raw food. 2nd time 'round

[Saint Jerome]

I orginally posted this on Veggieboards but the raw food section over there is very slow and someone PMed me over there and told me about this board. This person said you can get everything answered over here. So here's where I'm at:

I'm preparing to go 100% raw again. Last time I lasted for three months. I feel that the Raw Food diet really is the way to eat. Even when I'm eating cooked food I feel the attraction to the raw diet.

Any advice would be appreciated. I'm going to read through "The Raw Gourmet" by Nomi Shannon and "Shazzie's Detox Delights" again and take careful notes. I also enjoy reading Living Nutrition magazine.

So here are some questions for you raw fooders. Please answer one or two or all the questions.

1) Does anyone else have trouble digesting greens? I can eat lettuce based salads for like two weeks and then my stomach and facial area tense up at even the thought of one more salads. It's kinda the same reaction that I have to alcohol. I wonder if I'm not able to digest greens properly.

2) Do you HATE carrot/celery/beet juice (or other combinations)? -- I just can't even drink one cup!! lol

3) Is anyone here following the Natural Hygiene raw food diet?

4) Has anyone here been 100% raw on a low-fat/no-salt/good food combining for one year or more?

5) Does anyone know if Igor's raw bread recipe (or other raw bread recipes) follows proper food combining?

6) Does anyone have a recipe for raw mustard? But not hot mustard, just regular.

7) What is your favourite low-fat/no-salt/good food combining recipe?

8) What is your favourite "normal" (lol) raw recipe?

9) Is anyone here a fruitarian?

[jaurequi]

Hey :) Nice to meet you.

I would suggest green smoothies. I had trouble eating (enough) raw greens per day; so I started blending them with some liquid and/or fruit. Makes is SO incredibly easy to eat loads without problems. I used to juice them a few years ago and would end up with diarrhea. Now I consume twice as much with no problems. You will be surprised how much greens you can consume this way. :)

Best way for me to eat is to just combine lots of different vegetables in a bowl, pour a dressing or sauce over it and call it a salad - with or without lettuce.
A different dressing/sauce gives even the same vegetables a makeover.
But most of all, just using the rainbow as a shopping guide really helps. I get lots of different veggies.

Here is a sample of today's "salad":

1 head butter lettuce
1 head romaine lettuce
1 small head raddichio
red cabbage
1 yellow bell pepper
tri-colored cherry tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion
yellow zucchini
cucumber
cauliflower
mushrooms
dressing made with nuts
flax seeds, ground, sprinkled on top
hemp seeds, sprinkled on top

For today's smoothie:

bok choy
collards
kale
cranberries
stevia
piece fresh ginger
coconut extract

:)

[Saint Jerome]

Hey, thanks for your suggestions.

I have tried adding some greens into a smoothie but I still get the same reaction. It isn't even the taste -- it's just that I can't digest them. I actually like lettuce but it doesn't like me. lol

[sailaway]

Perhaps you are in a detox mode. Maybe instead of trying to get the greens in just eat what you feel like at the time and not worry about the cominations. Your body may need a certain combination of food to allow it to release the doxins trapped after so many years. I have days where I will eat only mangos or oranges or maybe avocados,tomatos and red onions with a balsomic dressing. It dosen't appeal to everyone in my family but it is what I really want to eat and I am now letting my kids eat the same way (not the 3x day SAD) One child will eat bananas all day or ask for cucumbers in apple cider vinager!

[Saint Jerome]

Actually, I would like to be an almost-fruitarian because when I think about the foods I want to eat it's basically all fruit: watermelon, mangoes, grapes, bananas, pears, apples, sometimes avocadoes and green beans. But carrots, boccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce don't really appeal to me. I do love radishes though.

But I'm afraid of being an almost-fruitarian because I don't know enough about nutrition -- that's why I'm wondering if anyone here is a fruitarian.

How much grain should I eat (I love soaked oat groats)? How much nuts and seeds?

Is there anyone here who eats only what they feel like eating and not what everyone else says they should be eating?

