June 2nd - Day Two

[Aleesha Sattva]

Welcome to the second day of your challenge. Please share what you are eating, what you are experiencing and know you are you not alone!

[NellieBelle]

Good Morning everyone!
It's a beautiful day in northern Minnesota so I'll be outside weeding the garden and mowing lawn. Here is my meal plan for the day:
Breakfast - cranberry, apple, orange, avocado, lemon, turnip green smoothie
Snacks - 1/3 cup almonds and some pineapple
Lunch/Supper - Tomato, carrot, broccoli, onion, green pepper salad with acv

[valkyriesmyst]

Day two is off to a good start for me. I didn't have time to write yesterday. I'll list what I've ate but I'm more of an all day grazer. I eat lots of small things throughout the day and most things more than once. When I write it down it doesn't seem like much but I eat a lot of it.

I haven't had coffee since last Friday. Saturday was hellish for me but I'm doing ok now. I'm still thinking about getting a juicer but I'm a major texture person and I don't know if I'd enjoy smoothies and juice. I'm mulling it over though.

Yesterday:
Veggie chips I made in the dehydrator (mostly kale and bell peppers with a few onions and beets thrown in)
Medjool Dates (I love these)
Blackberries
Carrots dipped in raw almond butter (these go so well together)

Today:
Same as above.....
Plus I have some raspberries I just bought
I'm also going to make mock salmon pate and or a raw chicken salad version using lettuce as wraps tonight for dinner and hopefully have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

[Basenjimamma]

Good morning all, good morning summer.

Today I am embarking on my new workout regime..I have been laying low way to long, but I am back baby!!

B- blue smoothie= spinach, blueberries and banana, some flaxseed and pinch of pumpkin seeds
S- fruit
L-more fruit, trying to break my nut cycle..
S-leftover Sprouted Quinoa salad, maybe some creamy (jicama) potato salad too and a 1/2 a mango.
D- green salad with creamy hemp dressing, the best dressing I have made so far, wowser.

[Rawdina007]

:) Off to a delicious start. I didnt have my choco banana smoothie last night so I made one for breakfast. (Cacao, almond milk, maca pwdr, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, almond butter, banana, hemp seed, flax seed, agave).
Snack: Orange
Lunch: Lettuce wraps with marinated veggies and avocado
Dinner: Not sure yet... maybe just a salad or a green smoothie
Gonna do a lemon, ginger, cayenne shot sometime this afternoon too.

Had serious cravings yesterday, but once I ate some fruit I was good, so maybe I was lacking energy and needed a sugar rush or something. Who knows, but I'm so glad I didnt give in and head to the vending machine :D

Over and Out

[Gooberdog69]

Brekkie - kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, banana, hemp oil and greens smoothie
Snack - a few marinated nuts
Lunch - salad with small piece 'real toast', tsp brazil nut butter, 1/2 baby avo, a few olives, lettuce and spinach with olive oil, balsamic dressing.
Snack - raw bar and a bite of raw choc cake
Dinner - green smoothie with spinach, banana, dates.

Hope all is well with everyone...I'm very excited about this month...YAY!

xxx

[GlimR]

Basenjimama~ I'd love the hemp seed dressing recipe if you'd share it!

I am doing okay today...have a raging headache. I've never been a coffee drinker but did drink several glasses of iced tea a day and haven't had any since Saturday. Not sure if it's that or what but feeling pretty low. Great other than that.

Food today-

b-1/2 of an athena cantaloupe..they are so good & 2 small bananas
s-a medjool date w/a brazil nut inside...just to get me thru till lunch-
(very busy & messy preschool morning)
l-thinking.......either an almond milk smoothie w/cacao, maca, banana or a big, mixed veggie salad...
d-whichever I didn't have for lunch
s-strawberries & blueberries

[Gossy]

Happy day two! Hope all are doing well.

