OVERLY excited at the prospect of going RAW w/ few Qs

[honeydew]

Hi there. Just joined the site and began combing the forum after seeing a link on alissacohen.com.
I've been interested in this "diet" for a while now, and I have to admit; when I saw Alissa on the Tyra Show, I became even more intrigued.

I'm 19 years old (i'll be 20 next week, and have asked my fiancee for Living on Live Food and a food dehydrator as some of my birthday presents:p ), been vegetarian for 5 years. I have some quick questions:

-Did social outings involving food become less enjoyable for you? Are you stuck ordering salads all the time?

-Do you ever "cheat" per se, like sneak in a morningstar veggie chikn nugget or stick of string cheese here or there?

-Is dehydrating food a hassle? Does it take up a lot of time or require prep work days in advance; I cook dinner for the both of us, and he hates to eat alone.

-How quickly did you notice a change in your well being after making the decision to go raw?

-Where does alcohol fit into this lifestyle? :o no, seriously...


Please bare with my newbie-ness, and forgive me if my questions have been asked repeatedly on the boards. I'm just getting SO EXCITED about going raw and these are the only percieved obstacles holding me back..

[tanishamarshall]

Hi there. Just joined the site and began combing the forum after seeing a link on alissacohen.com.
I've been interested in this "diet" for a while now, and I have to admit; when I saw Alissa on the Tyra Show, I became even more intrigued.

I'm 19 years old (i'll be 20 next week, and have asked my fiancee for Living on Live Food and a food dehydrator as some of my birthday presents:p ), been vegetarian for 5 years. I have some quick questions:

-Did social outings involving food become less enjoyable for you? Are you stuck ordering salads all the time?

-Do you ever "cheat" per se, like sneak in a morningstar veggie chikn nugget or stick of string cheese here or there?

-Is dehydrating food a hassle? Does it take up a lot of time or require prep work days in advance; I cook dinner for the both of us, and he hates to eat alone.

-How quickly did you notice a change in your well being after making the decision to go raw?

-Where does alcohol fit into this lifestyle? :o no, seriously...


Please bare with my newbie-ness, and forgive me if my questions have been asked repeatedly on the boards. I'm just getting SO EXCITED about going raw and these are the only percieved obstacles holding me back..

I'm going to attempt to answer your questions.

I have to say that being Raw and being social with non-raw friends or family is very very hard unless you just love salad because that is all I can find in a restaurant, and maybe just maybe fresh fruit.

There have been times when I fell off track but all of my previous symptoms I had before raw always come right back.

Yes dehydrator does take some time to properly heat the food and the prep is faster but once the food is done it's soooo gooood.

I noticed a change wtihin 4 days, I felt more energy, brain fog lifted and no more anixety.

There is a such thing as raw liqour but I'm not sure how to find that. Check out Raw Food Real World cookbook, they talk about raw liquor like sake and stuff.

[trinity082482]

-Did social outings involving food become less enjoyable for you? Are you stuck ordering salads all the time?

At first it did... it is my heritage to have lots of food no matter what you are doing with a group of people. I could have brought food with me that was raw.. but the fear of being teased or the thought of the time and effort it would take at first scared me to do so.
Now I don't care.. I don't assume anymore that if I order a salad or smoothie from the mall food court while my family ate Chinese food that people would think I was raw...



-Do you ever "cheat" per se, like sneak in a morningstar veggie chikn nugget or stick of string cheese here or there?


I have my off days. I am not 100%. I struggle with some things like tea and coffee.. sometimes I just want that cup! Ya know? It's hard to avoid it when your the only one in the house that is raw. I am not that strong willed lol.. but I try my personal best.


-Is dehydrating food a hassle? Does it take up a lot of time or require prep work days in advance; I cook dinner for the both of us, and he hates to eat alone.


Nope. I eat it when its ready.. and if that means I have to eat supper at 8 instead of 5 then I will eat some fruit at 5 and wait for my dinner.
If I am making a snack I will leave it running over night so I can eat the next day.


-How quickly did you notice a change in your well being after making the decision to go raw?

1 week


-Where does alcohol fit into this lifestyle? no, seriously...

I am not a drinker.

[Dj 247]

Did social outings involving food become less enjoyable for you? Are you stuck ordering salads all the time?
A: Yes! I still have trouble when eating out. I just eat out a lot less.

-Do you ever "cheat" per se, like sneak in a morningstar veggie chikn nugget or stick of string cheese here or there?
A: Yes, I do occasionally choose to eat something that is not raw, but it doesn't happen every day.

-Is dehydrating food a hassle? Does it take up a lot of time or require prep work days in advance; I cook dinner for the both of us, and he hates to eat alone.
A: I always eat with my husband, but we don't eat the same food. He does eat more salads now! I don't own a dehydrator. I eat mostly fruit,vegetables, nuts and seeds, raw dips, and flax crackers bought online.

-How quickly did you notice a change in your well being after making the decision to go raw?
A: I think it was about 2 months before I started to feel better after eating raw.

-Where does alcohol fit into this lifestyle? no, seriously...
A: I have never been a big drinker, but it is still a social thing for me. I do occasionally have alcohol when we go out. But it is only if I want to drink it, and not to please someone else. People hate to see you not drink. Most of the time I drink water with lemon or lime. Some wines are raw and actually good in small doses.

