What Seeds on Raw Diet

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A raw food diet is one that focuses on uncooked and unprocessed foods—it's thought that this allows the food to retain more of its nutrients.^[1] Some raw food dieters incorporate some raw meat, fish, and dairy products into their diets, but most raw diets are primarily composed of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and seeds. To be considered raw, food cannot be cooked above 115 F (45 C), so many raw food diets consist of foods that have been juiced, blended, sprouted, soaked, or otherwise prepared without being cooked. The key to maintaining a raw food diet is planning, eating lots to consume enough calories, and making sure your refrigerator and pantry are always stocked with your favorite foods.

1. 1

   Keep your refrigerator stocked with greens. Leafy greens are an integral part of a raw diet. These go in salads, soups, juices, smoothies, and can even be used as burrito and taco substitutes. Here are some of the greens you should stock up on at the grocery store or farmers market:^[2]

   • Lettuce
   • Spinach
   • Kale
   • Chard
   • Collards
   • Beet and turnip greens
   • Dandelion greens

2. 2

   Buy fruits and vegetables in large quantities. ^[3] Fresh produce makes up the majority of a raw food diet, and some raw dieters get up to 80 percent of their calories from these foods. Your crisper should look like a rainbow when you get back from grocery shopping, so make sure to pick up produce in all colors, such as:^[4]

   • Oranges, carrots, pumpkin, peaches, and mango
   • Lemons, yellow peppers, banana, pineapple, and yellow zucchini
   • Green apples, green peppers, avocado, green beans, kiwi, and broccoli
   • Red apples, beets, tomatoes, red peppers, and strawberries,
   • Purple cabbage, egg plant, purple potatoes, grapes, and blackberries
   • White foods like potatoes, garlic, turnip, and onions

3. 3

   Try out different grains. Grains, beans, and legumes are an important part of the raw diet for the calories and nutrients they provide. While raw dieters don't cook pulses, they do sprout them to make the nutrients more bioavailable. Good grains, beans, and legumes for sprouting include:^[5]

   • Lentils
   • Millet
   • Chickpeas
   • Kidney beans
   • Peas
   • Buckwheat

4. 4

   Purchase all your favorite nuts and seeds. ^[6] Nuts and seeds are an important part of a raw diet because they provide protein, calories, healthy fats, and other vital nutrients. You can eat any kind of nut and seed you like, as long as it hasn't been roasted. Some favorites include:

   • Peanuts
   • Walnuts
   • Macadamia nuts
   • Sesame seeds
   • Sunflower seeds
   • Pine nuts
   • Chia seeds
   • Hemp hearts
   • Raw nut and seed butters

5. 5

   Stock up on raw oils. Most cooking oils that people use have been processed at high heat, making them unsuitable for raw dieters. However, you can eat cold-pressed oils on a raw diet, including cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil and cold-pressed coconut oil.^[7]

6. 6

   Don't forget snacks and other items. Raw food doesn't mean plain or boring, and there are lots of tasty treats and snacks you should always have on hand if you get peckish or want to prepare a meal. Miscellaneous items you should buy at the store include:^[8]

   • Raw cacao
   • Apple cider vinegar
   • Vanilla extract
   • Dried fruit
   • Dried coconut
   • Herbs
   • Spices
   • Dates

1. 1

   Chop fruits and veggies into bite-sized pieces. Fruits and vegetables are staples in a raw diet, and they're often eaten whole or chopped into smaller pieces for salads and cocktails. To prepare fruits and vegetables for eating this way

   • Wash them under running water and scrub hard produce with a vegetable brush
   • Pat produce dry, or spin lettuce and greens in a salad spinner
   • Remove cores, stems, and seeds
   • Leave lettuce leaves whole for tacos, or chop them into shreds for salads
   • Chop larger fruits and veggies into one-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
   • Leave smaller fruits like cherries and berries whole

2. 2

   Make salads. Raw dieters eat salad for any meal of the day. You can make a salad with any combination of fruits and veggies you like. To make any salad, simply toss together your favorite combination of bite-sized fruits and veggies in a large bowl, add dried fruit, nuts, and seeds, and dress with your favorite toppings before serving.

   • To make specific salads, you can try a basic garden salad, spinach salad with baby spinach and berries, Caprese salad with raw tomato and raw mozzarella, or fruit salad.

3. 3

   Try cold soups. Raw dieters don't eat hot soup because that would require cooking the food, but you can make raw soups with uncooked fruits and veggies. For instance, you can make a raw carrot soup by blending together:

   • 1 cup (235 ml) carrot juice
   • Half an avocado
   • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) freshly squeezed lime juice
   • A pinch of curry powder
   • A pinch of salt
   • Minced fresh cilantro (for garnish)

4. 4

   Turn fresh produce into juice. Juicing is a good way to get a quick boost of energy and extra nutrients into your diet. You can juice just about any fruit or vegetable in any combination, and can even add spices and herbs to change up the flavors.

