Need help with "substantial" snacks

[lemonmer]

I am trying hard to be more raw (I'm not vegan, but I'm definitely trying to move in that direction). My problem is that I seem to suffer from this weird feeling when I try to eat lots of healthy raw stuff. I feel "ungrounded" or something. Maybe kind of shaky. Weird. It is hard to explain. It isn't a nice feeling. Is that detox?? I should add that I actually feel "better" when I eat crappy food. My stomach feels filled and I don't feel weird and like I've had too much caffeine. A donut and chocolate milk makes me feel much better than a nice (big!) healthy raw smoothie. I hate that I'm like this!

I try to mainly eat green smoothies (made with berries, fresh greens and 1/2 a banana or maybe peaches). I always add hemp seeds for the protein. I snack on apples, cucumbers, celery, raw hummus. Sometimes I have a raw cacao shake with nut milk.

When I get that weird feeling, I want something heavier. Like protein (a big piece of cheese) or carby (a bagel). I don't WANT to eat these things. I want to be raw, but I'm finding it so hard. I don't know if I have hypoglycemia or something, but you would think the hemp seeds would keep it under control (I avoid really sweet fruit mostly).

Any suggestions for what I can snack on throughout the day that would be sort of like a nice big hunk of cheese? LOL

[Veganforlife]

First off - how long have you been semi-Raw? Second - no mention of water. Do you consume any? Also do you get that shaky feeling after the cacao?

Have you tried making a dip for your veggies? Alissa's calzone or pizza?

You really will start to fill up once you have been Raw for a good while.

That shaky feeling is probably your body not sure how to digest all these different foods. You say you are NOT Vegan, so there you go - your body is digesting or TRYING to digest these hard foods.

Once you start eating living foods (not cooked, processed, altered), your body will use it's enzymes to heal while these foods will come complete with their enzymes to digest itself...

Do a 30-day 100% Raw challenge. It will totally convince you this is the way to go!

[kidkid]

oh i know that feeling. I usually get it if I've been eating a lot of sweet fruit and nothing else. And I usually really desire something carby and meaty to weigh down that shaky feeling. But instead i've taken to carrying around a bag of walnuts so if i get that feeling when i'm out and about i can do something about it. The other thing that i find helps is eating more salads with a little healthy oil (i use flax oil). I find that bigger salads don't give me that feeling. I feel like flax bread or nut cheeses would be good too.

It sounds weird, but i definitely noticed i have an easier time feeling full and balanced and grounded with raw when I go 100% raw. I would recommend going 100% for a few days, making sure you eat lots of greens and good fats and filling foods, and see if your body adjusts to it.

[Thick]

I also know that feeling.When you feel like you want a hunk of cheese--it sounds like something savory with some good fats would help. Heres some substantial snack ideas:

Just like ritz crackers(they definately are not lol, but they are mild tasting, crunchy and good) with--

nut butter & honey
avacado, salt and cayenne pepper
eggless egg spread
nut cheese and pizza toppings like tomato, bell pepper, mushrooms, olives etc

These can be made ahead of time of course, then whipped out for emergency snacks.

You'll have to experiment some, I'm afraid, but you might like some stuff like--

-Alissa's not chicken fingers with a dip (taste before dehydrating until you like them)
-jalapeno burgers made into little meatballike fritters http://www.rawfreedomcommunity.info/forum/showthread.php?t=3467&highlight=jalapeno+burgers
-stuffed mushrooms

Soups and casseroles are very grounding. Pretty much any combination of juicy vegetables you like with a sauce, warmed in the dehydrator awhile is yummy (to me). Google raw recipe soups and make one that seems good to you. I particularly like Snowdrop's corn chowder but there are a lot of others that might strike your fancy=)

One last thing, make sure you are eating enough, drinking enough water and resting enough as a lack of any of these can make you feel spacey=)

[holistica]

I am trying hard to be more raw (I'm not vegan, but I'm definitely trying to move in that direction). My problem is that I seem to suffer from this weird feeling when I try to eat lots of healthy raw stuff. I feel "ungrounded" or something. Maybe kind of shaky. Weird. It is hard to explain. It isn't a nice feeling. Is that detox?? I should add that I actually feel "better" when I eat crappy food. My stomach feels filled and I don't feel weird and like I've had too much caffeine. A donut and chocolate milk makes me feel much better than a nice (big!) healthy raw smoothie. I hate that I'm like this!

