I need a good book for my boyfriend

[kiwilime]

I've been away for awhile but I couldn't stay away. So here I am back again and happy to be here. I thought that maybe raw was too extreme for me but I felt lousy when I was away. So I decided to commmit to one day at a time and then decide for myself if this is right for me. Anyways, I told my overall sweet boyfriend about it b/c I needed his support. BUT last night we kinda got into it. He thought I was being too extreme and a little bit crazy. It's hard for him to understand since we both eat pretty much a typical SAD. He even laughed and said maybe next time I will just go into a restaurant in order a piece of Kale with a bowl of nuts! I was frustrated but started to laugh. (deep down I was thinking yum nuts) I was not trying to debate him nor was I trying to convince him to do this with me. By the way I am so jealous of all of you who have a partner who will try this with them.:) I told him that I was not good at explaining what I read or believe. And that maybe he should just read one of my books. He told me that he wants me to read one of his books. I guess a book on why animal meat and non organic foods is good for you. In exchange he will read one of my books. We agreed and he is convince to shed some light on me. OK, now I need help. I love Alissa's book but I need to give him something that has evidence or supports the raw food diet with lots of in depth info.
I've ordered several books and they are on their way. Any advice on a really good book that might add a new perspective to a stubborn cook food eater?

[Revvell]

Raw Food Bible by Craig Sommers has "scientific" information. This is from a review I did ~ taken from his book: "scientifice documentation and ancient wisdom gathered from such sources as medical dictionaries, books authored by physicians, researchers, mystics, the Archives of the Vatican, and even the Old Testament."

Welcome home lil one. :)

:cool:

[Fuzzball]

Personally it was Alissa's DVD that won me over....immediately!

[kiwilime]

Revvell, that sounds like a great book. My boyfriend is very intelligent and likes scientific proof and lots of evidence. Where can I get it? Lol....He even wants me to listen to this Dr. Natalie or something on the radio station about why meat is good for you. I love Alissa's book but for him it would not be the right choice. He is too analytical. I'm not trying to convince him of what I believe...I just want some real support instead of him thinking that I'm too gullible or being braiwashed by this raw diet. I even told him to back off and let me try this for maybe 30 days and let me be my own experiment. He's worried but agreed to leave me alone, But is now ordering some books that I have to read. I'm annoyed but I guess that is fair.
BTW....when I was away I convinced myself that I did not need this diet to be healthy. I felt lousy within 2 weeks. Headaches, oversleeping, fatigue, moodiness, etc. I feel happy to be back.

[Arky]

Here's one of the Google hits:

rawfoodinfo.com/catalog/books_RawFoodsBible.html


J.

[Mike]

All the raw books on this site are excellent->

http://www.northatlanticbooks.com/index.php?screen=rawfood

[Arky]

All the raw books on this site are excellent->

http://www.northatlanticbooks.com/index.php?screen=rawfood


Ahh yes - I see they are responsible for Paul Pitchford's wonderful 'Healing With Wholefoods' - truly one of my all-time favourite books. A real gift to humanity.


J.

[tames]

I really love Victoria Boutenko's book 12 Steps to Raw Foods. The first chapter is beautifully written. I think it sums up the basis as to why raw is good for you. Here are the first few sentences: "When people talk about raw foods they usually talk about enzymes. Enzymes are energy. Enzymes are life." She then goes on to talk about an almond and how that if you had a roasted almond and a raw almond nutritionally analyzed, they would be the same. Ahh, but the real difference is life! If you put the roasted almond in the ground, it is dead, it will disintegrate. If you put a raw almond in the ground eventually a tree will sprout. Life!