   • Avoid juicing soft produce like avocados and bananas, as these can get caught in the juicer.
   • It's important to drink fresh juices in moderation, however, because the fiber has been removed, and this increases sugar absorption.^[9]

5. 5

   Sprout and soak seeds, nuts, and grains. Sprouting and soaking are integral in raw diets because raw dieters don't cook food, and sprouting and soaking make the nutrients easier to digest. Make sure you give yourself at least 24 hours to soak or sprout, because the process takes time.

6. 6

   Dehydrate foods instead of cooking them. Dehydrating is the process of removing water from foods at a low heat. You can do this with a dehydrator or low oven, as long as you keep the dehydrator or oven below 115 F (45 C).

   • Popular foods to dehydrate include fruits, vegetables, bread alternatives, and meat.

1. 1

   Come up with ideas for breakfast. Raw fruits and vegetables are lower in calories than other foods, so it's important to make sure that you eat three meals throughout the day, and have snacks whenever you're hungry. Breakfast is a very important meal, and there are lots of things you can eat for your first meal of the day on a raw diet, such as:^[10]

   • Fresh fruit smoothies
   • Granola
   • Raw nut milk
   • Fresh fruit
   • Oatmeal
   • Dairy or non-dairy yogurt

2. 2

   Have a few favorites for lunches. The world is your oyster when it comes to raw meals, because there are so many different types of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and seeds out there. It's good to have a few staples you can fall back on for a quick lunch though, and those could include:^[11]

   • Salad with avocado dressing
   • Raw soup
   • Raw veggies with cheese dip or hummus
   • Raw quiche
   • Raw lasagna (made with zucchini slices instead of pasta)
   • Fresh fruit with nut butter
   • Raw cheese and crackers

3. 3

   Serve up delicious dinners. Depending on the size of your lunch and your schedule, dinner may be the biggest meal of the day. When dinner is your main meal, you want to make sure you have some great ideas ready if you don't have anything planned. Here are some great and easy ideas for raw dinners:

   • Burritos (made with lettuce wraps)
   • Salad with nuts and sprouts
   • Sprouted lentils or beans
   • Raw tofu with veggies
   • Veggie burger
   • Large salad
   • Raw pizza (made in a dehydrator)
   • Sashimi^[12]

4. 4

   Make tasty snacks if you get hungry. Snacking throughout the day is encouraged if you feel hungry, so you should always have some snack ideas at the ready. Along with raw fruits and vegetables, good snacks can include:^[13]

   • Nuts
   • Seeds
   • Dried fruit
   • Granola

5. 5

   Know what to make for desserts. Just because you're on a raw diet doesn't mean you can't have dessert. In fact, raw desserts are often delicious and extremely healthy, so you can even get away with eating them as snacks and for breakfast! Some typical raw desserts include:^[14]

   • No-bake brownies and cookies that use dates and nuts rather than flour
   • No-cook puddings
   • Chia pudding
   • Cheesecake
   • Dairy or non-dairy ice cream

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• Question

  What should I eat on a raw food diet?

  

  Dee Dine
  Nutrition & Vegan Food Specialist

  Dee Dine is a Nutrition and Vegan Food Specialist and the founder of Green Smoothie Gourmet, a blog dedicated to healthy, plant-based vegan, limited ingredient recipes. Dee holds a BS in Biology/Biochemistry with an emphasis in Immunology. Dee has written two books full of healthy plant-based recipes, including chocolate desserts, snacks, juices and, wellness shots. They are: "Crazy Healthy with 4 Ingredients: Dessert, Breakfast & Snack Vegan Recipes" and "4-Ingredient Smoothies and Juices: 100 Easy Nutritious Recipes for Lifelong Health". Dee is an editor with TheFeedFeed, a crowdsourced digital cooking publication, and has been featured on BuzzFeed, Marie Claire, the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, Well + Good, and Hello Glow.

  

  Nutrition & Vegan Food Specialist

  Expert Answer

  

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  The healthiest foods to eat on a raw food diet include raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, including raw nut and seed butters. Sprouted grains and cold-pressed plant oils can also be part of your diet.

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• Consult a professional dietician or your physician to ensure you're getting all the right nutrients, and about what supplements are best for your raw diet.

• It is not recommended that infants or children consume a raw diet, according to the ADA.

• Raw foods can be processed in a blender or food processor. They can also be dehydrated.^[15]

• Although technically raw dairy and meat can be consumed under a raw diet, this carries the risk of consuming bacteria as these foods will have to be unpasteurized to remain raw.^[16]

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What Seeds on Raw Diet

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