How to Plan Raw Food Menus
Weight loss is a primary reason that many people switch to a raw food diet, but there are many other reasons to adopt a raw food lifestyle. A raw food diet can result in increased energy and improved health. It is important to be sure that your menu is well-balanced and satisfies your nutritional needs, before you begin a raw food diet. Read on to learn more.
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Instructions
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Include a healthy balance of dark green, leafy vegetables in your menu, such as spinach, lettuce, kale or chard. Green vegetables are brimming with anti-oxidants, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals, including calcium, potassium and iron. The nutrients found in greens will increase your energy, boost your immune system, promote digestion, and increase overall health.
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Enhance your salads with healthy, fiber-rich foods such as raisins, nuts, sesame seeds, pineapple, jalapeno peppers or cilantro. Fiber will not only prevent constipation, but is also believed to lower the risk of developing cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Mixing fiber-rich foods with salads is a delicious and easy way to incorporate them into your raw food diet.
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Make sure that your menu includes a balance of fruits such as melons, payayas, oranges and mangos, that are full of vitamin C, enzymes and healthy carbohydrates. Fruit contains a large number of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that can provide healthy benefits such as weight control, increased energy, lowered blood pressure, and reduced risk of cancer and heart disease.
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Include healthy fat found in foods such as such as olive oil, canola oil or peanut oil, along with nuts, seeds, olives and avocados, into your daily menu plan. It isn't true that eliminating all fat from the diet is beneficial. Cutting healthy fats from the diet can cause depression, fatigue, hair loss, anxiety and increased hunger.
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Avoid pasteurized dairy products, which should not be included as part of a healthy raw food menu. Dairy products add unhealthy fats to the diet and are often difficult to digest. If you want to include milk in your diet, soy milk is a much better choice.
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Include all five flavors: sour, salty, sweet, spicy and bitter, in your raw food menu. Doing so will add flavor and help to prevent boredom that can sometimes occur with a raw food diet.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to include drinking water along with your raw food menu plan. Although raw vegetables and fruits contain healthy fluids, you should also drink plenty of delicious fresh water.
Consider purchasing a blender or juicer. It will enable you to add variety to your raw food menu with fruit smoothies, salad dressing, or vegetable dip