Just my opinion.... :)

--Tim

[Ginger]

I like these two a lot:

http://www.thecureisinthecause.com/

http://www.enotalone.com/article/4154.html

[UltrasonicRaw]

even though i am still new to raw foods, and trying different approaches to be 100 percent, i have family who thinks i am nuts too. i try to explain to them that this is a diet that doctors created years and years ago to treat cancer patients (it helps that i am in the medical field ). i know it is a pretty simplified statement, but it somehow works. i tell them, i am eating this way to prevent illness rather than just to treat illnesses. then if they want more info, i can go into more details. i am no expert, but for the most part i tell them i feel better eating this way, or i feel a ton of energy after a green smoothie vs a heavy meal. plus, i have 20 pounds to lose! i tell them i need to lose weight and i am not going to starve myself. maybe your boyfriend needs to try something simple, like the smoothies. thats about all my husband will eat raw (other than salads) and he says he feels a buzz after drinking one! thats about all the support i get, ha ha!

it can be hard, but i think you should just keep on trying for yourself. for me, i try to make as much stuff ahead of time, try not to talk too much about it but just live my life as if its normal to eat this way. i still struggle, but i know just as i became a vegetarian and now no one even notices that, i can do the same with raw, it just takes time.

[rawpriestess]

Oh, I do sympathise with you, as I have (in the past) had partners that were not supportive of me also.

But, I say, don't be jealous, -- do something about it, you do not "have" to do anything, you don't "have" to prove anything, and you don't "have" to read anything.

Be yourself, and if YOU are a rawfoodist -- be that.

Now, I will jump OFF my soapbox and actually answer your question.

I love Alissa's book, it is my number one favorite book of choice, but if he wants testimonies, and analytical stuff, then you might want to choose one of Gabriel Cousens books.

[shakti17]

yes, conscious eating by gabriel cousens i'd recommend for the scientifically minded.

i've been recommending carol alt's book to my "normal" friends, and they like it - she does raw meat and cheese too.

i really like the new pure food and wine recipe book too - raw food real world. another good choice for "normal" folks i think.

as for the family stuff, when i first got into raw almost 10 yrs ago, i was on such a high holy roller bandwagon or whatever w my family, i think b/c my mom was very ill, and it broke my heart to see her eating mc donalds and coke, etc. - or even healthy cooked foods. anyway, now i am older and wiser, i see that was not the best way to deal with family, probably it just turned them OFF to raw. so now i agree w the don't ask don't tell policy. i keep my diet choices to myself.

[UltrasonicRaw]

this book is awesome! i just bought it and read it cover to cover in the first few days. the recipes seem a bit fancy, but it is so inspiring. i used to love the naked chef books and nigella lawson... and this book has the same format and beautiful pictures. the two chefs are so healthy and have a great attitude. i would love to go to new york to their restaurant!!! they make raw food really apetizing and their recipes break down the steps well. that is one thing i have a hard time with cooking raw, the steps sometimes take a few trials to get right since there is so many variables in dehydrating etc.

this book to me was the first really fun and inspiring raw food book i have read, other than alissas which has the testimonial which are awesome and inspiring. the raw food, real world book would be great to show people who are really skeptical of raw food and who arent very scientific or analytical. these chefs i could totally see hosting a raw food show on the food network, they seem to have that "look". wouldnt that be awesome??

[kiwilime]

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. I just ordered Gabriel Cousens and I will be ordering the Raw Food Bible today and the other suggestions soon.

Rawpriestess....thanks for reminding me to be myself. I strongly believe and feel this diet is right for me. It makes me happy and I feel great plus I love feeding my body with nutritous food. Ya know the hardest part about staying raw for me is support. Noone knows except my sweet boyfriend...and I only told him so he would understand why I wasn't eating certain things with him. I believe he thinks I'm just temporarily doing this....and I actually told him to leave me alone about this diet for a month and then after that I will eat my way certain days and other days dine with him. LOL....I'm so embarrased to compromise what I really want for myself.. but I said it just to have peace for a month.:)
Oh, he even asked me last night how my new books are? I think he asked to see if I was getting brainwashed more! But I just said "great" and left it alone. I hope that after he reads one of my books he will just not worry about me and let me decide what is best for me. I even told him that I don't want to change how he eats and its not my intention to make anyone believe what I believe......it still didn't make him worry any less.

[maraw]

My favorite so far has been "The China Study," by T. Colin Campbell. EXCELLENT book, very extensive research and detail focused with graphs and 40 years of lab work. He has covered every single meat angle, and it just can't be argued. Or at least I'd like to see the Joe that tries. It just came out earlier this year, but I think you can get it on Amazon. I bought it from the www.rawfamily.com web site. He doesn't talk so much about raw foods, but he makes an excellent point about removing all animal-based foods/proteins from the diet - even fish. I think that might be a good starting point for your boyfriend.

