Why can't I "get' this?

[Aurelie48]

Boy, do I need help. My husband and I have been 80% raw since around March and it seems to agree with us. I think it's because we were ready for raw as we've been vegetarians for about 20 years.

Here is my problem and it's a problem because I am an all or nothing kind of person and still ingrained with the heaviness of the full plate, grain, beans, vegetables meal. I have been doing the gourmet type of meals which can be time consuming and a lot of work.

Recipe books are great in that they provide different 'dishes'. We've been eating a lot of delicious salads, some with pates. And then you have your zucchini 'pasta' dishes, but I need ideas on what dishes, put together, would constitute a meal. I feel a little inadequate about this. It shouldn't be this difficult, but I just don't know how to put weekly menus together. Can't believe I can't do this. I don't mind preparing the foods for the week...no problem with that at all. We start the day off well. Either a green smoothie or almond milk/fruit smoothie with superfoods, Lunches can be leftovers. Dinner....that's where I need help.

Just need a plan or system so that I don't dread this task every week....just need to simplify. My apologies for making this so long. Thank you!

[Rawkinlocs]

Believe it or not, it's really all a mindshift. We all go into raw thinking in terms of "meals" and when we think of meals, we think of 3-course meals or certain foods at certain times of the day i.e. "dinner food", "lunch food" and "breakfast food".

But with raw, ANYthing that you eat that fills you up/satisifies/satiates you is considered a meal! This means, if you decided to sit down to a bowl of fruit...that, is a meal. If you decided to have a bowl of zucchini pasta with sauce...that, is a meal. If you decided that you wanted a couple of slices of raw apple pie...YEP, that, is a meal!

Think of it like this...if we were living in nature and eating from the trees of the earth, we'd simply eat whatever fruit, veggies, nuts and seeds we wanted and once we were no longer hungry, we'd be done...that'd be our "meal". So, when you eat raw (fresh) foods until no longer hungry, you've just had a meal. When you eat a raw recipe...it's a combo of two or more of the following: fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, veggies...therefore, it's a meal all in and of itself!

But if you are finding it hard to make that shift in thinking, then consider this...when making a raw entree, simply add a salad and a dessert and there's your "full meal".

But if you don't have it, Alissa's book does have a section on meal planning...I "think" mainly for the 30-day challenge, but it can be used for anything, I'm sure.

There are some things that can be planned ahead such as, making a bunch of pizza crusts and then freezing them so when your family wants pizza, all you'll have to do is pull out a crust and warm in the dehydrator, whip up the toppings, top the crust and dehydrate a little longer; or make plenty of crackers ahead of time so they can be ready-to-go for snacking or adding to meals such as pate's, raw soups, chili, etc...things like that. I'd say to take one or two days each week to make up a bunch of stuff for the week.

[meancat]

Aurelie--

You wrote exactly how I feel!!!

I went from being a great cook, being able to make meals from scratch, whip up something out of nothing --all around very good in the kitchen to being a unorganized idiot!!

Can't create, can't plan a meal, can't figure out what I need at the store :eek:

I know its gonna take some rearranging of my thinking process but all my kitchen/food techniques have been engrained in my brain since childhood. A long, long, time ago!

Also, I have never been very good at following recipes--always done my own thing and its hard not to be able to create foods on my own.


I'm frustrated and getting tired of salads :rolleyes:

[EZ rider]

I need ideas on what dishes, put together, would constitute a meal.Everyone's different in how they eat raw. Some like to make meals like your describing where you sit down and eat a lot of food and then not eat again for hours until the next meal. Others like myself graze. That is some of us eat mini - meals which are small meals eaten frequently through out the day as hunger calls. I can see merit in both styles and also I can see merit in a mix of the two styles. I will have to say one thing about the grazing raw food lifestyle and that is -- its simple. There are few dishes to wash, very little food preparation (how much preparation is there in eating grapes for example), and its timely when used in conjunction with listening to the body's signals. I might try a mix of the two styles someday but for now I sure like to graze. :)

[Lizabethian]

It's totally a mind set!