[beppa66]

There is raw wine (no sulfites) sold at whole foods market.
The dehydrator is fairly easy to learn, only a few bombs so far.
I don't eat out as much, but steer us to places with exciting options. (do your homework there are some raw places)
I don't consider it a "cheat" I eat mostly raw, once in a while I choose something else.
In 4 days I felt much-much-much better!!!
Raw is awesome! I hope that answered your questions! Welcome!!!

[Rawkinlocs]

LOL! Just kidding! Welcome to the forum Honeydew.

You asked:

-Did social outings involving food become less enjoyable for you? Are you stuck ordering salads all the time?

Well, I was never really much of a going-out-to-eat-at-social-events person before, so it doesn't really matter much to me. But a few things that you can do is to have a small thing of raw crackers, nuts, dehydrated nut burger/patty and maybe even a small bottle of homemade dressing with you when you can i.e. KNOW you're going out so that if you do end up having "just" a salad you can spruce it up a bit with your own fixin's so it doesn't seem so hum-drum. Also, depending on where you go, you can request an entree-sized salad with any and all raw, fresh veggies they may have in the back so it's not just lettuce and tomatoes.

-Do you ever "cheat" per se, like sneak in a morningstar veggie chikn nugget or stick of string cheese here or there?

I think we all have done this and it's a common/normal part of the whole process/journey. Thing is to not beat yourself up over it if you do and just try to get right back on the horse and keep going. Overtime, the longer you're raw, you will find that your body actually begins to reject those foods and you don't feel well after eating them so you'll start to desire to "cheat" less and less until one day you look up and you're simply ready and raring to stick with being all raw!

-Is dehydrating food a hassle? Does it take up a lot of time or require prep work days in advance; I cook dinner for the both of us, and he hates to eat alone.

-How quickly did you notice a change in your well being after making the decision to go raw?

Not too long after...some things took longer than others (such as the energy increase) but I'd say I started feeling "differently/better" in a relatively short time...can't say exactly how long, though.

-Where does alcohol fit into this lifestyle? no, seriously...

Some raw fooders continue to drink. I know that I've read on here that you can get raw wine. I'd say that it depends on you. I know Alissa stated that she used to drink before going raw but afterwards she wanted the best possible health for her total being and for her, alcohol was like a contradiction so she gave that up. It's a personal decision, though.

If you don't have it, please consider getting Alissa's book "Living on Live Food". It's a HUGE book full of information, encouragement, inspiration, answers to just about every question you may have and alllll those recipes!

[Stina]

Hey Beautiful Lady!

Welcome and I love your enthusiasm and respect your open-mindedness:)

Just a quick note on eating out. Although I'm notorious amongst my friends for pulling out an avocado at the table of restaurants, I've cut back on eating out and now often arrange to meet friends for a walk/hike or a movie instead of dinner out. But I do eat out and have noticed a distinct shift in something important. I'm now there to enjoy the company and not so much the food. I'm really intent on the person and the conversation and it feels sacred to be very present in the moment now. And I've noticed that impacts my relationships with people. They really feel validated and listened to and valued. It's precious, I tell you. I used to love going down to the nice local Mexican restaurant and pigging out on nachos (no offense to swine:D ), and I've sacrificed gluttony for something greater- a spiritual connection. Speaking of, that sense of spirituality I feel thanks to the Raw lifestyle, is better than any buzz I ever used to get from pot or alcohol, but we all find our own path on that one.

Glad to hear you're not wasting any time on getting Alissa's book. I've read over a dozen raw books and they're all good, but I kid you not, Living on Live Foods is the book to have. One thing though, be sure to emphasize greens in your diet: salads, green lemonade, and green smoothies.

May your raw diet bring the wealth of blessings to your life like it has mine!

Love, Stina

[lulushka8]

i've been 100% since March and found that going out to retaurants where they have a buffet is so much easier cause that way you can pile your plate high with raw stuff and not choose the dressings (in experience they always add unraw dressings when ordering even if you ask that they don't!).

Also I lapsed after six months for about a week simply because i missed bread. When i was cooked vegan i loved wholemeal breads, bagels and sandwiches, so that was the one thing i found hard to give up! ..BUT then i finally got alissa's book and dvds (hard for me living in UK but managed to find it on ebay for double the price!) and i am just so THANKFUL to her!! I learnt how to make raw breads and pizzas (love the calzone bread!) and crackers from her book that actually tasted as good if not better than the cooked breads that I used to love so much! Alyssa's recipes only go to prove that raw food can mimic the taste and texture of ANY cooked food just with a bit of imagination and experimentation. i love inventing my own recipes in my dehydrator while before Alissa's book i never used it, and prep is so minimal if you have a good blender and juicer... I've never looked back to cooked since, even living with four non-rawfooders. Good luck on your journey!!

[Frugal Raw]

Hey - you could check out your local RAW Meet-up group: http://rawfood.meetup.com/259/?gj=sj5 to find out where other raw foodists go on thier social outings!

We unfortunately don't have one here in TN, and I can't afford the fees yet to make one happen.