The Steps To A Fruitarian Diet

The fruitarian diet is not a new trend. Well-respected individuals such as Leonardo da Vinci were fruitarians, and even Mahatma Gandhi was a fruitarian for six months. Fruitarians eat a diet with a minimum of 75 percent raw fruit. The other 25 percent is raw and vegan, meaning no animal by-products. As this would be a radical change for most people, you must slowly alter your diet. Before adopting a fruitarian diet, speak with your doctor to make sure this diet is safe for you.

Cut Out Meats

Eating meat is not a part of a fruitarian diet. Fruitarians are vegetarians. Just making the switch from eating meat to following a vegetarian diet is challenging. Begin by cutting out everything but fish, instead focusing on dairy products, eggs, lentils, nuts, fruits, vegetables and whole grain products such as breads and pastas. Eventually, stop eating fish as well, and adopt a completely vegetarian diet.

Eliminate Dairy

Dairy products are also not part of a fruitarian diet. Slowly cut out cheeses, milk, yogurt, ice cream, butter and all other dairy products. Make one meal a day just raw fruit and try combining dried fruits and nuts for balanced snacks and meals. Eventually, eat only foods that are vegan, meaning without any ingredient that comes from an animal. This includes whey, gelatin, lard, casein, and many other ingredients that you likely did not know came from animals. Even some food colorings are not vegan. There are many web sites, books and pamphlets that provide complete listings of animal-derived ingredients. For instance the Vegan Society provides all of this information free on its web site.

Follow Meal Plans

As you learn how to adhere to a fruitatarian diet, it helps to follow meal plans. This takes out the guesswork and eliminates frustration from trying to figure out what to eat on your own. A simple plan is to eat three meals and both a morning snack and an afternoon snack, and one kind of fruit at each meal. This could include eating watermelon, grapes, mangoes, cantaloupe and bananas once during the day. Another option is to use a plan that includes nuts and seeds and a mix of fruits at each snack or meal. In addition to three meals, snack on raisins, grapes, mixed raw nuts and seeds, fruit juice, apples and pears throughout the day. A sample breakfast could include an avocado, slice of melon, juice, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds Lunch could be tomatoes, cucumber, nuts and seeds, olives and juice. For dinner, try berries, lemon juice, coconut, olives, tomatoes and bananas.

Eat High Quality Foods

After you have began to figure out how to put together your own meal plans, search out and select the highest quality fruits, such as those rich in important nutrients like calcium and iron. Oranges and figs are significant sources of calcium. Prunes, dates, raisins and apricots provide iron. Eat organic fruits, including berries and melons. Other recommended foods include nuts, such as cashews, hazelnuts and chestnuts. Dried fruits and vegetable fruits like tomatoes and olives are also important for fruitarians.