Introducing raw food into your daily lifestyle can feel like a daunting experience. It may feel like it takes much longer to prepare than conventional cooking, or you may feel you haven’t got time or the mindset to prepare food in advance.

I know when I started on raw food, preparing foods like raw pizza or burgers just seemed like hard work and I couldn’t get my head around the preparation process, having to make foods like bread, pizza bases, burgers, snacks days in advance when I really just fancied one there and then.

We are faced with so many convenience foods. They are everywhere, in our shops, supermarkets, cafes and home and we are constantly bombarded with these foods on the television, newspapers and magazines. No wonder we find it so difficult to stay on a raw diet. We know the huge benefits of raw food but sometimes that is just not enough. Convenience foods are just that, you can pop into a shop, supermarket, bakery or café and have something like a pizza ready to eat within minutes. But if you want a raw pizza, you need to sprout your grains first and in about 3-4 days time you can have that pizza you craved for days ago!

Ready meals, microwave meals and quick fix instant foods have only taken over our stores in the last 20-30 years. Before then we spent much more time in the kitchen preparing our food and still met the demands of daily life. We are now an age where we expect things to be done in super quick time, jobs are more demanding and the pre-packed instant meals are an answer to saving time in the kitchen. But in reality, do these really save time on our health? What effect do all these processed foods have on our life in the long term? Are we beginning to see the longer term effects of these foods on our health.

Because of the high amount of addictive processed fats, sugar and salts in these foods, for many of us a lot of willpower is needed to avoid these foods. We have to face facts that if we want the healthy raw lifestyle we need to change our mindsets and focus on our values. In time this will get easier, I promise you that. I loved my junk food and I still do, but by taking control of my environment in the home and changing my habits, it has helped me to stay on a high raw diet. Don’t get me wrong I still have my days where I lapse but it does get better in long run.

In truth, the preparation of raw food doesn’t take any longer than conventional cooking. A raw pizza, bread or lasagna takes just as long (if not quicker) to prepare as conventional cooked foods. We may have to prepare some stuff in advance like sprouting or dehydrating, but the actual preparation of raw food, in most cases is just the same. It is down to changing our habits with raw food, going back to basics and not relying on pre-packed ready-made foods. With summer here on our doorstep this is an ideal time to focus on raw food when our need for cooked foods is much less.