hello

I have been lurking for the past month after someone pointed me in the directions of these boards and thought I should finally sign up and post. I would say the idea of going raw has been with me for a year, ever since I started doing Ana Brett and Ravi Singh’s Kundalini yoga. On their website they have a link to Shazzie.com and I have been slowly letting the idea of raw stew within me.

About a month ago I bought David Wolfe’s eating for beauty book and have slowly over this past month cut out unnatural sugars, processed foods, breads, red meat, and nearly all chicken. It was a bit difficult and I did falter a bit on my birthday when I ate some birthday cake. I still am eating sea food, most notably sushi. (Does sushi count as raw as its raw fish? – I’m guessing not.)

I have noticed already a difference in my body, just in how it feels. I have started drinking a green smoothie for breakfast every day. Greens are really my weakness, I could never eat enough of them to fulfill my daily needs so smoothies are definitely helping there. My body seems more regular already.

I am finding it desperately hard to be raw at night. I am used to a SAD and live still with SAD parents. Thats usually when I’ll end up eating a piece of fish and a big salad.

I am really looking forward to being one day maybe 100% raw and from just lurking am under the impression there is a wealth of knowledge out there.

Thanks, Lauren

Comments

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Welcome Lauren! There is a lot of great information about raw foods. You’ve come to the right place. Do you have any specific questions?

    You asked about sushi counting as raw food – this site hosts raw vegan recipes, but not everyone at this site is a raw vegan. Anyway, you’re very welcome here, and I hope you find a wealth of information!

  • It’s nice to meet you Lauren. I give you my best wishes!

    I have personally been a lot happier since I agreed to be 100% raw. It’s amazing what I can conjure up when I make a raw dishe. I can pretty much make anything taste like and almost look like the normal S.A.D. People ask me all the time how I eat this way. Honestly I feel like a king. I can make any gourmet dish consisting of all types of flavors that are fresh. I now find myself asking how did I eat that stuff, It’s disgusting.

    One of my latest funny thoughts that I heard a few days ago is we all unconsciously know the truth about what is the best and healthiest diet. Think about this, have you ever heard a S.A.D. eater say this food is to die for? They normaly say something like that before they eat some delicious food like a hamburger or icecream. They couldn’t say it any better. Literally you are paying the price of your life to eat that thing. With the opposite I have heard personally raw foodist say after they eat some food “This is heaven on earth”. We Unconsciously know the truth. And the funny part is it comes straight from our own mouth. “we pay for what we eat” Thought I would share.

    Justin

  • Thanks for the welcome Winona!

    Hrm, I guess the biggest thing I am trying to figure out is how to get everything I need in my food. Also, how to break that horrible craving at night for cooked food? I know I am just starting and transitioning but yeah, definitely want to figure that out.

    I have noticed that I no longer suffer from dry eyes, and rarely feel dehydrated. My body always feels good after my smoothie or raw snacks. Depending on how much raw food I have been eating seems to correspond with how ill I feel after eating cooked food – also what I eat.

    Oh, and the only sweet I really crave is chocolate. I have raw cacao powder… how do I make that into something delicious but that doesn’t take a million ingredients or fancy equipment? I have a juicer, blender, and food processor and thats it.

  • Justin,

    That is a great thought, you have me sitting here going “huh” – but in a good way. How many deserts are titled “Death by Chocolate” or something similar.

    I know I feel best after raw food and I love the flavors but as I am new I have no idea how to put anything together yet. I don’t have any raw cookbooks either – I am never sure which one to get.

    Thanks for the best wishes, they are appreciated, I hope one day to get to 100% raw.

    Lauren

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Lauren – Welcome! I know how hard it can be to eat something different from what you’re used to eating, especially when you’re still living with the same people who are still eating the same things you ate before. I totally respect your decision and your motivation. :) I agree with Justin – I feel like I eat “like a king” and it amazes me that other people think this way of eating would be depriving themselves! I get so much flavor, and I feel amazing & energized after eating, instead of heavy, stuffed, lethargic, etc. This is my “happy food” :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Lauren – To get what you need, my advice (because it works for me) is to offer your body as many different raw foods as you can – that way you get a good variety of nutrients and your body will be able to ask you for the foods it needs the most – if you only eat the same five or ten foods, or try to limit calories, fat, carbs or anything else, your body may not be able to get everything it needs from what you are feeding it. That being said, dark leafy greens have almost every nutrient we need, and grains (wheat, rye, barley, etc.) have most of our nutrients, too.

  • thanks for the info Angie.

    I’ve been having breakfast smoothies with zucchini from our (my parents) garden, organic red kale, organic green kale, organic spinach, organic cucumber, organic carrots, tomatoes from our garden, organic oranges, organic apples, black sesame tahini, orgamic coconut oil, mango, kiwi, bee pollen, hemp seeds, and then today I also added a red bell pepper. It tastes amazingly good and does keep me full for hours. I figure that almost gets my bases covered.

    I have dried mangoes, raisins, inca berries, goji berries, and raw almonds (from Spain) and other fresh fruits to munch on.

    Its just the evening where I seem to be faltering. I partially blame going out with friends to dinner. Like tonight one of my friends took me out for a belated birthday dinner and now I feel ill. On the way home I kept thinking about the difference I feel between eating the raw foods and the cooked. I feel so much healthier/better raw.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Wow! That’s quite the smoothie :) Social situations can be hard, especially if you’re not “used to” the new way of life yet. Things will get better! :)

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    if you’d like to do some free reading about raw foods, here’s a good place to start: http://www.rawbc.org/raw_articles.html

    I find that the more i read and watch youtube videos about raw foods, the more i’m inspired to eat raw. To curb evening cravings, what I did was increase my food intake during the day. That meant eating fruit or salad every 2 hours all morning and afternoon for the first few weeks while I ate raw foods. It was crucial to eat a filling breakfast (usually green smoothie or fruit) right when I got up. That way, I wasn’t starved for calories by dinner, and I could casually prepare an easy entree from goneraw, and actually enjoy it (instead of eating everything in the fridge, raw or not). Food cravings were big at first when I went 99% raw, then died down a bit after 4-6 weeks. If you’re interested in eating all raw food eventually, check out the dead food list at your leisure. And most of all, be kind to yourself! This is a process, and it takes most of us a long time to transition (it took me a year to go from all vegan cooked to all vegan raw food). Enjoy the process! Also – raw food prep is tricky at first. start simple (recipes with under 5 ingredients) – some will be good, others average. Keep at it – after 8 weeks of preparing exclusively raw recipes (some of which came out AWFUL some awesome) now I can prepare simple recipes that will be tasty every time. During the early weeks I despaired that I would never make good food. Now I can. It DOES get easier!

  • Sorry Lauren :-)

    I must have been very sleepy that night. But I fixed my reply. Hopefully you can understand it more. lol

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