Evening snacking - HELP!!

[DancerGirl]

I have been eating raw for three days now, and LOVING it!! However, the day before yesterday and tonight I ended up breaking down and eating random junk food in the evening (popcorn, chocolate chips (yes, just plain old semisweet chocolate chips...gross, lol), cookies etc.) and felt terrible after! Then I have this incredible urge to eat an apple or other fruit after (I have always done this, even before being raw) as though my body is trying to "cancel out" the junk, or something. I want to stay raw, and I have been doing great during the day, with minimal cravings and everything! In the evenings I can't seem to stop myself, not only from eating junk but from eating HUGE amounts of it...uggh. I know it is purely an emotional thing, as I am so full yet I can't stop eating. :(
Any suggestions/tips you can offer would be wonderful!
Thank you so much!

[irishserra]

There so many delectable and even simple treats you can make with raw foods that will lure you when you feel like snacking.

I'm a fan of chocolate, so I often have maca truffles on hand. Alissa has some great snack foods in her online store; check them out!

If you want to keep it simple, I find that dates smeared with raw almond butter are so rich and sweet, that I even feel a little guilty while eating them - even though there is absolutely nothing wrong with them! They are as rich as a pastry such as baklava and yet 100 % raw and healthy.

[RawKnitster]

What about replacing the junk with some raw treats? Dates, dried figs, raisins, pistachios, cashews, pumpkin seeds. Those are some of my favorites. I've stuffed myself with those many an evening during the transition to raw. Making yourself some easy recipes for power balls or raw brownies is another option. At least you get some nutrients with it, and you might not feel so uggh. Transition is a time for abundance. Get yourself some raw goodies. :)

If you have to keep junk food in the house for family members, buy them stuff you don't like so much. :p

[c'estlaviebelle]

Hi Dancergirl! I have a few suggestions that REALLY helped me when I went raw. The first is to make raw goodies in large batches and freeze/refrigerate so that you always have some on hand. They don't even have to be complicated recipes. For example, macadamia nuts food processed with agave and cacao powder make divine cookies. You can dehydrate or freeze. If you have sweets on hand that are raw it will give you something to munch on that satisfies the sweet craving. The other option is to buy some raw "treats". While they are expensive, when you are transitioning the cost is well worth it. Buy some pricey raw cacao truffles and savor them. I have chocolate cravings too, but keeping raw chocolates at hand keeps non-raw temptation at bay. Once you've had the real deal it is hard to go back to junk!

The other thing I can offer is, after awhile all of the junk food will not agree with you and you won't want to eat it. As an example (I've been more or less 80% raw for a year now) some girls at work brought in Ghiradelli chocolates for valentine's day. (btw, for such expensive chocolate, Ghiradelli has a lot of corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, in addition to sugar! who knew?) I decided to "cheat" and have 2 (before I read the label, that is). I had such a sugar headache within 5 minutes, the mere sight of those little individually packaged chocolates makes my head hurt.

So.... keep taking it day by day, and in a few months to a year, anytime you cheat your body will let you know, and it will create serious aversions. It just takes time and patience. You'll make it though! Good luck!! :)

[ShantiLove]

Dates and bananas really hit the sweet spot for me. Amasing stuff :D, or sesameseeds and honey, yummy. When I crave somting salty I would eat a avocado with a little salt or norie sprinkle. You can actualy use any vegies with a little salt. Cucumbers are crunchy ;) Be creative :D

[klomasius]

I find anything with raw cacao powder in it really helps.

RPs brownies made and kept in the freezer are great, also banana ice cream is quick to make in the food processor, just add some melted coconut oil to make it creamier and a bit heavier.

Exotic fruit like mangoes or custard apples and anything that has blended nuts seems to hit the spot.

I make a bunch of stuff and store it in the freezer. Then i eat it whenever I want, even late at night!

[rawintexas]

What I noticed as I get close to 100% is that as long as I am eating enough throughout the day I am not hungry at night. But I have to eat more than I had been before to make that work - and I'm losing weight LOL.

The other thing is that I have 'junk' on hand in for the form of raw chocolate spread (could put over bananas or dip apple in it or simply lick the spoon) and raw granola that I ordered from Gratitude Cafe (and it's super snack food - I substituted it for my dinner last night and could only eat a couple handfuls because it's so rich).

You can always grab a banana (or three) if you feel the snack urge.

[appifanie]

brownies!!

http://rawcrunch.blogspot.com/2006/08/raw-fudge-brownies.html

[pixelkatt]

I can totally relate to snacking at night, lol.. the way I make sure I stay raw is to make easy raw snacks like everyone suggested. Lately my nightly snacks have consisted of two oranges (I know it doesn't really seem like snack food but they really help when I'm craving sweets and they fill me up).. and if that doesn't satisfy me then I eat a few dates. For salty, my favorite is sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a little salt and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is technically not raw but it's better than junk food.. :D

[rawchic]

I have the same problem with snacking at night. At first, I tried just replacing the snacks with raw snacks. While this is better than eating a bunch of junk, it really didn't address my issue of overeating at night. Even if the food is raw, it's still not healthy for me to be eating large quantities of food in the evening. What has worked better for me is setting a time that I don't eat after. I made 7 p.m. my hard cut-off time. After that, I brush & floss my teeth to discourage myself from having more food. For the most part, that works. Every now and then I break it and eat late, but that's okay - it's not set in stone or anything. It's what you do the majority of the time that makes the biggest difference.

