Hello - Kenyan Londoner checking in!

[Rawjac]

Hi all, I'm Jac and I'm new here.

I think I might have posted before when I joined the forum but can't really remember. I've been toying with the idea of going raw for a while. I can do 50 - 60% raw on most days when at work but it's hard at home eating with the family. I hope it's not a problem but I'm a meat, dairy and poultry eater too - We have cut down to 3 days a week as a family but I feel I can cut down some more. Right now I don't see myself being a veggie but who knows, I might cut down so much that I may not miss these groups eventually - time will tell. I'm here because I need the support and encouragement of like minded people.

I've been shopping too. I always buy organic whenever possible. I have fruit and veg, raw nuts, seeds, and some superfoods. I feel I have enough to last me a while. Now all I need is some unbreakable will power and discipline - that's what I'm here for. I hope I get my feet firmly grounded on this lifestyle for life - I hate diets! I've done a few over the years but I do hate them. Plus they are not really healthy - are they? I want to do something that makes me whole holistically - mind, body and soul. Don't want to feel deprived and hate doing it.

So, here I am! Wish me luck and let the healthy eating begin!

To start with - I'm going to make a smoothie for breakfast. Lunch will probably be an avocado and rice crackers - I need to make a raw bread or something for this in future. Dinner will probably be cooked with a salad. Will try and report back daily.

Bright blessings to all!

Jac x

PS - May I also add that I got a dehydrator for christmas - off to look for a recipe for bread/crackers for my lunchtime avocadoes!

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW..........Welcome to MY World.

[freshlight]

Hey Jac, lovely to meet you :) I know a Londoner from Ghana. When he came to our place and we started eating fruit for breakfast, he said: "What are you,-fruitarians???" That was so funny! He said that he likes eating fruit too, especially when he goes to Ghana but it upsets his tummy each time because it's "too good" for him :D
Welcome to the forum.

Eva xxx

[sport]

Every bit that you eat raw helps so just do the best that you can. Hopefully you will find that it gets better over time.

[sport]

If you are going to eat 50% of your diet cooked then it is better that 50% of each meal is cooked rather than one meal all cooked and one meal raw.
It is also better if you eat the raw 50% first. This could just mean having a few pieces of fruit at the start of a cooked meal.

[Veganforlife]

WOW! A Kenyan-Londoner! That is way cool!

My word of advice? Ditch the meat, dairy, and poultry. You are polluting your body and by feeding it well with however the percentage of raw? You are creating havoc. It can be done. Many a hard-core meat, dairy, and poultry eater have converted and have seen amazing results.

Good luck!

Oh yeah - purchase Alissa's book and DVDs if you don't already have them...

[MelissaO]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I wish you all the best in your raw journey.

[Rawjac]

Thanks guys, you're all very kind!

Well, I really do want to be healthier - I think our diet so far compared to most is healthy BUT there's always room for improvement, and it's nagging at me.

I love meat, sigh.... and dairy, and poultry and fish, BUT, I think I can do them like once a week for now. I know once I get that mastered I'll want to do more and will reduce even more.

My other problem is my beloved hubby - this man is half American, half Greek-Cypriot - he LOVES his food. And not just any food - meat (the redder the better), dairy (can't go a day without cheese. And don't get me started on butter, sigh, sigh, sigh!), potatoes, bread - he's BAD! How do I deal with this? Has anyone managed to convince a diehard carnivore to give up his food? I mean, hubby could happily eat some red meat 3x/day everyday, he's that bad! It's quite an achievement the fact we only eat steak now once every 10 days approx. Still, I'll keep trying with him - I want to grow old with the guy, not by myself :mad:......

FL, too funny about your Ghanaian pal - now, they are a people that believe in having meat with every single meal, the West Africans! I have friends who complain when there's no meaty dish on the menu:D

VFL, I sure will but Alissa's books - I have one book by Ani Phyo and I love the recipes. I need more books for the encouragement and more recipes! As for ditching the animals - I'll wait and see where this journey leads me to - little morsels at a time, lol. I may well find myself ditching the meat in future :confused:... maybe.

Sport, thanks for the tip - so I'm better off having a little bit of both? I find a raw breakfast and a raw lunch are easier and convenient for me. More often than not we eat salad alongside the evening meal - I'll make a point of eating the raw component first then.

There's got to be somebody out there doing raw in a houseful of cooked food meat eaters - lemme go find them and take tips on how to cope from them, lol!

[Nubianess]

Hello kenyan-londoner, im a Nigerian-Londoner also on the raw path!!
How are you?
I know what you mean about west african and having meat at every meal!
When im at my place, im fine, there's only vegan food around, it gets harder at my parent's place because every meal has meat in!
It takes time and certainly some discipline and patience with yourself to be able to sit at the table when everyone is eating meat/dairy/butter/overcooked veggies and you are having a raw meal.
Ive also found its no use trying to convince people to go raw, food is such an integral part of people's lives,.. they have to feel a need to make the changes themselves, or else they just feel like they are being preached at!
I did a water fast at the begining of my raw journey to help with cravings and being surrounded by standard food.
Ive been to a couple of raw restaurants in london, they were amazing! They also served cooked vegan food.

