Brrrr….winter!

You’ve been working all day, just got home, and you’re cold to the bone.

If you could just warm up with some hot chocolate or warm soup… The salad in the fridge you prepared this morning is the last thing you want right now!

It’s one thing to be a raw foodist in sunny weather, but eating raw food in a cold climate in winter time is a completely different story.

Enjoying eating raw uncooked food in cooler weather can be a challenge, but when you know what to do you can still feel warm, nourished and comfortable in winter!

Not everything has to be cold!

First of all, it’s a misconception that you can only eat COLD foods when you’re on a raw food diet.

WARM FOODS ARE VERY DO-ABLE ON A RAW FOOD DIET, and if you have a dehydrator its quite easy to warm up your food for about 10 – 20 minutes at about 160°F. Because the food has most likely come from the fridge its possible to warm up the food at higher temps for a shorter period of time without destroying precious enzymes.

Warm raw soups in your dehydrator or on your stove, a good guide is when the first wisp of steam comes up is to take it off the stove.

Or if you have a blender run your raw soup for about 5 minutes. The blending action will create heat and again, as soon as you start to spot steam, its warm and ready to go!

If you find yourself eating more in the winter, up your exercise. Its so tempting to just curl up on the couch, but its super revitalising to move your body instead, plus you create your own internal heater as your body warms up from exercise and it keeps your metabolism firing for longer, keeping you warm for longer!

Spice it up!

Particular foods can warm the body from the inside out through their natural heating properties. Try adding herbs and spices like chilli, cumin, cayenne, ginger, curry, cinnamon, garlic or wasabi to your next salad, soup, dressing or raw food meal.

Spices also have many health benefits that will help stave off the cold and flu.

Drink warming teas to help balance out the cool nature of raw foods. Many herbs are nutritious and have many healing properties, and try making your own tea such fresh ginger and lemon, a perfect winter warmer and it keeps your immune system strong! Add fresh grated turmeric for an additional boost!

Make it “Meaty”!

We all crave heavier meals in winter too. You can make your main raw meals more “meaty” by adding mushrooms, walnuts or sun dried tomatoes.

These are not only delicious but create a meaty texture in your dish.

Add some warming spices, heat it up in the deyhydrator and you have a winter dish to satisfy any appetite!

Try eating dense foods like avocado, coconut meat, olives, oils — these will give your body the essential fats it needs to keep your metabolism firing and to fight off the Winter chill.

And finally…

Stick to the 80/20 rule – It’s totally ok to have cooked foods especially during winter when your body is craving it. Just ensure that 80% of what’s on your plate is raw and the 20% can be cooked foods.

You should have an organic and vegan focus on your cooked foods, which also means you can add gluten-free grains such as buckwheat, quinoa and millet to your recipes, as well as legumes. Just be sure to soak them before cooking.

I like to combine a stir fry quionoa with some baby spinach and fresh herbs. Or do a medley of roast organic root veges and stir through a salad.

Don’t forget to head to our Recipes Page for more yummy raw recipes!

Do you have any great tips for staying raw in the winter?

Please share in the comments section below – we’d love to hear from you!

Kick start your health and raw food journey with one of our raw food diet plans.