This is a salad that I eat a lot of during the winter months when citrus fruits are at their best, but you can find all of the ingredients year round.

Sunshine Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce
• 2 oranges, segmented
• 2 red grapefruits, segmented
• 1 ounce raw pistachios

Directions:
Chop all the ingredients and mix together.  Beautiful!

Enjoy!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Are you having trouble getting your greens in on a raw food diet?  Then you should definitely check out Roger Haeske’s idiot-proof recipe system known as Savory Veggie Stews.  These raw “stews” are super hearty and delicious and the perfect end to a fruit-filled day.

Check out the recipe program at the link below:

Savory Veggie Stews

You’ve probably even encountered “juice feasting,” in which people live on raw fruit and vegetable juices alone for days, even months at a time.

But is it necessary or even helpful to include juicing as part of your raw diet?

Juicing for Assimilation

Supporters of juicing often claim that it helps the body absorb and assimilate the nutrients from the foods. The juicer essentially “digests” the food for you.

Yes, juicing fruits and vegetables does make the nutrients in them more readily available to the body. However, this is unnecessary when you are *only* eating foods that we humans evolved to eat, i.e. whole, fresh, ripe, raw fruits, tender leafy greens, and nuts and seeds. We can digest these foods in their whole states without any trouble.

In addition, juiced foods have had the all-too-important fiber removed, which means that the nutrients from the food will enter the bloodstream much too quickly. Loss of fiber also means that you won’t feel as satiated as you would eating the food whole.

Juicing for Variety

Proponents also claim that juicing allows you to add more variety into your diet by juicing foods that would be difficult to eat in their whole state.

Variety is very important in a diet. By variety, I mean eating from the wide range of foods that humans have evolved eating. These are foods that can be eaten with relish in their whole state. I do not mean juicing otherwise inedible foods in order to gain their somehow superior nutrients.

Juicing for Green Consumption

Lastly, juice lovers believe that juicing allows people to eat enough greens during the day.

This is valid, but instead of juicing, I would advise you to blend your greens. You will retain all the fiber and nutrients from the whole food, but in an easier-to-digest form.

An excellent way to do this is to make green smoothies. Just take your favorite fruit smoothie and add greens to it. Be sure to taste as you go, otherwise the smoothie may turn out bitter or just too “green” for your liking.

My Experience

Personally, I have not juiced any foods in quite a while. The only fruit juice I like is orange juice and I never juice greens or vegetables because I find the taste horrible and the color completely unappealing.

And to be quite honest, I’m lazy. I’d rather eat a giant bowl of peaches or a few bunches of bananas and be done with it.

There was one winter in particular when I consumed orange juice pretty regularly. During this period, I experienced pretty strong cravings for cooked foods. I was getting plenty of calories, but I still never felt satisfied.

It finally dawned on me that it might be all the juicing, so I stopped. My cravings reduced substantially just like that. This makes perfect sense because, as I mentioned above, juicing removes fiber, which is necessary for satiation.

The Final Word

I do not recommend juicing foods that you would otherwise never eat whole. If these foods are unappetizing to you in their original state or hard to digest, this is a sign not to eat them at all!

Just because bitter foods like kale have higher levels of certain nutrients than other greens does not mean that they are nutritionally superior or even appropriate for human consumption. More is not always better in terms of nutrition.

With that said, I see no problem with occasional juicing of fruits and tender greens. If it is a practice that you enjoy, indulge every now and again! Just know that there is no need to juice. It does not offer any nutritional benefit and actually removes some important components from your food.

Last but not least, PLEASE don’t feel compelled to buy one of those huge, expensive juicing machines. A nice little electric juicer for around $30 will do just fine.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. There are some uber tasty and nutritious smoothie recipes in my recipe book Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes and you can easily add greens to any of them.  The “Bananas Foster Smoothie” would be particularly scrumptious with some romaine or bib lettuce.

You can purchase ‘em here:

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites

It’s a little R.A.W. formula I came up with to help all you struggling raw foodies out there.

“R” Stands for…

*Reduce Your Fat Intake*

Too many raw foodists are eating way too much fat.  As Dr. Graham likes to say, the mainstream raw food diet is an unsustainable diet of “grass and fats.”

And it truly is!

With all the fruit fear mongering going around, raw foodists are only left with a couple of choices: fatty foods like avocado or grassy foods like greens…or even just plain ole’ grass!

And because grassy foods provide very little in the way of calories, it’s up to the fattier fare to pick up the slack.

The result? A food regimen that’s higher in fat than the average cooked food diet!

I experienced this myself when I first went raw. I had been a low fat food person for quite some time, but my cooked vegan diet was failing me and so I wanted to give raw a chance.

I followed a well-known raw food cuisine book (this particular book is one of the top-selling raw recipe books today, actually), but all of the oil and nuts used in 90%+ of the recipes just didn’t sit right with me.

When I finally sat down and calculated what I was eating, I was shocked to find that my daily “healthy” raw food diet was AVERAGING 45% fat!

I didn’t even consume that much fat as a SAD eater!

