Since I am from Canada, a lot of people ask me how it’s possible to eat raw in the winter. I’m sitting here writing this article, while big fluffy snowflakes traverse the sky.
Most of the time, these questions come out of a desire to understand how it’s possible to eat foods that are cold, when you’re craving something warm and comforting in the winter.
I put together this short video explaining what I believe happens when we eat raw foods in the dead of winter, or in a cold climate.
Benefits Of Eating Raw Food In The Winter
- Although this isn’t scientific, it’s just my intuitive feelings about eating fruits in the winter, but here goes. Eating foods that were grown in the sunshine is like absorbing the energy of the sun, in my opinion.
- A single orange has probably seen more sun in its lifetime than we would during an entire winter.
- Eating raw foods keeps your immune system in top shape, so you can more easily ward off colds and other infections that make the rounds in the winter. This happens because you’re not overloading your digestive system with tons of complex foods, and most fruits contain tons of vitamins & minerals to keep your body immune.
- Raw foods can be warmed, without loosing their nutritious properties. For example, you can warm a raw soup on the stove or in your dehydrator, and if you keep it below 118F, you can enjoy warm and comforting raw foods.
The Environmental Effects
One of the arguments that I hear the most when it comes to eating raw foods in the winter, is that you cannot eat locally.
Although a lot of people come to raw foods with the intention of reducing their ecological footprint, we need to be realistic when it comes to what we eat in the winter.
To be perfectly honest, if you live in a very cold climate, there will not be a lot of local foods available to you during the winter.
One alternative is to eat vegetables that were grown in a greenhouse. Of course, it takes energy to keep a greenhouse going, but you might reduce the amount of traveling that the produce requires to get to your door.
Whether you’re eating raw or not, you’re still going to be buying food items that are not local. For example, that pasta to you bought probably did not come from your neighborhood, or even your country.
Most of the foods we buy are packaged and shipped from faraway locations. You also have to take into account the amount of packaging that each of these processed foods require. Fruits and vegetables also use packaging, so it’s not really a convincing argument either way.
Still, you have fruits and vegetables that may be shipped from warmer locations. Although we all agree that it would be better to eat locally, we need to realize that living in the North means that we have a limited supply of food. We aren’t all hunters, and we can’t just migrate south, even though it would make our life easier.
The bread, rice, and pasta that you buy will likely have been shipped from far away. We’ve found ways to survive in cold places by importing the food we need to survive. Many animals do not survive the winter due to lack of food.
Some of the best things you can do to reduce your ecological footprint, is to grow your own garden in the summer. By growing your own produce, you are essentially offsetting some of the damage that you may have caused by buying overseas in the winter.
Another way to eat raw foods in the winter, is to pick a lot of local berries and fruits in the summer, and to freeze them for the winter. That way, you can still enjoy lots of smoothies made with local berries.
Tips For Eating Raw In The Winter
- Take your food out of the refrigerator ahead of time, so it can warm to room temperature.
- Freeze fruits and vegetables in the summer for use during the winter. You can then put these in smoothies or to make raw ice creams. (If you like to eat ice cream in the cold months, that is!)
- Warm raw soups in your dehydrator or on your stove, as long as it’s below 118F it’s still considered raw!
- Make dehydrated treats that remind you of your favorite winter time snacks, they will be warm and gooey when they come out of the dehydrator.
- If you find yourself eating more in the winter, simply up your exercise. We all want to just curl up on the couch, but it can be revitalizing to move your body instead.
- If being all raw is too hard or expensive in the winter, revert to raw until dinner, while choosing healthy cooked alternatives for your last meal of the day.
{ 10 comments }
I'm packing all raw foods for lunch today Nathalie! And the thing about eating like this is how good I feel versus when I've eaten junk-type foods. Lunch shall be delicious today. I know that I'm getting most of my raw food from far-away places since I'm also in a northern climate. I'm okay with that, and I'm really okay with what might be perceived as higher costs. I like to think long-term, and the health benefits of eating healthy now will be a cost saving in doctor visits down the road.
Your site here continues to impress me very much!
I'm packing all raw foods for lunch today Nathalie! And the thing about eating like this is how good I feel versus when I've eaten junk-type foods. Lunch shall be delicious today. I know that I'm getting most of my raw food from far-away places since I'm also in a northern climate. I'm okay with that, and I'm really okay with what might be perceived as higher costs. I like to think long-term, and the health benefits of eating healthy now will be a cost saving in doctor visits down the road.
Your site here continues to impress me very much!
Aww, you're making me so proud Lance! I think it's awesome that you can feel the effects of eating fresh foods vs. junk-type foods. I think you're well on your way, the investment you are making for yourself will be repaid to you your whole life!
Have an awesome day, and an equally awesome lunch! :)
Aww, you're making me so proud Lance! I think it's awesome that you can feel the effects of eating fresh foods vs. junk-type foods. I think you're well on your way, the investment you are making for yourself will be repaid to you your whole life!
