Going Shopping

[Soka]

I'm going shopping soon. I have been slowly increasing the amount of raw foods in my diet and I think right now I'm up to 20%. Haha. I know, not much, but I've eaten more fruits and veggies in the past month, than I have in the past 3-4 months. I'm drinking more water. At the very least 30oz a day.

So far today I've eaten a bowl of cereal (Honey Graham Ohs) with soymilk. About 12oz of coffee with hazelnut creamer (this was my last cup of coffee as I'm giving up caffeine. Tomorrow will be my first day without caffeine. I have also had about 16oz of chocolate soymilk.

My first raw food of today is an apple, which I am currently enjoying with a glass of water. I must say, this apple is so yummy. I'm also trying to stay away from sugar. Its an addiction of mine and I'm trying to substitute sugary things with fruit. So every time from now on if I get a sugar craving, I'm going to reach for some fruit.

I'm also going to start substituting at the very least, one meal, for a raw meal. Today, since I work right across the road from a Fresh Market, I'm going to walk over (haha, and get some exercise) and grab some raw lunch. I won't be able to do this after Wednesday because I'm starting a new job. Unfortunately, it will be as a grill cook, cooking greasy breakfast foods and such. Better hours but not the greatest job. They do make salads there so I hope to eat those for lunch or start taking my own.

So wish me luck on this. Oh! And I even brought my juicer over finally! I can start juicing stuff and making green smoothies. <- which I've never tried. If I were going shopping for nothing but raw food, what should I get to last me a week?

[mousebandit]

Hi Soka. I'm no expert, as I've fallen off the wagon more times than I've started (ah, but today is a new day, LOL!) - but my suggestions would be:

get some stuff for green smoothies and make a quart every morning before work and take it with you to sip on while you're slinging hash (is that the right expression? LOL!). In my green smoothies I put a banana, a cup or so of water (cold, or also throw in a few ice cubes), an apple, 1-2 cups of strawberries, and 4-5 leaves of romaine lettuce OR a handful or two of baby spinach. Blend it all up really good and sip on it throughout the morning. It REALLY makes a huge, huge difference in my day - my energy, my mental clarity, my desire and ability to avoid bad foods, etc. I bet it would be ideal for your work situation. There's lots of recipes on here for everyone's favorite green smoothies, too. I would just start off with LOTS of fruit, and not so much greens, and build up the greens over the next few months. Make sure it's SWEET to get you rolling!

So, for a week's worth, I would grab a big bunch of bananas, a big tub (2lb?) of fresh strawberries, a couple bunches (heads) of Romaine lettuce, maybe a tub of the organic baby greens or baby spinach leaves.

I also always make sure I have lots of oranges, tomatoes, avocados, and nuts on hand. They help me avoid bad food choices when i'm stressing. I can make a salad, or a sandwich (I use raisin ezekial bread which isn't actually raw, but it's a transition for me!). I also LOVE homemade guacamole with cilantro and lime juice in it. You can take a jicama (a round root vegetable that's in almost every grocery store) and slice it up (I peel it first, like a potato), and make raw chips with it and use them to dip in the guac. YUMMY! That gives me the satisfaction of a crunchy snack, with the filling power of the avocado and has gotten me through many an evening!

Um, what else - lemons, limes, any yummy summer fruits that are around - melons galore, kiwis, berries, etc. If you have any recipe books, pick out two or three recipes you want to try and get the stuff for them.

Lots of water - if you don't drink tap water, maybe invest in a water-purifier-pitcher. I just got one at Winco for $10 - works great, works fast, super easy! Does 5 cups in less than 5 minutes.

Good luck!

Tracey R.

[GlimR]

Soka~
Congratulations of the changes you have made and the ones to come....it's all a journey and you are headed in the right direction. Maybe eventually you can replace the soy milk with almond milk, you can add cacao and/or carob, frozen bananas and make a delicious chocolate milk shake..sweet but not all the sugar in soy milk. Wishing you the best as you go along~

[Soka]

Im sitting in the breakroom at work about to clock in. I made a trip to the fresh market and bought almost a lb of raw almonds (i am in love with these) dried apricots, blackberries, and carrots. Thats what i had for lunch. Yum!

I also bought some avacado and kiwi for later use.

[RawKnitster]

Good luck with your new job and your raw diet. :)

[spicyfull]

The "POWER" is in YOU..........

[Soka]

Well I ended up eating a cooked dinner, but today I'm going to make sure I eat a lot of raw. I'm going to go shopping for some produce and try and make a few recipes. I found a recipe from Ani Phyo (spelling) for avacado soup and it looks really good, so I'm going to go find the stuff to make that.