’Tis the season for people to indulge in unhealthy foods because they exist around every corner. You’ll find cookies, pies, cakes, and an assortment of other sweet treats on each block you visit or in every restaurant you eat at. This can pose a lot of problems for people who are attempting to adhere to the raw vegan diet this holiday season. There’s no need to stress, though, because a little preparation will help you overcome the temptation of toxic, processed holiday junk food.
If the holidays were about being alone and sticking to your diet, we wouldn’t need to write this article, but the reality is that the holidays are about communal time, sharing love, and food. Unfortunately for raw vegans, the focal point of these gatherings, dinner parties, and office parties is food that they cannot enjoy. While it is perfectly acceptable to be a recluse, most people, even raw vegans, want to feel included in the action, even it means coming face to face with temptation. As our gift to the raw vegans, here are five tips to help you navigate the holidays with ease.
Stock Up
During the season of self-indulgence, it’s important for raw vegans to stock their fridges and pantries with raw staples. While everybody has his or her own favorite raw vegan snacks, we recommend getting your hands on raw cashews, grade A maple syrup, dates, raw cacao powder, or alcohol-free vanilla extract, all of which you can use to whip up healthy raw vegan desserts. Click here to make raw gingerbread energy bites, here for raw hot cocoa, or here for a raw eggnog smoothie.
Educate With Food
Let’s say you’ve been reading up on the benefits of the raw vegan diet and want to share this information via conversation at holiday gatherings. Since most people abandon their diets until the New Year, they may not be receptive to your newfound information. Rather than cornering people to preach your raw vegan information, show them how easily you can create delicious raw vegan meals. By tasting raw vegan meals, people may ask about the food and your new diet. This leads us into our next point.
Bring A Dish
Someone who has to host a holiday party most likely has his or her hands full. Don’t ask the host to make a specific raw vegan dish for you; rather, you should bring one or two to contribute to the holiday spread. From a colorful green salad or zoodle dish to a raw vegan fudge or cheesecake, sharing raw vegan foods is a communal way of sharing health conscious views and ensuring that you have things to eat at the parties you attend.
Get The Right Equipment
When it comes to creating spectacular raw vegan holiday dishes, there are a few kitchen essentials you may want to acquire. Items like a high-speed blender, food processor, spiralizer, mandolin, or dehydrator can help make life as a raw vegan much easier. If you don’t have any of these and want some, this is the perfect time of year to request those gifts!
Remind Yourself Of The Benefits
Remember when you were eating processed foods, dairy products, refined sugars, meats, and junk foods? How was your digestive system or cholesterol at that time? How do you feel now compared to how you used to feel? Take questions like these into account when you are tempted to eat sugary holiday creations. Before you get seduced by tempting treats, remind yourself of your regular bowel movements, improved energy levels, clearer thoughts, or improved circulation. Then you’ll reach for a raw dish that is filled with enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!
