I'm starting!!!

[asecretchord]

I went grocery shopping this morning and I'm getting started. Couple more questions:

1. Can I have coffee and alcohol once in awhile?
2. Is soy milk okay?
3. How do you eat an avacado?
4. Can I still use salt and sugar?

I'm sure I'll have plenty of more questions. Still don't have the book yet.

[Colorawdo girl]

1. Can I have coffee and alcohol once in awhile? most raw fooders do not drink these
2. Is soy milk okay? soy milk is not raw and most use almond milk made at home
3. How do you eat an avacado? cut in half, hit pit with blade of knife to remove, scoop,or slice n scoop and mash for use in recipes or eat plain with celtic salt
4. Can I still use salt and sugar? most raw fooders us celtic grey salt(not white) or pink himalayan Sweetener is agave or honey.

You can do what works for you on your raw journey. Best to you. Read read read here and you will learn.

[asecretchord]

most raw fooders do not drink these

I can understand the alcohol part, but isn't coffee natural? I get fair trade organic coffee.


soy milk is not raw and most use almond milk made at home

That is pretty expensive. I'm on a limited budget. How about rice milk?


most raw fooders us celtic grey salt

Why is regular salt not okay? What is celtic salt?

Is it okay if I still drink coffee and use regular salt? I don't know if I'd be able to give up those things.

[Jenifae]

I can understand the alcohol part, but isn't coffee natural? I get fair trade organic coffee.

Raw means - Not cooked or Heated above 118* and from it's natural source. Coffee is heated above 118*, just as most nuts are for removal. So, this is why it's not considered Raw.

That is pretty expensive. I'm on a limited budget. How about rice milk?

Not sure about Rice milk. But, it is actually cheaper and more fun to make your own Almond milk. Do a search for Almond milk recipes here. :)

Why is regular salt not okay? What is celtic salt?

Celtic salt is like sea salt. Start with that and look for Himalayan salt. Regular table salt is hightly toxic. Processed and added with tons of chemicals.

Is it okay if I still drink coffee and use regular salt? I don't know if I'd be able to give up those things.

Just keep "ADDING IN" more Raw and do what feels comfortable. Transitioning is a personal journey and is best to take it slowly while you are learning.

Welcome to Raw! :)

[Irish_Vegan_Girl]

I can understand the alcohol part, but isn't coffee natural? I get fair trade organic coffee.

Here is a link about living foods which explains why to say "No" to coffee.
Have you tried herbal teas? Not raw, but you could use as an alternative to coffee if you find it very hard to let go of.


That is pretty expensive. I'm on a limited budget. How about rice milk?

Nut milk is not expensive to make, you can make it using nuts and water in a blender.
Rice milk is not raw either. It is up to you how raw you go whether it be 50% or up to 100%, but you need to find what works for you. :)



Why is regular salt not okay? What is celtic salt?

Celtic salt is suppose to be better than regular table salt, which contains iodine. You could get celtic salt in a health store.


Is it okay if I still drink coffee and use regular salt? I don't know if I'd be able to give up those things.

What kind of things do you use salt on? I only use salt to flavour a raw sauce, and very rarely, I usually make sauces with things like sun dried tomatoes which are salty tasting.

It is better to taste the food rather than the salt.

It's "ok" if you drink coffee or use regular salt but it may affect your weight loss and you may not experience a full detox.

Good luck.

Search on the forums there is loads of info and feel free to ask.

[asecretchord]

Good point on the salt. I probably should stay away from it anyway because I have a lot of water retention. I'll try my hardest!

[michigan roman]

- i used to have a saturday night coffee party to get my weekly fix , then i eventually quit it . though have a cup every few months , but now when i do with my newly cleaned taste buds from a 3 year raw diet coffee just tastes like battery acid and thusly like nothing thats good for my cells / body

- people say organically grown wine without sulfides is best if gonna drink .
for me i have a few drinks every few months or so to relax on special occasions and i drink jim beam on the rocks because i found drinking a few beers gave me a hangover while the more natural beam doesnt

- make a salad then take a tablespoon and carve thin scoops out of an avacado you cut in half onto the salad for an excellent add

- nut milk made in a blender replace milk , almond milk is awesome and cheap .
just use a fine metal mesh kitchen strainer after dry grinding about 25 almonds in blender - to which you then add 2/3 blender full of water and blend

- imo salts something you wanna phase out . and get your sugar fix from sweet fruits

[rawpreston]

That is pretty expensive. I'm on a limited budget. How about rice milk?

