Alissa/Rawkin or any other seasoned veterans I have a concern

[lavendarJ]

I have a concern. I just found out about this site and Alissa's book in January of this year. I was just typing in all kinds of raw food type of searches and then I found Alissa's site. It was really great because I was already in deep contemplation about fully transforming to raw living and then I found this site which gave me the insight I was searching for. This is what I am worried about. I will finally be able to get the book next week (just couldn't due to a strict budget and lack of funds) I want to follow the suggestions and be able to embrace the book fully but I honestly just can't afford a dehydrator to purchase all of the foods that would be necessary to make many of the wonderful recipees. When I was eating raw (without even really being aware of it, just eating veggies and fruits that I liked), it consisted of lots of delicious salads, fresh fruits, and sometimes raw nuts. I was not 100% and often had steamed veggies with my meal and on rare ocassions, whole wheat pasta. I have gone through a natural transition, it started with not wanting to eat certain meats (beef used to make me sick, and the thought of pork made me sick, then chicken made me feel guilty because I imagined cute fluffy chickens whenever I saw eggs)....the next big transition that came for me is when I found Queen Afua's book "Heal Thyself for Health and Longevity"..it was very powerful and takes all who are willing through a transition of healthy living that is very much in sync with raw. What I really learned from it was food combining. When I began to practice proper food combining, it changed the bloating and constipation and I felt great. My biggest concern is about food combinations. It seems like to me that many of the recipees violate the food combinations that I have come to accept and live by. For example, many of the fruit combinations in some of the recipees are ones that I would not combine (like apples and bananans, to me, that is a major "no-no"). I want to embrace the book and Alissa's instructions but I am a little scared about the food combinations, then I am also worried that if I am just eating fresh fruits and veggies but not able to always make the recipees then I might not get the results that Alissa speaks of because I didn't follow her guidelines. For example this is what my typical menu could look like for a particular day:

Upon rising 32 ounces of room temp distilled water

Pre-breakfast - kidney/liver cleanse (few times out of the week, used to do this everyday)

Breakfast- Fresh fruit preferably like strawberries (or if I have enough fruit in the same combination group then a smoothie like a straberry/blueberry/rasberry or something, used to blend with soy in the past, no longer use any milk in smoothies)

Pre-Lunch- Some sort of fresh fruit

Lunch- Large veggie salad, like maybe a romainne, spinach, cucumber, carrot, pepper salad with apple cider vinegar or a dressing that I make up by adding some spices to the vinegar. Sometimes when I can I buy an organic commercial brand at the health food store or will make up my own. I used to have some protein also with the veggies since this was a good combo, I might sprinkle some nuts on top of the salad or just eat them after eating the greens. (In the past, protein would have included a piece of grilled chicken or fish or a veggie burger. I really don't want to deal with bread and so I haven't had a veggie burger in a while, I 've got to find a type of bread that I can make that I can live with as I am kinda leery about starches now since they are a weakness for me as I looooovvvvve crackers)

Dinner- dinner is probably going to be the same type of salad or another type of salad ( I used to make a "mexican" type of salad with soy taco meat, soy cheese and salsa and avocado but I stopped the soy and so now it would probably be just some veggie salad with salsa, peppers, avocados, etc. or I might make tacos with the large lettuce leaves...

I hope I don't get on anyone's nerves for asking this question.. I know it probably seems dumb and maybe a little too wordy, sorry :o , I just want to be able to be okay with the book (getting next week finally...had to keep putting it off due to lack of funds), follow Alissa's guidelines and enjoy embracing this way of living and see the weight loss successes that I have read from others who have taken Alissa's challenge and followed her guidelines. Eventually I will get a food dehydrator, might even have to get a different model until I can get what I prefer. Can you offer me some inspiration? Feeling a little bit like a loser today for some reason. I started the cleansing in January and went from 242 to 221 but what I am thinking of doing is continuing the cleanse, I stopped a few weeks ago and began eating again, but I still don't have what I was seeking from the fast,
I don't know if I should challenge myself to go farther in terms of fasting or if I should begin eating raw....I wonder if there is more insight I need to gain from fasting. I am sorry about the wordiness, just really wondering about food combining and if I will still be able to enjoy benefits if I am not using all of Alissa's wonderful recommendations and recipees all the time. Any and suggestions would be great. Thanks everyone and excuse any typos you might come across.

[eatyourbroccoli]

hmm..well i'm not a seasoned veteran, but i did used to suffer from infrequent bowel movements and since going raw, even though i follow no particular food combining, i've been completely better.

there are times i'll eat a combination..fulfilling weird cravings..like bell peppers and a banana, and afterwards i'll feel like "mm..shouldnt have combined those two things" as my stomach just feels off...but never has it hindered my regular...movements :)

good luck :D

[theresaann]

I am too not a "seasoned veteran", although I have been doing raw on and off for 15 years and studied TONS of raw stuff, T.C. Fry, and others before finding Alissa, whose approach I love the best.