Let me know if you want addresses e.t.c

Lots of love

Nubianess

[Eva]

Jambo Jac!

I was just in London in December. I had such a lovely experience. My husband has always talked about his time in London and how much he loves the diversity and how much people embrace the benefits of having residents from all over the world. I wasn't there for too long but couldn't help but hear the buzz of many languages!

There are a few great restaurants with raw vegan food in the London area, as well as another in Brighton (I know, gotta take a train, but it's a good day trip spot). I've been to three of them and taken a couple classes in the UK -- let me know if you want the dirty details! And there are plenty of classes and other happenings going on. :)

What a wonderful place to be!

Anyways, welcome to the board. I hope you'll find what you're looking for and be able to share some interesting info with us too!

[Eva]

My other problem is my beloved hubby - this man is half American, half Greek-Cypriot - he LOVES his food. And not just any food - meat (the redder the better), dairy (can't go a day without cheese. And don't get me started on butter, sigh, sigh, sigh!), potatoes, bread - he's BAD! How do I deal with this? Has anyone managed to convince a diehard carnivore to give up his food? I mean, hubby could happily eat some red meat 3x/day everyday, he's that bad! It's quite an achievement the fact we only eat steak now once every 10 days approx. Still, I'll keep trying with him - I want to grow old with the guy, not by myself :mad:......


Ha! My husband is half Brazilian and half Italian. Man, I can relate! I've been raw for a couple years now, and it's been quite a ride. I've tried hard not to convert him (for MOST of that time). It's just not my choice.

For some amount of time, I even thought we were doomed to divorce, no longer compatible! I'm through that stage. We'll both leave the earth when we do. And in the meantime, we're supporting each other with our various desires.

He DOES eat many more veggies now and even has lots of green smoothies and is not longer able to drink more than a glass of wine, single beer or any whiskey without feeling AWFUL. Haha, it's from the green smoothies and his body being so much healthier. But he's no vegetarian and says he wants to at least give our kids beans blah blah blah. Well, we don't have kids yet and may not ever. Who knows.

Seriously though, the biggest thing for me is realizing that I didn't marry him to control him or mother him. We're both adults. It sounds like you've begrudgingly come to the same conclusion with your husband. Enjoy him as he is, I say! But enjoy your health too. I hope he'll support you as your journey continues. :)

[JCB44]

Welcome! this is a great site for support. I try to look at it every day. The before and afters are inspiring to me. Check out Morn her transformation is amaazing and very inspiring to me.

[Rawjac]

Nubianess, Eva, JCB44 - thanks guys!

Guys, please do share info on those restaurants and classes, lol!

I'm sitting here, having just had some herbal tea since I got up. Bread is baking, lol - the smell is intoxicating :(! Maybe I should do a water fast or similar for a few days as I'm not having to go to work for a week now.

Eva, Jambo sana! Thanks for sharing your story - I guess once I get into a routine and the cravings are thwarted I'll be fine. I'll just have to have a serious talk with hubby and ask for his support and lay down rules - I really want to do this. I've thought about it for too long. I've even thought we'd be better off living apart :eek:, but that just doesn't make sense - we're married! We don't fight, we love each other's company... There's got to be a happy compromise someplace - I'm determined to find it!

Nubianess - I'd like to know how you cope when you visit family please. See, we have lunch with the family every weekend. Basically, it's one day of the week when we all spend time together and food is a major part of the day. Saturday lunch. If you're on a diet, be good all week, Saturday lunch is a meal of indulgence!

I'll pick a date to start my fast - toyed with today but I'm not prepared. I'll probably do Sunday - Tuesday. Actually, I will start on Sunday. I'll talk to hubby today and tomorrow about it. Off to read up on fasting, lol!

[Eva]

Guys, please do share info on those restaurants and classes, lol!

Eva, Jambo sana! Thanks for sharing your story - I guess once I get into a routine and the cravings are thwarted I'll be fine. I'll just have to have a serious talk with hubby and ask for his support and lay down rules - I really want to do this. I've thought about it for too long. I've even thought we'd be better off living apart :eek:, but that just doesn't make sense - we're married! We don't fight, we love each other's company... There's got to be a happy compromise someplace - I'm determined to find it!

I'll pick a date to start my fast - toyed with today but I'm not prepared. I'll probably do Sunday - Tuesday. Actually, I will start on Sunday. I'll talk to hubby today and tomorrow about it. Off to read up on fasting, lol!

