The exact meaning of the term raw food diet is eating only uncooked and completely vegan. This means no cooked grains like pastas or cereals; no beef, fish or eggs. And no animal products like cheese, milk or ice cream (personally, I think rice, almond or oat “milk” tastes way better than cow’s milk!).

Therefore, this leaves fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and sprouts. This may possibly sound shockingly restrictive if your present dieting consists of bacon and eggs in the morning, a hamburger and fries at lunch and turkey with gravy in the evening.

If that sounds like you, then pad yourself on the back for even reading this far! However, clearly you must have a desire to live longer and remain healthy while you’re doing it. For that reason, the raw food diet has plenty to offer.

Essentially, many people eat from an extremely small selection of fruits and vegetables. Depending on the part of the country or the world you live in, apples, oranges, grapes and watermelon could be the only fruits you ever eat. And green beans, broccoli, lettuce and carrots could be your mainstay vegetables.

With such a small assortment of fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is no wonder the thought of going vegan sounds boring and unrealistic. But the fact is that you’ll find hundreds of different types to select from. And if you begin with a spirit of adventure, instead of bemoaning your loss, you’ll rapidly find that you have opened a whole world of foods that you never even knew existed. An adventure in eating!

You will also find that there is a wide variety of nuts and seeds you can include that make a raw food diet more interesting. If your palette prefers natural tastes, you’ll have enough local fruits and vegetables to choose from that will make you feel comfortable. And if you enjoy exotic tastes, you may explore fruits and vegetables from around the world and experiment with herbs and spices to create new tastes.

A good Thai or Indian cookbook may come in very handy. Having spent years in Thailand, I am amazed how the Thais can take simple, plain, looking dishes that burst with flavors, mastering the use of garlic, herbs and spices.

This was just an introduction to the raw food diet. In the coming weeks, we will be publishing recipes and other tips for eating raw, as well as vegan and vegetarian.