I've still got some more reading to do before I switch to my raw diet. Sometime I feel like I just want to be raw right now and other times I'm glad to eat a piece of bread (baked).lol

[tracyinfo]

I eat pretty much what I want to eat! I have been eating raw for about 9 months now. However, there are alot of greens that really appeal to me. I love having green smoothies in the morning and then salads or collard green wraps for dinner. You say that you would like to be an almost-fruitarian - I say go for it! Just listen to your body. Perhaps your body will tell you to have weekly salads/greens instead of daily. Try different types of seaweeds for minerals, like dulse, which is very tasty. Raw nori is good for wraps and sprinkling on your soups, or just to munch.

Blessings.


Actually, I would like to be an almost-fruitarian because when I think about the foods I want to eat it's basically all fruit: watermelon, mangoes, grapes, bananas, pears, apples, sometimes avocadoes and green beans. But carrots, boccoli, cauliflower, and lettuce don't really appeal to me. I do love radishes though.

But I'm afraid of being an almost-fruitarian because I don't know enough about nutrition -- that's why I'm wondering if anyone here is a fruitarian.

How much grain should I eat (I love soaked oat groats)? How much nuts and seeds?

Is there anyone here who eats only what they feel like eating and not what everyone else says they should be eating?

I've still got some more reading to do before I switch to my raw diet. Sometime I feel like I just want to be raw right now and other times I'm glad to eat a piece of bread (baked).lol

[Shona]

As I am new to this forum, I am not familiar with the policy here regarding the posting of other websites, so if it isn't encouraged, please let me know and I won't do it again.

Saint Jerome - if you are interested in fruitarianism, you should check out the raw food board at VegSource. It is hosted by Dr. Doug Graham, who advocates a diet in which the principle components are fruit and greens. There is a link in the upper right-hand corner of the board which should answer many questions you have about a fruitarian diet.

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/

[angelandarose]

Hi Jerome, I say eat what feels good to you and leave the rest alone. Who knows your taste buds and stomach might change it's mind on what it likes down the road. I'm sure you can get the same nutrients in other foods. ;) Trust what your body is telling you for now about the greens.


Love,
Angie

[Saint Jerome]

Oh, I forgot to tell you, Jaurequi, that salad you suggested looks really good -- I can actually see all the colors without seeing a picture!! I mean it looks good even though I know I wouldn't be able to eat it, lol. Well, maybe once. But that smoothie -- yuck!! Well, yuck for me, lol. I sorta feel envious of people who can eat salads with greens everyday and drink green smoothies. But then I know some raw fooders can't eat nuts/seeds and I love to eat them and they love to be eaten by me.

That's so awesome, Tracy, that you eat pretty much what you want to eat. I really should try seaweed and see how that goes. I have some seaweed sitting here from like two or three years ago. I guess I should get some new stuff. I could actually try sneaking in some greens, including seaweed, into some raw bread. Apparently (according to "The Raw Gourmet) raw bread is good for food combining. The other option I have is to put some Greens RX into a smootie. It's a greens drink that is actually raw. I'm not sure who makes it but I did talk to a rep at the company last year and he knew all about raw food and he said all the stuff is dried by huge fans at room temperature. But Greens RX isn't vegan b/c it has some bee stuff in it. Btw, Tracy, are you going to Rawstock? It's kinda in your area. Just north of your location. www.rawstock.us

Sailaway, when you are saying how you let your children eat what they want to eat it reminds me of "Raw Family" by the Boutenkos. In the true story book the mother encourages her children to follow their food cravings. Good stuff!! It's strange how our society discourages us from trying to feel deep inside to see how we want to eat. I guess that's good in some ways seeing how so many people have become truly addicted to crappy food and may not be able to feel what their body is calling out for.

Shona, I'll definately be checking out that website you suggested. I read a lot of stuff about/by Dr. Doug Graham in Living Nutrition magazine. www.livingnutrition.com so that site you gave should be up my alley. Thank you.

Thanks, Angie, for the encouragement.

All of you should be ashamed of yourselves for having such a bad influence on me. I've decided to go raw today instead of waiting to do all my reading. But I will be reading as I go and I'm going to do two days 100% raw and see how it goes and if it goes well I'll do another day and another and another...

[RawTruth]

Hi and welcome,

I strongly suggest you add to your raw library by getting Alissa's book Living on Live Foods. It is recent, up to date, and will answer many of your questions. You may find the detoxing section pertinent, as well as all the ways that greens can be prepared. Also, if you haven't already done so, you can search here for prior discussions that may speak directly to your questions. There are several members of this forum who you can contact directly who are frugivores.

