A way to describe raw food diet without saying "raw food"

[kayla]

I've gotten funny looks and gasps of terror from saying I follow a raw food diet and I know some people think I'm a kook. Is there a better way to describe it in a way that doesn't make people give me funny looks?

I saw a thread similar to this a long time ago when a parent was describing a child's diet to their physician...I think it was something including gluten free, high vegetable or something? thanks

[aililiu]

you could say.... live food. or sunfood. :)
or you could just not give it a name & just let it become who you are.
but yes, when explaining to others they want a label.

[Nurse in the Raw]

raw vegan works for me and people seem to know exactly what I mean. I think vegan is something that people are more familiar with so they don't think you have gone off the deep end and vegan is synonymous with health, so that is the term I use.

[Veganforlife]

healthy, living foods

[JennaBoBenna]

"whole food" diet :)

[145ish]

Funny you should ask this. I have not told anyone other than my Mother that I am on raw foods. I work in a small office and even they haven't noticed. They know I eat healthy but I don't think they have realized that everything I eat is raw.

I have a friend that whenever we go to dinner with others and we are discussing what to order she always has to say to everyone "she doesn't eat cooked food" and I don't know why but it drives me nuts! Maybe it's her tone.

Anyway I just tell people that I'm doing my best to change my eating habits and that I'm just trying to eat healthier.

[mamabird1953]

I usually say; "I eat what Mother Earth has designed for us." It's SAD, but many people have no idea what I'm talking about.

[barose]

I don't say "raw vegan" because I still eat honey every now and then. I just say "raw food" and most people in this area knows what I'm talking about it, or at least has heard of it.

Sometimes I still expect people to ask what it is though; no one has yet. I told my cousin the other day about my diet over the phone, she knew exactly--but she lives in L.A. too so I expected her to know.

[cashewy]

hi, I'm in the health care field and for the general public and patients I use the "whole foods"

When first educating patients off of the SAD I simply say if it exists in nature, you can eat it.....or only eat things with 3 ingredients or less....etc.

whole foods, unfamiliar people can grasp because it is not conceptual. it is linear.

people are also familiar with UNPROCESSED / or " I don't eat any packaged foods"

the restrictive tone of "raw food" or "vegan" tends to put people in opposition very quickly. it sounds like a law rather than a free choice. so they quickly will balance out the mind with thinking about what you CAN'T have

[VeggieMel]

Sometimes I say that I eat a plant-based diet with as little cooked foods as possible.

[SmilingRawDancer]

I say clean, plant-based, whole foods diet. I just explain that I don't eat processed food with chemical ingredients.

[dreamrawalwz]

Living foods. I know I was taught that "whole foods" included cooked grains and stuff, so i'm not sure how many people in the SAD world would think of it as just raw foods. Hmm.

[bodaflower]

I have a friend that whenever we go to dinner with others and we are discussing what to order she always has to say to everyone "she doesn't eat cooked food" and I don't know why but it drives me nuts! Maybe it's her tone.




I understand! I have a friend who does the same thing..it gets a little akward when they announce to the room "Oh, she doesn't eat cooked food." and then i get a bunch of questions. I dont really mind answering, you know, but they're mostly skeptical and judgemental and i'd rather they just not know

[StarFire]

I usually stumble over my words... I start out by saying "live foods'... then live vibrant foods.... then it usually ends up - RAW FOODS.. then I get the raised eyebrows... and the 'yew... do you eat raw meat?'.... and I just want to crawl in a corner and hide!!

surprisingly enough - when we're in a crowd of people and I start to stammer... my dh (hi raw and still major carnivore) he steps in and starts to explain how I eat and why... no one ever questions him... they just listen and treat him like he's some wise sage and nod their heads and say ..."ooohhh..."

but me-- I get the is that a carrot growing out of your head attitude!! ITS ALL RATHER FUNNY! http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/Huh1.gif

[Bobbie]

I just say vegetarian. A lot of people still expect vegetarians to eat nothing but "rabbit food" anyway, and nobody thinks anything of it if a vegetarian just eats a salad.
If people want to give you a cooked vegetarian meal, say you're vegan which puts most people off, and then if they still want to give you a cooked meal say you don't eat anything cooked.

[EZ rider]

I like to think of myself as a

uncooked garden foods eater

[Conscious Midwife]

I like to think, don't get asked much but...

