Are There Must Have Pantry Ingredients For A Raw Food Diet?

Reader Question: My fiancé and I are beginning our raw lifestyle journey and we would love to know a couple of pantry/fridge staples for going raw!!!

We already have a dehydrator and a juicer and we have an organic produce box delivered every week! Thanks for taking the time to help us with our transition!

Andrew's Answer:

A healthy raw food diet doesn't match particularly well with traditional ideas about food storage because healthy food will rot quickly in your cupboard. Generally speaking, if it doesn't rot in a week or two, you probably don't want to eat it.

There are plenty of raw gurus out there who suggest you buy their expensive vitamin pills, supplements and super foods, fancy exotic salt, and other items that will last for years in your cupboards, but these are a waste of your money and your health.

Fruit Boxes

Similarly, you want to avoid raw oils, and severely limit your intake of raw nuts and seeds, which can wreak havoc on your system by flooding it with fat.

A Different Paradigm Of Eating:

For optimal health, you want to eliminate or severely limit all dehydrated food, the stuff that lasts a long time. If nothing else, these foods will rot your teeth.

What do you stock up on instead? Fresh fruits and vegetables will be your mainstay, and require a new kind of shopping and storage expertise.

To save money and eliminate wasted time, you'll want to start shopping wholesale.

When you've got a large amount of produce in your house, you'll have to start thinking about ripening it so it's ready when you need it.

Storing fruit properly also takes some thinking.

Some Exceptions:

Dates partially dry themselves out on the tree, and they can last several months in a cool, dry environment. They can also be frozen for later use in smoothies, etc.

Ripe bananas can also be frozen and used for "banana ice cream," or smoothies.

Although many people people may balk at me considering them a staple due to their size, watermelons will store for a surprising amount of time. I've eaten watermelons a month after purchase and the they were still great. I'm not sure just how long they'll last, but I talked to one farmer who said two and a half months.

I once bought a truckload from a farmer at the end of September when the watermelon season was ending and got to extend their availability out a bit. It was a nice way to enter the fall.

Following Up:

Lack of oils getting you down? Learn how to make delicious low fat raw dressings and sauces that will spice up your salads.

Learn how to eat a healthy raw food diet.

Figure out what foods are harmful and which are healthy.