On being "Raw"

[Anastasia Alston]

It's funny how when the seasons change your thoughts begin to change with them. Lately I have have been pondering what it means to "be raw". I find myself a little amused & a tad uncomfortable with the lable "raw fooder/ist" & the idea that I eat "raw food". I mean, who says they're a "cooked fooder/ist"? It seems a bit silly to me sometimes. OF COURSE I eat raw food! :D What other food is there?

Nothing cooked seems like food to me anymore & anything that has to be cooked in order to be eaten seems to me to be something that ought to remain outside of my body & left for other creatures to eat. I can't even stand the smell of cooked foods, let alone think of eating them. It makes it a little awkward at times living in a house of non-raw people that I love, but I deal, just like I deal with any other unpleasant odors I might come across.

The funny thing is, I have only been raw about 3 1/2 months, but I can barely remember what it felt like to eat cooked food even though I am still detoxing from years of it on a regular basis. I laugh at myself when I recognize that I have a revulsion to cooked foods that seems to run deep. It never even crosses my mind to eat non-raw foods. I guess it seems odd to me that I even hesitate to call anything cooked "food" to begin with though I suppose it certainly is, even if it isn't to me. My dog eats raw meat & I certainly don't consider THAT food! :D

I guess, to kinda wrap up my ramble, I don't consider myself a "raw fooder/ist" or anything else related to food. I just eat food. To me food is nothing that comes from animals except occasionally raw honey (I have a whole personal philosophy on that) & nothing that has been heat treated or comes with a long, unintelligible ingredients list & a bar code. I even find the occasional raw bar not something I partake of often as they aren't as fresh as the raw bars I can make in my own kitchen & sometimes I don't feel too good after eating them. I just eat food. Everybody eats. It's a requirement for remaining alive.

- Stasi (with too much time for inner reflection)

[Lindazkewl]

That was nicely stated. I'm not even 100% raw yet. But I can relate to what you're saying. When I'm driving to work and I pass fast food places, advertising burgers, and breakfast items - I feel that these aren't "food" - they're just items that we put into our bodies, for the pleasure of the taste. They don't nourish our bodies. Our bodies have to literally fight to break the stuff down to process, some of it, then get rid of the rest. I'm really looking at food differently now.

[Dj 247]

I have been eating raw a bit longer than you (7 months) and I still crave cooked food. I can't eat as much of it as I use to, but I still like the smell and taste of it. Now meat I can do with out. After reading, "The China Study" I don't want to eat meat again.

[Riiiya]

I like your outlook. I think i can relate :)

It's funny. My friend sent me a link to the Kashi website yesterday and i commented that- oh nice, Kellogg bought it out. She then said that- well, of course big companies are out there to make money, but this is a good product (i wouldn't agree- i view grains differently now, left alone Rawness) and it's so hard to make helthy choices these days that we can just worry about it a bit less.

Well you see, i don't think it's hard at all if you eat living foods. Because then all the commercialized products with loud health claims are simply out of option as yon know nature's food is always superior.

I just view things so differently now than anyone i know, it kind of scares me lol.... i'm just glad there is a community like this with some support:)

[Hannah]

I know what you mean about the shift in perspective ... I try not to think of cooked food as inedible crap, as I have so many loved ones who still eat that food and if I were to think that way I know on some level they would feel it from me ... instead I think of how amazing I'm feeling on raw and delighting in the light impact I'm having on my body and the planet ...

when I go shopping I look at the cooked, prepped and boxed foods as play food - like I used to play house with when I was a little girl ... although some things still do crack me up, like the sign I once saw at whole foods advertising "natural soda" - it just tickled me so to think of such a silly ad

[Anastasia Alston]

When I'm driving to work and I pass fast food places, advertising burgers, and breakfast items - I feel that these aren't "food" - they're just items that we put into our bodies, for the pleasure of the taste. They don't nourish our bodies. Our bodies have to literally fight to break the stuff down to process, some of it, then get rid of the rest. I'm really looking at food differently now.

