At first I just want to thank you that you are here. Maybe the inner voice of yours have brought you here to hear me out and make some changes in your life. Maybe what I write will resonate with you and you will (now or later) start a new life.
It is good to mention, that the raw food is the right choice for human beings. I am sorry to say that we are the only species on the planet, that cook their food. All the other animals know how and what they should eat. Only we don’t. But if you got here and read this, you are on the right track.
From my experience, at the beginning of the raw vegan journey, eating this way will be more expensive than eating thermally processed food. This is due to the fact that it is cheaper to fill your belly with cooked buckwheat and lentils, than with a few apples. The feeling of being full stays with you longer. Bring attention to that we are used to the feeling of having a full stomach. As soon as this feeling disappears and you feel a little rumble in your stomach, you think you are hungry. Nowadays I think hardly anyone experiences real hunger.
On a raw vegan diet, or on a fruit diet, you have to get used to the feeling of lightness, because the food is digested very quickly and does not stay inside you for too long (but the power to live and do things remains).
At the beginning, in the transition phase, I often had a tendency to eat heavy meals, lots of nuts, fats, avocados, oils... (added to this: mixing of different food groups with each other- very bad long-term solution). Additionally I was obsessed with buying organic products. Later on, however, when the time passed by, I have found out that I did not need to eat so much or buy certified products. This only applies to the transitional stage when one feels increased desire for food because the body is not used to the new diet. Then, when everything is normalised, you just start to live properly.
Do I buy organic? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I find organic at a good price, I buy it. For me the main determinant is: firstly, the fruit or vegetable MUST be ripe (basic rule), secondly: what I can, I buy from a local farmer, thirdly: whenever I see a good bargain in the shops, I use it to the maximum. But remember that only mature raw plant foods are good for us. Unripe ones will produce too many acids and make you feel bad. And we want to alkalize our bodies not fill it with acids.
I am very happy that there are several farmers near me. One of them has organic produce and from him I always buy kale by the box (twice a week, 1kg-1,5kg each time- I love to squeeze the juice out of it together with sour apple and a lemon), or carrots all dirty direct from the ground. And what taste and freshness has it got!!!!
Some people are afraid to eat fruit and vegetables because they are modified, because they are hybrids of what it used to be a long time ago, because they have a lot of pesticides, because they don't grow in the region where one live, etc... And they prefer to eat meat because it is safer... And I ask: what do you think these animals are fed with? Pure organic food from Queen Elizabeth farmland in southern Africa? I leave this question without an answer :) because there is not more to say.
I do the shopping every day. The reason for it is that I search for good prices and sales, and believe me when you analyse it, every day you will find something to buy at a very good price! I have bought 30kg oranges or 60 kiwis lately (there was a mega super offer in one of the supermarkets) and we ate it (and drunk it) for a few days. Honestly!
What I like about raw vegan is that it is such an easy lifestyle. Our body likes it when you give it simple meals = mono meals = one type of food at a time. Then the effectiveness of digestion is incredible.
If you want to eat a fruit, eat one type at one meal. Of course it is ok to mix it, if you feel like it (preferably not more then 3 kinds). Just remember the principle of what is easier for your body to digest. Do not mix too much and too often.
Whatever the case with these fruits and vegetables may be, I still firmly and unalterably believe that it is better to eat raw fruits and vegetables than any animal products (the worst animal product is milk and all milk products like cheese, yoghurts, kefir, etc). Although I must admit that currently I eat very few root vegetables and feel better when they are in lightly steamed form rather than raw (for example carrots and beetroot, which fibre in my opinion is heavy. It is worth remembering here that steamed they will not be mucus-forming).
Fruits rehydrate us thanks to their structural water content (the cell recognises the structure of this water and lets it in). They are digested very quickly and the energy level remains high (may not apply when you are at the beginning of this path). Fruit triggers the cleansing processes (freshly squized juices at the first place). They are a divine gift for us to live our lives in full health.