Hi all,

I have been vegetarian for 10 years and been a vegan on and off. I am really ready for the next step which is raw vegan now. It's been three days so far and I absolutely love it. Some questions if you don't mind:

Can you eat the following:

maple syrup?

I've read somewhere that peanut butter is toxic. Why? Even the peanut butter you make your own?

Any ideas on what to feed toddlers? I have two toddlers and they are not too keen on vegetables. They eat fruits and raisings and nuts and they love peanut butter, but not raw veggies and salads apart from tomatoes and cooked broccoli. Anything with plenty of calories?

Thanks

espap

espap, there is a site that will answer all of those questions and then some. it has a very good thread about having children that are raw, as well.

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com

Toddlers shouldn't eat a lot of raw food anyways. They have tiny stomachs and large nutritional needs, so don't fret about the raw veggies. Just cook some up :)

Toddlers shouldn't eat a lot of raw food anyways. They have tiny stomachs and large nutritional needs, so don't fret about the raw veggies. Just cook some up :)


That makes no sense. Cooking vegetables destroys the nutrients. You'll get better nutritional value by eating raw than you would eating cooked. There are PLENTY of healthy babies/toddlers/children that eat an all raw diet.

Children need a large amount of calories. It is extremely difficult to do that on a raw diet for a child. Most groups do not recommend a raw diet for children with good reason.

BTW, cooking does not destroy the nutrients in food. It reduces some, increases others, but the food is still healthy.

I have been vegetarian for 10 years and been a vegan on and off. I am really ready for the next step which is raw vegan now. It's been three days so far and I absolutely love it.
Good for you. I was ovo-lacto for about ten years, then vegan for about two, and started giving a raw diet a try about a week ago.
maple syrup?
My understanding is that the sap is usually boiled to concentrate it into syrup, so strictly speaking it isn't 'raw', though there may be someone who processes it at a lower temperature. I would expect such a maple syrup to be even more outrageously expensive than the usual sort. I personally feel that as a flavoring used in small quantities occasionally, it wouldn't adversely affect a raw diet, but YMMV.
I've read somewhere that peanut butter is toxic. Why? Even the peanut butter you make your own?
I've never heard that, though there certainly are people who are very very allergic to peanuts and could die from their consumption.

I've read somewhere that peanut butter is toxic. Why? Even the peanut butter you make your own?


I've heard stuff about aflatoxin (there's some info here http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2001/august/peanut.htm)

I'm not sure if it's an issue in homemade peanut butter. Sorry I can't be any more help.

Ahh, aspergillus toxins. Aspergillus sp. can also grow on corn and other crops. AFAIK there's nothing specific about peanuts in this regard. This article seems to discuss a spot occurrence in South Africa. A few years back, the Odwalla juice people were stung with a clump of food poisoning cases that were traced to an improperly-cleaned tanker truck, but that was a spot occurrence and not a reason to stop drinking juice.

Right at the end of that page it says:

Note: We would like to point out that the peanut butter used in the PSNP is quite different from commercially available peanut butter, most of which is regularly monitored for aflatoxin levels in South Africa.

Maple Syrup is okay to eat, but try the all natural approach; I use a pure maple syrup from the local grocery store....it's made by Maple Grove Farms.

Smuckers makes an all natural peanut butter. Made with NO Hydrogenated oils =)
http://www.smuckers.com/fg/pds/default.asp?groupid=2&catid=11&prodid=107

You *can* eat whatever you want, of course. But if you are asking if maple syrup and peanut butter are raw, the answer is no. And healthwise, raw, unroasted nuts/nut butters are a better choice - roasting does something bad to the fats in the nuts. You can't get raw peanut butter but you can get (or make) just about every other kind of nut butter raw.

I think it's great that you have your kids eating raw food. It really is the best thing for them in my humble opinion. To get in the greens, try blended soups. You can make some pretty good tasting ones. Green smoothies (fruit and greens blended) are pretty good too. If you blend apples and spinach, you can't tell by the taste that it's not applesauce.

Durian is a good high calorie food for kids. Coconut milk is another good thing.
It's naturally sweet, so they should like it.