Funny isn't it? Like Alissa says in her video "You don't have to change your life to eat raw food, but raw food will change your life" & what unexpected ways eating raw foods change you! I can't even imagine fast food tasting like anything remotely good! I would no sooner eat it than eat cardboard, though if given no other choices I think I'd take the cardboard; it's probably safer.

A friend of mine was complaining to me as we were getting ready to work out together that she had mysteriously gained 6 pounds & was quite upset about it. She knows I eat raw foods & have since shed 31 pounds with no effort. We were then talking about what foods we had eaten that day & I said I'd had nut porridge for breakfast & she said "That sounds AWFUL!" Hmmm.... Nut porridge sounds awful, but eggs & cheese on an English muffin is yummy? Processed cereal out of a box with cold milk poured over it sounds delicious? Nuts & dried fruit soaked overnight & then pureed until smooth with a touch of cinnamon sounds awful? I said nothing more about the food beyond explaining what nut porridge is. I always allow others to bring up food & health issues; I offer nothing unless asked. I stay out of trouble better that way.

My complaining friend is hypothyroid, has mild exema & is experiencing some kind of chest/lung trouble at the moment. She makes excuses for why she hasn't yet taken the raw plunge (she brought it up when I told her I went raw). I have yet to push the issue & I won't. Like I said, I eat food that happens to not be cooked. I have divested myself of a whole host of minor annoyances, but heath & weight were not issues that brought me to raw & they aren't what keep me here. I find people feeling the need to justify themselves to me for their dietary choices, though I literally say NOTHING about them; I eat what I like, they eat what they like. When I didn't eat only raw foods I didn't consider bugs or fish eggs (caviar) to be food sources, yet there are some people who do. I didn't make comments to bug or fish egg eaters about their choices & didn't expect them to make comments on mine.

The same thing applies now, though people don't seem to think so for some reason. While they don't comment on my food, they judge themselves & comment on their own as though in response to some criticism they imagine I am making in reference to their food choices. Oddly, having different cultural food preferences doesn't bring this out. ::shrug:: Oh, well!

I'm rambling again, so I'd better quit here for now! :p

-Stasi

[lamount03]

Stasi.. love that thinking.. then it's not I'm all extreme (in the other person's mind) and raw... it's just that I prefer to eat raw food.. I prefer the way it tastes and the way I feel when I eat it. I love it! :) I'm only a few days in and I am feeling fantastic!!!! My work outs are just as strong if not stronger and I'm actually enjoying spending time preparing foods. :) (I never was much on cooking)... my husband is even willing to try some stuff.. so far he's sold on the desserts... :) haha I"m waiting for Alissa's book then I will start preparing family meals.. I've been vegan for about a year so we've been eating separate meals.. our kids are still young so it's not that big a deal but eventually we will be doing the family meal and I would like to be able to prepare food for everyone.. anyway.. I'm going off on a tangent...

Love your insight and I think it's great that you are even having the deep thoughts about all of it... the way we eat, what we eat is such a huge part of our lives... so many people just stuff food in their faces w/o much thought.. I like the thought process that goes along w/ being raw! :)

And about your friend... I think the best approach is to 'walk the talk'.. live the life and she will see the benefits you are experiencing.. you aren't ready until you are ready!

Thanks for the post!

[Anastasia Alston]

And about your friend... I think the best approach is to 'walk the talk'.. live the life and she will see the benefits you are experiencing.. you aren't ready until you are ready!

Thanks for the post!

You're quite welcome! That is my plan: she knows what I am doing. When she is ready to know more, she'll ask. Until then I'll mind my own business & listen as patiently as I can when she complains about her health or weight. Like Pat Parelli says "You can lead a man to knowledge but you can't make 'em think!"

