Raw food recipes for beginners are my specialty. I call them my simple, satisfying raw food recipes, which are perfect for beginners. But many people who love my recipes are not raw food beginners; they are simply busy people on the go who don't want to bother with too much fuss - just like me. Because of this, some avid rawfooders like to share my simple raw recipes with raw food beginners because my recipes are simple and taste great! But enough tooting my own horn, huh?
Eating raw has become increasingly popular as more people realize the many benefits associated with consuming whole foods in their raw state; but starting out can be daunting! Many recipes call for mysterious ingredients (think nutritional yeast, agave nectar, chia seeds, and on and on!) that most raw food beginners don't have in their pantries. While recipes that include such ingredients are great and I too use them, they are probably not where you want to start if you are searching for raw food recipes as a beginner.
Add more fruits and vegetables to your routine: Useful, but boring
If you are a real raw beginner who is just starting to dabble in raw recipes, think about how you can start adding more raw foods to your regular meals.
Salad is probably one of the easiest items to add, because it’s perfect as a side dish or as a full meal.
Start by adding a small salad to your lunch and dinner. And when it comes to salads please remember, people! The best salads only have a FEW ingredients! So don't put the kitchen sink in there - just be simple, like spinach, tomato and fresh basil, for example.
Similarly, breakfast can be a great opportunity to get some fresh fruit - whether it’s a smoothie or simply crunching down on an apple and some nuts.
For snacks, replace your granola bar or cookies with an orange or a banana. If you’re worried that these might not hold you over until dinner, then add some raw nuts and seeds. The complete proteins in the nuts will bind with the incomplete proteins in the fruit providing you with more protein, which will help you to feel full longer.
However, at this point you'll probably be lacking inspiration - and the only "raw" foods you'll be able to think of will be salads and raw apples. BORING!
Well then friend, you are now ready to try some raw food recipes for beginners.
Raw food recipes for beginners
So, where do you start? First, weed out those recipes that require crazy soaking times or dehydrators. If you are a beginner chances are you might have a crappy blender and a food processor - if you're lucky. So don't make anything too crazy. Start slow, yah?
Creating raw food recipes for beginners is where it gets fun. Why is it fun? Because you get to combine healthy ingredients, like dates, pecans, coconut and cocoa powder and make something amazing! Your friends will be impressed when they taste it and you explain that all that's in your raw recipe is whole, uncooked ingredients - no flour, refined sugar or dairy.
Here are some perfect recipes for raw beginners that are sure to turn out great:
- Raw brownies (most popular recipe ever!)
- Raw chocolate pudding made from avocado
- Raw lemon bars
- Raw chocolate fudge in 1 minute
- Raw chicken salad (raw and vegan - no meat!)
- Raw egg salad (raw and vegan- no dairy!)
- Raw alfredo sauce
- Raw ranch salad dressing recipe
OR CHECK OUT ALL MY FREE RAW RECIPES HERE!
Final tips for beginners
Here are a few more effective ways to keep raw cuisine simple when you're just getting started.
- Make sure your cupboard is stocked with your staple ingredients. This way you won’t discover halfway through a raw recipe that you don’t have everything you need.
- Make a list of the ingredients you use most often. Some of these might include: flax seeds, chia seeds, nutritional yeast, tamari (aka soy sauce), spices, dates (great base for desserts), nuts, seeds etc.
- Also, be sure to always have spinach or lettuce on hand- you can never go wrong with a hearty salad for dinner when you don’t have time to prepare something. And salads can be very exciting too; add hemp hearts, tomatoes, raisins, coconut, cucumber, red pepper, and don’t forget some nutritional yeast- it’ll give it a great cheesy flavour!
- Last, but by no means least, make sure to read the recipe from top to bottom before starting! You will find that many raw food recipes call for long soaking times, dehydration times, or day-before prep. Be aware of any extra prep work and make sure you have everything you need. Discovering that the almonds you need must be soaked over-night will likely mean you’re not eating that lovely concoction that you had planned!
These are just a few tips to help you master the art of making raw food recipes for beginners. Above all, remember to keep it simple!