Have an awesome day, and an equally awesome lunch! :)
Hi Nathalie,
First, I am wondering if you've done any research on the vitamin B12 deficiency. A few vegeterians I know and myself have a B12 deficiency. I rarely eat meat, and I'm eating more and more raw foods lately. I feel great, but I'm still taking B12 supplements. I don't see how else I can make up for the B12 found mostly in meat.
Second, how do we get all our minerals and calcium eating only raw foods?
Finally, many fruits are picked green and they ripe in boxes. These fruits don't have as many vitamins as the ones that grow naturally. Even the organic ones… Also, most bananas are picked green and frozen, till they are put on the shelf. My concern is, how do we get our vitamins? Even if we think we are, we are probably not getting enough.
Maybe you'll address some of these questions in future articles ? I'd be happy to hear what you think. Thank you!
Hi Nathalie,
First, I am wondering if you've done any research on the vitamin B12 deficiency. A few vegeterians I know and myself have a B12 deficiency. I rarely eat meat, and I'm eating more and more raw foods lately. I feel great, but I'm still taking B12 supplements. I don't see how else I can make up for the B12 found mostly in meat.
Second, how do we get all our minerals and calcium eating only raw foods?
Finally, many fruits are picked green and they ripe in boxes. These fruits don't have as many vitamins as the ones that grow naturally. Even the organic ones… Also, most bananas are picked green and frozen, till they are put on the shelf. My concern is, how do we get our vitamins? Even if we think we are, we are probably not getting enough.
Maybe you'll address some of these questions in future articles ? I'd be happy to hear what you think. Thank you!
Hi Julia,
You brought up some awesome points! I've heard of B12 deficiency a lot, and a few of the raw food advocates even take B12 supplements, just in case. I think that's probably wise at this point, since we're not to be eating bugs and other critters like monkeys might.
As for calcium and other minerals, many of them can be found in green & leafy veggies. Not necessarily iceberg lettuce, but stuff like romaine, kale, swiss chard, collard leaves, etc.
As for the fruits that are picked unripened, it really sucks. I think buying local in the summer we can avoid most of these problems, since we can usually pick the fruit ourselves or otherwise talk to the farmers (farmers markets). I've also heard of bananas being picked green & being “gassed” to ripen. I don't think there's an easy solution to these issues, but it's something I will research and writing about in the future article!
Thanks for bringing up your concerns, I think it's really important to know of the setbacks we might be getting into. Also, congrats on your vegetarian and more & more raw diet. :)
Hi Julia,
You brought up some awesome points! I've heard of B12 deficiency a lot, and a few of the raw food advocates even take B12 supplements, just in case. I think that's probably wise at this point, since we're not to be eating bugs and other critters like monkeys might.
As for calcium and other minerals, many of them can be found in green & leafy veggies. Not necessarily iceberg lettuce, but stuff like romaine, kale, swiss chard, collard leaves, etc.
As for the fruits that are picked unripened, it really sucks. I think buying local in the summer we can avoid most of these problems, since we can usually pick the fruit ourselves or otherwise talk to the farmers (farmers markets). I've also heard of bananas being picked green & being “gassed” to ripen. I don't think there's an easy solution to these issues, but it's something I will research and writing about in the future article!
Thanks for bringing up your concerns, I think it's really important to know of the setbacks we might be getting into. Also, congrats on your vegetarian and more & more raw diet. :)
Hi Nathalie,
First, I am wondering if you've done any research on the vitamin B12 deficiency. A few vegeterians I know and myself have a B12 deficiency. I rarely eat meat, and I'm eating more and more raw foods lately. I feel great, but I'm still taking B12 supplements. I don't see how else I can make up for the B12 found mostly in meat.
Second, how do we get all our minerals and calcium eating only raw foods?
Finally, many fruits are picked green and they ripe in boxes. These fruits don't have as many vitamins as the ones that grow naturally. Even the organic ones… Also, most bananas are picked green and frozen, till they are put on the shelf. My concern is, how do we get our vitamins? Even if we think we are, we are probably not getting enough.
Maybe you'll address some of these questions in future articles ? I'd be happy to hear what you think. Thank you!
Hi Julia,
You brought up some awesome points! I've heard of B12 deficiency a lot, and a few of the raw food advocates even take B12 supplements, just in case. I think that's probably wise at this point, since we're not to be eating bugs and other critters like monkeys might.
As for calcium and other minerals, many of them can be found in green & leafy veggies. Not necessarily iceberg lettuce, but stuff like romaine, kale, swiss chard, collard leaves, etc.
As for the fruits that are picked unripened, it really sucks. I think buying local in the summer we can avoid most of these problems, since we can usually pick the fruit ourselves or otherwise talk to the farmers (farmers markets). I've also heard of bananas being picked green & being “gassed” to ripen. I don't think there's an easy solution to these issues, but it's something I will research and writing about in the future article!
Thanks for bringing up your concerns, I think it's really important to know of the setbacks we might be getting into. Also, congrats on your vegetarian and more & more raw diet. :)
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