Hi friends, Kristina here, and today I’m going to be talking about how to eat raw vegan naturally. I’ll be sharing easy recipes for beginners as well as tips to make this lifestyle effortless, consistent, and fun.

Raw food is truly a lifestyle. Vegan is a lifestyle. It is a way of living, not just a diet. It’s a passion, inspiration, and commitment to consuming more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds in their most natural and organic state.

People always comment to me that it must be so hard to be raw or vegan, and my usual response back is that once you find your rhythm, it’s LIFE-CHANGING. It’s easy and FUN!

I’ve been a raw vegan for over 18 years now, so I can tell you that I’ve learned a lot on my journey. I’m just as in love with this lifestyle as I was in the beginning, if not more, and for me, it’s only gotten better with time. If you’re looking for HEALTH FREEDOM and if you’re looking for HEALTH sovereignty…this is where it’s at.

We live in a society and a system that’s designed to KEEP us sick and tired. We aren’t expected to know differently, much less to act differently. We live in a world where it has become “normal” to eat highly-processed, toxic, fast-foods with an excess amount of animal products. It is no longer the norm to nourish ourselves with an abundance of homegrown #fruits and #veggies. Actually, I’ve found that going vegan has been vilified to a certain degree. Only 1% of Americans are vegan…now imagine how many raw vegans are out there…the number is far less than 1%. Those seeking a healthy lifestyle have become the minority or the outcasts in the food arena. 

We live in a society that doesn’t foster health or wellness. There are too many entities who are putting bandaids over the issues happening right now, and instead of focusing on prevention and foundational health-care, they are focusing on sick-care. Essentially, this shows that we live in a society that is meant to keep us sick.

Rather than seeking solutions to the problems at hand, they are profiting off of illness.

Nutrition, animal welfare, organic food, and sustainability aren’t prioritized.

Mindfulness, awareness, effort, accountability, healing, and CHANGE are all powerful words to emphasize here.

This gives a WHOLE new meaning to the phrase:

LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE.

And that’s why this lifestyle I’m sharing with you is so important today.

HOW WE LIVE matters. What you put into your body is either fighting disease…or feeding it.

For those who don’t know my story, I went from being a type 2 diabetic hyperglycemic to a healthy, thriving, and active individual. This way of eating changed my life–it gave me my LIFE BACK. I was living before, but not ALIVE like this. Before I began my journey back to health, my belief system was that feeling sick and tired was “normal.” Black-out migraines were normal. Depression was normal. Constipation was normal. My high and low blood sugar spells followed by faintness were “normal.” Truth is...none of those symptoms were normal. It wasn’t until I began to discover what it FELT like to have #HEALTH FREEDOM that I understood our lifestyle choices MATTER.

I believe that HEALTH IS WEALTH.

FOOD IS MEDICINE. 

I believe the ENERGY we carry with us is our greatest asset.

I believe the WAY we live has the ability to EMPOWER us or to disempower us, and it also impacts the world along with every sentient being. HOW we live matters.

What I’ve learned and what I will teach you is the following:

🌱 You CAN eat abundant fruits and vegetables AND enjoy them.

🌱 You CAN eat a healthy #plantbased lifestyle AND physically THRIVE.

🌱 You CAN find deeper emotional healing AND discover true embodiment.

🌱 You CAN change AND find more meaningful connection(s) within this lifestyle.

🌱 You CAN learn to grow your own food AND conserve resources.

🌱 You CAN find satisfaction within this lifestyle AND have health freedom.

🌱 You CAN choose to live compassionately and embrace sovereignty.

🔑 You CAN find the deeper connection you desire within yourself by practicing to incorporate one element of #wellness into your routine everyday.

I am 18+ years of living proof of this.

👉🏽 It isn’t just about the food, but it begins with WHAT we put into our bodies.

Let’s bring more #mindfulness to this concept.

My intention is to empower you through your food choices and to teach you how to consume more raw and living foods into your diet so that you can have HEALTH and so that you can have more mind, body, and spirit sovereignty. Also, I will show you how fun and easy this can be. This is powerful. 

