Without the watery fruits (of Summer) we're both having a hard time, we're not feeling satisfied, we're having cravings for cooked foods

In a message dated 10/5/02 6:20:52 PM, Indigo writes:

Dear Rhio,

I'm thoroughly enjoying your hotline, political and otherwise! I have a question that you may or may not have time to answer, and either is fine.

A friend and I began the fruitarian diet about 4 months ago, kicked off by the Raw Passion event in Sebastopol, CA. We've done pretty good with it until recently, when a lot of our staple organic fruits aren't available locally -- especially watermellon and peaches. We found that when we begin the day with about a half of watermelon, have a 2-fruit salad for lunch, and a green salad for dinner, all was well & easy. Without the watery fruits, we're both having a hard time. We're not feeling satisfied, we're having cravings for cooked foods, etc.

We don't feel we have to follow the fruitarian diet, but we want to stay raw & healthy. And the raw cookbooks I have make the raw diet so complex with all the soaking, sprouting, etc. Is there any easy solution for us that you know of?

Thank you so much for your time, and if you're too busy for this, just delete it & we'll keep reading!!

Blessings,

Indigo

Dear Indigo,

Thank you for the positive word on my hotline.

I'm glad to hear you say that you don't have to follow a strict fruitarian diet. If you haven't read my book, you may not know that I'm not a proponent of the fruitarian diet. I believe in fruits, don't get me wrong - but I advocate a varied diet which includes roots, vegetables, leafy vegetables, wild vegetables, sea vegetables, fermented foods, culinary herbs, soaked and sprouted nuts and seeds with very small amounts of sprouted grains and legumes.

Fruits are excellent to propel you into the raw lifestyle and also for cleansing purposes in the beginning. And lots of fruit seems to have given you both a good start.

But just as the seasons change, it's good to adapt also to the changing fruits and vegetables that are on the market at different times of the year. Some of the fruits that will be coming into season soon, if not already here, are persimmons, pomegranates, Concord grapes and fresh figs. There are also sun dried fruits for winter, but I recommend only using those soaked first and in moderation. Then there are the root vegetables which I think are most appropriate and satisfying for winter. I have a recipe in my book called Hooked on Roots, which is a combination of grated roots (sweet potato, daikon radish, rutabaga, jerusalem artichoke, and beet) add some freshly ground pumpkin seeds, mashed avocado to bind it together, and 1 or 2 pressed garlic cloves, lemon juice and Celtic sea salt to taste.

Learning a new skill like sprouting may seem daunting and time consuming but it really isn't. First, you have to learn how to do it. But once you've acquired the skills, the actual time it takes to soak and sprout things is minimal. Also, once sprouted, most of the items can be kept in water in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.

In winter a combination of sprouted legumes and sprouted buckwheat with a nice sauce on it is very satisfying. These are foods that have a little more stick to the rib qualities.

Hoping to have helped a little.

With blessings and peace,

Rhio

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