As to food combining, it's really very easy when eating vegan raw. Just eat fruit alone -- being sure not to combine watermelon with any other fruit, and everything else can be eaten together. Most raw foodists eventually end up mono-eating, so food combining ends up being a non-issue.

If you're interested, I can give you a few websites of long-time raw foodists. By reading their stories, you'll learn more and more.

You ask about juice combinations. I personally don't juice and think that juicing is integral to eating raw.

All raw bread recipes follow food combining rules unless you add fruit to it.

I'm wondering why you want to eliminate salt? Celtic sea salt, used moderately, is not a bad thing.

[jaurequi]

Hey, Saint J :). How odd that you can't digest greens...are you sure? I mean, blending them is what makes them easy to digest; most of us would have a hard time digesting a pound of greens in one sitting without blending them :). Do you have a bad reaction when trying to consume them? What happens? Or do you just not like the taste?
I wonder what's going on? Maybe it is something other than an inability to digest them...
Perhaps asking Doug Graham may help; not sure if he may want a phone consultation with you. He would have to know what your daily diet is and any conditions you may have and your past history of eating; so be sure to tell him that right off the bat before he asks :). Hmmm, I think he charges for those; however, you may just want to try emailing first: send your question and your history/info and your greens situation ;) to increase your chances of an answer.

There is another product you may find useful if you find it hard getting enough balance in your daily diet: http://www.gojuvo.com/

[PeatrixPotter]

I definitely agree. Eat what you body tells you to. People are tailored differently. What might be good for some might not be good for you. This is why I go more with my gut than with what I am told. Some days I eat greens, some days I don't. I find when I eat what my body tells me to I have more energy. This is why we have taste buds--so our body will crave different things that provide different nutrients. If something tells you to eat a lot of fruit, then do it!

Peatrix

[pfc]

Hi Saint J
Your question about Fruitarians made me wonder if you've ever read anything by Arnold Ahret. My first exposure to the raw lifestyle was his book The Mucusless Diet Healing System. He experimented on himself for years, and treated many patients with a raw food diet that was very close to fruitarian. You can add it to your reading list if you want!
Welcome aboard, you're in for a fabulous experience!

[PixieGreen]

Many people here are justing starting their Raw journey. Alissa, owner of this board, advises people to eat whatever they want in the first 30 days so long as it is raw. I agree with her. It is enough of a transition without worrying about nutrient deficiencies, etc. You certainly won't get sick from lack of nutrients in only 30 days anyway.

That said, if you have difficulty digesting greens you may have better luck with sprouts. I like alfalfa, radish and clover. Another possibility is marinaded greens, which are partially predigested for you. But if these ideas really don't appeal to you right now don't worry about it.

Personally my tastebuds have changed several times in the 5 months since I've been raw. And on reflection there was a good reason for my cravings at each interval. For example, for the first two months I couldn't eat enough garlic. I ate garlic in everything but fruit, 3-4 cloves at a time. Well, at the time I believe I had some kind of fungus, and since then I can eat some fruits that gave me troubles before [bananas].

So just listen to your body as you go along. Try not to get caught up in what you "should" be doing according to this or that "expert". Fruitarianism may suit you right now, may not later. And that's just fine.

Christa

[Saint Jerome]

Wow!! I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the thoughtful suggestions and comments in this thread. I posted the same questions in a more general vegetarian site with a raw section and I only got two responses.

