One thing they don't tell you about raw

[Live]

Hi all!

What they don't tell you is that living raw can get expensive!
I have been raw for about 2 months now. We are a family
of 4 and I am the only one raw. We are finding that our
grocery bill has really gone up since I started. Initially
I went through making the exotic dishes but one cannot
keep this up all the time. My basic routine is now
breakfast:green smoothie + nut milk & fruit smoothie
lunch: Salad + crackers
Dinner: Green smoothie or juice + fruit and/or crackers
Even under these circumstances I am finding that
it is getting expensive. I try to follow the EWG article
"Pesticides in Produce" to buy organic for high pesticide foods.
I also do a lot of online foraging to buy bulk/cheap items where
I can. What does'nt help is that I am not really seeing the
benefits many tout. I feel really tired by early evening and cannot
say I feel vibrant. In fact, I do not feel much different compared
to my previous veg cooked diet! I plan to persevere to see
where it goes.

Anyway, how do you all keep it in check? How do you all
maintain a sensible budget? Any tips you care to share?
Any favorite online stores where you get your stuff?

Many thanks for reading.
Regards,
Live

[jjvjar]

I feel your frustration. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2004. I worked with a friend of mine in a raw vegan restraunt and was eating free. In 3 weeks I lost 15 pounds and all of my past and current symptoms disappeared. I have been in search for some pretty simple recipes as well that would stop costing so much money. I am also in the same boat as you, I want to switch and my family does not so it does end up costing alot more money especially when buying strictly organic. I can testify of the results though. If you find any simple recipes let me know. Maybe between all of us we can figure something out. Jessica. Keep your head up it is harder to come back then it is to persevere.

[Chelsea xo]

As a student, I can tell you right now that eating raw can be the cheapest or most expensive commitment you make. The key to keeping prices low is making meals as simple as possible and limiting those tempting pre-made raw cookies, flavored nuts, etc.

But as for not feeling great on the living foods diet, maybe you should go back and take baby steps to being 100% raw, or try to include more dense, high-energy foods (dates, bananas, nuts) throughout the day.

Either way, good luck to you and your family!

[ofercryinoutloud]

You could be detoxing. It can be very uncomfortable. Stick with it a few more weeks and see what happens.

A raw diet is expensive, but I always remember how much I spend on prescriptions. $300 a month. I can't wait until I'm well enough to cut that out. And doing it by replacing it with foods I love? What could be better?!

[rawhippie]

i have found it to get cheaper as time has gone on. in the beginningwhen i decided this was the life for me, i purchased an excalibur dehydrator, champion juicer, cuisinart food processor, and vitamix blender. obviously lots of monney right there. as for food, have any of you read the books by the boutenko family? they have lots of books out there with simple foods, yet very yummy. i like their recipes because of their simplicity, but also because they really make good use out of lots of stuff you may already have. i find their books help me when my wallet is on the emptier side!!! also, someone once said to me..."you either pay now, or pay later" as she was referring to healthcare costs. for me, after time i didn't even need as much food anymore as my body assimilated to what i was feeding it. be sure to pay attention to what your body is saying to you, if you are craving certain things like sweets, for example, you're more than likely calcium depleted. in that case make sesame, or nut milk with the supplies most of us probably already have on hand. everyone keep on truckin' and keep on reading there are plenty of resources out there to help us, we just need to know the right things to look for!!
in good health
becky

[Live]

Thanks to all for reading and replying.

I have gone from gourmet to simple. Now my daily routine
is pretty much set, but evenings are difficult---both due
to lack of energy and lack of a sated feeling with the
meal at night. Nevertheless, I am sticking to it.
My wife keeps on suggesting that I go back to eating cooked
at night but at this moment I feel that I need to stick to
raw for a while to get it established before I step on the
dark side!

Anyway, we were out yesterday 4th of July at a local parade
and people were eating all sorts of junk my wife then asks me
why is it that we eat good, buy quality produce, etc and
are still sick while all these folks are just doing fine. Of course,
we don't know they are doing fine but a lot of them "looked"
ok. I don't know, my analytical mind says that you need to
look at the health of each individual there to be able
to answer that question, cannot answer it on looks alone.
However, a lot of them did look energetic, etc. So who knows.
Of course it does'nt help that my being raw has not
brought about the extra energy and all rather I am tired
more in the evenings. However, the headaches seem
to have reduced considerably.

Anyway, take care y'all.
Regards,
Hitesh

[rawhippie]

hey hitesh, wasn't aware you were not experiencing the good side effects of being raw. in my last post i referred to reading material by the boutenko family. i highly recommend victoria boutenko's book "12 steps to raw food" a very inexpensive book, extremely informative and enlightening. one other book that i can strongly recommend is a book by david jubb called " lthe life food recipe book" he incorporates some cooked food in his recipes if i recall correctly, but the reading material is phenomenal. keep in mind that as you eat food that ultimately digests itself you are now allowing your body to do it's healing work properly so you will definatley be going thru a detox period and if you have a long history of illness i have heard that it takes approximataly one month to heal each years worth of that illness. anyway, i'm babbling on and could for a long time, i'm quite passionate about this!! hope this has helped you and others and hope to keep hearing from all of you as i am new not only to this website, but posting all around, if you can believe it! was starting to think no one really posted on this site.
keep in touch as i love to hear everyone's experiences as they help my motivation.
by the way hitesh, in the book "eating without heating" by the boutenko family, there is a recipe in there for raw pizza that is outstanding. trying making the crust to that and adding your own favorite toppings after it's dehydrated. i love fresh basil, sundried tomatoes and fresh garlic. the best part about that recipe (other than it being delicious) is that is makes about four pie crusts, thus lasting a few days/nights. it's a great dinner to come home to, hope that helps your evening routine.
in good health
becky

[dawnkaree]

Myself and my family of 5 have all gone raw. We try to eat a variety of things and I give my children ages 2 - 8 all the fruit, veggies and grains they want. For breakfast we might have granola and almond milk and then some fruit, later on some hummus and veggies, fruit and peanut butter and then dinner is usually a kale salad with mixed veggies(green beans, red peppers, onions and a vinaigrete) some flavored bulger with cut corn. Basically, we eat all day; which has always been the case. Everywhere I go I take food with me just in case. I have found that if you just snack on fruits and veggies throughout the day you feel so much better. I experience headaches alot but, I think it's because sometimes with all the hustle and bustle I forget to eat like I should but the headache just reminds me to drink some water and eat something. All I can say is just keep at it. New habits take at least 30 days to completely adjust. My family is thriving and my pregnancy is thriving on this as well (I just found out!) I hope this helps at least some. Good luck and happy trailmix!!

[rawhippie]

oh my!! congratulations!!! i would love to know how your raw progress goes with the pregnancy. good luck!!!