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View Full Version : getting raw in Southern Oregon



petaltothemetal
07-15-2008, 04:09 PM
Hello. My name's Larisa and I've been thinking about a raw or Paleolithic diet for about 3 years. I bought Raw Food Real World shortly after it was published and thought the food looked amazingly good, but expensive. And the ingredients were hard to get (I lived in a semi-rural area in Virginia). Then I moved to a town of 900 people in Oregon. Wow, talk about hard to get the exotic food in that book here... but when there's a will, there's a way. My daughter and I live alone and I decided she could eat what she wanted, but I was finally doing it. I found a company called Azure Standard that delivers to locations near I-5, the main highway here, and I ordered almost $400 of raw nuts, seeds, etc from them. I always had a garden and an Excalibur dehydrator. I also found some health food stores and an Asian market within an hour and a half drive.

I bought three more books and told my daughter I was tired of looking 4 months pregnant for the last two years. (My face already has the "glow" raw foodists talk about, because my diet has not included sodas or junk food for almost 20 years. But I weighed 140 lbs two years ago, got all stressed out one bad weekend and decided I was moving and gained 31 pounds while renovating my house, putting it on the market, selling off livestock, giving away household goods and saying goodbye to everyone. My belly took most of the 31 pounds, I think.)

I left the books lying around the table. My 17 year old daughter, who has always rolled her eyes over my health food (and weighs over 200 lbs) started reading the books last week and now she is interested too! It's a HUGE bonus for me that she is interested. My fiance (who still lives in Virginia, has a house and some cars to sell before he comes out) is almost 300lbs and it was difficult for me to fight both of them. My daughter and I had a girls day out trekking to Eugene to the health food and Asian stores. We had probably the best time we've had together in several years, because we shared a common goal.

Because of my daughter (who likes gourmet food and can't fathom eating plain fruit and vegetables) I know I've spent way more money than I probably needed to starting this. But I feel great. A week into it, just burned up my blender and my little food processor and am going to spend more money replacing them, but I still feel great! Full of optimism about both my daughter's and my health and also about our relationship.

-Larisa

Raene
07-15-2008, 05:16 PM
Congrats, it sounds like you're off to a great start! I highly recommend Alissa's book and Ani Phyo's book, but MOST importantly in my opinion--Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko, who lives in southern Oregon too.
You can find frugal tips on the board, but here are a few:
use seeds instead of nuts
stick to more produce and less nuts in general
make green smoothies
buy "regular" foods...don't feel like you *have* to buy superfoods
There are many other teens on the board, so if your daughter wants to log on too, she'd find many raw companions her age. That might be motivating to her, as well as many weight loss stories.
Live well...good luck on your raw journey!

Psylence
07-16-2008, 01:36 AM
Welcome to both you and your daughter! I'm new to the forum and to the RAW lifestyle, as well, so I don't have much to offer except support and cheering you both on...rawh rawh rawh! :p

It's wonderful that you have a companion with whom to share this journey. I haven't converted my family yet but I know once they start seeing the results and benefits, it won't take long! ;)

Best of luck to you both and please continue to share your journey with the rest of us! *hugs*

spicyfull
07-16-2008, 02:11 AM
I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW..........Welcome to MY World.

Frugal Raw
07-16-2008, 05:52 AM
Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!!!

petaltothemetal
07-17-2008, 09:52 AM
I read your answers to other peoples' introductions and you all seem sooooooper nice. I am glad to be part of the group!