I am not. I'm on day 5 of 100% raw and I feel sick sick sick! I'm really trying to take the fact my period arrived a week early, despite being on birth control that kept my cycle coming like clockwork, as a sign that this is detox. I'm worried it's just my body being messed up and I will never feel better or healthier and maybe going raw is just a silly idea. Or course the logical part of my brain says it isn't ;) but the emotional paranoid (hopefully) detoxing part of my brain is being a jerk right now and saying I'll never get to feel healthy. Right now I'm having cramps, back aches, extremely dry eyes, sneezing, headache, major fatigue. Part of it is that I haven't had a good night of sleep in ages. Even when I try to go to bed early I wind up with my second wind, wide awake at 9-10PM and can't get to sleep again for hours, and I cannot adjust my wake up time either, so the alarm goes off at 5:30-6AM and up I have to get, regardless of when I finally passed out. Ugh!

I'm also finding I'm super sick of smoothies all of a sudden. And I love smoothies! Either something I've been putting in them isn't agreeing with me, or my body just wants whole fruits/veggies. So that is what I'm trying to give it today. I attempted to make some orange juice this morning but it turned out super thick in the blender, and with no time to strain it, I just tried to make it smoothie-ish instead. I've only had half of it and my taste buds/stomach are like "Yeah that's enough". I've had a nice, fresh, whole peach today too. That was yummy and is sort of setting the tone for the rest of my day I think.

I brought left over "taco meat" for lunch. Not sure I really feel like eating it but since it's what I brought I kind of have to. At the very least it'll kill my hunger, so I'll have one less thing to be cranky about ;). I also have a banana and raisins for snack. And I really need to get some major amounts of water down.

I'm planning tonight to make ranch dressing and just have whole veggies for dinner. And probably mango, because I'm craving that. I may also try one of the raw chocolate bars I found at the store. Full of flax seeds and whatnot. I wish I knew something natural/raw to eat/take for these cramps. They haven't been this bad in ages. The thing most appealing to me right now is making some ranch and dipping carrot, celery and cucumber. It sounds like such a treat. Considering what I would have been eating a week or two ago, and thinking of as a "treat", the fact I am craving just veggies (well, and some dip, but raw dip!) is huge.

I better try to get more work done so I can go home to my heating pad and veggies and hopefully get some sleep! Hope everyone is having a Rawsome day! :)

[Basenjimamma]

Glimr..here it is.

Creamy Hemp Dressing from The Raw Food Revolution Diet, by Vesanto Melina
Yield about 2 cups/ 500ml or 16 servings..

1/2 c lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 c coarsley chopped celery
1/4 c flaxseed oil I used cold pressed olive oil
1/4 c hempseeds
1/4 c nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 c water
2 TBsp fresh basil or dillweed I used dillweed
2 TBsp coarsley chopped onion
4 tsp light miso
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp Braggs aminos or tamari.

* combine all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.
* store in sealed glass jar in the refrigerator, it will keep for 2 weeks...

super good, I was eating it with a spoon...it states in the book to use it as a dressing over salads or slaws, or use as a flavorful base for creamy soups.

[StarFire]

ooo yumm!! Basenjimamma thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it sounds fantastic, Can't wait to try it!!

dear Gossy... http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/hug-1.gif soo sorry you aren't feelin so hot.. BUT... this too shall pass! Getting thru the detox means your body is freeing itself up to do what it needs to do to become vibrant and healthy!! and that my dear is RAWk'n cool! So... basically... you really ARE doing great! although our bodies at this point have a way of showing their appreciation in a most unpleasant manner!!

it will help to drink lots and lots of water... and keep you bowels moving. This will help your body to cast off those toxins as your body is trying to get rid of them. Super important!! By doing this it helps your body get thru detox with a less turmoil and discomfort! I know when I don't do this - i get terrible headaches and feel super sick. Hope you are feeling better soon!

today it's fruit and salad (not together) but for my meals. I'm craving light foods that are easily digested.

