My Idea of Happiness: The Raw Food Diet

There are so many benefits to eating raw food. In fact, some people eat only raw food.

It sounds hard - and it absolutely can be - but you can actually eat more than you think. All seeds, nuts and fruits and most vegetables can be eaten raw. Whole grains can be soaked and sprouted, which gives added nutritional benefits. If you choose the right eggs, fish and meat they can be too. And there`s even raw milk (as well as cheese and yogurt) but you may need to break a few laws to get it. (Follow raw milk activist/farmer, Michael Schmidt's journey here.)

^{You can make alfredo sauce, cheesecake and so much more. It just takes a little learning -- and maybe the purchasing of some new equipment:}

^{A dehydrator cooks food at a temperature so low it's still considered uncooked. It takes a long time but the result is anything from meat jerky to crispy kale chips to delicious apple leather. As long as the food stays until 40 degrees - it's considered raw!}

^{A Vita-mix is the Cadillac of blenders and will help you to make raw soup, homemade nut milks and so much more.}

^{The main benefit is to digestion and nutrient absorption (which in turn benefits everything in your body) because the food's enzymes and healthy bacteria are left in tact. As well, these foods typically do not contain added preservatives or toxins, including the toxins that are created when you heat food, like oil.}

^{The foods typically included in a raw food diet are so inherently healthy (pasta made of zucchini, vegetable juices) that you can eat what you want and feel good about it.}

^{If you're looking to start a raw diet, I recommend trying to eat 75% raw, 25% usual for the first while to get used to it.}

^{There are tons of blogs that you can get RAWesome in no time. Here are my favourites:}
^{My pal, Raw Judita}
^{http://rawjudita.com/}
^{http://www.thisrawsomeveganlife.com/}
^{http://www.choosingraw.com/}
^{http://rawfullyorganic.com/blog/}
^{http://www.therawchef.com/blog/}
^{http://crazysexylife.com/}
^{http://giveittomeraw.com/}
^{http://www.juliesrawambition.com/}
^{http://www.rawmazing.com/}
^{http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/}
^{http://www.rawon10.com/}
^{http://rawloulou.blogspot.com/}
^{http://www.rawfamily.com/}

^{Also, read anything by David Wolfe. He's the man.}

^{Lastly, some awesome recipes to get you started:}