NAture's best food
live food
real food
whole food
heat free vegan
uncooked vegetarian/ vegan
junk free veggie



etc....

AUTHENTIC FOOD is my favorite;)

[rawsurfer]

my aunt always announces it to everyone. she is really proud of me but it gets pretty anoying. i try to say i eat a raw vegan diet, not that i am a raw vegan, because i am so, so much more than someone who is defined by my diet, even though it is a big part of my life.

[juliebove]

I hadn't thought of this until my mom said it to me. She said if a person hears "raw diet" they are going to assume that you are eating raw eggs, meat and fish and that is what horrifies them. "Raw vegan" is better perhaps, but some people don't know what vegan means.

[Ginger]

I like to say I eat FRESH foods that havn't been heated because you lose out on a good deal of the nutrients in the food when it is heated. :D

[Conscious Midwife]

Original Food

[Vivafree2]

Now i say - "I eat sunny" or i "I eat light" or i say nothing. No point - i work with people who know everything better so when i mentioned "raw" they decided that i eat raw meat and sushi, "vegan" means crazy for them "no sweets" means i am not them, i am from different planet :) anyway- i eat what i like and call it - sunny.
I especially like yellow and orange things decorated with greens:)
I should place it on the light blue plate and make a landscape! And then i can say that i only eat artistically assembled, fresh, organically grown food as nature created it, prepared with heart and soul and eaten in full awarness. No animals die to feed me, no animals suffer ( except some insects but that is inevitable - an extra protein source).

[RawSinger]

Maybe say that you don't eat anything that's been heated beyond 105-110 degrees (whatever the individual case may be). That sounds a little less "kooky" than raw :cool:

[Azura Skye]

yeah - it annoys me too when I get introduced as "She ONLY eats raw food" As a natural rebel I want to go and stick my head in the nearest cooked food meal. I never introduce my friends as "She eats cooked foods, but is allergic to shrimp" or something. I mean - it's just food I wish people wouldn't identify you by it.

I just say a lot of the food I eat is raw. And leave it at that really.

[callmebecca]

"Unprocessed" seems to make the most sense to people - everyone knows that that's healthier, but it doesn't sound so radical.

[rawmonger]

I say that I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I have not had good experiences with telling people I eat raw food, so I don't mention it anymore.

[Vivafree2]

Love "unprocessed" sounds very reasonable and normal - no negative attention!!! no much explanation! I will adopt it from now on!

[BeadedGraces]

I have been saying that I am making HEALTHY choices for myself...I like "unprocessed" too viva!!!

[Eva]

I really don't have a ton of conversations about it in English, unfortunately. Sometimes I have to turn food away and if I get persistence (which is with Brazilians for the most part -- that don't speak English, so I have to explain in a language where I just have working knowledge)... I say (in Portuguese) "my food is specific because my stomach is sensitive. And thank you so much. The food smells good, but I'm happy with my ____" Or if it's with my Brazilian students learning very basic English, I use a bunch of cognates and mime it. Seriously. haha

When I'm lucky enough to have to explain it in English. I say it's a raw vegan diet, so I only eat fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds -- and I don't cook them.

Then I joke that I'm a "BEEgan" because I occasionally have honey from our friends the bees. And that breaks the ice. :D

[Carlsbad]

This is a pretty funny thread. It always amazes me how people are so fascinated by our way of eating, which is really so simple, yet they don't bat an eyelash at what is in their food.

I'm in a small group study at the moment that meets every Monday night, and each week a different couple from outside the group prepares a meal for us. So every Monday there's a whole conversation about what I'm eating. It's gotten pretty funny, and the small group is surprisingly supportive and interested. Last night was the funniest so far. The cooked meal was so disgusting that I had to work to keep a straight face when the preparer explained to me what it was and how sorry I must be to be missing out (it was chicken slathered in ham and bacon and some weird beige sauce, with "green beans" that were cooked to brown, soggy beans, rolls, and fruit salad). I got a bowl of the fruit salad, which was good. One of the ladies who had brought the meal said, "oh, you're on a diet" in this very pitying tone. But then after I'd eaten my fruit, I broke out the raw carrot cake that I had brought for my dinner. She looked at it and said, "so you're eating fruit and cake? What kind of diet is that?" It was pretty awesome.