-Stasi

[lamount03]

So true.. unfortunate, but true. When/if she finally gets it she will ask herself what took her so long! :)

[RawHeaven]

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[lamount03]

So true Crystal!!! :)

I think the phenomenon of people ("they") finding these foods that are super foods then people thinking they can just add said foods to their current not so great diet and see results they promise... when what they really need is to overhaul their entire diets and also incorporate the said foods.... I was just thinking that about coconut oil while I was reading another post here... we were talking about calorie intake and how different people have success on different levels and different quantities of fat. Some were saying that the more coconut oil the better for them and I was thinking that this probably wouldn't be the case if you just added a bunch of coconut oil to a SAD diet.. I bet you would just blow up... I don't know, but I would think you wouldn't have the same results as one does when they are raw... anyway.. point being you can't just have a side of broccoli w/ your burger and fries and think that's going to save you from heart disease... get what I mean??? And I agree that people just don't know what to do b/c the tide is always changing and new 'discoveries' of super foods and direction as to what to do is always coming up.

Aren't we so lucky to be raw... we don't have to listen to and research all of that stuff. 1. we're already eating it and 2. we RAWK! :)

[EZ rider]

uncomfortable with the lable "raw fooder/istInstead of referring to a person as a:

"vegan raw fooder"

they should be referred to as:

"a person who dosn't eat anything with a face or any dairy or animal products of any kind and who eats only foods that have not been cooked above 115 degrees f and eats natural plants from the sea and garden."

.

[Anastasia Alston]

Instead of referring to a person as a:

"vegan raw fooder"

they should be referred to as:

"a person who dosn't eat anything with a face or any dairy or animal products of any kind and who eats only foods that have not been cooked above 115 degrees f and eats natural plants from the sea and garden."

.

LOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

- Stasi

[RawHeaven]

So true Crystal!!! :)

I think the phenomenon of people ("they") finding these foods that are super foods then people thinking they can just add said foods to their current not so great diet and see results they promise... when what they really need is to overhaul their entire diets and also incorporate the said foods.... I was just thinking that about coconut oil while I was reading another post here... we were talking about calorie intake and how different people have success on different levels and different quantities of fat. Some were saying that the more coconut oil the better for them and I was thinking that this probably wouldn't be the case if you just added a bunch of coconut oil to a SAD diet.. I bet you would just blow up... I don't know, but I would think you wouldn't have the same results as one does when they are raw... anyway.. point being you can't just have a side of broccoli w/ your burger and fries and think that's going to save you from heart disease... get what I mean??? And I agree that people just don't know what to do b/c the tide is always changing and new 'discoveries' of super foods and direction as to what to do is always coming up.

Aren't we so lucky to be raw... we don't have to listen to and research all of that stuff. 1. we're already eating it and 2. we RAWK! :)


I agree Lamount, we are lucky to be raw! And I get what you're saying about your analogy with coconut oil. It's funny because I was just having this conversation with a friend. She had watched some special featuring Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, on Oprah. I don't watch too much TV and I'm not really on the Oprah bandwagon. Even though I think she's great, I'm not going to follow everything that comes on that show blindly. But it seems as though there's more info being presented on good health alternatives and I like Dr Oz. I think it's a start at least.

My friend was mentioning something about replacing beets for sugar in baked goods and with some cooked vegetables for kids. And I thought okay I learned this years ago and it's good more folks are aware of healthy cooking alternatives now and at least they're trying. But my raw alter ego, hahaaa was trying to get around it's still cooked food!!! And thinking to myself that's not really going to make much difference. You're still killing the enzymes whether or not you substitute beet juice for sugar. And is it fresh squeezed beet juice or from the can? But this was all in my head I didn't want to ruin her enthusiasm and I appreciated that she was even talking to me about it. I only said, yes that seems like a good alternative. Perhaps another day I'll be able to explain what I was really thinking, but it wasn't the right time and she was proud that she could talk to her weird, health nut friend about this probably. LOL.