Try ONE new practice a day that can improve your #health and can make this world a better place. Try eating one #FullyRaw #vegan meal a day. Your #body will thank you for it. 🥑

Many of you reach out to me ALL the time and ask how you can go raw vegan, vegan, or plant-based. What are the easy and practical steps to take?

For some of you, some of the tips and recipes I will share with you will seem oversimplified…
However I’ve learned that when we are overwhelmed in our daily lives, keeping it simple, planning, and coming back to what works gives us the most success. It’s not always about doing MORE. LESS can be much, much more efficient. If you’re committed, this is where it’s at. Changing what’s on your plate will change your life.

Here’s a takeaway: THIS LIFESTYLE can be SUSTAINABLE & LIFE-GIVING. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, complicated, or unattainable. I will show you how.

I’ve posted videos before on how to eat a raw food diet and also the best raw food recipes for beginners. I will link those below for you. I have about 800 videos on my YouTube channel for you to dive into to learn more about this lifestyle. Use it as a resource!

Also, if you’re looking for raw vegan recipes that you can have at your fingertips…please download my FullyRaw recipe app! I have over 450 raw vegan recipes on my app, and these recipes will keep you motivated and inspired. The app has everything from juices, smoothies, salads, dressings, soups, dips, desserts, and more. It customizes your shopping lists, and I just added a new 14-day meal plan. Very soon, I’lll be hosting interactive LIVE CALLS on my app that you will be able to join…some cool new features are about to be rolled out, so you don’t want to miss out. My app is available on itunes & google play…those links are below for you.

So let’s talk about how to make this natural for you…and provide you with the best tips so that you can transition with meals, quantities, and more.

Let’s Start with My Most Important Key Points:

Eat One Raw Vegan Meal A Day: eat a juice, smoothie, or salad…get into a rhythm of eating more raw meals. Find 2-3 recipes you love and repeat them daily or weekly. The more raw vegan recipes you include into your daily routine, the easier and more natural this way of life will become for you.

Stock Up On Fruits and Vegetables: Make sure you have a full fridge of options available to you. If it’s in your home, you’ll most likely eat it. That goes 2 ways. Be sure to also get rid of anything you don’t want to eat. Set yourself up for success.

Try eating FullyRaw ONE Day a Week: If you’ve ever heard of Meatless Mondays or PlantPowered Fridays, why not create your own FullyRaw Friday or commit to eating raw vegan one day a week. You can plan ahead and make it a fun day of eating for you.

Eat Enough Calories - #1 mistake people make in this lifestyle is they don’t consume enough calories…fruits and veggies are higher in water content but lower in calories so you’ll need to eat more volume to get the calories you need. If your energy starts to drop, it’s a sign you need to increase the amount of calories you’re consuming. Check out my Inner Circle or online programs for more specific guidance.

Exercise Enough to Get Hungry: If you’re not used to eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and you normally don’t have much of an appetite, get in some exercise! It’s so good for you and will help you to FEEL your BEST. It feels GOOD to replenish yourself with healthy foods after a workout.

Create a Schedule & Rhythm: You HAVE to think one step ahead. You have to plan out your ingredients and meals in the beginning. Create new habits for yourself. AND–you have to practice these habits enough that they become a natural rhythm for you. Don’t “go with the flow” in your days when it comes to eating raw vegan if you’re new to this. That’s not setting yourself up for success…that’s leaving things to chance and hoping you’ll have the time-management skills and options in the day to achieve this. Life happens, so try to prepare ahead of time for different scenarios. Map out your options. If you don’t, you’ll find that it’s easier to grab for anything at the end of the day that’s convenient…and often times I’ve found those things people end up eating are things they regret eating.

Set Your Non-Negotiables: What are you looking to achieve? Is it going raw? Going vegan? Set your ultimate goal and then also set the bottom line you don’t want to go beyond. Setting your non-negotiables helps you to create better boundaries for yourself.

Have BACK UP PLANS for Social Settings - never leave it up to chance: I really can’t emphasize this enough. Prepare for social events or settings. Eat beforehand or make sure you have food options available to you that you’re comfortable with eating. It can be challenging in the beginning of your journey to stay strong in social settings. You don’t have to compromise your desires or goals. Have a plan A and a plan B. You’ll be so glad that you did.

