I'd like to introduce myself - Raw Food Chat

peaceripples · 01-23-2008

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Jen and I'm a cooked-food addict. I suppose I'm looking for a 12-step program to help me give it up!

Seriously.... I'm one of those people who has to read *everything* available before taking action. I've done a lot of reading on raw foods (not nearly everything, of course, but a lot) and I really want to start transitioning towards a raw-food diet. I can't see myself ever doing it 100%, but for now I'd like to try one meal a day to start. In the meantime, I've at least started to increase the amount of raw food I eat alongside my cooked food, and/or for snacks, etc.

I'm here looking for more inspiration, suggestions, recipes, and just to meet a few people who don't think I'm crazy for wanting to eat raw.

Joyful · 01-23-2008

I'm new to this group, too. I have been a advocate for raw food for 23 years. OMG has it been that long. That is not to say that I have always been or always am 100%. I was 24 when I did it & 8mons. pregnant, had been transitioning for awhile. This was my second son and he was sooo healthy. You can go 100% for a day. Then try for a week or a few days. Raw juices, and sprouts are loaded with nutrition. The average diet is one of nutritional starvation. Ours is a society of fat, but starving people.

peaceripples · 01-23-2008

Thanks for the encouragement!

I think I'd need to go shopping before I could do it for a whole day... there's not much more than a meal's worth of raw fruits and veggies in the house. Unless I ate all the apples but that would be too much for one day (we bought a bushel awhile back, and there's still quite a few left).

I'm thinking of starting with raw smoothies for breakfast and building from there. I just have to find the blender....

healthyme · 01-23-2008

That's how I start my day, with a smoothie. I generally use whatever's on hand, I try not to overthink it. I use berries, bananas, parsley, kale, romaine mostly. I have to get to the farmer's market this weekend. I always throw some natural (not sure its 100% raw) protein powder in and purified water to get to drinking consistency. I don't have a juicer but my smoothie machine works just fine even when I have to chew some of the greens. It's better than nothing.
The rest of the day I keep my fruits and veggies that I can eat whole right on the desk. I like to graze and this has kept me from snacking on candy, even though some raw cacao ends up in my purse whenever I go to the health food store. Just a bite of that goes a long way now.
Get to it and enjoy your new life!

Joyful · 01-24-2008

A food processor is really helpful, also. Do you have any health food stores like - Whole Foods Markets? Things like raw tahini go a long way if added to things like blender salad dressing. There are also raw food bars. Have you visited a raw food section? Salads and fruit salads can help you to eat more raw. I usually suggest people look also at You tube. com cause they have videos on sprouting, raw recipes, growing wheat grass. And like you said you've been reading about it or learning about raw, really the more you know the better, and easier it is. I like this post reply cause now I can add

peaceripples · 01-24-2008

There are some good stores not too far out of town.... not as much selection in my own town, unfortunately, but at least there are places I can get to. I like to buy most of my food at the farmers market.

Thanks for the suggestion about you-tube. I'll have to check that out!

When I'm at work it's a real challenge - I'm in retail, and I'm not allowed to have any food either at the cash, when I'm on cash, or with me when I'm working on the floor, either. We're not even supposed to have a bottle of water with us! I blatantly ignore that particular rule. Some days waiting for my break is a very long time to go without eating, though.

Juno · 01-24-2008

Hello,
I just started eating raw food 100%.
First i did a colon cleaning fast with help of (blessed) herbs.Actually that is a 5 days fast, but i fasted 9 days. 9 days not eating is not a problem if one drinks enough water and gets sunshine enough. the first day was difficult because i was scared, the second day i felt dizzy, the tirth day i felt energetic and happy, the 9th day i was thinking about the day to come all day...
Any way, if you see what comes out, all that old junk waste what has been in there for years. All due to not eating the food that our digestion has been designed for! If you like to be motivated to eat naturally, this is a hint. But be aware that you will detox first, as you can read in the article:body detox diet.
Personally i am not perfect too in the raw style. I eat 100% raw, but i allow myself to eat all Kinds of (dried) fruits at all times.

Maybe it helps too to realise people to not age due to time. People age due to what they let in. In the mind and the belly. They believe they have to grow old, thanks to this believe they attrack everything to make this believe become a fact. So they eat stuff making them grow old...

Once i realised this i feel like an alien walking around in the streets and markets.
But all of you thanksfor sharing your passion for raw food.

RawFoodGrl · 01-26-2008

I'd be careful about doing that kind of fast /detox. It can be very dangerous and should ONLY be done with professional supervision. I don't mean a doctor, but someone who is really familiar with it, knows what should happen, what are some danger signs.

I transitioned to raw as well, starting first by transitioning to a vegan diet, meanwhile adding some kind of raw salad or soup to each meal. I also started changing my snacks - instead of a stick of cheese, I'd have sprouted nuts. I also found raw food bars I like, and keep them on hand in a pinch (whole fresh foods are always best, but when you're hungry, it's better than a lot of the other options out there).

Then I started with one raw meal a week, trying new recipes. Eventually I had a bunch of recipes I liked, and then just naturally wanted to do more and more raw.

I still keep my raw meals simple - a green smoothie for breakfast, a large raw salad for lunch, and then a raw entree (like raw-violi, raw chili, etc.) with a side salad for dinner. For snacks I have sprouted nuts or seeds, or home-made flax crackers.

I also really advocate superfoods. I couldn't have gone raw, couldn't STAY raw, without them. I found out that I was missing a lot of micro and macro nutrients even though I was eating a whole food, organic vegan diet (mostly from the garden or farmer's market). Those superfoods help give me what I'm missing.

Being hypoglycemic, it helps keep my nutrition balanced, and, eventually, I should be able to heal the hypoglycemia (though I will probably always take superfoods from time to time).

The ones I use are Pure Synergy, maca, raw cacao, and goji berries. I also supplement with Hemp powder sometimes, as protien helps regulate the blood sugar & keep my hypoglycemia stable too.