I try to mainly eat green smoothies (made with berries, fresh greens and 1/2 a banana or maybe peaches). I always add hemp seeds for the protein. I snack on apples, cucumbers, celery, raw hummus. Sometimes I have a raw cacao shake with nut milk.

When I get that weird feeling, I want something heavier. Like protein (a big piece of cheese) or carby (a bagel). I don't WANT to eat these things. I want to be raw, but I'm finding it so hard. I don't know if I have hypoglycemia or something, but you would think the hemp seeds would keep it under control (I avoid really sweet fruit mostly).

Any suggestions for what I can snack on throughout the day that would be sort of like a nice big hunk of cheese? LOL

Whenever I get that "I want cheese" feeling, I eat an avocado. If it doesn't go away, I eat another one. There is some mention in Alissa's book about "if you're craving X, try eating Y instead." That part really helped me more than anything when I first started out over 2 years ago.

[FrannieGreen]

Hi Lemonmer,
I am new to "raw" , but have been challenging myself to go 2 weeks "raw".
So far I am on Day 11. I FEEL SO GREAT. Everyones suggestions really do work.
I am with Holistica....the avocado works for me when I get "that" urge.
You have to experiment what works for you.
Frannie

[ginadj]

I know exactly the feeling you are talking about!!! In my case - the feeling was actually my body craving those feel good SAD ingredients - the sugar, the wheat, the tasty additives. I can remember even on a very full stomach after a great raw meal...the feeling would kick in!!! It is quite mental as well!

[livin]

I've been on and off the raw wagon a few times and find that the more greens I eat, the more greens & raw foods I crave & less thus have less desire for carbs or other foods. I've found taking digestion enzymes and/or HCL helpful in my transitions.

A 32oz green smoothie for breakfast usually keeps me full for a while and it often lasts until lunch.

Drink lots of water. If that seems difficult, try breaking drinks into 8ozs per hour. (Example: 8ozs between 8-9am, another 8 ozs between 9-10am, etc,)

Substantial Snacks? In addition to increasing your water intake, nibble on walnuts or carrots (my favorite)throughout the day; Have 2-3 apples during the day. Others: coconut water (& the fresh coconut meat) bananas, avocados.

Best Wishes on your raw journey!

[RawKnitster]

Sounds like detox to me. A donut and chocolate milk will make you feel better because cooked foods put an immediate halt to any detoxing.

Detox is a circular process of cleansing the blood over and over again as your lymph fluids deliver stored toxins to the blood for cleansing and release. The process is full of ups and downs depending on how toxic we are. You may feel good when the blood is clean and feel bad when the lymph fluids deliver a fresh load of toxins to the blood. Eating low fat and getting lots of exercise will speed up the process. If you are feeling poorly and want to slow down the detox process try eating raw plant fats.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Do you do smoothie? If so, add in them chia seed, hemp seeds, goji berries, anything that is rich. If you don't do greens (green juice/smoothie), incorporate them.

Also, keep in mind what makes us sick isn't our body ever but our mind. Meaning, you need to be comfortable on raw food and not being religious about it. The sooner your mind feel that this is comfortable, and you can do this and feeling happy the sooner you will let go the attachment of cook food or animal food.

When something doesn't go well, we tend to go back with what feel the most familiar to us. For you is animal protein. If you are serious on letting go animal food, i highly recommend to you that you get the dvd a diet for all reason and read the China study. I promise you this will give you the grounding necessary to stick to vegan.

You deserve to be free, happy and healthy!

p.s Some people can do a gradual transition to raw food, for me it had to be 100% raw.