I'm a terrible cook and find that I enjoy raw food much more anyway. I'm wondering if there are any others here who are having success with the raw food path and might have some recipes to share or words of advice.

I'm gathering as much information as I can in what little spare time I have but I feel like there is something I'm missing. On raw food sites they talk about how your energy increases but my energy hasn't increased; I don't think it has decreased but it definitely hasn't increased. I never found that my energy increased when I switched to the 6 balanced meals per day method either. I guess that is why staying consistent on the exercise front has been such a struggle for me. Any advice will be much appreciated. Peace. C

I've tried raw too but feel better when I eat at least 1 or 2 cooked meals a day. I have 2 books by Natalia Rose, she has some good raw recipes in her books. I'll post or email some of her recipes to you if you don't have her books.

Thanks Jaro! I don't have her books but I'll definitely look her up! What are some of your favorites from her books?

here is one: http://www.transformation.com/forum/...ale-salad.html

I'll email a few of her recipes to you. She has alot of salad recipes, but you can really just get creative with salads on your own.

I make easy/healthy lemonade by squeezing 1 lemon into a glass of ice water, and sweeten with stevia (a little goes a long way with stevia).

Here is one of my recipes which I made raw-friendly by using endive instead of toasted baguette:

Bruschetta
3 cups diced fresh plum tomatoes
1 loosely packed cup fresh basil, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic pressed
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp (or less) extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Mix together & let stand ½ hour. Spoon onto endive lettuce leaves.

This is a cooked recipe, but Quinoa is a super healthy grain:

Quinoa Risotto
1 tsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock (you could use veg. if you are vegetarian)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat & add garlic & onion. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the quinoa and cook about 3 more minutes. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock, stirring. When the liquid is mostly absorbed (about 10 min) add the remaining chicken stock. Continue cooking and stirring until the quinoa is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and season with salt & pepper and add a cup of cherry tomatoes and handful of fresh chopped basil.
You can also grate just a bit of parmesan over the top, and/or top with grilled chicken.

Here are a couple of links for Alissa Cohen. I went raw for several months and at first I really felt great but after awhile my body started to crave/need meat.
Alissa has a huge book (600 pages) that is packed full of raw recipes. I highly recommend it!

http://www.alissacohen.com/

http://www.alissacohen.com/community.html

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/index.php

One of my friends is a raw chef and THIS (one of her recipes) is to die for!!!

Blend 1.5 cups of pine nuts into a fine powder
add 2 tbls white mellow miso paste
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
2.5 tbls turmeric ( must be good turmeric)
pinch of sea salt
blend until creamy, set aside
peel and mandolin 2 sweet potatoes or yams, cut into small thin pieces
toss with olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon, let it marinate for about an hour
Mix with sauce and serve!

The measurements are not exact, it is not an exact science, more of an art...

I have a book called Raw Foods for Busy People that is great. Also, Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco has a great website and sells their recipe books.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for all your responses! They have been very helpful - and YUMMY! I can't wait to try more this weekend. Learning new recipes is so much fun! (wow, never thought I'd ever say that!)
Thanks again!!
Peace. C