Despite being confined indoors during the coronavirus outbreak, there are still lots of things you can do to protect your health and wellbeing.
An important measure you should adopt when battling COVID-19 is keeping your immune system strong. And almost nothing is better at achieving this than eating plenty of raw foods.
The general advice is to avoid processed and refined foods, while keeping your diet raw, vegan, and low in fat.
Here a list of 8 things that have helped me over the years to stick to raw foods and stay healthy.
1. Stock up on plenty of fresh fruit
Having plenty of fresh fruit available in the house is a big step towards success.
For each shopping trip you make, you should at least buy enough fruit to keep you going for a minimum of three days (if you can).
On my last trip, I bought 13 kg (29 lb) of oranges, 2 kg (4.5lb) of bananas, a few apples, and some other fruit. Also, make sure you have enough dried fruit and nuts to snack on, but don’t overdo it.
2. Prepare a large batch of fruit salad and store in the fridge
My average fruit salad recipe usually consists of a mix of bananas, pear, apples, strawberries, kiwi, and other fruit depending on season. I try to mix fruit that has similar water content for better digestion; though bananas may be an exception.
To prepare the salads, I cut the fruit into 1-2″ pieces and add the juice of a lemon or two to prevent the fruit from oxidising.
I keep the salad in Tupperware in the fridge overnight. I usually eat my salads over a period of 24 hours.
Getting in the habit of preparing enough fruit salad is a great way to avoiding bingeing on the wrong stuff.
3. Get crafty with your food dehydrator!
If you feel anxious, bored, or want to snack on something, but don’t want to eat fruit, maybe this is a good time to experiment with the dehydrator (if you have one).
From raw crackers to raw burgers, delicious wraps and tortillas to dried fruit, there is plenty of stuff you can create with this machine that will keep you entertained.
4. The healthier grain alternative
A lot of people struggle to eat 100% raw because they are still addicted to grains. I used to be one of them, so I know the feeling.
There isn’t a raw food replacement for eating grains, just as there isn’t a replacement for nicotine.
You will kill your cravings for grains by eating plenty of fresh fruit. As long as the fruits are sweet, this always does the trick.
If you cannot (or don’t want) to eat fruit for whatever reason; I discovered that eating plain popcorn is one of the less harmful cooked food alternatives. You can even binge on popcorn and you probably won’t put on weight as a result.
Popcorn isn’t raw obviously, but it’s a wholefood(ish), low in fat carbohydrate that will satiate your desire for grains while preventing you from consuming more damaging foods.
5. Making green smoothies
Green smoothie can be delicious. They are also nutritious as green leaves are filled with alkaline minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins.
You start with a basic fruit smoothie, and add in greens like spinach, lettuce, kale leaves, fresh herbs, celery, and anything else except the really fibrous parts of vegetables (broccoli, etc.).
The various benefits of drinking green smoothies include:
- More energy
- Improved dental health
- More stable blood sugar
- Improved mood
6. Brushing your teeth to prevent binge eating.
This works because it can pull you out of a binge-eating loop. I only use a tiny bit of toothpaste each time I brush my teeth.
7. Drink only water, or sparkling water
It’s better to avoid fatty beverages such as sodas, etc. It’s not always easy to only drink water, but it’s the heathiest option.
8. Learn new recipes
This is an obvious one but since you are going to have a lot of free time over this period, why not use it productively?
For us raw foodists, learning new salad dressings, homemade condiments (this is a good one), or soup recipes always comes in handy.
Need some inspiration, why not try some of our recipes?
Check out the essential guide: Raw Dinner Recipes.
Get 16 quick and delicious oil-free meals that will tantalize your taste buds while leaving you satisfied and bursting with energy.
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