After a few more weeks of research, I made the switch to low fat raw and immediately saw improvements: no more bloating, gas, or lethargy!

And with all the yummy sweet fruit, I was finally satiated!  As long as I ate enough fruit (yes, this really is THE key), I never felt the need (and still don’t) to fill up on dense fatty foods.

“A” Stands for…

*Add in Some Greens*

While I’m sure you know how important sweet fruit is to a healthy raw food diet…

(And if you don’t, this article may help you out)

…you may be missing out on another important component: GREENS!

While fruits are absolutely vital because they come the closest to meeting our nutritional needs and provide sufficient calories, they do run low in some necessary nutrients (i.e. minerals).

That’s where greens come in!

Tender leafy greens like romaine and bib lettuce – as well as delicious non-sweet fruits like cucumber and red bell pepper – have a higher mineral content than sweet fruits do.

And you know what? It’s just really nice sometimes to have a big savory salad or a Fat Free Veggie Dip at the end of a fruit-filled day, which can really help with cravings and keep you on the raw path.

“W” Stands for…

*Work Your Body Everyday*

Sorry all you lazy raw foodists (a group in which I include myself), but if you want optimal results on raw (or ANY diet), you have to exercise.

You have to get yourself up off that couch and away from your computer/TV screen and move around a bit.

And if it’s *optimal* results you’re looking for, then you need to do this EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Even on my recovery days, I still do light stretching and low impact activities such as walking and biking.

And no, “low impact activities” do not include pushing the buttons on your remote or typing at your computer.

Of course, if you’re new to being physically active, be safe and start slow. A 30 minute walk around the neighborhood 3 times per week is an excellent place to start and can easily be modified (i.e. alternating jogging and walking) as you progress.

Get Great Raw Results!

By following this formula…

Reducing your fat intake,

Adding in your greens, and

Working your body everyday

…you will definitely see some radical (but totally welcome) raw results.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. You’re curious about that Fat Free Veggie Dip I mentioned, aren’t ya?  No problem!  Check out my completely low fat and healthy raw food recipe book:

http://www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites/

It was one of the first savory low fat raw dishes I ever made that I actually enjoyed eating and became a staple for me during my first few months raw.  Whenever I had a craving for salty cooked food, I turned to this bad boy.

I hadn’t made the recipe in a while, but was having some fellow raw foodists over and knew this recipe was the perfect way to showcase healthy and delicious low fat raw fare (along with lots of sweet fruit, of course).

Check it out!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Salty Salt-Free Salsa

Ingredients:

• 24 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes (sweetest you can find)
• 16 ounces of celery (4-6 stalks)
• 8 ounces red bell pepper (1 pepper)
• 4 ounces sweet apple (Gala or Fuji, 1/2 apple)
• 1 handful cilantro
• 1 English cucumber, sliced diagonally*

*I prefer the English variety.  They are less watery thantraditional cucumbers and have much more flavor.

Directions:

Cut half of the celery, red bell pepper, and all of the apple into medium-sized pieces.  You want each piece about the same size as the tomatoes.  Pulse half of the tomatoes and cilantro with the celery, pepper, and apple chunks.  You want a slightly chunky mixture, not a puree.

Dice the rest of the tomatoes, celery, bell pepper, & cilantro.  Stir blended portion with the diced portion and devour with cucumber slices or any veggie you like.

Swayze’s Tips:

Another great way to eat this salsa is with pineapple rings!  Simply slice the pineapple into thick rings, core (a little circular biscuit cutter works great) and spoon the salsa on top.  Delicious and beautiful presentation.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. If you’d like more tasty and healthy savory raw recipes, be sure to check out “Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes” at the link below:

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites

* Feature Article: Do Raw Foodists Need Greens to Be Healthy?

* Your Questions Answered: How to Deal With Psychological Effects of Going Raw

Do Raw Foodists Need Greens to Be Healthy?

Michele of Raw Natural Hygiene recently started a new thread titled The Importance of Greens.  The topic has evoked some very interesting discussion points that got me thinking…

Do raw foodists need greens to be healthy?

Most low fat raw vegans, including Dr. Douglas Graham, are big on greens and assert that we absolutely, positively need to consume them in order to thrive on a raw food diet.

On the other hand, there are many raw foodists out there, including 17-year fruitarian Anne Osbourne, who assert that a person can live on fruit alone and be healthy.

While I’m certainly no expert on the matter, I think I can shed some light on what greens can offer to a raw food diet and perhaps help answer the question: Do raw foodists need greens to be healthy?

What Are Greens?

Before I go any further, I want to clarify what I mean by greens.  “Greens” refers to all the lovely tender, leafy, and mild vegetables out there.  This includes:

• Romaine lettuce
• Boston/bib/butter lettuce
• Red lettuce
• Mesculin
• Spinach
• Iceberg lettuce
• Mint
• Oregano
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Cabbage

I also include mild herbs such as mint and parsley in this category, as they are obviously green, obviously tender, and obviously mild.

And don’t forget the less conventional, but equally delicious, tender green varieties such as bok choy, beet greens, and sauropus!

