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Raw in college!

Help!

How does one stay raw in college?

i don't know how much my new roommate is gonna like my blender going off every morning...

Comments

  • I'm raw and in college, but I don't live in a dorm, so it's much easier. I don't know if you could make the smoothies the night before so you have one for breakfast? I've never tried to save a smoothie before, but I think some people do.

  • zinfandelzinfandel Raw Newbie

    I'm raw and in college but I live alone. I am sure there are some people in your boat on here though :)

  • The suggestion about making the smoothies the night before is a good idea. You can store your smoothies in a glass mason jar in a fridge (if you have one) which works well.

  • unfortunately, i don't have a fridge... but really, my biggest problem is my peers. i'm worried that ppl in my program will think i have an eating disorder or something

  • blueyzblueyz Raw Newbie

    I remember how bad it could be in college, and only wish I ate so well back then. I know when I was eating healthier, if anyone gave me a problem and I asked 'OK, please honestly tell me what is wrong with it and what would you suggest?' shut many people up because they really didn't have the answers when confronted.

    Now, although I hate that you or anyone has to resort to it(I know I have, but it's the truth) just say you are eating the way you do for health reasons and leave it at that. My friends now don't bother me about not eating grains/breads at all. Just said outright, I can't eat that it doesn't agree with my body...and it seems to be much more acceptable than going into a vegan/raw/whole foods conversation. My family may roll its eyes at times, lol which is nothing new so I ignore it, but considering how sick I was for awhile and that I eat healthier than most of them(though still working down on weight) they don't give me too much of an issue. I find if you approach it simply you get a much better response from people. If you feel you have to justify it, take a step back and reasses the situation as to why. GOOD LUCK!!!

  • emtpdmomemtpdmom Raw Newbie

    Do you have a small ice chest or insulated lunch box? Is there an ice machine in the building? If so, make a couple of smoothies in the evening, store them in glass and ice them down for the next morning. My favorite storage container is an Arizona green tea bottle. They're a convenient size, and don't draw a lot of attention when I drink my smoothies in the school cafeteria because of the plastic sleeve (label). If you don't know anyone who drinks the tea, it's worth buying a couple of bottles and discarding the contents just to have the bottles. You'll probably need a funnel. Take a clean 16 ounce plastic drink bottle and cut it in half a few inches below the top -- instant funnel. You'll also need a bottle brush to keep the bottles clean.

    Here's a link to one thread with some information that might be helpful. If you haven't already, try experimenting with the Advanced Search features on this site. There's lots of information scattered throughout the site related to staying raw without using refrigeration, blenders / food processors, etc. For help using Advanced Search features check here.

    Please do post suggestions you come up with and things that work well in your situation. Good luck both with RAW and college.

  • PamPam

    I applaud you... eating right is tough to do in college. I remember it well!

    I know money in college may be hard to come by, but a compact fridge at Walmart is only around $60. If you could swing it, it would make your life a bit easier. Also, have you checked around for a kitchenette in your dorm. There are lots of people who have to store meds so there is bound to be a fridge somewhere.

    As for your peers, just be strong. I think that the more you try to hide what you eat and why, the more people speculate. Tell them you're raw, hold your head up high, and just do what you do. (But I also think Blueyz has a point, too. No one picks on people with allergies.) Eventually they will get tired of the topic and move on to someone else. Personally, I think the eating disorder accusation is lobbed around by jealous girls who have their own issues with the Freshman 15 (or 25). Eventually (if you do it with pride), they will look upon you as a role model. Unfortunately, the teasing and speculation doesn't always stop in college. Most of my family and friends were initially unsupportive. But you know what? I'm 50 and as everyone I know is starting to fall apart with health issues, they look to me as a role model.

    My daughter had somewhat the same problem when she went raw. She's out of college but she's naturally thin and lost even more weight on raw. Strangers would ask her if she was okay.

  • I'm raw and in college and my roomie is a vegan she understood the need to blend in the morning but we'd usually wake up at the same time so I wasn't waking her up much

  • I'm in college but my roomie (and life partner!) is also vegan and mostly raw so that's a little easier. The hard part is that we live in a student cooperative, a community of about 30 people. Two times a day we prepare a communal meal. Most people in our house are not raw or vegan, so this can pose some difficulties. While our house only purchases vegan food, palates among vegans and omnivores seem to be very different. It's hard to decline food or sit by while every one else eats. I'm slowly adjusting to this, as my housemates are adjusting to the strangeness of my food. Also, most people in my house do not have much money, and the colorful sight of my smoothies and salads can appear somewhat extravagant. I think the hardest part of being raw in college is peer judgment. We're not in high school anymore, but I know I for one am not so comfortable in my skin that I can't be persuaded to eat cooked foods just by what my peers might think about me.

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    How about setting up the blender in the bathroom?

  • thanks so much for all your advice guys! i'm hoping things will work out this semester. it's so great to see that i'm not alone in this endeavor while at school. how do you cope with peer judgment? for some reason, this part is just super hard for me.

    any of you in the NYC area?

    also, do any of you go to any raw food or holistic nutritionist type people?

  • the main problem I run into at college is that so many people believe everything they've been told...like eating meat and dairy is essential to good health...when all of us here know that is not true. (I mean dairy in the sense of milk and cheese, not the calcium from vegetables)... I have a very opinionated group of friends and have heard all sorts of rude comments about what I eat.. Thankfully, I don't mind much and I just laugh along with them and tell them to go enjoy their pizza or cheeseburger and fries and I'll stick with my spinach/cucumber/grape smoothies. I just tell them that thirty years down the road don't come crying to me and expect me to fix them (soon graduating from nursing school) when their body starts failing them...should have had a few more stalks of broccoli and a few less bags of chips! Also, something else that seems to work...I usually encourage my friends to get online and check out the raw diet...whether it be this webpage or one of the others that are on the internet, they can learn so much they never knew and have their eyes opened up to reality...in fact, people DON'T need to eat a slab of cow to get their protein nor do they need to eat a tub of cheese to get their calcium. And even if they don't convert to being a raw foodist, maybe you can at least persuade them to grab an apple for a snack as opposed to a candy bar.

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