I agree with the point above that you must be yourself - in what you eat, and in life. If you spend all your time conforming to what others think you should be like, act like, eat like, when will you ever have the time to be yourself? Although my husband has really embraced the raw food way, most of my friends think it is a joke. And they think I am crazy for wanting my children to eat raw too. I couldn't agree less. I use to be offended when they said hurtful things about my kids diets, but now I believe it stems from guilt they have for feeding their children McDonald's for breakfast and lunch and pizza for dinner. I don't have guilt, but I need support from time to time, and I come back to this message board to find it. You're in the right place.

Best Wishes,
Anna

[pizda]

I would advise to read book by Geoff Bond "Natural Eating." He is an antropologist and approaching a dietary issues from the standpoint of human origin. I am not agree with all of his statements and his "theory" has few holes. He is heavy on canola oil, that I think is a "plastic" oil just as others in the supermarket. He is against coconut oil adn neutral regarding olive oil. He is big proponent of raw, but not 100% raw (some fish) and little cooking. Nevertheless, it is a very, very interesting reading. I highly recommend.
I would say I agree with him 90%.

[kiwilime]

Just wanted to say that I ordered about 6 books. Gabriel Cousens came today and the rest....well...I'm bad with computers and I shipped some of them together on amazon and now they are delayed til September. OOOOPPPS it was my first time ordering on amazon. I also have to add that I do have a great boyfriend but I think he is being too concern. He said he wants scientific proof and he wants to read 10 books about this raw diet and 10 that opposes it. I told him last night again to please be supportive. That this month is about me and I don't want to cave for any reason. He said he is trying but he is worried about me. Whatever....he is just upset that we are going to probably eat at a raw restaurant this weekend...ha ha ha. Does anyone else have a partner who is totally against this????????
At least I got him to agree that a diet high in produce is good for us. I appreciate his concerns but I have a headache.....and it's definitely not detox. Sorry for venting!

[deedub]

hey kiwilime

So did I read right are you back in the Bay Area or just back on the board?
Either way good to "see" you. I was off the board for a while myself but continued to eat raw. My SO is not raw but she has asked me to order Alissa's book for her and she is reading 12 Steps to Raw she also has Natures First Law so more will be revealed on that front. I have never tried to convince her to go raw. I talk about it alot and she says she is sick of hearing me talk about food and is that all I can talk about, etc. So I would not call her supportive. Some of my friends say they are interested as they see me change but they are all just curious for now. I do not try to convince anybody of anything. It's kinda sweet that he is worried about you.
Anyway it is good to "see" you. You always crack me up. Hang in there for your 30 days.
Peace and Blessings

[maraw]

I don't know if this will help or not, but you might mention to your boyfriend that I had a very extensive blood and urine analysis done when I first went 100% raw. All the results were pretty normal - nothing alarming. After almost 3 months, I went back for the test. Everything was almost exactly the same except for one or two minor changes. The most notable was my cholesterol - it wasn't high to begin with (148), but it went down to 132. I was delighted to see that. But like I said, everything else was pretty much the same.

Is it a raw foods diet he objects to, or the vegan part? Because my husband is happy about my wanting to convert the kids to raw, so long as I let them keep eating cheese and meat (cooked and pasteurized, of course). It is a very frusterating double standard.

Keep posting how it is coming. I am interested in seeing how his opinion progresses.

[kiwilime]

Hey Deedub

I think you got me confused with someone else but I have never lived in the bay area even though I do like it there. I'm originally from Chicago and then moved to San Diego and just moved to Riverside several months ago. And if things go well and I don't end up kicking my boyfriend in the head (you'll have to excuse me but its my detox acting up :) ), I will be moving to LA pretty soon! Yippeee there is so much there going on and it would also be helpful to have easy access to organic produce!
BTW how long have you been raw? And how do you and your SO deal with the dining portion and eating together?
It's nice to "see" you too and it's good to share this raw journey with you and everyone else.

