I know that the Raw Food lifestyle didn't work for Alicia, but I wanted to hear if it has worked for anyone else on here. I've been vegan for 6 years, tried Alicia's program for 6 months and felt weak, lethargic, and generally not well. I was really disappointed because I LOVE the whole plan :-( I started trying raw foods and have been 100% raw for one month. The thing is, every single raw foodist that I encounter looks AMAZING. I mean, they are youthful beyond belief, energetic, and glowing. So what do you all think- good, bad, or otherwise? For the record, this past month has been difficult bc I crave cooked foods but I have to admit that everyone is telling me that I look incredible. I'm definitely starting to "get the glow!"

hi nicole.  i love the idea of raw food and have tried various recipies.  the book i have mostly uses a dehyrdator which i dont have so ive not done raw 100%.  how have you found doing it 100% - what do you generally eat on a typical day?

I hear you Hannah! I don't have a dehydrator either but I do have a Vita Mix and a juicer, which helps immensely. I also have several raw takeout restaurants closeby- gott alove NYC :-) I avoid the dehydrator for a couple of reasons- 1) I enjoy simple food and don't want to get caught up in trying to mimic things like pizzas, cookies, etc. I'd rather appreciate whole foods, which is what it's really all about. 2) I find that most dehydrator recipes are too nut heavy and I want to keep my ratios more like 80% fruit/veggies and 20% nuts, seeds.

So to answer your question, today I had a "Bloody Mary" juice for breakfast (beets, celery, green apple, lemon, cayenne pepper) and a banana. Then I had kale salad with sea veggies for lunch, a raw carrot cake (actually quite simple to make and really yummy!) for dessert, and an amazing smoothie will be had a bit later (avocado, hemp seeds, blueberry, coconut water, spinach). I don't eat at night after 5pm typically so that's it for the day.

Hi Nicole. I'm in NYC as well; what are your favorite raw/raw-friendly restaurants? I like Caravan of Dreams and Peacefood. Haven't tried Pure yet. I'm about 60% raw myself.

I really like Brendan Brazier's Thrive recipes, many of which can either be served raw or lightly cooked. Great salads. His pizza and cracker recipes are yummyl and he's an athlete (Ironman triathlete) so he's big on smoothies and energy bars. I don't have a dehydrator either--I already have a juicer and food processor and there's only so much you can add to a NYC apartment kitchen.

Some days I go totally raw fruitarian, just a lot fresh juices and smoothies using plentiful local produce,such as papayas,apple bananas,strawberries,carrots,oranges,cucumber,spinach and greens.I'm doing that now. The VitaMix is my best friend!

Raw vegetables are really hard for me to digest,and I can barely choke down a green smoothie,so it doesn't last for more than a few days.Protein and low pressure are an issue for me,so I have to be careful,but in general I have so much energy doing this for a few days! :-)

That's so ironic that you posted this because I feel the same way.  I know logically it makes sense that organic, raw foods are certainly more nutritious than cooked foods.  I have been vegan for several years but did a lot of processed soy foods for awhile, tried raw food in the summer and loved it, then did the macro thing in the winter and felt OK but kinda heavy.  I think I feel best when I incorporate the good parts of both philosophies into my diet and focus on the greens.  Think about it- both diets emphasize how important those are for success and your overall health.  For food I try and have one green smoothie (mixed with any supplements I need), at least one green salad, and a meal with sea veggies and go easy on the nuts and seeds.  I think people go crazy with the fats and find themselves going backwards a bit on raw.  Same with macro, its easy to go crazy with the salt and beans. 

I am in the transition of becoming mostly raw (right now I'm 75%) although I might have a cooked dinner occasionally.  I really like Brendan Brazier cookbooks as well, in addition to Sarma Melngalis, Ani Phyo, and Viktoria Boutenko.  Her book "Green for Life" is incredible.  Keep up the great work!

I live in Southern California and am starting to eat raw more and more since my sister, who suffers from stage 4 ovarian cancer, has gone ALL raw and is beating her cancer like crazy! We often go to the restaurant 118 Degrees in Irvine. It is awesome. She has cookbooks as well that I'm sure you can order through the mail. If you have an oven that can go down to 115-118 degrees then you can make the recipes in your oven without a dehydrator.