raw foods: Was it difficult when you first started? How did you deal with things when you craved cooked foods? After making mistakes and eating cooked foods a few times, did you eventually just stop? Or are there any tricks to not craving cooked foods? Thanks :)|||When the cravings hit, eat fat. Generally, when people first go raw, they don't consume enough fat, and since fat is what makes you feel sated, cravings ensue. So when you crave something, eat half an avocado or a handful of nuts. (It's helpful to have a bag of raw nuts with you at all times.) It works every time. Also, since one is considered a raw foodist if they eat 75% or more of their foods raw, make the occasional exception and have a veggie burger or a bowl of pasta. It keeps the feelings of deprivation at bay.|||It's difficult at first because you don't know how to make alot of different things learning to make some of dishes takes time so there is a learning curve, also it takes a while to convert you kitchen to all raw or very high raw food diet. When you know how to make more dishes and how to improve dishes with the stuff you have in you kitchen it becomes alot easier. My advise is learn how to make things that don't have like 100 ingredients in them and that are quick and easy. I found myself omitting some things in recipes too and thats ok, don't feel like you have to go out and buy some crazy raw ingredient that's super hard to find. You can make tons of things with just a few ingredients!! For instance if you like Indian you can make curry with 1 banana 2 tomatoes and 2 T curry powder, so its finding the recipes that are very easy. As you get more confident in you food making process then you can make more complex dishes. Eat some fruit if you're craving something cook, over time you just don't really want to eat cooked foods. For appliances all you really need is a good blender and food processor. If you want you can get a dehydrator. You don't need a juicer if you have a good blender. Jen D also has some good pointer too, keep some walnuts (any tree nut really cashews are my favorite and walnuts) around to munch on. Banana are great too I know someone posted the 30 banana's a day website and there are some people who do the 811 diet (not me). I don't eat 30 a day but on average I probably eat between 5-10 a day. Also don't feel like you have to be 100% all the time I probably eat way over the 75% threshold. But I never pass up going out to eat with my friends (most are veg or vegan anyways and we have some good all veg restaurants in the area) because I don't want to miss out on the social interaction.|||I started off the new year approaching many area's of my life in a different way. One being my diet. I hadnt felt well in a really long time- mostly due to not paying much attention to what I eat. I decided to go raw vegan. I have NEVER felt better than I do now. I've had my "caving" moments, mostly in moments where I've been offered something by someone I didnt want to tell my lifestyle changes to just yet. I've found that to be the hardest aspect. Mostly, feeling so vibrant & seeing changes in my skin & weight & overall health has kept me wanting to stick to this lifestyle change & has given me the power to say no to the pizza, etc. I've also been doing a lot of research & reading a lot of blogs that gives me a lot of motivation to continue on. www.30bananasaday.com (I really love all of freelea's blogs) www.thegardendiet.com www.welikeitraw.com|||I started eating raw foods after a breast cancer diagnosis ten years ago and still eat 100% raw foods today. I found that because I ate so many small meals I was never hungry for nor craved any cooked foods. Even though I'm 100% I think anyone who eats a mostly raw diet certainly could indulge in something they had to have, preferably not junk food or fatty desserts. It's hard to believe but I actually crave green salads and I never crave any cooked desserts, pizza, hamburgers, etc. I think the trick to it for many is to not get hungry. If you have a craving try to ignore it and eat a lot of fruit or a big salad and it will likely go away. PS I did cure myself of breast cancer with raw foods. Nurse Addison|||I have been eating raw beef for 7 years and have not yet gotten sick. My favorite is ground chuck. I eat both raw and cooked meat.|||Do you not shave your legs? I mean thats cool if your a guy but if your a girl I really hope you shave your legs and armpits and stuff. I saw a show on TV about a family that ate raw meat and the women didn't shave. Hey what the heck people don't put low ratings on this! I'm just asking an honest unbiased question. Anyway I love raw meat, I eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. Rabbits are the best because they breed so quickly. Just stuff them in your shed and throw some carrots in there, and you got yourself a self-sustaining food source. And ok I see why maybe this offends some people. But what did Cliff say that deserves such a low rating that the site has to hide his answer?