RAWk on! :D

[Coriander74]

Good morning, raw friends! :)

I have had an annoying headache since last night. I think I had too many nuts or something, even though it was just a tablespoon of almond butter plus about 1/2 a cup of walnuts in the Mock Salmon.

Today I plan on keeping it very simple. I may have the nut butter again later but will keep it at that.

B: green smoothie
L: probably another green smoothie
D: portobella mushroom with avocado, tomato and basil
S: apple with almond butter and honey, banana

[GlimR]

Basenjimama-
Sounds great and I have all the ingredients!!:)

[Bagalamukhi]

Today was a great day.. the sun has finally come out here in Copenhagen :)

B: Green smoothie with frozen bananas/blueberries and romaine
L: Cabbage sandwich with lentil sprouts/sunflower seed hummus, some veggies and more sprouts on top... Yummi... so filling.
D: Chinese inspired salad with cabbage, carrot, mushrooms, sesame seeds. Delicious dressing of sesame oil, soya, fresh ginger, lemon and salt.
I also had a banana/ blueberries chocolate ice cream in the sun, and half a chocolate bar.

[Bagalamukhi]

Basenjimama.. is nutritional yeast the same as brewers yeast?

[Stella Green]

Hello! That Hemp dressing sounds yummy...I don't have any hemp seeds but I'm going to try it with sunflower seeds for tonight.

Rawdina: The lemon/ginger/cayenne shot sounds like a fabulous idea...especially because I read that eating too much cold foods is bad for a spleen, and so to compensate raw foodies should make sure they add lots of warm spices to their diet. Rawdina, do you juice the ginger, or do you add all the ingredients to a food processor?

Here's my meal plan:

Breakfast: Half Avocado/half lemon/banana pudding. I am addicted to this pudding. It's so good I have to keep telling myself that it's okay, that it really is good for me. I've been trying to be frugal, and because I just can't give up avocados, I only eat half. Then I put some lemon juice on the open side and save it for the next day.

Snack: Blackberries! They were on sale and I finished off TWO 6 oz cartons...whoa

Lunch: Raw hummus with carrot, celery, cucumber sticks. A handful of nuts, and a banana

Dinner: A big old salad with sunflower seeds and sunflower dressing and I can't wait to dig into that red pepper. My boyfriend (who is doing the raw diet with me, yay!) says he wants chunky vegetables so I'm thinking maybe I'll put some sweet potato in my salad. Haven't tried that raw yet, has anybody else?

Banana ice cream for dessert!

[paperoceans]

I messed up and had some hot oatmeal! But I figured that it was fine since it was whole grain... at least I ate something that was healthy I suppose. I ate at around 10AM and I'm still full. Lets see...

Lunch: pears, cantaloupe, salad
Dinner: bananas, raisins, granola, almond milk

[GlimR]

Still have a headache.....food did not go as planned, just wasn't that hungry

b-1/2 melon/ 2 sm.bananas
s-one date & brazil nut
L- strawberries
s-1 ear of raw corn
d-2 sm bananas

One of the things that always catches me up going raw is not eating enough...I have to feed 6 babies/preschoolers, a husband and grown daughter and find so often by the time the day is done I am way too tired to "make" something for myself, even a salad...hence the bananas but that is not enough food. I am either not very hungry or I get too hungry...have to plan for success and have things available so this doesn't get to be a pattern again.

Tomorrow I am going to make some bread, taco filling and sour cream to have on hand and a raw sweet of some kind to stick in the freezer.

But......2 days all raw and THAT is awesome!!

[Gossy]

I am feeling even more ridiculously sick. I'm about to shut down for the night and just pass out. I really hope these icky feelings pass soon.

Besides taking some valerian root I haven't and will not take anything for my cramps and back ache. I figure, whats the point of being raw if I'm going to pump my body with chemicals while it is detoxing?

Nothing has tasted very good today either. And I wish I had the energy to try out the raw ranch recipe I found here . . . but I just don't. Hopefully tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having a good day 2!