Practice creates EASE: We’ve heard the phrase practice makes perfect…and in this case, I like to say…practice creates EASE. The more raw vegan recipes you make and the more days you eat raw, the more EASE-FILLED this becomes. Then…it gets REALLY fun.

Nourish not punish: I created 2 full masterclass videos on my channel about how to curb cravings and overcome food addictions. If you struggle with cravings, self-sabotage, commitment, over-eating, under-eating, food addictions, or even bloating…watch these videos. I’ve linked 2 below for you.

Create a daily plan for yourself: It’s as simple as preparing a very simple meal plan for yourself before you go to sleep at night. This plan can include many facets of wellness for you to achieve.

Don’t be afraid of eating the same things on repeat in the beginning: Find the recipes you love, and enjoy them! You don’t have to make a million recipes in the beginning…just a few that you love that you know you can stick to. Over time, this repertoire of recipes will grow naturally for you, and you’ll learn how to prepare more recipes with ease.

Daily Structure: Juice, Smoothie, Salad - When all else fails, stick to my basic meal plan of enjoying a juice in the morning, a smoothie for lunch, and a salad for dinner. That’s a pretty easy formula to remember. Have fun with it!

Now that I’ve shared those lifestyle tips with you, let’s discuss 5 SIMPLE raw vegan meal ideas you can enjoy at any time...

Mono Meals:

The easiest and quickest way to enjoy a meal on a raw food lifestyle is to mono-meal. A mono-meal is simply enjoying a meal of one type of fruit at a time. When in doubt, eat fruit! It doesn’t get much easier than this. Fruit is nature’s candy, and it’s also nature’s fast food! Give this video a thumbs up if you agree! I think people get so wrapped up in thinking they have to make something complicated that they forget it can be THIS simple and THIS easy. I mono-meal all the time, especially when there’s a fruit I love that’s in season. The secret to feeling full is to make sure you’re eating enough of that fruit to get enough calories and to feel satisfied. In the raw food world, fruit is considered a carbohydrate, so think of it as filling up your fuel tank for the day. Fruit gives you energy. If you have a problem with eating lots of fruit or are worried about the sugar content, then simply eat your fruit with greens. Some fruits that are easy to mono-meal are bananas, mangos, papayas, pears, jackfruit, dragonfruit, figs, grapes…just to name a few. You can eat fruit for a meal without guilt or shame. I find it ironic that we feel we need permission to eat fruit as a meal because so many are afraid because we've been programmed to fear fruit. It’s not fruit that’s the problem. It’s everything else we are eating that can make fruit the problem. When you’re raw, you NEED fruit to be your main source of carbohydrate. You can make a meal out of fruit, and it can be the easiest, quickest meal. Eat until you are content and satisfied. This is health freedom. You can pack up fruit and bring it with you on the go. It doesn’t get more simple than this.

Fruit Salads:

If you enjoy fruit and eating mono-meals, another simple way to enjoy your meals is to enjoy fruit salads. I typically make juice for my first meal of the day, or I eat a bowl of fruit. Not only is fruit sweet and delicious, it’s hydrating and nourishes your body with essential vitamins and minerals. I like to enjoy whatever fruits are in season at the time, and I allow those fruits to

inspire my dishes. Recently I created an abundant fruit salad using watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, mango, peaches, strawberries, and you can also add grapes or kiwi (for example). An easy dressing for this fruit salad would be to mix up lime with coconut nectar and drizzle it on top with some freshly minced mint. 

I hope you can see from these first two meal ideals that I’ve shared that eating a raw vegan meal can be as simple as eating a mono-meal or a fruit salad bowl. I recommend enjoying these types of meals in the morning so that they can give you energy to get through your day. Also, the goal is to have fun and enjoy what you’re consuming. Eat what you love and also find the blessing in it. I think it’s a gift to be able to enjoy the bounty that nature provides for us.

