My boyfriend is getting bored with raw food - advice?

[barose]

He started going raw about 1-2 months after I did after experiencing some health issues for several months. He pretty much follows my lead, doesn't read any books or websites on the subject so all raw advice comes from me. He's known about raw foods for at about three decades and been a cooked vegan since about that time so he's been out of the SAD loop for a long time. He's about 90% raw because he still makes cooked sprouted quinoa or black rice about once a week. He also still drinks coffee almost daily.

Right now he eats salads, fruit and lots of nuts and nut butters. He can put away 5-6 tablespoons or more of nut butter in a day. During the course of a week, I make Sushi, pizza, different types of salads, and fruit smoothies. I drink green smoothies, but he doesn't like them at all at this point.

He is getting bored and hungry a lot. We go out about 1-2 to a raw restaurant, eat at a raw food booth at the farmers market and I try to add more variety to our day, but I do need more ideas.

[raw_danceruk]

Kinda had a bit of a brainstorm.. they may be totally useless or your already doing this.. but heres a few ideas anyway. Its awesome your partner is raw and supportive.. but yeah..her go's!! :D lol

1. Mexican Feast

Gaucamole

Taco's

Walnut taco "meat"

Nut Cheeze/Fake Sour cream sauce


2. Spanish Tapas
Potato/Cabage type Coleslaw

Raw Olives

Salsa

Speciality Tomato's

Homemade sundried tomato's

3. Pasta Night

Huge bowls of pasta- Cucumber, Squash- whatever you like to do it with

Tomato Sauce- herbs, tomato, garlic

Olive oil- if you eat it

Bowl of Ground raw nuts, raw olives, dehydrated veg strips- aubergine, potato, sweet potato

Then you can asemble as you please, eat as much as you like, add more sauce, toppings etc- can be put away for later or easily make another meal such as Raw lasagne with the left overs :)


4. Big Soups


Big Hearty Soups served with raw crackers, raw breads- or deydrated vegetable chips of various sorts perhaps?

Eg. Spinich soup, Tomato, Gaspachio etc

Chunky bits, hearty.. you get the idea!

5. Raw Deserts -- for big appetites!!

Raw ice creams - Banana, Banana and Blueberry, Vanilla, Whatever seasonal fruits

Raw pies

---

Hope thats some useful ideas anyway!

[Revvell]

Raw dancer, that is GREAT! Thanks!

I don't usually do menus ~ just recipes but I like that idea.

Revvellicious

[barose]

I love your ideas! I had been making some of those things but have gotten away from it lately. As much as I eat, he will still eat me under the table so though we love salads (with avocado and all) it can lose its luster.

[tanishamarshall]

We were thinking alike Barose. I am having the same issue. I just made a bunch of Raw burgers and flex crackers and he says he likes it but I know it doesn't taste like the SAD food and I know he's getting bored with it.

I know it will take time for both of us (Him and Myself) to truly love Raw food but we have to keep reminding ourelves that we ate SAD for 26+ years how do we expect to love Raw in a month or so. I'm not saying that raw is nasty, actually it's good, but when you have Sad memories it's hard to find the same taste with Raw.

[barose]

docsharp - I guess the difference is, my SO's been vegan for a long time and doesn't like meat (I never liked red meat) so at least I don't have that challenge. He LOVES raw food except for green smoothies and coconut.

[tanishamarshall]

docsharp - I guess the difference is, my SO's been vegan for a long time and doesn't like meat (I never liked red meat) so at least I don't have that challenge. He LOVES raw food except for green smoothies and coconut.

Well my husband has been having Vegan Cravings, but some of the Vegan stuff does taste like SAD foods. Like Vegan Pizza the breading reminds me of SAD foods. My husband doesn't like green smoothies either, but he has tried a couple times and I'm thinking he'll try again.

I myself have been craving Bean burritos, I don't know why. I've been craving beans more then meat. I was jsut getting in to being a vegan when I jumped on the Raw Bandwagon.

[ReneeH]

I LOVE the Menus!!!! Gave me a LOT of ideas for myself!!! Thanks for Posting!!!

[shine72]

I need to preface this with I'm NOT being a smart aleck here. But I think this would be a perfect time for HIM to get in the kitchen and experiment. I make a LOT of raw foods. But there are times when my hubby isn't in the mood for what I make or if I get behind, there's not as much selection. That is when he gets in the kitchen and just starts putting together......whatever. He's in the Army, is gone WAY more than he is home, so he could use the too tired excuse and doesn't. He just gets in there and gets something.