[Ms_Catherine]

Aww, I'm so sorry you ladies are under the weather.... Hope you feel better soon.

I had a quart of green smoothie for my first meal, with baby lettuce, banana, pear and strawberries. I've been snacking on a big bowl of gazpacho, and an apple so far. Oh, and I had a small bowl of Waldorf salad with no dressing. Probably have a banana or a grapefruit next. I need to shop for more produce on my way home from work tonight.

Sounds like everyone is doing great!

[dharma17]

Today i enjoyed:

b mango, banana, pineapple, spinach and OJ smoothie
s more smoothie
l mixed salad
s pesto stuffed mushroom caps
d huge salad with tomato based dressing
s almonds


Feel nice and light, not bloated which i find can happen sometimes with a high raw intake :)

[donnyandcathy]

Well I guess since we're all being honest around here ;)
I can share my good and bad for the past 3 days.
The only problems I'm having is VERY VERY bloated, it looks like I swallowed a cantaloupe (or maybe a watermelon).
I feel really "heavy" like I've gained weight???

What confuses me is that I haven't had anything but fruit and greens.
I'm being very careful about food combining, and not eating too much at one time. I'm measuring and weighing my food, and it has been around 1000 to 1200 calories, and maybe 5 grams of fat total from fruit.
I've walked about 3 plus miles each day, and it's not like I'm retaining fluid from the heat, it's more stomach bloat, and just feel heavy.
I haven't had any dehydrated foods, and all the fruit has been mainly the juicy type. Maybe my intestines are trying to clean out, and it's just bloating up really bad?? If I was sensitive to fructose, what would be the symptoms?
I really don't think I am, I'm just wondering why these symptoms are so bad.

Here's what I had today....

Cantaloupe and watermelon

Green Smoothie consisting of Mango, pineapple, cherries, romaine lettuce

Fruit Salad consisting of Celery (chopped fine and took the "stings" off) for easier digestion, Apple that I peeled, 1 very ripe banana, strawberries blended into a "sauce"

Handful of fresh blueberries

The only thing I see that I didn't combine very well would be the strawberries in my fruit salad. But I didn't use very many. And, I was already feeling like this before I had the fruit salad. So I don't think that made much difference.

If anyone could give me some advice, I would be glad to accept it ;)

Thanks!!

[Shels]

Today has been like an eating frenzy! Don't know why I'm so hungry. I'm trying to cut back on the fats though, as I let myself have way too many nuts last week.

Breakfast: A few brazil nuts and a banana-kale-parsley smoothie.
Snack: Medjool dates
Lunch: A big romaine salad with cucumber, tomato and olives.
Dinner (I guess): A bowl of spinach and red grapes (and a couple sundried tomatoes but I changed my mind and took those out).

I am so excited! I just got a membership at my local co-op health food store (and bought some delicious things as well). Now I'll feel much less guilty spending the extra dollars there for organic (not to mention raw) products, knowing that it'll come back to me. :D

[chaitea]

What a difference 24 hours makes!

Breakie~smoothie~half pineapple, huge frozen banana, handful of random greens, 1/2 cuke. FREAKIN AWESOME!!!

Salad as big as my head~shreaded carrot, purple cabbage, tomato

Buckets of h2o with mint.

It's only 6pm now, so I might be adding to this list later!

Keep it up everyone!!!


Today, I am having a "skinny" day!
You know those, a day when no matter what you put on you feel fab and especially skinny! Now this is a big deal for a woman who almost weighs 350 lbs!!!!!!! I LOVE skinny days!!!!!

[StarFire]

The only problems I'm having is VERY VERY bloated, it looks like I swallowed a cantaloupe (or maybe a watermelon).
I feel really "heavy" like I've gained weight???


