Ten Ways to Help Get Raw Food Into Reluctant People

This article came through on the RawReform e-mail bulletin by Angela Stokes, and it was so good I’ve reproduced it here!

“Many of us experience challenges trying to help others to eat more healthily. Well, despair ye no longer, help is at hand… Here are ten top tips for helping reluctant people eat more raw…

1. Dessert 🙂 Almost everyone loves desserts…You don’t need to even tell anyone the dessert is raw – just put out a gorgeous raw cake or pie and watch everyone enjoy it. A fabulous tip is to add Irish Moss to the recipe as a thickening agent – that way you’re also renegading minerals into them at the same time.

2. Gourmet Treats – people are often afraid that raw food will be ‘boring’. Surprise your loved ones by learning a few special ‘gourmet’ raw dishes that will help make the food seem more familiar to them. Raw Pizza, Lasagna, Burgers and other dense, filling ‘mock’ dishes are great bridges into a raw lifestyle.

3. “Slowly, Slowly, Catch A Monkey” – trying to force other people around you to become raw very rarely seems to have positive, lasting results. A much more effective strategy seems to involve slowly, gently and consistently introducing new foods/recipes over time – slowly, slowly, respectfully allow each person’s path to unfold at their own pace.

4. Food Gathering – take your loved ones out to pick fruits or forage in the wild. Reconnecting to nature in this way can be thoroughly energising, inspiring and enjoyable, plus helps in understanding experientially where food comes from…

5. Sprout/Grow Food – ask your loved ones (especially children), if they’d love to help you with sprouting in the kitchen or growing food. When people are involved in growing their own food, there is a stronger connection to the produce and you might find they are more excited to eat the harvest.

6. Small Portions – if you’re offering something raw that you sense will be perceived as ‘odd’ by your loved ones, try offering only small amounts at first. With my parents for example, I offer shotglasses of green juice and describe it as ‘medicine’ – they are willing to grimace and knock this back, whereas a big glass might be off-putting to them.

7. Food Prep – asking your loved ones to assist in raw food prep can be a great way to get them more involved – especially children. Make it clear that by helping they are not then obliged to eat the food, though they are welcome to eat some if they’d like to.

8. Educational Resources – if you have inspiring raw food books, DVDs, magazines or other resources, it can be useful to leave them OUT where other people can see them and may casually dip into them, rather than packing them away out of sight.

9. Abundance – do your best to have an abundant range of raw goodies available on display for loved ones to feast on at their will. A flowing fruit basket, a stack of raw snack bars, a cookie jar packed with dehydrated fruity roll-ups, or an ice-lolly rack in the freezer of frozen raw treats can all go a long way to help making healthier treats easily accessible to the reluctant.

10. Shine On 🙂 Be a shining, glowing, positive example of the raw food lifestyle, allowing others to simply observe the shifts in your life, without trying to push anything onto them. BE the change and let others follow along the path at their own pace if they’d like to, as your beaming health and radiance becomes an irresistible beacon to them.”

Leisa