I was really skeptical about the "eat whatever want as long as it's raw" approach to going raw. I thought that was not sound nutritionally, but I have found that it is really great. Plus, like broccoli said above, I have found that as my body get's cleaner, I can tell what is good for me and what's not the best, and simply not eat it.

Bottom line is, you CAN trust your body!! Raw is the best. Maybe someone might need some fine tuning, but not worrying about food combinations, esp. in the beginning, I think is the best way to transition because there is already enough to deal with just going through the massive lifestyle changes of going raw-at least in the beginning. Just my two cents!!

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi LavendarJ,

Well, I will say that your current plan looks great! The only thing is, will it sustain you? In other words, is there a risk of you becoming bored with eating simply and end up going back to cooked food?

There are some who go right into a more "stringent" diet of eating very simply, everything properly combined, mono-meals, etc. who are successful. But in all honesty, most who start out that way don't last very long because, as I mentioned, they get bored or start feeling it's too restrictive. Most that I know who are highly successful eating the more simple way allowed themselves to transition into it...to gravitate to it naturally.

As for Alissa's book:

1. You don't need a dehydrator for ALL of her recipes, but whenever you can get one, it's nice to have just for variety's sake and you can get a nice one from walmart.com or everythingkitchens.com..the American Harvest Snackmaster (WITH temp. control) for under $50. You can also try ebay for an Excalibur.

2. Not all of the recipes are poor food combinations. But one thing you could do is to adjust the recipes. For example, if a dessert recipe calls for making a crust and then fruit-based filling, either omit the crust and make a crustless pie or, since buckwheat is botanically NOT a grain, but rather a fruit, then soak, sprout and dehydrate that and grind it up to make crust with. Instead of using dates or raisins, use agave syrup or (if you use honey) raw honey.

3. The Living on Live Food book is MUCH more than a recipe book. Yes, the delicious recipes are a major part of the book, but it's like a guide, it has inspirational before and after pictures and success stories, it's like having Alissa as your raw food coach in a written book. So, even if you were only able to use a quarter of the recipes in the book, it's still so worth it for all the other pearls of information contained in it!

4. You don't have to eat prepared meals all the time. Eat your normal, more simplified way MOST of the time, and have readily available the recipes in Alissa's book for those times when you want/need something more "comforting" or when you get bored with your diet or special occasions such as holiday times or serving family and/or friends!

I think once you get the book you will see so many possibilities that any doubts or concerns you have now will be dissipated!

Here's another tip, when making any recipe for the first time, make half or a quarter of the recipe, see how it agrees with you or how you like it and don't be afraid to, after making it according to the recipe, to make changes by adding spices or omitting things to your liking. Most of all, just have FUN with it! :)

[swingbolder]

Hi lavenderj,

I don't consider myself a veteran but when you said you were lacking a dehydrator I thought maybe you would like the ebooks at thegardendiet.com bc none of the recipes require a dehydrator.

(I hope it's okay to mention another raw food site)

There's a lot of variety; there's also a section where it recommends certain dishes if you have cravings for specific things. The advantage to ordering these ebooks is that you can download them as soon as you order them so you don't have to wait a few days for them to arrive in the mail.

Also, there's a Heal Thyself cookbook out that also doesn't have any dehydrated recipes. For some of the dishes they have both regular vegan and raw versions.

And of course, Alissa's book is great too and like Rawkinlocs said, a lot of the recipes don't require deydrating. At some point though you might want to get a dehydrator just bc it opens up a whole new world of dishes you can enjoy.

Last year, after being 100% for about six months, I fell into a rut with respect to recipes, I spent several weeks eating literally the same thing day after day and I got bored and went back to cooked food for a few weeks. So I learned my lesson, it's important to have a variety of dishes that you REALLY like so you don't backslide.

[JinxieKat]

Rawkinlocs has some very great points about Alissa's book that I was going to say, so I won't :D One thing I want to add to that is when you read Alissa's book one section she has is her typical diet over a period of time. The thing that amazed me is that it is very simple, alot of mono eating with the ocassional recipie thrown in. The recipies are to add some variaty to your diet and, for me, to impress my non-raw guests with some beautiful looking and tasteing food! The book has alot of value not only with the recipies, but with the information too. And the recipies are so flexible, they have inspired me to create my own as it gives such a good non-cooking base of information to start with.

Jinx

[lavendarJ]

Hello there everyone!

Thanks so much for your comments. They really helped to lift my spirits and helped me to remind myself to relax and not try to figure everything out. I was having one of those days where I just wonder if its even worth it to "try"....I think that Alissa's challenge will really be a blessing for me. I did come to a decision to do a MC for a few weeks beginning in March in preparation for Spring; afterwards, I will begin a QA cleanse to prepare my body and mind further for the raw food challenge which I will transcend into next. I have this habit of analyzing to the point of thinking myself out of things and I think that sometimes I get so caught up in food combining that I have to check myself. I was just thinking about all the SAD foods that I combined and how I somehow survived them and so I basically realized that I need to relax and focus on eating to live and being healthy and in harmony with life. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Just getting off work and I can't wait to go home and relax. I bet after I make a recipee and taste it, my concerns will melt away.