Try making sesame milk on the fly in the blender out of of 1Tblsp of tahini per 1 cup water, and ~2 ice cubes. I saw that in a youtube vid and tried it, it's pretty good and would be cheap. You can add a pinch of salt or sweetener to taste.

A little salt tastes good in homemade "mylks" if we're used to regular milk from cows made to lick salt blocks so they produce more milk, I think.

Don't fret about how celtic/himalayan taste, they don't taste that different from regular salt, they're still primarily just good ol' sodium chloride.

Also re: salt, your tastes will change for it as you cut it back. What now tastes normal will eventually taste salty etc. Same with sweets and fats I think.

[asecretchord]

I've made it through most of the day. Fought off the urge for some pasta. That was harder than I thought!

[Myca]

'what works for you', as Colorawdo girl says, it great. Some of us are still on coffee.

I am attempting to wean it due to my personal health reasons. I've gone from 3 pots a day to less than a cup every few days. I haven't been here very long, but I have noticed while reading about what others do with their diet, they seem to evolve in their eating habits.
I expect to do the same as I learn.
I have found almost everyone here so nice and helpful.
A couple have all the sensitivity of a frying pan upside the head but they mean well and have great thoughts.
I have really enjoyed the last three weeks.

[asecretchord]

It may take me awhile to get off coffee. I would probably feel a lot better if I did. It gives me a lot of anxiety.

I'm noticing just after one day raw that my legs aren't nearly as swollen as they usually are. Perhaps that is due to no salt? This is a good thing!!

More questions:
What is the most filling vegetable/fruit?
Can I eat peanut butter?
I want to lose weight, so what is the best food with fat to eat?

[rayofsunshine]

You can make milk from sunflower seeds, which are pretty cheap. Just substitute soaked seeds in other raw milk recipes.

[Myca]

The other thing I noticed is that my sweet tooth is completely gone. All the fruit has taken care of that.
I do miss certain things that I will not name because some of my fellow list mates will be mortified....[sighs]
However, I have found that I feel wonderful. Before I started I was taking 3 Motrins, twice a day, to help with my chronic pain. That stopped within two days. My Chronic Pain has abated quite a bit. I am under pain management and am prescribed much stronger drugs but I tried to get by with the Motrin and just suffered.
I'm not suffering at the moment.

Haven't 'cheated' yet, so it will be interesting to see the reprecussions when I do.

[Myca]

One more thought...
My mouth has never felt cleaner...

[michigan roman]

It may take me awhile to get off coffee. I would probably feel a lot better if I did. It gives me a lot of anxiety.

I'm noticing just after one day raw that my legs aren't nearly as swollen as they usually are. Perhaps that is due to no salt? This is a good thing!!

More questions:
What is the most filling vegetable/fruit?
Can I eat peanut butter?
I want to lose weight, so what is the best food with fat to eat?

my bodily swelling went down so much my shoe size went down a half

most filling bananas and avacados . avacados in salads (i also sprinkle on sesame seeds / ground flax seeds / walnuts to heartify) make my salads like a critter eaters meat and potato

to make good tasting peanut butter it has to be roasted peanuts . people make other nuts butters . but i do sometimes call it a ' good cheat ' and eat dry roasted saltless peanuts in the shell as a hedge against grabbing for the old standard munchies

i dont know about best fat to lose weight , but lemon squeezed into ice water helps quell my appetite on a fast

agree on the salt . i run and when im off salt ove deeper breaths / better endurance which i speculate to be from less retained bodily water that was being held in by salt . the lungs are less mucousy without saly

and bingo on the coffee , the anxiety / hyperness can be a drag unless youve got somewhere like haRD work or exercise to burn it off

congrats on day one . but shortly youll be craving cooked so bad youll get5 grumpy and want to throw a chair thru your dining room window :D ,
youll break and go back to some cooked imo , just try to put he breaks on as soon as possible with how they say a ' damage plan ' . took me 2 years of breaking til i got raw

[asecretchord]

Its going to be difficult, I won't deny that. If I get a bad craving, I'll just come here for some support. I don't want to go back.

Now, if I could just quit smoking. That, and coffee, will take some time.

Thanks again for all of your advice. You people rock. :)

[asecretchord]

Another question:

1. Can I cook anything? I really love wild rice, but I can't eat that raw. And it's really good for you.

I've added a blog if anyone is interested. :)

I'm thinking about taking a before picture because I have a good feeling that this diet is going to work for me.