Smoothies & Nice Cream:

The next step up from mono-meals or bowls of fruits are smoothies. I love smoothie bowls and nice cream. If you’re just now starting to create your raw food kitchen, you need a blender…my favorite blender is the VITAMIX BLENDER. You can do EVERYTHING with this machine. If there was one appliance you had to start with it would be a blender. Juicer would be second. I have the A3500, and I love it because it’s a 2 in one machine. The A3500 base allows you to exchange the blender head with the food processor attachment. It’s a game-changer. This is my most used kitchen-appliance, and it’s so helpful to have in the kitchen. If you’re looking to get a new blender, check out the Vitamix sales link I’ve included here. It will send you to their sales page, and the link in the description will give you free-shipping off orders of $50 or more.

My favorite smoothie bowl recipe I’ve been enjoying lately has been my MEAN GREEN smoothie machine. I blend frozen bananas, sunwarrior vegan collagen building protein-peptides (yes this is raw), Sunwarrior supergreens, fresh coconut water, frozen mango, barley grass powder, and chlorella. It’s healthy, super satisfying, and delicious! I can’t go a day without my smoothie bowl. It gives me so much energy.

Juices:

Once you get the hang of making smoothies, then dive into making fresh JUICES.

I can’t talk about raw vegan recipes and not mention juicing. I’m a huge advocate of drinking freshly pressed juices. I enjoy 32-64 ounces of fresh green juices every morning, and they are a staple for me every day. I have so many videos on juicing on my Youtube channel (and in my app), and I invite you to check them out and watch a few. When made properly, the right juice can be an easy meal replacement for you. You can always tailor these combinations to meet your needs. 

You will need a juicer to make fresh juices, and my favorite juicer is the Nama J2 juicer. It’s the juicer I have in my home, and the one I love and recommend. The Nama J2 has a wide-open hopper that allows you to load in whole-ingredients, close the lid, walk away, and when you come back, fresh juices are made for you. It saves you time, effort, money, and prep…it’s revolutionary. You can get $55 off the Nama J2 juicer using the code: FULLYRAW55 at checkout. That’s linked here for you. I love juicing, and I hope you will find a love for it too.

Salads & Rainbow Wraps: 

Eating a salad is such a huge part of a raw vegan lifestyle. Consuming abundant types of dark leafy greens is so important. A lot of people don’t like to eat greens because they find it too tough to chew, digest, or how much time it takes to eat them. A lot of the time it’s because they don’t know what type of dressing to use to make salad enjoyable!

Eating salads doesn’t have to be boring! Once you get used to consuming greens on a daily basis, you will begin to CRAVE your salads. I love to eat my large salads for dinner, they are very satiating and filling. There is a lot of protein in greens, and I enjoy eating more savory meals at night. There are so many flavors and textures involved.

These are no ordinary salads! They are full of life force. They are guilt-free, shame-free, cruelty-free, and nourishing for your body. 

One of the best things about raw foods is that you get to eat the rainbow! There are so many varieties of fruits and vegetables that you can use to create any masterpiece. Sometimes people get bored of salads, so the next best thing is delicious wraps! There are lots of dehydrated raw wraps that you can make or buy, but I prefer to use large leafy greens as my wraps. You can use collard leaves, a large kale leaf, romaine lettuce leaves, or any large edible green leaf you can find. It’s important to consume more greens in your diet - this is where all of your minerals and phytonutrients come from. Greens are life force foods.

I’ve been 100% illness-free for 18 years, and I can tell you that THIS WORKS.  It’s not a pill. It’s not a surgery. It’s not a quick-fix. It’s a choice. It’s an AWAKENING. Yes, it’s a commitment and dedication that requires some un-learning and effort, but the results are far greater than you can imagine.

It starts with one FullyRaw vegan meal a day. One  vegan meal a week. A juice. A smoothie. A salad. It starts with what you put on your plate and with what you consciously consume. Vote with your dollar and support your local communities. And while many might think it’s all about the food...it’s about much more than that. It’s a MIND, BODY, SPIRIT journey.

I want to thank those of you who’ve been on this journey with me since the beginning, and I thank those who are new to my page and just beginning their journey. I’m just glad to know that CHANGE IS HAPPENING. We are the change.