how to endure with raw?

[lil fairy z girl]

hi well i have fell off the wagon and am trying to get back to 100%.
the reasons for doing so are illness / tiredness / stress etc..

how do you cope when things get like that? How do you manage to stay raw? i suppose prep is good but i find it hard especially when i am ill and tired.

i have never been into meals and making food even when i was eating cooked. when i began raw i was really into it, i suppose because it was new and different, now i have been raw for a while its got to the drudge routine sort of feeling and i am finding it hard to be motivated.

i do want to be 100% raw and i know its good for me, but i am finding it hard to be ontrack.

Any advice is appreciated.

thank you,
sal
~*~*~*

[rosepetals]

I too have had a hard time with enegry and feeling too tired to make raw food. After having a hard time with enegry for years, I eneded up getting really mad after crying about being so fatigued all the time. I upped my green dring (I take 2 tablespoons of Barley Max and E3 live Brain on) that totally improved my enegry levels by 90-100%. In the long run raw ends up being quicker to prepare than cooked. The hard part is getting up the motivation to take on preparing something that is different. On your days off prepare quick snacks like raw cookies that you can pop in your mouth to sustain you until you have time to prepare a meal. Or make up a quick smoothie. I figure those are pretty easy to have on hand. I make up a day or two's worth of juice on my day off. Also make easy spreads like tacos or tuna. They fill you up. Another quick thing is raw soups. Add ginger and cayenne to make them feel warm.

[rayofsunshine]

What are your favorite easy raw foods to eat? Do any of these provide comfort to you? I would have those around.

I try to keep favorite raw comfort food around that I don't have to make or do very little prep.

There is a brand of raw flax seed crackers I buy at Whole Foods and keep them in my pantry for when I am tired and dont feel like making anything. I can just cut open an avocado and spread some on the crackers and I'm happy. I love ice cream made from raw bananas and other raw ingredients, so I make sure I always have some bananas in my freezer.

Chocolate is comfort for me when I'm stressed, so I prepare some of Alissa's fudgy sauce and keep it around to eat out of a container straight, pour on a banana, or on my banana ice cream.

I also purchase by mail a flavored sprouted raw nut mix that I can enjoy. I just open the bag and am very satisfied. I haven't done it yet, but I am going to purchase some ice cream and cheese form Grezzo. They are both comfort foods for me.

Just keep plugging away, you can do it!

[rosepetals]

Also having a clean organized kitchen really helps. That's my challenge with working 12 hours shifts, I come home and sleep get up and go. Teen daughter hasn't always been helpful, so I end up with having to do a whole lot of housework on my first day off. Also organize so that you can find the appropiate containers to stash food in. I take a giant lunch bag of food to work with me so I can have plenty of choices so I am not tempted by cooked. I fill it with Bliss Balls, Raw Fudge, Coconut Cream Pie, Soup, Juice, A smoothie, and usually a salad, raw crackers and almond butter are a great snack with bannanas on top. If I have time I make on my days off something more filling like Tuna. Best of luck to you. I hope this helps out. Really my enegry was horrible until I drank lots of the barley max and e3 live. It totally shifted my enegry. There is something in it my body needs to function. Since I have been doing it cravings for cooked has decreased. I feel better.

[lil fairy z girl]

thank you rosepetals and rayofsunshine for your thoughtful replys. I have printed them out and put them on my fridge as i thought your ideas and suggestions were really good.

i am going to make up some of those recipes you suggest and try your ideas.

thank you so much, your replies really help :)

sal
~*~*~*

[MelissaO]

I notice if I start my day off with a green smoothie or green beverage I have energy to go all day. I will also try to eat more greens at night to balance out the fruits of the day. At the time I am juicing for my breakfast green I will also do the rest of my juices for the day and store them in glass sealed container. On my days off I will take those gallon size zip lock storage bags - I will wash and cut up romaine hearts and store them in the zip locks (I have made up to 3 days worth ahead of time saving myself time in the morning).
At Costco they have serving size little pkts of organic baby carrots (24 pkts to the case is less than $6.00 for ORGANIC!) I keep them on hand that way if I am hungary I snack on those. I also try and plan my weeks worth of meals on my days off- I write a list and shop for as much as I can that will keep. I fI want to slip and eat cooked or fast foods because I am remind myself how much worse I will feel after eating that.

Hope my tips help you.