I completely agree that when you say "raw," people automatically think you eat raw meat, like you're just on Atkins without a stove or something. I usually just say I've been trying to eat more fruits and veggies. That usually works, and is perfectly true. If pressed, I explain that I'm vegan (most people have at least a fuzzy idea of what that is) and that I don't eat anything cooked. Then you get the protein question and it's kind of a hassle. If I can fly under the radar completely, that's the best.

Sorry for the long response; you struck a chord!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

i only eat artistically assembled, fresh, organically grown food as nature created it, prepared with heart and soul and eaten in full awarness. No animals die to feed me, no animals suffer ( except some insects but that is inevitable - an extra protein source).

OMGoddess that is the best post I've ever read!!!



yeah - it annoys me too when I get introduced as "She ONLY eats raw food" As a natural rebel I want to go and stick my head in the nearest cooked food meal. I never introduce my friends as "She eats cooked foods, but is allergic to shrimp" or something. I mean - it's just food I wish people wouldn't identify you by it.

Such a great point. Perhaps I'll do that when people say that about me LOL


If I can fly under the radar completely, that's the best.

Not me, I love to fly into the radar. I like to start a conversation about what I eat and why. I love to enlighten people! I do notice sometimes that people give me that "oh shut up" look and then I just gently move the conversation onto something else... but honestly, this IS who I am. I'm okay being defined by it. I'm okay being defined as "that tattooed lady who eats raw and works out everyday" heck... I love that this is who I've become!!!

[debilana]

"rabbit food"
with a big grin=):D :D

[RawHeaven]

I am raw vegan when people ask. In California, most know what you're talking about so I haven't hit too my bumps. I grew up in San Francisco and generally people there could give a hoot what you eat. But when I moved further north into a house with my new roommate Oh my God, every other day it was "what's this....what's that?" I'm talking about fruit and vegetables! haaaa, lol. I was still eating raw flax crackers in packages and stuff like this at the time and she was okay with that. Never questioned the packaged food. I would've been thrilled to demonstrate how I eat and prepare food if the inquiry was genuine. But it was full of skepticism and judgement and I got very tired of the energy. I had to tell her to knock it off after awhile and that I'm doing this for health reasons. And then it stopped. Thank God for this forum because this used to drive me nuts, but having others to talk to about raw foods kept things in perspective for me.

But yeah, I just come out and say I'm a Raw Vegan. My family? That's another story and I won't bore you with another long paragraph! My name might as well be carrot because I'm introduced constantly as my diet. Reading this thread is very funny...when you think about the tendency for some family members to do this is hilarious and now I can laugh. I may just take the suggestion above to introduce some people I know as "this is my friend so and so, she only eats cupcakes, steak, french fries and beer." :p :D

[Aleesha Sattva]

i forgot to say what i call myself LOL

raw foodist!

[northernstars]

I say that although I gave up processed foods years ago and ate what was considered to be an extremely healthy diet, I still had a massive stroke and now choose to eat only fresh foods such as vegetables, fruits, sprouted grains, nuts and seeds. I have eliminated all animal products and have finally lost weight!

Nobody has given me any grief over my diet now.

[Anastasia Alston]

So far, nobody has asked me, at least not for a long while. On the rare occasions that I do get asked, I just say raw veg; I used to say vegan, but I use honey so I don't bother saying vegan anymore.

It is funny how people will define you by your diet if it's different by any other standard than ethnicity! <lol> I mean, no one ever introduces anybody as "the soul fooder" or "the Middle Eastern fooder"!!! :p How weird would that be??? But be anything slightly off-center & suddenly your food becomes your defining feature. Go figure... :rolleyes:

- Stasi

[Stina]

I'm on the Too Lazy to Cook Diet.

[Anastasia Alston]

I'm on the Too Lazy to Cook Diet.

Ooh! I like this one - especially since it's SOOOOOOO true! :D

- Stasi

[jacsam]

Vegetarian is something most everyone is familiar with and I like to just say that I try to eat as much fresh, whole foods as possible and leave it at that.

[Strawberrypickle]

I have people say that as well.
I think it's annoying to us because it sounds more like your just being impossibly finicky as opposed to the truth, which is that you are eating the best possible diet for your body to thrive on!
Sounds familiar, I don't get a lot of support it's so nice to find this group to hang with! Finally! :p

[Eva]

I've started calling myself a "Rabbit Foodist"! :)

[Patsy]

Don't know if this was mentioned over the year(s) this thread has been going, but Eva's post has reminded me that I have recently heard the term "bunny hugger". I like it better than tree hugger! :p

Our beagle has been raw since he was 10 weeks old. He really likes the term "bunny hugger", especially when he can catch them!

