Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you've heard of the raw diet; today I will provide you with a raw meal plan for athletes. Although I can't say that I truly practice a raw food diet, a big part of what I eat is vegan and raw. Let's go over what a raw food diet is exactly...it's a diet that consists of 75 percent raw food (uncooked) and is all plant-based. One of the biggest reasons to eat raw is that when you cook your food, many very healthy enzymes are removed from it.
A lot of you are probably wondering what you can eat on a raw food diet. Well, usually they're made up of veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds, grains, juices, legumes, and herbs and spices. It may not sound like much, but if you're careful, you can lead an extremely healthy lifestyle on a raw food diet. You get all the vitamins and minerals you need from all these foods, really! When I was following a similar diet (although I cooked a lot of my food and drank things like fortified soy milk) I had more energy than ever, my skin got more clear, and I lost weight.
Let's look a an example of a raw food diet meal plan...
Breakfast - Chop up some fresh fruit to make a fruit salad (ex. cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, blueberries). Top your salad with sliced almonds, milled flax seed, and wheat germ.
Lunch - Make a mixed salad with spinach leaves, onions, parsley, peppers, tomatoes, and olives. Mix with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Sprinkle in some flax seeds or sprouted lentils, yumm!
Dinner - Make a raw mixed veggie soup, enjoy with a side of half an avocado, and end with a raspberry and banana smoothie.
Here's an example of a recipe for a 'red hot raw tomato soup': Blend 4 tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper, 1tsp ginger root, 4 tsps olive oil, 4 green onions, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, some water, and a dash of cinnamon together....and Voila, enjoy!
Now, as I hope most of you are working out, and are athletes, this might not be enough to eat everyday. What I do to make sure I always have a Ziploc bag of dried fruit and nuts on me to munch on when I start to feel hungry between meals.
This is a very healthy diet to be on, and has been known to have anti-aging properties but beware! It can be very difficult to sustain this diet because of social (what happens when you go to a dinner party for example?) and shopping reasons. But most importantly, you must have to watch out with what you eat. By that I mean you still have to worry about maintaining a balanced diet- this means, for example, making sure to eat lots of legumes and nuts to get enough protein on a daily basis.
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