[Colorawdo girl]

It seems to be you are not needing food but an emotional thing.So find something real productive to do with your hands....hobby,reading,whatever(tv asks for junk food eating by the nature and programming of it) and occupy yourself.
Also think about all the work the body has to do while you are asleep.You just put a huge load in there so the body can work all night on "food" and not healing cellularly!! eeeeeek. That always helps me.
Oh and be easy on this.You are on a journey.Take each step at a time.
One another note..green smoothies in morn took away all my cravings.If I want something at 6 or 7,I have cacao treat!!!!

[DancerGirl]

Thank you all so much for your suggestions!! Your posts were all so thoughful and supportive, and REALLY helpful!!!
I will definately start brushing my teeth around 7, which I think is an awesome idea!!
Also, I am going to make sure I have some yummy raw treats on hand to help with the snacking urges (I love the idea of freezing them!), and clean out most of the junk in our house. I was thinking of making a cupboard that has all my raw food in it, and that will be the only cupboard I can go in, (and the fridge of course) so that I don't even have to see all the junk!
Also, I am definately going to have to try to get busy with my hands in the evening!! I think part of it is I am procrastinating on my mountains of homework, and basically just doing anything to get out of it, without even being fully aware that I am doing it!!
Thank you all so much for your support!! I really appreciate your kind answers, and I love how I can feel free to post on here without worrying about getting bashed for something!! This is by far the nicest forum I have ever been on!!!

[Veganforlife]

Yeah. I like this forum a whole bunch. I have learned A LOT from here.

So after your wedding will your "name" be DancerBride? Gosh, that's coming like soon! Holy mama!!!!

[green jeanie]

i am going to pipe in with a different opinion than what is posted up here so far.

i don't think it is a great philosophy to substitute over eating junk with over eating raw food.

i have had gone through periods of over-eating in my life and have been very high raw for a very long time. Eating handfuls after handful of nuts or seeds or sugar fruits does not make me feel any more in control of my life (or make my gallbladder pancreas any happier). Yes over the years I have been unfolding these patterns and eating a whole foods diet has helped. The symptoms have lessened but I think it is always important to look at the root cause of what is going on in your behavior. Whether it is stress, or loneliness or grief or insulin resistance or a lack of a particular hormone or nutrient or an addiction.....it is something that deserves your full attention and something that you can resolve not just negotiate with. Replacing one addiction with a different / lesser of 2 evils of addiction is not healing.

people do it with work, exercise, relationships..."healthy" things but the truth is we just need some peace about something in our lives.

don't deny yourself peace and you won't have to "deny" yourself the other nourishing things in life.....such as.....food

best!

[rayofsunshine]

I can get munchies in the evening too. I find this happens more if I have had very busy day. Just finding a quiet space to sit ,without stimuli, really helps (no tv). I guess I use eating to calm myself.

If I am still hungry I eat Banana ice cream with a carob sauce or protein nugguts (Anne Wigmore's recipe - soaked sunflower seeds, rejuvelac, raisins, and bananas) that I have made in the dehydrator.

[aijia]

I agree that it is not necessarily good to replace foods if you are still binging. Obviously binging is not healthy and it does require real analysis of your emotions. Eating in the evening is a HUUUGE problem for lots of people, trust me!

One thing I would definitely say is get the crap out of your house. The people you live with and who love you have to support you in being healthy and being in control. I changed the way I eat and started eating healthy several years ago (way before vegan and raw food) and there were certain foods I asked my family not to bring into the house. This was difficult, because I have a stepdad and a brother who obviously did not want their eating habits curtailed. For example, I asked them to please not bring goldfish or frosted mini wheats into the house anymore because I had a huge problem where I would have a few... and then a few more... and I felt out of control. Explain why it's so important to you and they will understand.

[MangoMadness]

Go to bed earlier?
Thats how I gave up smoking years ago. I think it is the psychological thing of a reward at the end of the day sometimes. For me, a cigarette was my treat after a hard day and there was definetly an emotional addiction to that (as well as physical). I don't remember with raw whether I did that or not.

[MangoMadness]

I would like to add, take some nice magazines or raw books or good self help books and a cup of herbal tea (unless you are being ultra strict) and make it like a treat for yourself to go to bed early.

[c'estlaviebelle]

I wanted to add too, that Jinjee said she had a similar problem in one of her interviews with Revvell. She said she has an "addictive personality" and that many raw goodies were "gateway" to cooked vegan/vegetarian foods. So, she said she always drinks lots of fresh orange juice in the evenings and it helps her stay raw, without bingeing. Not sure if that would work for you (we are all different, I never had a problem bingeing on raw goodies so I usually just keep those around) but it may help you or someone on this board. :)