Calories in Raw Recipes

[Tirza]

I have been discussing this diet with a nurse friend. She is always concerned about calories. She is all for natural food, but she says that calories are calories and we should still be sensible with them.

Well I guess I can't argue with that. Obviously we aren't going to eat 3,000 calories' worth of brownies a day and expect to lose weight just because they are "raw" or "natural". :rolleyes:

I am starting to add them up just for interest sake. It might help to just keep a little awareness in the back of my mind.

For instance, my green smoothie has 580 calories.
RP's brownie recipe has 1317 calories. Cut into 9 servings, they would be about 146 each. Cut smaller, and you can still enjoy them w/o too much guilt.

Anyone else doing this? I think it could help a little as long as we don't get too obsessed about it. I know that this diet is not about calories, but some of us are not losing weight. We may be getting healthier (which remains to be seen) but too much weight is not healthy either.

I am only talking to people who have more than 20 or 30 pounds to lose. Of course we have to be aware that the standard weight charts are skewed as well. So we need to be reasonable as to what is a healthy weight for each individual.

When I was 30, I looked and felt great at 135 after 3 kids. I am tall with a large frame and on me, that was thin. Hip bones sticking out. Concave stomach. (Sigh, I used to model teenage fashions.) So why did I gain? A combination of stress-eating, a lot less activity after having been CRAZY active when young, and GET THIS - all the weight piled on while I was on a vegetarian and then a vegan diet!! While I ate SAD, I was thin. Go figure. :confused:

Now at my age, I will be glad to reach 160 and gladder still if I could get to 150. Less than that is likely highly unrealistic.

I envy those who say the pounds just "melt off" while eating whatever and as much as they want. I can't do it on calorie-rich foods, no matter how healthy they are. I just can't. I have been on basically a smoothie diet for many months with a few blips (like weddings) in between. I haven't lost an ounce.

I NEED to lose because when I have to have CT scans to monitor for a recurrance of cancer, there is too much fat in the way so they can't see anything until it gets larger. I also cannot starve myself because I don't think that will keep my cells healthy. There are things I feel that I must eat and drink to help prevent a recurrance. Dilemma! :eek:

Back to my original idea: Might it be of interest to figure out calorie content of some of our recipes? Could we devote this thread to it?

[Lay-Lay]

Thank you, thank you, thank you RAW. I always hated counting anything. I do not full with this mess. I have entered my stuff in fit day a couple times when I was curious about that whole 8/1/1 thingy. Somedays I will have 2 or 3 thousand calories, but other days I'm between 1,000 -1,300. It just depends on what my body is needing that day. I sure am glad I don't have to fuss with all the counting. I am so thankful for Alissa to spelling it out in her book.

I have lost almost 40 pounds with no counting, no restrictions Besides just being 100% raw), no limits.

I would tell your nurse friend to get Alissa's book, that it is all spelled out in black and white and that it's a lifestyle of freedom from dieting loaded with an abundents of delightful choices.

[smasty]

I don't count, but do kinda. I eat whatever I want, but I find on this woe I only eat when hungry and I have no cravings, and I only eat small amounts of dense foods (the denser the food, the smaller amount you need because it's concentrated calories). I always start with a heavy smoothie in the morning, which is about 400 cals. But due to the amount of fat and fiber in it, I'm rarely hungry again until 1:00 pm. I snack a little at that time, then eat my lunch around 2-3:00...then I'm never hungry for dinner so I'll just have something little. This way of eating really feels good right now and is about 1300 cals a day. I'm very tall too 6.0" and need to drop about 35 pounds. Weight is coming off very steadily.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I find that the calories aren't so much the issue is the lack of fresh food that can be hard to get away from. I do still struggle a lot with certain recipes, and know I need to eat a lot more fresh food.

I think too by eating fresh food, the calories aren't as high as the food isn't dense. The one fat that is fresh that I really enjoy are avocadoes. I'm not a big nut fan, but will eat them in a recipe, like the brownies and some of the cookies I make.

I used to be crazy about olives but haven't been craving them so much.

I like coconut water, not so much the flesh, however also use that and dried coconut in recipes which I enjoy.

I just believe that the road to healing would be shorter when more fresh foods are consumed. They are easier on a body and assimilate more quickly. However I know there's going to be a response on here saying that the higher fat/calorie foods keep them on raw and that is just a given for some people.

The key is, I believe, finding foods and simpler recipes that you really like. Otherwise the heavier caloric recipes are the ones that are going to get eaten all the time.

[cassidy]

UGGHHH... Calorie Counting??? Who's crule idea of a joke was that? Calories are the bane of my existance. There used to be a time where I could tell you how many calories were in just about anything you would want to eat.
I am so glad those days are over!
One of the many things I LOVE about raw is that I DON"T have to count calories! I don't even want to know how many calories are in my meals. When I am concerned with numbers rather than how I feel I get all messed up. My brain really doesn't need to be part of the equation here. Raw for me is all about how I FEEL. My brain just follows suit and feels good when the rest of my body feels good. If I feel hungry and am craving avacado I will make guacamole and eat the whole thing and be OK with it. If I thought about how many calories were in it there is NO WAY I would enjoy eat, let alone eat it.
YUK!
But.... as usual.... each to her/his own!

[star1919]

Hi... I have found this thread and shared comments helpful... Thanks :)

From the mention of this... I think I will keep much of my emphasis with greens and veggies... then fruits... and then adding in the rest a little more sparingly.

I can see the value of checking out the nutritional value and calories of certain recipes... there are a few I am curious about.

Here is a site that Vita-Mix recommends... Nutrition Data

Although it is a little complicated... there are a lot of instructions of how to use it... It is free... You can add items into the food database... and you can analyze recipes for nutrition and calories. There are other features too.

(Maybe there is an easier recipe analyzer somewhere on the internet.)

Here is the link if anyone is interested...
http://www.nutritiondata.com/

[Sharon in Colorado]

Cassidy...lol :D

[luckitri]

Hey doubleg Tirza, obviously we aren't there yet and we don't have your need but I wish that you would start the thread on your own because it is a very valid one. Right now I am still battling with just trying to stay RAW and my own battles here but I can really see that I may want to refer to this thread in the future with the information that you put in there. I probably need to do what you are mentioning for my heart but as I said - I am struggling just to stay raw right now. I don't like the idea of having to count but it is necessary. Plus there are other people here that I think would be interested when they have the time to look and there are newcomers all the time.