Hey there donnyandcathy... I know that I went thru something very similar when i first went raw. I couldn't figure out what was going on -- especially if i was eating so many veggies and fruit.

the advice someone gave me when i was a newbie was that ...

my body was adjusting to the new and healthy foods, and the amount of fiber that I was putting in. I was told to make sure to keep my bowels moving with some Yogi 'Smooth Move Tea' or there are other brands out there, (personally I prefer taking Cascara Sagrada capsules, they help to stimulate the peristaltic action of your colon and encourage your body to eliminate naturally.

I was still a bit confused because I was going to the bathroom so I thought I was doing okay... but after a warm cup of Smooth Move tea ... lots of stuff was released and the bloating feeling was gone. My body soon regulated after that!

hope that helps!

[donnyandcathy]

Thanks so much Starfire, I do drink Smooth Move, but have't had any all week. My doctor told me my bowels were depending too much on it.
I have gastroparesis, and a very lazy colon, so I know the fiber is really bothering my tummy, but I will stick it out, and I know it will pass, hopefully!
I was wondering if it could be the sugar from the fruit??
I have decided to do more of a low fat vegan diet, and just do a lot of fruits with greens, and not a lot of heavy veggies. My stomach seems to not hurt as much when I do fruits, but then I get the bad bad bloat :(
It's amazing that I can go from a washboard flat stomach to looking like
I'm 6 months pregnant within an hour, very frustrating!!
If I take out the fruit, I wouldn't have much to choose from, so I will stick it out and see if my body will adjust.
Any more advice you might think of, let me know.
Thank you!!!

[zozodarko]

I am on day two and I am bored and need yummy recipes. I would like to take a more alkaline approach to my 30 day raw challenge. If you have any yummy green drink recipes please post them. I tried 3 recipes in the last two days. I ruined all three. :( My carrot soup had to much garlic. It was inedible. My I attempted another one this morning and it tasted better but the water and the pulp separated. It began to taste weird. I am dehydrating some flax crackers and they don't taste that great. I even spiced them with italian herbs. :( I just bought some mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, and oranges. I dunno what to make. Please help!

[rawmoose]

Gossy, sorry you're feeling so yuck. Hope tomorrow's better. Chaitea, hooray for a skinny day!!

I am on day 3, and doing pretty well. Looks like a lot of food for today, but I don't feel like I really ate that much.

B: half a grapefruit with a little sucanat (is this really raw? I have read it is....)
B2: mango, blackberries, a few strawberries
L: other half of grapefruit, a few nuts, some carrots, dried cherries, raisins, papaya and bananas
S: banana, a few more nuts
D: huge salad with romaine, mung and broccoli sprouts, cucumber, tomato, with a tiny bit of EVOO, salt and lemon juice, with half a green smoothie
S: a little more of the green smoothie

[happyapple]

Day 3 here already, but checking in for yesterday. I agree with chaitea - what a difference 24h. makes! Lots of emotions going & some headaches, but feeling supercentered and motivated. Started the day off w. lots of water + msm/chlorella/reishi, then had:

* smoothie w. pineapple + wild greens
* cherry tomatoes w. salt & olive oil
* nectarines
* pineapple cubes

@zozodarko - Personally, I love to blend zucchini w. spices & a little olive oil, then eat it as thick soup or use as salad dressing. Hmm, then if it were my groceries I might eat the oranges as they are, slice the tomatoes w. some onion/salt on top & make marinated mushrooms w. lemon, salt, ginger & lots of garlic...I love having marinated mushrooms in the fridge & then simply adding some fresh greens or sprouts for a tasty salad.

[seRAWnity]

Hey Everyone!

I mostly grazed in the morning, mostly on coconut, my favorite!

Snack I had some raw cashews with sesame oil and sea salt


Lunch was a tomato and olive salad and a coconut water

Dinner I had a huge 32 oz fruit smoothie!

[revdrcyn]

Awesome raw day! Long hours fueled by green smoothie!

Green Smoothie
Beet - Celery Juice
Wilted Greens
Mango
Banana x 4
Coconut Water
Cashew Bar
Zucchini Chips