Raw food and nursing..

[Alice_101]

Hi
I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I have a 2 month old and I have been wanting to go raw for the longest time but can never do it! I am also nursing so I really want to get the best raw food combination as well to get the essential nutrients (it's not like the food I eat is so nutritious anyway lol)
My problem is that I never feel satisfied eating a raw meal - like it doesn't fill me up ..
I don't live in North America and I live in the desert basically lol so there are no farms whatsoever and everything is imported except dates. There is a very limited amount of organic nuts and seeds here and it's like 3 times the cost in the US. Maybe I can try to order it in bulk myself? Know any good online store that sells bulk raw nuts for a decent price (family of 3 people)? I know that I love fruit so much and we have plenty of that here so can I sustain myself on mostly raw fruit?
and what should a raw meal consist of for a beginner raw foodist? and what can I eat throughout the day?

I went raw last weekend for one day and I felt so spacey, why is that?
Please I need your support guys!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Eat a variety of foods... whatever variety you can get for yourself. Add in lots of green smoothies... cause that's super nutritional and will make great yummy milk for your babe.

If you have a juicer... be sure to add in a freshly made juice everyday. ;)

All the best on your journey. There's so much info on this site... feel free to look around!

[LimeMama]

Hello! I've been raw for almost three weeks and I'm nursing an (almost) nine month old baby. When I don't eat enough I get shaky and sick, so it's a mistake that I don't want to make again.

Right now I rely on eating a lot of whatever I can get my hands on. Bananas are great, lots of juicing, lots of nuts and oils. I eat a lot of avocados with my meals, I mix them into a lot of salads and always feel full. If you can get dates that's great, there are a lot of things you can do with them that will pack in calories, especially during this time in your life.

For me the trick has been adding fats to my meals, whether from oils, nuts or avocado. That helps me feel full and satisfied. Dried fruit is another calorie dense option that has gotten me through many tough times. The trick is to keep eating. If you don't feel satisfied by a meal, then eat more!

Hope something I said helped, good luck on your journey!

[sidrah]

What kinds of stores are you near? or are you way out?

Do you normally do on-line for other groceries?

[Alice_101]

Aleesha, I've wanted to buy a juicer except I'm not sure what to buy. Can i buy department store brands? I hate the consistency of green smoothies so hopefully a juicer is the solution!

LimeMama, thank you for sharing that- I thought nursing while eating raw would be impossible. I'm aiming for 80% raw. Are you eating 100% raw like Alissa says in her book? I saw nice recipes in her book using dehydrators- I thought about getting one to make burgers. Where do you buy your raw nuts and seeds?

Sidrah, I'm close to department stores similar to Wal mart but much smaller. I dont order online ...

[LimeMama]

Sorry it's taken me a little while to get back to you. I don't feel like nursing on raw foods is impossible anymore, I was hesitant to start because of what people say about detoxing, but when I thought about how long I expect to nurse I felt like I'd have to wait forever. I decided to jump in when the inspiration struck me.

I've been at it a full three weeks now and this last week has been really tough because of PMS and detox. I've been eating whatever I can to stop cravings and stay raw. I can't say that I'm 100% pure raw, because I'm not approaching this from a perfectionist standpoint anymore. There are some ingredients I use that are not considered raw, like maple syrup occasionally, and I know my coconut oil brand is not raw. I do my best with the provisions I've been blessed with. It's hard to put a percentage on what I am. I'd say I'm as close to 100% as I can be.

I have not read Alissa's book yet, but I do agree with her philosophy about eating what you can to stay raw in the initial stages while adjusting to the lifestyle (that's my summary of it at least). I know I'll get better at this, but even eating raw food imperfectly is better than what I was eating, so I can only improve from here.

I currently buy my nuts and seeds from local stores and a local delivery service. I'm sure there are a lot of places online that supply what you need, I just don't have any knowledge to share in that department.

I did get a dehydrator recently and it's made a lot of fun new meal options for me. It's fun coming up with snacks and warming meals to eat. It definitely broke up the monotony I was feeling after jumping headfirst into raw food.

That's all I've got for now, feel free to ask more questions if you need to!