Raw Uncooked Food in Winter

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, you 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 a question I'm asked a lot. 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 give you a uncomfortable cold feeling. But it's temporary. Further when you're raw, you're body temperature drops. It takes some time to get used to the new body temperature. This too, should be temporary and you will feel warmer over time.

When you're eating 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 feeling cold when eating raw seems to be a transitional 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. Just not above 110F, the right temperature for eating them anyway... Think of soups or warm apple cider...

Top 8 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.
• Put a cold salad from the fridge in dehydrator/oven for few minutes to make it room temperature.
• Put warm sauces/salad dressings over your salad.
• Drink warm apple cider.

I hope these tips will help you to feel warmer while eating raw uncooked food in the winter. If you feel you need to eat grains in order to stay warm, choose whole non stored varieties such as quinoa, millet and buckweed. Enjoy being raw in the winter!

This article on your website or e-zine? Sure, as long as you include this: “By Esme Stevens, the the founder of Raw Food Europe and Raw Food Netherlands. She has a great website for starters of a raw food diet: bestofrawfood.com."

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