Tahina addiction help.

[rainbowgirl]

I have a question.

I am a total addict to tahina. And almonds. And I need to stop it. I need help.

I know that many of you can eat all the tahina and nuts you want. But I'm different.

I was a sometimes animal flesh eater, never eating dairy eater, for like 5 7 years, then vegan for 1, then low fat vegan or no fat vegan for 3, then to raw.

The no fat vegan helped my lupus making it non-existant, thank God. And a slip up (such as eating a fried vegan food), did me in.

Then I got m.s. by living in a chemicalized area, petrochem plants. And I needed to go raw.

When I was a low fat vegan, I used to make great northern bean puree with roasted peppers to combat my rich and creamy urge for a dip (aka tahina fascination).

I honestly feel better without the tahina, but it tastes too good. I'm a wimp, I guess.

What can I use as a sub for tahina, and the great raw crunch of almonds?

I am committed to staying raw, and I think that I am 3 weeks or one month now, totally raw. I want to tweak this part of my diet.

Please help,

Rainbowgirl

(btw, for those that can have tahina all the time, it's good on dates, dipped. It's good with water, cumin, garlic, sea salt in a blender, it's good drizzled on salads, it's good to make a special taste in balls, it's good in a cup with nuts and raisins and dates, and you could put it as a layer in brownies(just do a search). It's also really good with mollasses (do a raw switch), in a bowl, dipping apples, bananas, and put nuts in. It can also do salad dressings, and many other things, like cucumber raita using the tahina as the base. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wendee]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is tahina? Is is another word for Tahini as in sesame tahini?

[luna99]

I think rainbow girl means tahini.. and sorry I can't help you because I think tahini is pretty disgusting. :eek:

I've realized that I just can't have it in anything..even a tiny bit.. cause I taste it and it's really gross to me.

good luck getting over your addiction.. and ps, why do you think tahini is so bad and you shouldn't eat it?

[Revvell]

I'm not sure why you feel the need to stop eating tahini (if that's what it is). The body knows what it wants and needs. It will drop it when it's ready.

If you read one of Victoria Boutenko's books she tells how different family members subsisted on certain foods for awhile because their body needed whatever that food had.

Personally, I let my body tell me what it wants. At least you're not eating dirt ~ or dead animal carcasses.

Revvell

[solarliving]

Tahini is made from sesame seeds. Maybe there is something in them your body needs. Try making some sesame seed milk or grinding some sesame seeds and using them in a pate or on salads.

[rainbowgirl]

Sorry, where I live in the middle east, it is called tahina. i do faintly remember buying it at the Middle Eastern store in the states, that the label said tahini. Maybe other countries pronounce it differently.

I have been addicted, as most of the women I know, at one time, or another.

I haven't had any milk products or soy products for 10 years. I crave something a little rich or creamy, I think. And I'm not much on desserts. I like salt a little too much, and tahina (i) brings all that together. When I used to eat cooked food, beans in a food processor could give me that.

I am searching for something raw to talke it's place.

Why not eat a cup and a half a day, it is full of fat. And my body just can't hack it, no matter what it tells me it wants. My body with fat is my body in pain in bed, with lupus. I really have to watch my nut usage, and tahina usage.

I knew there were some out there that couldn't hack the nuts, like me, in high amounts. I had seen some of their messages on the forum.

I thought someone might have a replacement for tahina(i)......and am still hopeful.

Thanks for your help, y'all.

Rainbowgirl

[spicyfull]

Mine has oil on the top and you must mix it up......Why not pour the oil off?

[RawVee]

What about sprouting lentils, and making a creamy dhal spread? You could blend in sundried tomatoes, peppers, etc., like a hummous.

Also, the biggest thing I've found about eating raw is that our body's "addictions" to food are simply psychological. If you continue to eat healthy, raw foods and lay off the nuts and tahini, you'll stop craving them. On the other hand, your body needs *some* fat in it to maintain health. Have you tried avocado? There are raw foodists who eat them every day and don't gain an ounce. Good luck!! :)

[Tinacampy]

maybe sprout garbanzo beans (chick peas) and grind them up? Sorry if this doesn't help - the only time I eat tahini is in hummus.

