Staying Warm While Eating Raw Foods

This is a recent blog post from my blog at http://reneoswald.com/blog

Hi Rene,
I love everything about the raw food diet in the summer months, but when it starts getting cold (I live in Illinois) I find it hard to stay on this diet. Do you have any tips?
Thanks so much,
Marcia

Hi Marcia,

That’s a great question. Many of you, who live in a cold climate, are asking if there are any tricks to staying on the raw food path when the weather gets cold.

I used to recommend warming soups made in the high-speed blender by running the blender on high-speed for a few minutes longer until it reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I now feel that more nutrients are retained by blending for the minimum amount until smooth and then heating to 105 degrees Fahrenheit by placing in a pan or bowl of hot water.

The attached photo is of the Chai Holiday Smoothie from my ”Living Cuisine for Happy Holidays” eBook (For more info about the book, click here or go to http://reneoswald.com/ebooks.html . This smoothie is delicious when warmed to 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

When heating soups or sauces that have been refrigerated I store them in a class jar and about 15-30 minutes before serving I place them in a large bowl of hot water. You may have to change the water once or twice during this time for larger quantities of food.

I have also used a heating pad to warm cold foods by placing the heating pad around the jar of food.

There are many spices that you can use to help provide “heat” to your foods that often help you stay warm. I use cayenne, chili powder, ginger and white pepper and fresh hot peppers.

Make warm saloups instead of cold salads. I have lots of recipes for saloups in the “Transitioning to Living Cuisine” book.

Instead of cold green smoothies, make warm energy soups.

For fruit smoothies and green smoothies, use fruit at room temperature instead of using frozen fruit.

Dry skin brushing for 3-4 minutes, followed by an intermittent hot/cool shower is great to improve circulation and also helps remove toxins from the body. Always brush towards the heart and then take a 10 minute shower, alternating 1 minute of hot water, then 1 minute of cool water 5 times for a total of 10 minutes. Start with hot water and end with cool water.

Another way to “warm up” is by exercising when you are feeling cold. There are so many things that you can do in the comfort of your home to get a little exercise in those cold winter months! Here are a few:
• Jumping Jacks
• Rebounding
• Jump Roping
• An Abdominal Workout
• Pilates
• Yoga
• Strength Training with Weights or Bands
• Table Tennis


You’ll find it only takes a few minutes to “warm up” and you get the benefit of a good workout!

I hope some of these suggestions have helped you.

We live in a tropical climate now, but I did live in Upstate NY for 21 years and I do remember how cold it could get and I do “feel your pain”!


Please post your comments and questions here or on my blog by clicking here or go to http://reneoswald.com/blog or email me at rene.oswald@att.net I love hearing from all of you!


Stay warm,
Rene