New to raw

[Tovonia]

Hello,

my name is Tovonia. I am 42 years old and I live in Houston, Texas with my husband. We have 2 grown daughters and 4 grandbabies ages 3, 2,1, and 9 months! :D I've been about 50% raw for several months and experiencing some good results but I am taking it to the next level. I entered the 30 day raw challenge yesterday and have been 98% raw since Monday April 9th. I feel peaceful and mentally clear. I am very excited to see the changes starting to happen already. I drink at least one 36 oz container of green smoothies a day, sometimes two. Green smoothies have really helped with the cravings tremendously. I am craving crunchy vegies like cabbage, carrots as well as nuts. God is given me the strength to do this and I thank Him so much for guiding me into raw/living foods. I have been searching the internet for more and more information over the last year and that's how I came across this site. From the 1st day I heard of this lifestyle to this day I have grown tremendously, making changes here and there. I feel so favored and blessed to know what I have learned so far, and also where I am on my way to, which is superior health. I know it! :p

[Veganforlife]

Welcome!
Maraw (Anna) hails from Texas.
Enjoy this journey!

[RawVegan4Health]

Welcome! Raw is good!;)

[punkspirit]

:) Welcome!! And good luck for the challenge!

[Morn]

Welcome to RFT! God is Good! He also led me to this site too. I wish you the best as you pursue a healthier lifestyle! I know you will feel better kicking it up a notch!

[lavendarJ]

Happy Saturday!

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW.....Welcome to MY World...

[Conscious Midwife]

So glad to have you:D

[Frog]

Welcome Tovonia - there are lots on here not 100% but steadily increasing day by day.

Let us know your progress! :)

[StarFire]

Many blessings on your journey! :D

[maraw]

It's nice to see more Houstonians here... we live just outside of Richmond. I have a class coming on the 4th of May. Let me know if you would like to attend. Also, a friend and I are putting together a potluck - you are more than welcome to attend.

Good to have you here!
Anna

[crawmommy]

Welcome and enjoy the journey. It is nice to see Houstonians living raw.

[Tovonia]

Hi Maraw,

I saw your link on Alissa's site. I would love to take your class in the future. Thank you for your encouragement. I have a question for you. Last night, I had a craving for potato chips but instead I had and ear of corn which I blanched for about 40 seconds. After about 15 minutes I started sneezing uncontrollably, I got all stuffy and teared up. Do you think it was the corn or the blanching or both? Today I had 4 or 5 sips of mango green tea and nearly tossed my green smoothie breakfast/lunch. I've been 16 days 98% raw. The only thing cooked I've had is a cup of coffee in the morning and a little slaw dressing(haven't had that since friday) I did green smoothies all weekend. What do you think?

[mershwista]

Hello and welcome

--Lauren in Cleveland

[Finding Me]

Welcome to the board! I wish you the best on your Raw journey!!

[maraw]

SO sorry about the delayed response. Do feel free to send me an email or even give me a call if you want to talk or have questions. I may not have all the answers, but I am more than happy to share.

OK, so about the corn, I had a similar reaction to raw corn the first time I ate it too. I felt awful - puffy and stuffy and got a terrific head ache. I avoided it completely after that. But now, for some reason I can eat it fine. But don't even blanch it. Next time, just eat it right off the cobb - it's really crisp and sweet and yummy that way. When I am making chips or tostadas now, I dehydrate my corn first, then grind it in the coffee grinder, and then I add it to the recipe. It doesn't seem to affect me in a bad way anymore.

I hope this helps. And again, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me - especially since we are neighbors!

Anna

[jeannieh99]

Hey guys!
I'm from Houston also and I need lots of encouragement here. I don't know the first thing about this raw thing but am desperate enough to do whatever I need in order to be successful and get to a point where I can be healthy and get rid of all this awful weight. I am looking forward to meeting, sharing and learning from all of you here.
Jeannie

[maraw]

jeannieh99, I couldn't help but notice your avatar. Do you happen to know a friend of mine named Christine Mann? She is all about birds/parrots - has a wonderful business called Parrotphernalia Plus(www.parrotphernaliaplus.com) (http://www.parrotphernaliaplus.com/). She lives out here, near me in Richmond. I know the whole bird crowd is kind of small so I thought you might have met her along the way. I make a seed cracker that we have modified for her birds - she and her husband love it, and they share it with the birds too. Cracks me up!

Hey, also I am doing a raw food prep class at the Y in Katy on the 19th. You wanna come? It's a large class, but there is still plenty of room. The pilates instructor is organizing it - I'm going on her invitation. If you want more info, just let me know and I'll forward it on. It might be just what you are looking for to really get you going. I know when I started, books and classes gave me a big head start. Plus it's nice to be around like-minded people who love raw food.

Anyway, welcome to the board and to the wonderful world of raw food. You're just going to love it!

Anna

[jeannieh99]

Maraw,
That's Cassie, she is our baby girl. We love her lots. I'd love to meet with you guys!!! Do you yahoo? I'd love to chat with you on yahoo. my email is jeannieh99@yahoo.com why don't you email me and we can go from there?
Thanks for the invite!! :-)

[maraw]

Maraw,
That's Cassie, she is our baby girl. We love her lots. I'd love to meet with you guys!!! Do you yahoo? I'd love to chat with you on yahoo. my email is jeannieh99@yahoo.com why don't you email me and we can go from there?
Thanks for the invite!! :-)

You are SO much more hip than me, I'm afraid. I'm not sure what that means..."do you yahoo"....I feel very out of touch right now. I think I'll go drown my sorrows in a smoothie...

[jeannieh99]

Maraw,
LOL...hahaha...I needed a laugh. Yahoo is a free email system that allows you to keep up with people. Do you have email? Who do you send and get emails through? If you can manuever through this board you are a hip mama too! LOL I still have problems getting around and finding stuff on this board. I am anxious to meet and learn from you. BTW....I don't know who Christine is.

[maraw]

Unfortunately, I have too many emails accounts - two that go through my ISP directly via my business web sites. I didn't mean that I wasn't familiar with Yahoo!, I just don't know how to "Yahoo!!!!" ;) I guess that means using a hotmail account? Like I said, I'm lacking a bit in the "hip" department... :p

My email address is anna@therawtable.com - feel free to give me a shout anytime!