[Kitty]

I understand that you can't have cooked fat but maybe raw tahina will be ok for you?

[Ertarox]

Well, I see what she is saying: it is POSSIBLE to overdo the fats. Raw fats are still fats, and some of these recipes can be very high fat which is still hard on the gall bladder, etc. So, I see how it can offset healing. The foods we make are raw and not "unhealthy", but some aren't as healing as others if one is trying to overcome something as Rainbowgirl is trying. She is dead on that tons of tahini WILL serve as an obstacle. At the institutes and on Wigmore's program, it is NOT high fat and people DON'T get oils when healing/detoxing.

I would suggest the raw hummus that has just a BIT, like 1/2 cup tahini, in it, the rest chickpeas. It is still rich and creamy, but high in sprouts (although I must say that chickpeas are a bit controversial and as beans, are tough for many to digest).

I would transition from the nut butters and nuts with avocado. A PHENOMENAL rich "soup" (or dip, depending) base is to blend fresh almond milk with avocado. That is lighter but filling and dense.... SO GOOD (seasoned!)

[Revvell]

... Tons... ??? I'm thinking that word is SO overused to describe an amount. What is a TON of tahini?


She is dead on that tons of tahini WILL serve as an obstacle.

[trinity082482]

I don't like Tahini.
I make my own and even then it gets mixed in hummus. Thats all.

[Ertarox]

I guess excessive amounts is what it inferred, like she indicates she eats. We have to remember how much fat and calories is in just one tbsp of nut-butter is all. And it slows a detox big time.

I was just popping in to say to Rainbowgirl that most MS is either excitoxin or mercury/metals based, but is also generally LYMES. Lymes infects up to 1 in 2 people, they say, and is almost never tested for accuratedly. Very few labs test right. My friend got tested many times and it showed "negative", turns out her Lymes was through the roof.

I also would mention that raw keeps her miraculously mobile (she should be bedridden by all accounts, according to her tests, etc.) But her actual "Lymes" still requires other natural methods to conquer it. So there is way more to raw foods than just raw food, in terms of healing. That is why we are writing our e-book on what's missing from most raw dialogues/information. It's been an amazing journey!

[Revvell]

I guess excessive amounts is what it inferred, like she indicates she eats.

Well, even "excessive" is in the eye of the beholder. One person thinks one tablespoon daily is excessive while another thinks it would be a cup while another... etc. Ah well... *wanders off* :cool:

[trinity082482]

true rox.

I gained 10lbs by eating such raw ingredients and in excess.
If you like almonds that much why not try dehydrate some veggies or potatoes to replace that crunch.

[beanmonkee]

Sesame seeds are a good source of calcium, so perhaps your craving for tahina is just your body's call for calcium.

I would try incorporating more greens -- I'm not sure which are the best source of calcium. If you're going for a creamy texture, you could blend some greens in your smoothies, or blend greens and go half/half with tahina.

...maybe...

[Ertarox]

revel - good point!

made me laugh: my b/f always rolls his eyes at me and complains because some of my favorite lines are "you always <insert something generally unattractive> - lol" or "you never <insert something generally attractive>" LOL!!!

He HATES such terms, and for ample reason. What the FRUIT do they mean?

I guess they usually go by percentages in terms of this stuff. But honestly, if trying to overcome MS, etc, it should be a very low fat diet if that. Mostly cleansing, actually, which is NO fat. That is why Rainbowgirl surely feels better without tons of tahini, she just craves it (good call on the calcium, etc). I might suggest at least weening yourself off of it by doing Udo's Oils (still a fat, but liquid and more of a medicinal supplement)....?

Most on this board are okay with it b/c most are not overcoming major hurdles and are on more of a raw maintenance. Like I would not recommend our raw chocolates or even my pizzas, rawritos, etc, to anybody working on a major health challenge, either.