Hi Maraw,

My b/f actually mention that he wants me to do some blood tests. Maybe I will but not right now. Oh, to tell you the truth this is the first time that I mention to my b/f about the raw diet. The previous time I did my 16 or so days raw I just told him that I was on a detox diet for the summer. I guess I'm a closet wannabe raw foodist. I don't want people or him to think I am weird and I thought others might think being raw sounds strange. I finally muffled raw diet this time b/c I know that I need to be myself and this time I want to make this a permanent part of my lifestyle even if it won't be 100%. He opposes raw and vegan. He thinks meat is important. He also opposes organic b/c he said that he read that produce that was not sprayed was actually worse b/c of all the bugs and etc....PLUS he listens to some Doctor on the radio who is against organic produce. So do your kids eat raw? I have even thought that when we have kids one day I would like them to be raw but I will probably have to compromise and share our diet beliefs together. What do you do with the kids and does your husband eat raw meals with you?

[Essensual]

kiwilime,

1. I have as yet not purchased Alissa's book, though I intend it to be my first uncook book.
2. I realize that you have stated that your guy is analytical, and that you have requested a book which approaches the raw food lifestyle from that angle.

Having said that...might I suggest a second approach:

I had the opportunity to visit Borders bookstore today and view several books on raw foodism and vegetarianism. The one book that I cannot shake is Raw Food/Real World : 100 Recipes to Get the Glow by Matthew Kenney,Sarma Melngailis.. Yes the recipes are a little involved compared to most of what I have seen/heard about thus far. So why am I suggesting this???
THE PICTURES ARE PHENOMENAL...I kid you not, they have a very sensous quality to them. The colors, the lighting, the presentation...And I'm not just talking about the pics of the foods. I am also talking about the very cozy pics of the authors. Frankly, they made me what to call Jet Blue and schedule a trip to NY so that I could experience the restaurant myself! It's definitely worth a look-see. And there ladies and gentlemen are my 2 cents.

[kiwilime]

Essensual,

OOOOHHHH I think that book sounds interesting! I'm going to have to stop at Borders to check it out. I LOVE pictures and I like seeing what the authors look like aftering being raw for a while. I like your approach...I told him earlier...look at Demi Moore and other raw foodists and there is no denying that they look healthy and vibrant. His reply was "so if I had a room full of people on this diet and others who aren't you will be able to pick them out". I said probably yes....b/c I truly do believe if someone has been mostly on a high raw diet...I would see that healthy glow.
I'm going to have to go with him to Borders and look for that book!!!

[Revvell]

I do believe you mean kiwikid. :)


hey kiwilime

So did I read right are you back in the Bay Area or just back on the board?

[deedub]

My bad :o

Anyway, Kiwilime, Yeah if we go out we go somewhere where I can get a salad. Otherwise we just fend for ourselves. I've been 100% raw for 107 days.

Blessings

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hey Kiwilime,

I'd suggest anything by Dr. Doug Graham. He speaks to men's minds - scientific and analytical as well. I took my DH to a Graham lecture and hubby immediately went raw for 10 days. He stopped though, because he started to lose too much weight and missed his fast food. Oh well.

My hubby supports what I do as I do it for health reasons. If I did it for any other reasons, he might not so much. Maybe if you are healed of something, he'd be more supportive?

[kiwilime]

Good point Sharon. I know if I was healed of my PMS.....it would hopefully make him more supportive. Thank you....I hope that my PMS symtoms will improve. I'm on day 10 of 100% and I feel real happy and I feel really positive. Thanks all for the wonderful support.
Deedub congrats on being past 100 days!!!!!!

[kiwilime]

I just got off the phone with my boyfriend. I was so surprise but he said "I was thinking about you alot today....and I was thinking that I too also need to eat healthier. Maybe not as extreme as your diet but I need to eat more fruits/veg. I also want you to know that I do think that parts of this diet is healthy for you but I also think other diets are good too (I was happy and did not argue).
He also said if I wanted to do this he would try to encourage and help me. I actually said a prayer the other night and asked God to please give me support on staying raw. This phone call tonight was so cool............. :)