[Aleesha Sattva]

not even a year old... (this thread) :D

welcome!

[rawererin]

I like the idea of saying "if I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it" or "if it didn't grow from a tree or from the ground I don't eat it"

[rawstrength]

Ones I like:
I get to eat the best food ever.
I eat from the earth, not from a box (someone on this forum said that once and it really resonated with me :) )
When I'm really pressed to explain my eating habits, I say:
I'm a vegan, which means I eat no animals or animal products, and most of my food is fresh, raw and unprocessed. I also strive to eat organic and locally grown as much as possible. In addition, I drink fresh vegetable juices, spring water or purified water, and I eat raw chocolate and superfoods like maca/goji berries. There is a spectrum of eating, and on one side, there is organic lettuce grown with love fresh picked from your own backyard, while on the other side there is chemically laden, slave-labor manufactured in a dusty factory, acidic diet coke. I try to eat closer to the lettuce side of the spectrum :) .

Usually to that last explanation, people just say "oh" in surprise/confusion and turn back to their SAD food.

[menat]

I don't want to say vegan either since I do use honey, too. But that has stopped since I am now buying agave, or use grapes as a sweetener. And for a treat I eat sushi on a full moon. Just being honest.

I like the thought of fresh, unprocessed Whole Foods, because I am bad at sprouting, which leaves to spoiled beans, lentils and grains. I have no issue with boiling them. I eat mostly smoothies and try to avoid cooked beans, rice and other grains in order to keep my Raw title, but when the craving hits....indulge.

So I am a Whole Fooder who eats a mostly raw vegan diet.

[tanishamarshall]

I say that I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I have not had good experiences with telling people I eat raw food, so I don't mention it anymore.

I like this one, lots of fruits and vegetables.

Like someone said above I do find that if you say Raw food people assume you are eating raw meat..

[tanishamarshall]

I've started calling myself a "Rabbit Foodist"! :)

Tooooo Funny. You got me laughing Eva.

[dakinimind]

I say I'm a raw vegan. If it needs further clarification, I say that I don't eat anything that had a mother or was cooked above 105 degrees. I fib a little with the vegan because I do eat honey from time to time. I've never understood the honey thing...the last time I checked, bees were making honey of their own free will without inhumane honey farming practices...go figure :rolleyes:

[Lightspirited1]

People really think I'm crazy when I say "Raw Foods". They immediately go to meats in their minds I guess, because it does come up. Personally, I think people are just being purposely sarcastic, and they like to say something that will get a 'rise' out of ya.

Anything different from the 'norm' generally will cause people to be uncomfortable. I have found (and my life is like this in a LOT of ways) that the more comfortable I come across in the way I say things (ie; less apologetic - yet not abrupt either, but COMFORTABLE) - the more well-recieved it is from the people or person asking.

I generally will say that I don't eat cooked foods. It gets less questions overall, and in that I don't mind AT ALL answering any questions, I also don't like to bring a lot of attention to myself. I also don't care for debates. I think everyone is entitled to their own opinions and try not to impose mine onto others (too much...LOL ;) ).

[Rawism]

I just say vegetarian. A lot of people still expect vegetarians to eat nothing but "rabbit food" anyway, and nobody thinks anything of it if a vegetarian just eats a salad.


Funny! So true!!

[cherry.chops]

vegans dont eat honey because bee's make it for themselves, they dont make it for us to use. Humans just go in and rob them of it.

Im raw VEGAN and proud!
and if anyone asks me, i tell them!

[didi_dancer]

When people are being really critical I just try and joke about it. People often say my "animal" is a rabbit. So I tell them I eat Rabbit Food and thats way I bounce around all the time. They often come back with well YOU NEED MEAT because you are a human. I just make a cute rabbit face and laugh. Then try and change the topic, works pretty well, for me at least. If they still are talking about it, at least it is in a light hearted laughable way.

[EZ rider]

When asked about my eating I like to say that I eat fresh garden foods.
Most people know what kind of food that is and may have eaten some
themselves at some time.

[RaeVynn]

So, today our son told me that he mentioned to some friends of his that me and his dad eat just raw food, and they asked if we were "into New Age stuff"...