We went from omni to vegetarian. I had a somewhat tough time trying to "fill" in that empty spot taking meat out left. I managed though. Making the switch to raw has proven tougher. I think because SAD is so very based on routine and busy work. Look in any kitchen in a restaraunt and you not only have a cook but a prep cook. It's all the little things that take up time that make it (to me at least) seem more complete.

We still eat a lot of similar meals that we were eating being veggie...juust raw. I've noticed that if I need to "complete" a meal (again, a meal is anything that fills you up!) I'll do more prep work by hand. Instead of using my food processor to chop veggies I'll do it by hand. Instead of juicing something for a dressing I'll squeeze the juice out. It adds one more "prep" thing and seems more complete. Not sure why. Maybe I'm just weird. lol

I've also found that if I get it made up and then set it out for individual prep. it seems more meal like. Like the other day we had stuffed tomatos for lunch. I prepared the stuffing and the tomatos but left the mix in a bowl and we stuffed them ourselves. It involved us a bit more with the food and felt more complete.

FWIW I can't meal plan. Well I can but I suck at it. :D Maybe instead of planning lunch plan your dinner. It tends to be the heaviest meal for most so it might help to plan for that instead of a lighter meal. I know for us if we plan lunch it tends to be more "complete" and the heaviest (regardless of how we eat) and then dinner gets skimped on and we don't feel satisfied/full.

[EZ rider]

again, a meal is anything that fills you up!A "meal" for me is just enough food to feel satisfied and remove any feelings of hunger I might be experiencing.

[EZ rider]

PS, I love the grazing raw food lifestyle and I could do this standing on my head because its so simple and easy (and healthy too !). See my thread on "instinctive raw eating"

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=33347

I'm not saying that meal planning isn't a great way to do raw also, but for me all I can say is: I can do this day in and day out and enjoy everyday and it moves food from a position in my life of top priority down to a position of just feeding my body with the right fuel - just on time.

.

[Aurelie48]

Every single one of your replies has been enormously helpful to me. Now, all I have to do is 'process' it and become comfortable with this new mindset. Common sense tells me this is the norm, but a lifetime of the full plate mentality is difficult to change, but, I will definitely try....one step at a time until it's a natural feel.


Meancat: "Can't create, can't plan a meal, can't figure out what I need at the store." When I read that, all I could do was laugh out loud. It just struck me so funny. I also know my way around a kitchen, and like you, didn't even know what to get at the store. We've been eating so many salads here that I am panicking a little with different foods to eat, especially when we are beginning a new season, using different foods, I imagine. Let's just try the suggestions written here and see what works for us? What a great forum!

[Aurelie48]

EZ
I just checked out the thread and it helped quite a bit. There was a good mix. All of these messages have inspired me to really 'tune in' to my own needs, which is what it's all about. I know I feel best when I start off with a green smoothie in the morning and then will try different things to see what works. Thanks, EZ

[mrpickles]

I was already eating 6-8 meals a day before this for year lifting/working out so the transition wasn't too hard eating a bunch of small meals... Now I just kina graze the same way and eat a lot of foods... I really don't have the time to make meals, so this is why this *lifestyle* is working really well for me... I just grab anything and eat it, whenever I want. One of the things that really pulled me to this style of eating was the desimplification of human eating patterns. I am already pretty minimalistic so this fit right in.

[DianaH]

Meancat: "Can't create, can't plan a meal, can't figure out what I need at the store." When I read that, all I could do was laugh out loud. It just struck me so funny. I also know my way around a kitchen, and like you, didn't even know what to get at the store.
ooooh, that is an oh so familiar feeling to me too. What I've done is just pick a recipe that looks yummy, go shopping and make the darn thing! And I do that once a week or twice. The rest of the days I'm still eating pretty plain, salads, fresh fruits, but I also am having green juices and green smoothies.

[solongng00dnite]

If you decided that you wanted a couple of slices of raw apple pie...YEP, that, is a meal!

That is just about the best thing I've ever read hahaha. Oh I can see Im gonna love going RAW!!!!