I do not include dark greens, like kale, or cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, in this list as they can be hard to digest and unpleasant to eat due to the bitterness.  However, many raw foodists do enjoy these ingredients and do not experience any digestive troubles when blended and consumed with sweet fruits.

Greens are Mineral Rich

This is the main benefit of eating a diet rich in tender, leafy greens.  Sweet fruits are generally considered rich in vitamins, while greens are rich in minerals.

Calcium, sodium, and potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur, and magnesium (just to name a few) are all present in sufficient quantities in tender leafy vegetables.

And if you’ve ever been anemic, have experienced any problems with iron deficiency, or know anything about sailors who love spinach, I’m sure you are familiar with the spinach-iron connection.

In addition, greens have higher levels of protein as well.  For instance, 100g of bananas contain 4% of total calories from protein while 100g of romaine lettuce has 24% of calories from protein.

Greens are Cravings-Busters

Eating mountains of savory greens helps with cooked food cravings.  The higher amount of sodium, relative to sweet fruits, is said to stop salty food cravings in their tracks.

To be honest, I think this might be a case of confusing the chicken with the egg.

Usually when people start eating greens and stop craving salt, they have also completely eliminated any rock salt – table salt, sea salt, popcorn salt, etc. – from their diet.  It could certainly be that these people no longer crave salt because the salt is no longer in their system, not because they have started eating greens.

However, I definitely think there is something to be said for the power of savory dinner dishes.

Eating super sweet fruit all day can be rather monotonous (and even sickening for some at first) and eating a delicious savory, hearty, and satisfying green-packed meal can make all the difference in a person’s efforts to stay raw.

Greens Offer Variety

Getting a good variety of produce in your diet is important for a couple of reasons:

1. Variety helps to ensure proper nutrition (this is particularly useful if the quality of your fruit is less than optimal).
2. Variety helps to keep things exciting, since we all know how terribly boring it is to eat raw.

And, as I said in last week’s post on surviving raw winters, variety (in the form of both ingredients and recipes) is especially important during the colder months, when both the quantity and the quality of fruit is limited and less than optimal.

Since high-quality greens are available year-round, this can be an easy way to add more tasty variety into your raw food diet.

But Do We Need Them?!?

I think Michele said it best:

Miss Anne is one of those fortunate few that has access to some AMAZING quality fruit and does well with-out greens and I respect that.

For the rest of us, though, greens are an important “supplement”, if not staple.

I agree.

If you are lucky enough to eat extremely high-quality sweet, non-sweet, and fatty fruits – we’re talking 100% organic, home-grown goodness – then you’ll probably do well without greens.

Fruitbat Anne (the “Miss Anne” Michele is referring to) and her 17 years as a fruitarian certainly stand as a testament to that.

Otherwise, I think it is very important for optimal nutrition to eat enough greens.

Does this mean you have to eat buckets of bib lettuce everyday?  I certainly don’t.  In fact, I rarely even look at a lettuce leaf during the summer months, with all the delicious local tomatoes and cukes around.

That said, you certainly should not neglect your greens or their mineral-rich, non-sweet fruit friends like tomatoes, bell pepper, and cucumber.

The Golden (Apple) Rule

Most importantly of all, never forget that sweet fruit comes first.  As great as greens are, they are simply too low in calories to make up the bulk of your diet.

This is why I do not consume my super salad until after I have eaten all my fruit for the day.

And if I find myself hungry afterward?  You know the drill…I just eat more fruit!

Go raw, gorge on greens, and be fit,

Swayze

How to Deal With Psychological Effects of Going Raw

Annalise said:

A lot of times, eating all raw will make me feel strange mentally, a bit depressed or insecure, and odd… I get more anxiety and insecurity, as opposed to confidence and peaceful well-being.

Many people do not realize what a large part food plays in your emotional well-being and how much these comfort foods can suppress your true feelings.  This can leave any person new to raw foods feeling very strange, insecure, and emotionally “raw,” so to speak.

As I discuss in my program 21 Days to Conquer Your Cooked Food Cravings, raw foods are not comforting.  Unless you are eating lots of fatty, dehydrated “raw” dishes, you will never achieve that numbing sensation that you get from cooked comfort foods.

A mountain of ripe mangoes or a pile of juicy peaches is very satisfying and delicious, but these meals are not numbing or relaxing.  They are so easy and quick to digest that you barely notice anything at all.

You eat, you feel full, and you move on with your day!

This has been a huge issue for me because I really missed the numbness I got from cooked meals.  I’m very much a “get-up-and-go” sort of person and eating always gave me a chance to unwind and relax.

When I went raw, I no longer got this sensation.  I didn’t know how to relax without heavy cooked foods and this left me feeling very uncomfortable and emotionally empty.

I’ve really had to take the time to de-stress my life the best I can and work on other ways to relax that do not involve food.

The best advice I can give is to take the time to analyze your feelings.  Ask yourself if it is really the food that is making you feel this way.  It could be that these emotions have always been there, it’s just that cooked foods had a way of suppressing them in a way that raw foods can’t.