diet. YOU CAN EAT WARM FOODS, just don't heat them above 120F (water 160F). Most people cook their food and then let it cool off until about 110F before they eat it anyway. So you may heat your raw uncooked foods up to 110F , just the right time for eating them...

Tips from Alaskan raw foodists

- More exercise.
- Cayenne in socks and cloves.
- Add more heating spices to food, cayenne, ginger, peppercorn.
- Raw doesn't mean your food has to be cold. You can warm food up to 120 for 2 minutes. (just stir and when it becomes to warm to touch.)
warm up plates.
- Take cold salad from fridge in dehydrator/oven for few minutes to make it room temperature. - Put warm sauces/salad dressings over your salad.

These tips should help you to feel warmer while eating raw uncooked food. If you feel you need to eat grains in order to stay warm, choose the whole non stored varieties such as quinoa, millet and buckweed.