OK -- I will definitely share about the restaurants and classes. I actually have lots of pictures of all of them (classes and restaurants), so I will have to post them. I am working full time and just started massage school full time at night and yoga teacher training on Sundays. So, today is not a day to post all of that stuff! haha, actually, this will be my last post on RFT today. Anyways, I'll post lots of goodies tomorrow. I've been meaning to anyways!

Have you looked into juice "feasting"?? If you have a juicer, that's a GREAT way to do it. You're still getting calories and nutrients in, just no solids. :)

And you will find compromise! LOTS of couples have one person eating differently. He's still the same guy you love, and I bet if he knows you're not trying to convert him, he'll be more likely to support you!

Have a great (rest of your) day! :)

[Eva]

Jac! I did say I would post info today about the restaurants, but I can't seem to find my battery charger, so I can't upload the pictures. I will as soon as I find it. It could be tomorrow, could be weeks!

In the meantime... as promised... I'll just type up info here about the various raw venues I know about in London and thereabouts...

SAF (http://www.safrestaurant.co.uk/) is headed up by Chef Chad Sarno, who has been a raw chef for several years, maybe even more than 10?? I have one of his sort of uncooking workbooks with a bunch of recipes and got to take a class with him. It was a full-day class and cost maybe 225 pounds? I learned more in that class than in any other class I've ever taken! It was amazing! The restaurant itself is not super strict with raw food. They use some ingredients that are not raw but are still considered acceptable by a lot of raw foodists. The food there is very "pretty" and really, just ridiculously tasty.

I took a class with "The Raw Chef", Russell James (http://www.therawchef.com)in Chichester. It was about a 2-hour train ride from London. Some Londoners made it a day trip. It was a full day of yummy food and useful tips on how to make all of it for less than 100 pounds. I didn't learn as much as with Chad Sarno, but it was a WONDERFUL value and lots of fun. He's got some free recipes up on his website and a great ebook when you sign up for his newsletter. :)

There is a delivery service in London that is pretty pricey, but it looks interesting if it's in your budget. I didn't get to try it myself. http://rawfairies.com/

Dragonfly Whole Foods (http://www.dragonflywholefoods.co.uk/bistro.html) was a chilly 10-15-minute walk from the tube, but it was worth it, I thought. It's a bit of a hole in the wall. They have lots of organic groceries and a great selection of raw foods. They even do a mini buffet and I think they have organic coffee if that's not off your "good list" yet. Their focus is not the coffee though -- it's juice, desserts, smoothies, and the fresh foods of the day. The prices were the cheapest of all of the places I went for raw food. Except when I bought my meals of just fruit or veggies at ordinary grocers, of course. And the free breakfast where I stayed! (Continental = I got 5 oranges or bananas for breakfast every morning!) ;)

VitaOrganic (http://www.vitaorganic.co.uk/) was really yummy. They also have pretty good prices, especially if you are having a lot. They have sort of bulk discounts. They have "healthful" cooked food, so it's a great place to go with people who are scared of raw (don't know if your hubby would like it though!). I would probably come to this place a lot if I lived in London. :)

This is the raw place -- Manna (http://www.galaxyofvitality.com/manna/home.htm) -- in Brighton. I didn't get to go there because of my schedule and when Chad Sarno's class took place. Too bad. I'll have to go back! haha

Magazine and raw food resource: http://www.fresh-network.com/

A sort of funny and quirky woman who is well known in the raw food world. She sells "superfoods"... I don't buy into the whole superfoods being necessary idea. It's being pushed by a lot of people these days. Don't forget that ALL raw foods are "superfoods" ... BUT that said, Shazzie has some lovely cacao bars and does a lot for the raw food movement. All of the superfood pushers at least do a great job of getting the word out, even if I don't agree with them. Just my two cents. Some will disagree. Anyways, her website is here: http://www.shazzie.com/

[Rawjac]

Thanks a great deal Eva - I've come across shazzie and have actually bought from her website. See, my love affair with raw has been gradual, lol. I take MSM and various powders from her. I even tried making my own chocolate bar with her ingredients - I liked it, hubby tried once and didn't touch it again - will improve on that, lol. Must say I like superfoods though - they kinda make it easy for me - a heap of this here and a heap of that there.... maybe I'll move away from them as I get more experienced anf knowledgeable.

I shall check out the other links too and look forward to visiting the restaurants. Didn't know there were so many!

And I look forward to the pics whenever you're able to put them up.

Have a nice day!

[Eva]

No worries, Jac! It really is just my two cents. I've been happily raw for about two years now and have had mixed reactions to any of the packaged "superfoods" I've tried but only good reactions to fresh, raw food. It's really just MY PERSONAL experience, though. Which is always going to be different from another person's because of my unique history and needs. :)

[Frugal Raw]

Welcome!! I wish you the best of rawesome health!!!