[lamount03]

I totally agree. My mom called me to tell me to turn on oprah for ideas of how to get veggies into the kids (though they eat way more veggies than most kids).... I think it's a great idea to start somewhere anyway. :) :) I think going raw is a process... and getting started on seeing the value of eating vegetables could be the starting point for some. I know I started off there. I've always considered myself to be somewhat of a health nut... but it took me through vegetarianism, to veganism and now to raw veganism to find myway. :)

[oceanee]

Great insight and thoughts from everyone I read. I wonder what the Europeans have to say - after all we are a crazy American culture obsessed with huge portions of food, feeding the mind not the body and oh so much media propaganda for the big bucks.
I feel that the addictive part of cooked foods to me is partially associated to the American lifestyle.....from the 50's and on and all the changes in the name of goodness....if only we stayed to the pure,natural, simple methods of eating off the vines.
Regarding the Seinfield method - all I thought about was.....why the heck would anyone go to all that trouble to steam, puree, freeze little ziplock baggies to then "sneak" into SAD dishes? It sounds crazy to me. But then I always felt, have the veggies and fruit around, not the crap and all kids will eat what they want.Mine always loved veggies,etc. This method of sneaking seems so indulgent.
But enough, this is RAW FOOD , the way to go talk !
Always great to read to read from others, we are united !
Oceanee

[mrpickles]

Hey Stasi... I feel the same way and totally look at foods differently now... I had the same epiphany years ago when it came to "junk" food... but now I am getting it again towards all the cooked food... just doesn't seem natural at all to do and think the only reason we ever adopted it in culture is because we were making too many babys with too many mouths to feed. I used to be all into cooking as well... and it just seems weird to me now. I much prefer the simpler aspect of not cooking and just eating what is around in nature... I am in Chicago now but plan on moving back to Florida where I can always have a garden (which I did when I was there before) but... this time there will be a lot more stuff growing.

[Marcus]

I tell people that I'm eating a lot of raw fruits & veggies lately . . . You know, like all the doctors and nutritionists recommend. ;)

[greenfeline]

I love this thread! It reminds me that a lot of our problems with food are how we react and frame situations. I love the idea of looking at cooked food and saying "I just don't eat that". That is how I look at animal products and it is easy, but cooked food is more difficult for me to frame this way. One mantra I have is: I am in control of my body and no one is forcing me to eat that bread (insert your own cooked weakness). It is my choice and I need to do what is best for my body (raw!)

I also don't like labels either. It gives people preconceived notions immediately, when really everyone is very different within any group.

[mrpickles]

yeah easy to view food as ... if you can eat it and get it easily in nature without side effects...its food that is ready to consume...once it has been screwed with by man and processed, heated, denatured, chemicalized, modified, etc... it is no longer what we evolved on for millions upon millions of years like every other animal on this planet. Having adverse reactions to something in its raw state is a sign you shouldnt be eating it!! Just look at beans for example, even in cooked form and soaked forever...they still cause gastrointestinal distress... a clear sign in nature that, hey next time, I'm not going to eat those!!!
As for meat I agree we might have eaten it during times of starvation... (body kicks into ketosis with no carbohydrate) but eventually if you stay in this long enough you start having issues, massive weight and muscle loss, slowed metabolism, etc. etc. your liver and glycogen stores are depleted, your body starts making more catecholamines and get an alert feeling...protein consumption goes through gluceogenesis and converts your protein intake to glucose, hopefully so you can still make it until you get in an area where there is a food source we were meant to run on. plants!

[Anastasia Alston]

Yeah, I think that's the hardest part for people to grasp (it took me some time to accept it): just because I can eat it cooked doesn't mean it's okay/good for me to eat. It previously never occurred to me that if I had to vigorously process it, then perhaps it is better left for other creatures who have no problems eating it the way grew. It just shows the depth of human pride that if there is something that we can eat if it's cooked then it is meant for humans to eat - otherwise it has no value. :confused: We completely ignore the fact that there are countless other creatures on this planet with us that eat all kinds of things (some things that would literally kill us) & it doesn't have to be a food source for humans in order for it to have value. I sometimes get blank, bewildered looks when I say I eat my food uncooked, followed by "But how are you supposed to eat _____?" as though life will cease if you can no longer eat kidney beans! (I didn't care for kidney beans even when I ate my food cooked! :p ) Oddly enough, most of these people don't eat the stuff they're asking about anyway! :D Go figure....

- Stasi