1) With food combining there seems to be different theories. I finally found some charts and writeups on combining and Natural Hygienists seems to be somewhat more strict than what you suggested for food combining, RawTruth. .For instance, fruits are broken down into catagories and sweet fruits are not to be combined with acidic fruits. Proteins are not to be mixed with starches. But this is from theories created by people like Dr. Herbert Shelton. On the other hand, Dr. Gabriel Cousens seems to think the food combining issue isn't so important.
2) Natural Hygienists also recommend a salt-free diet. Sharon Holdstock, who wrote "Shazzie's Detox Delights" recommends salt only to slow down the detox process. But then Nomi Shannon, who seems to be affiliated with the Hippocrates Health Institute has salt in her "safe" recipes. So who knows? That's why I'm wondering if anyone here follows the Natural Hygiene raw diet.
3)I can't make raw bread on my dehydrator anymore because I put a thermometer inside and the temp was still climbing after it reached 118 F. So if we get some sunny days...
4) Can anyone recommend a grain that softens well overnight like oat groats. I'd like some variety. :)
5)I tried blending greens in my Vitamix. I put a bunch of fruit in and then put in 2 leaves of dandylion, 2 leaves of nettles and one sorrel leaf. It just makes my stomach and nasal passages tighten up and I know my body is saying "NO". lol.
6) Thanks pfc for the reading suggestion. And thankyou jaurequi for the product suggestion. PixieGreen, I will try the sprouts because my sister says she is the "sprouting queen". lol. I'll get her to set me up.

Ok, today's day 3 of my third attempt at raw food.

[tames]

Hey Saint Jerome. I am new at this, and have mostly eaten fruit. I am trying to eat a salad once a day. Nothing as large as jaurequi's though. That must be one HUGE bowl to get all those greens in there. Fortunately for me, I like carrot juice. So, I add a couple lettuce leaves in it, and don't even notice the taste.

On Dr. Day's video "You Can't Improve On God", she states that you can mix fruit and vegetables while juicing. So Apple/Carrot is perfectly OK. The juices are already premixed and really are not digested much. They go straight through and are absorbed quickly. No time for the fruit to ferment.

I have a few books that talk about food combining and such. Right now it is just enough for me to eat raw anything. I think I am doing great. I went to the supermarket today, and of course I was hungry. BAD THING to do. They have a huge produce section, and I just meandered around. In the past, I simply just walked right through it! Then I hit the bread section. OHH that was tough. Ended up buying $62 in raw produce though!

I have Alissa's DVD on preparing raw food. It is fantastic. She is so inspiring.

--Tim

[luvnraw]

Saint Jerome ~ welcome to the board, it is truly fabulous and so much information and wonderful people! I am pretty new here and to raw. Wanted to agree with everyone else to listen to your body. I also have a recipe from Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens for mustard......what do you plan to use it for/with? I love mustard but have not made this because I am not sure what I would do with it since I ate it with meat before this!

Alive Mustard
2 cups yellow mustard seeds, soaked 6-8 hours
1 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 cup purified water
1 teaspoon celtic sea salt

In blender, process all ingedients until smooth and creamy.

RawTruth ~ I would love the email addresses of the long time raw foodists you mentioned above! I love to read of others and see what they do, have learned, experienced, etc. So I can learn from them!

[jaurequi]

Saint J, if I used those greens, I'd be bowled over too! Eek! Those are exceptionally bitter greens, no? How about milder ones? Especially to start -- you may want to add the bitter ones later, slowly. How about combos like kale, collards, parsley, baby bok choy, lettuces?

Or maybe don't combine and do one at a time? Maybe that's causing the stomach aches.
Lots of people seem to like spinach in smoothies (try the baby leaf spinach; it's milder. The packaged ones are a good place to start). Most greens have a bitter edge, but you ameliorate this with sweet fruit. So make sure you use lots of it, as it masks the bitterness of the greens; you can always cut down on the fruit percentage later (if you want ;D).

Hey, tames, my "salads" *are* huge :D. I need lots of calories, though, so I consume quite a bit in a day.

luvnraw, thanks for the mustard recipe :)

[Saint Jerome]

I'm totally in detox mode now. Where's the bathroom!! lol. I felt very weak yesterday and today I still feel weak -- kinda like after a flu when you start feeling better but your energy isn't back. And I'm not really so hungry so I'm not sure if I should force myself to eat or just wait till my body asks for certain things. I've only had some grapes and a plum so far today.

And jaurequi, I actually feel like eating some lettuce today so maybe I will. :)

I found out now I can't eat mustard -- Natural Hygienists say no vinegar. :( lol. But if I did eat it I would make some yummy raw bread and put some mustard on and some cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and if I'm in the mood, lettuce.

Hey Tim, I do badly on juices too. Like carrot juice and stuff. That's so good that you can drink them -- I've read of one guy who swears by carrot juice for healing. Congrats on getting through the bread section at the store!! lol.