[Note: well, yes we are, but that's beside the point, really]

His response was something like, "That's got nothing to do with it! After all, God made all the food here raw to begin with, right?"

[I should mention, this particular child of ours is a devout Christian. We are not. It works for us]

So, he and I were discussing raw foods, and groups, and I told him about Hallelujah Acres, with the minister that started the whole thing with his congregation, and how people have been healed of disease, etc. I think HA uses the term "Bible Diet" or "God's Diet" or something like that.

I'm on the Garden of Eden eating plan. :p

[cara4art]

If it comes up in the conversation, I'll just say I eat a lot of fresh foods, because in my experience, many people are still put off by the term "raw foods" because they think you're eating raw eggs, meat, etc. Funny how that's the first thing they think of, instead of the tremendous variety within the plant kingdom. However, if the person I am talking to is pretty health-conscious and tuned-in, I WILL say "raw food eating".

[Irish_Vegan_Girl]

I understand! I have a friend who does the same thing..it gets a little akward when they announce to the room "Oh, she doesn't eat cooked food." and then i get a bunch of questions. I dont really mind answering, you know, but they're mostly skeptical and judgemental and i'd rather they just not know

Before i started eating a lot of raw, I was cooked vegan and sometimes my friends, when we met knew people, or were in a group of guys, it was like they would just "announce" - Alva doesn't eat meat!! She's a vegan! haha........... Like yourself: a lot of skeptical questions, but in the long run, I find people tend to come round and actually want to know about it, you know. I lost a lot of weight when i became vegan at first (although ive gained some of it back naturally) and everyone wanted to know the "secret", it wasn't that, it was just that I stopped eating junk and aswell as the diet change i stopped eating a load of "bad" food that i could still eat.

People will always be intimidated by new things....

[Colorawdo girl]

I say I eat "mostly living foods".

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

Most people understand what I mean by a "raw food lifestyle"
HOWEVER, when I was explaining the principle to this girl I know, she completely misunderstood and said "What? So like, you don't heat up your frozen dinners and stuff? Eww!" It took me a few moments to compose myself enough to explain the misunderstanding. Hehe!

[contessa20]

Most people understand what I mean by a "raw food lifestyle"
HOWEVER, when I was explaining the principle to this girl I know, she completely misunderstood and said "What? So like, you don't heat up your frozen dinners and stuff? Eww!" It took me a few moments to compose myself enough to explain the misunderstanding. Hehe!

I had a girl tell me that the thought of eating uncooked pasta really made her want to gag. :eek: Umm... yeah, me too. I was really cracking up until I realized she was serious.

[SimplyFabulush]

Plant-based diet is what I usually say :) When people hear raw usually they look at me weird because they think raw meat lol

[circle]

fresh, unprocessed, symbiotic.

[papiyonmov]

I say it's a raw vegan diet, so I only eat fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds -- and I don't cook them.
Then I joke that I'm a "BEEgan" . :D

Ha! I like it!
I agree, I describe what I eat as "FRESH fruits and vegetables, some nuts and seeds". If pressed, I'll answer questions explaining that it's raw, uncooked, vegetarian, etc. but most don't press...they seem to get it when I say "fresh". I feel that word has a nice energy, invokes healthful delicious images. After all, who doesn't want to eat fresh? if people aren't eating fresh, what are they eating?? (What's the opposite of fresh.... ;)

[papiyonmov]

fresh garden foods.

'Love it! Nice succinct way to put it!

[jesslcochran]

I usually don't tell people about being raw. I mean someone on SAD wouldn't go around saying, "I eat at McDonnalds" or something. Though, those close to me know I'm raw. They all seem to chock it up to "Jessica's being weird" or something. I've never done anything mainstream. lol

My sister lives in my basement. There have been times where she had friends over and I've been down there with them. One night they were all feeling kind of hungry and trying to figure out what fast food place was still open (it was midnight). I said I had something better. I went upstairs and filled a big salad bowl with fruit. Bananas, apples, strawberries, kiwi, oranges, grapes, etc.

My sister announced to them that I was a raw vegan. They all nodded but had blank looks in their faces, like they didn't get it. So she continued, "She only eats raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts." They asked a few questions. I don't remember what because they were questions I've been asked before. However they were so happy to eat the fruit (most of them were trying to eat better so they could lose some weight).

*shrugs*
Jess