I will say that I was gravely disappointed in raw foods because they always say to eat whatever whenever "as long as it's raw" and you lose. Not so for many of us. And amazingly lucky for those of us who it's true for (I've met these lucky souls myself. LOL) but what a letdown it was.

Within the natural LAWs of raw and vegan, we are different. Some need heavier foods to ground them as they are more pita/vata, what have you-a, (LOL) but I'm a sturdy kapha and can survive just fine and optimally on light foods and primarily juices, etc. When I am being disciplined. LOL!

[rainbowgirl]

I do have some health problems to surmount. And ertarox, you are right that much M.S. is lyme related. Mine, however, is definitely not. I live in a place in the world where there is a low amount of lyme. I lived next to the largest petrochem factory concentration in the world. They released chemicals at night, and eventually, I lost ability to use my hands, feet, and was on my way to a wheel chair. I was totally spastic and could do little other than lie in my bed, and had to go on my bottom up and down the stairs, and sit to cook, if I could.

As a mom of 4, and a young 32, who used to run mile everyday in addition to kickboxing, pilates, yoga, and step.

We moved away from the chemicalized area, an hour away. The doctors were not hopeful, even the people on the m.s. forums.

Well, here I am, doing fine, running again, pilates, yoga, the whole shebang, thank God.

However, I am totally, totally toxic. Like toxic in chemicals that aren't even allowed in the states.

So, my healing journey maybe different, because the reasons why I am going raw are so different.

THe calcium is a good call. I will try to up my calcium in other ways. The greens here haven't been so good lately.

I do not have a hydrator, and once I do, I think it might help in my cravings for the nuts as I like crunchy things. I really like salty things. I am using sea salt now, and getting a little better.

I really need to be careful, as I'm healing with fats. It's not that with the mounds of tahina, I am not losing weight. It's the health, health, health. THe ability to function, the ability to get out of bad, my foot working as I wish.

How much tahina do I eat? WEll, it sits on top of my fridge in it's tub, and it is a very good brown, old fashioned type ground here, much better than the states. There is no oil layer, or little on top, and it is quite like the homemade one.

I could start in the morning, put three tbsp in a cup with nuts, raisins, and dates(then i do that again, because it was so good). Then put some with a tinge of water, cumin, salt, and lemon and pour it over the salad, then I might dump bean sprouts in the left over and down that, and that is just by 11:30 a.m. , and i'll have eaten 1/2-1 cup or more.

I will try to be a good little soldier for the next few days, and not eat it, know I will feel better, hopefully, and that I am helping my body to be a stronger, healthier body(maybe i should tape that on the tahina tub!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Thank you all for your help and understanding. The idea, in my healing, that I can eat whatever, and feel well, wasn't proved in doing it. But I still lose weight, so I imagine the healthy people(overweight or not) can have more latitude in food choosing.

Rainbowgirl

[Ertarox]

Rainbowgirl,

My friend Julie at www.msreversed.com would talk to or email you. She is wonderful and has MRIs to prove the reversal of her terrible MS. :-) She did it by detoxing, but has access to major nutraceuticals.

Erica

[Alba]

are you sure the tahina you are eating is raw - if it doesn't says so on it - it is not. There is a HUGE difference between raw/cooked tahina - roasted sesame is NOT good for us - just like other heated oils...if it isn't raw - maybe order some over the internet??
I too eat too much of things I like - anything in moderation just doesn't work for me...therefore I don't buy tahini...haha. as simple as that. I do eat a LOT of avocado but that's not hurting anyone and esp. not me:D
the best advice I can give you is throw out your tub of tahina and buy a lot of avo's...if you have a real addiction (trust me - I know how that feels ---me and coconut butter...hm...became verrry good friends last time I ordered some and I ended up feeling soooooo bad!) you won't be able to keep away from the tahinatub...get it out of the house...give it away - something!
Love alba