Raw Vegan Diet Food List – If you’re reading this, it means you’re interested in going raw. Congratulations! You’ve made an excellent choice.
Eating raw is one of the best ways to improve your health, lose weight, and look amazing while still enjoying the foods you love… but how do you know what foods to eat?
Read on to find out the top ten healthiest foods to eat on the Raw Vegan Diet Food List.
Top 10 Healthiest Raw Vegan Diet Food
Fresh, dried, juiced, or dehydrated fruits.
Fruits are a great source of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals—which help boost immunity and promote proper digestion.
These are also easy on your digestive system, which makes them a wonderful snack for individuals following an acidic diet (like raw food).
Fruits to eat as part of a raw vegan diet include avocado, berries (fresh or dried), apples, mangoes, lemons, and oranges.
Some people also choose to dehydrate their fruits at home so they can enjoy fruit all year long. You’ll find how-to instructions online.
Raw, juiced, or dehydrated vegetables.
Fresh, leafy greens like romaine lettuce and spinach, as well as broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers are essential parts of any healthy diet.
Juicing them is a great way to quickly add extra nutrition to your day. The fibers from these plants take longer for our bodies to digest and absorb than most other foods—plus juicing gives you a boost of concentrated vitamins that otherwise might be hard for your body to absorb.
Make sure you start with dark greens when juicing; they’re loaded with antioxidants—which help protect against cancer, stroke, and heart disease—as well as protein, iron, and calcium.
Blend in some red veggies, too; red bell peppers have more beta-carotene than oranges!
Raw nuts and seeds.
Many of these items can be purchased as ready-to-eat snack packs, or you can roast them in your oven or on a dehydrator tray.
Either way, they’re an easy and healthy addition to any diet. What do they all have in common? They’re high in protein and fiber, low in saturated fat and sodium, and contain no cholesterol.
Make nuts a regular part of your diet by snacking on them with other raw fruits and vegetables as well as trail mix combinations containing dried fruit (such as raisins or dates) and chocolate chips.
Uncooked grains and legumes (sprouted or soaked)
Uncooked grains and legumes are always a safe bet, especially when sprouted or soaked. Sprouting releases enzymes that make these foods easier to digest, reducing anti-nutrients and resulting in more vitamins being absorbed by your body.
Examples of raw grains include spelled, amaranth, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, and oats. Raw beans and legumes include mung beans, adzuki beans, and lentils.
Avoiding lectins is easy if you eat cooked grains and legumes, but it’s also possible if you eat them raw. Some people find that eating uncooked grains causes gas, bloating, or diarrhea (or all three), so it’s best to slowly introduce them into your diet.
Start with one small serving per day for a few days; then add another serving after two days; and so, on until you’re able to eat a full serving without any negative symptoms occurring.
Raw nut bowls of milk.
Soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk, and rice milk are all good options if you’re looking for a healthy substitute for cow’s milk.
The one downside is that processed bowls of milk tend to be loaded with sugar and other additives, so make sure you check your labels.
Also keep in mind that unsweetened nut bowls of milk often contain less protein than their dairy counterparts, making them less than ideal if you’re trying to bulk up.
Make sure your plant-based bowls of milk have at least three grams of protein per serving. If they don’t, consider adding in some raw nuts or a scoop of protein powder.
Raw nut jars of butter.
The easiest way to consume protein from nuts is in its raw, unsalted form. Nut jars of butter are a great source of vitamins and minerals that your body can use immediately.
And be sure to choose natural nut jars of butter (no added sugars or oils), which won’t slow you down like regular peanut butter.
For example, almonds and hazelnuts provide magnesium—an important mineral for heart health that most people don’t get enough of. (A 1-ounce serving of roasted almonds has 143 mg; raw has 192 mg.)
Almond butter also provides iron, while cashew butter contains zinc. Consuming moderate amounts of these diet-friendly fats can help reduce belly fat and prevent many diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Cold-pressed oils.
Cold-pressed refers to oils that are mechanically extracted without exposure to heat. Oils are typically cold-pressed at room temperature, so they retain their highest nutrient content.
Cold pressing gives you a higher quality oil with more flavor and aroma than oils that have been pressed at high temperatures (aka refined).
At Green Blender, we use cold-pressed olive oil in our cleanse smoothies and even use it on salads from time to time!
If you’re looking for an extra boost of nutrients, or just want some variety in your diet, try swapping out your regular oil for cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
In truth, you might be surprised by how good it tastes!
Fermented foods like miso, kimchi and sauerkraut.
Fermented foods are rich in probiotics. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that live in your gut and can support your digestion, protect against disease and even help you lose weight!
You should try adding fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi to your diet. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a kimchi recipe that only takes 15 minutes of prep time.
Sweeteners such as pure maple syrup and unprocessed raw cacao powder
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to avoid all sweeteners to lose weight or live healthier.
Certain low-calorie sweeteners can help reduce cravings for other sweets and can help keep blood sugar stable.
These include pure maple syrup, raw cacao powder, and stevia. Just make sure they’re natural sweeteners with no added sugars and no questionable ingredients.
Condiments
Raw sauces and condiments are great ways to add flavor, taste, and essential vitamins to raw foods.
They also act as natural sources of probiotics, which help rebuild beneficial microflora in your gut. The good news is that there are dozens of delicious condiments you can try.
Try incorporating any of these into your diet: coconut aminos; gluten-free tamari sauce; Bragg’s Liquid Aminos; apple cider vinegar; olive oil; raw honey (remember, honey is about 60 percent sugar by weight); unpasteurized miso or soy sauce; or sun-dried tomatoes.