Try seeing if he's open to being part of the creative process when it comes to raw foods.

[barose]

Shine, he does make a lot of his own salads and snacks when I'm not around so its not like he cant survive. But when it comes to anything more complicated, he gets lost and ends up with some inedible concoction so I end up making something anyway. :) He always eats what I make though so its not like we battle over food or what I make - sometimes he is bored or hungry after a meal.

I always cooked and baked on a regular basis prior to going raw, so raw food prep came naturally to me. He was never into cooking: just making salads, growing sprouts, making wheat grass juice steaming veggies and making tons of tofu dishes (yuck!).

[shine72]

Okay. I get what you're saying. Have you made the onion bread yet? You can make Alissa's BBQ chicken fingers. Spread some of her Honey Mustard dressing on the bread. Put lettuce, tomato, and the chicken fingers and you have yourself one HECK of a wrap! It's very satisfying too! Also, you can top the onion bread with the eggless egg salad from Rawvolution. You can also use it as a different base for pizza. HTH! That's off the top of my head, if I come up with more later, I'll let you know!:D

[barose]

Mmmmm that sound good (droll). Thanks for the idea, I want it NOW, LOL!

[exurb]

But I think this would be a perfect time for HIM to get in the kitchen and experiment

Wish I lived on your planet! ;)

[shine72]

Wish I lived on your planet! ;)


It IS a nice planet to live on!:D

[exurb]

hi barose, I hear ya.

If I was the only eater in the house, I would find it very easy to eat simply, and LIGHT, like a raw soup as a meal or something. I also have weight as a concern.

In truth, I find the kind of raw it takes to keep my husband satisfied on raw very onerous to prepare and keep up with. His raw day that would satisfy the cochon would look something like

breakfast - grawnola with nut milk
snack - piece of fruit, or raw cookies, brownies, etc...
lunch - a full lunch, say a raw sandwich on bread with a nut based burger, mock chicken salad or something, some fruit, veggies on the side or a salad, and something for dessert
mid aft snack - fruit
dinner - tortillas, corn chips, tacos, mexican salad with avo, corn, peppers, etc. OR as another example, 2 slices raw pizza and a salad.
then the @#$%&! would be looking for a slice of raw pie or something.

SHEESH!

my day would look like this

breakfast, some type of fruit eaten later in the morning
lunch - (either a giant salad, handful of nuts or seeds, or a "recipe" (I try to have 1/4 cup of nuts a day, or 1/2 avo). maybe some grain cracker or tortilla chip involved, with flax, sesame seeds, hemp seeds etc for protein etc)
dinner - salad, OR raw veggies and/or fruit.


I can't be bothered to fix grawnola, nutmilk even for myself, it is a nightmare to keep up with a guy's sense of what he needs to be satisfied while trying to keep your own pounds down.

It's an eye opener to actually ask a guy what a good raw meal is, rather than to ask chicks who say "gazpacho" or a raw soup;) . To my hubby, gazpacho is a little something you knock off before you get to really eating.

Guys seem to need grains also, nuts, fats, all the spectrum in addition to fruit and veg to maintain this long term and feel satisfied. Some great suggestions from rawdanceruk.

GOOD LUCK is all I can say. Sometimes I have taken to make "hybrid" meals for the hubby, say I make a raw marinara, I have that on zucchini pasta, hubby it on cooked pasta. Say I make a raw stir fry, hubby gets some cooked rice with that. I make raw burgers (yum), put hubby's into a baked bun.

some more ideas, keep the guacamole and corn chips flowing... try also potato chips, sweet potato chips, etc. A good heavy hummus from sprouted sunflower seeds, garlic, lemon, tahini, and generous cumin, served with lots of raw crackers. They also seem to need raw burgers, with all the fixins. Raw ice cream, pies, cookies, RP brownies, etc. Anything with olives, mine loves Tapenade and crackers. Mine also loves spicy things, then you feel like you've "eaten", so for example chile rellenos.

For your sanity of preparing enough foods, my strategy is to rise early on SAturday morning and knock off a few recipes, such as tortilla chips, pizza crusts, and a raw cracker or bread. Also, one "cheese" or hummus or something like that. Then I'm pretty good for the week with dried stuff, so can put meals together more quickly.

My hubby also keeps a giant bag of raw trail mix around. I haven't done it lately, but I'm thinking a recipe like a Lara Bar but a little less sweet might be sort of handy for your man.

Let me know how it's going. Hope that gives you some ideas.

[exurb]

I also just thought of sprouted lentil pates. They can be sort of heavy and filling, especially with raw crackers.