You don't need to make a huge investment in eating raw and living foods. In fact, you'll probably be saving money by cutting back on highly processed convenience foods. All that high-fat, high-sodium microwaveable foods are pricey, too!

If you're new to this, eating raw foods isn't just about putting something different in you mouth. It's an experience that goes beyond the act of eating. When you're shopping for your food, make it an aesthetic experience as well. Fill your cart up with all the colors of these delicious live foods.

Invest in a good juicer. There are cooks' catalogues that carry them. Shop online. Maybe you can find a good used juicer on an auction site. A juicer is NOT really a blender. It's much more powerful because it needs to liquefy foods that can be highly fibrous.

You want some good knives too, for cutting up your fruits and vegetables. Invest in a few good ones. Turn the work of chopping up your food into something artistic.

If you don't have a steamer, invest in one of those too, so you can lightly steam your vegetables if you want. Buy specific types of steamers. We've seen an asparagus steamer that's especially designed to steam the woody bottoms more than the tender tips.

Get a few chopping tools that are also garnishing tools. It's just as easy to cut up carrots with a ridged cutting knife to make them more attractive. There are special slicers that get your fruits and veggies really thin and therefore more fun to eat.

And do invest in a new cutting board. You don't want to use the same cutting board for all your fresh new foods that you've used through the years to cut up chicken or other foods. No matter how much you scrub, your cutting board can absorb bacteria. Start fresh in all things - not just your food!

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