June 5th - Day Five

[Aleesha Sattva]

Welcome to Day Five!

[NellieBelle]

Bonjour!
We have another beautiful day to be raw! Here is my meal plan for the day.
Breakfast - banana, apple, pineapple, lemon, spinach green smoothie
Snacks - walnuts and grapefruit
Lunch/Supper - Tomato, cucumber, broccoli, onion, green pepper salad with acv

[GlimR]

Morning all!! Happy Saturday!!!

I am really looking forward to the day........DH and I are going out to breakfast...one of our favorite together times for the week away from the chaos. HE loves Cracker Barrel...where nothing good can be had except the garnish on the plates. But...it is something he really enjoys so...I will have a green smoothie before we go, bring some cut up fruit, smuggled in in my purse(do it all the time) and order a banana, whole, extra ripe!:D We both win! And I am perfectly satisfied. Then off to Native Sun (the local natural food store) for produce...can't wait to get some young coconuts so I can, among other things, try Starfire's recipe out, looks amazing! :)

Then home to make some raw magic in the kitchen, onion bread, taco meat...raw sour cream....put some nuts, seeds and buckwheat to soaking, etc...am looking forward to a raw kitchen play day!!I love Alissa's calzone filling on the onion bread! So good!

I feel good ....nanananananaaaaa.........yup........like I knew that I would!:D:D

Ok.......hahaha.......yeah...I really do!!!

Hope you guys have an awesome day!!

[firefly]

Good morning Rawbies!

I made the decision yesterday to return to a raw lifestyle as it seems to be what my body is desiring. I just introduced myself in the other thread. I'm excited to be back and to take this challenge!

My body wants fruit and greens so I will give it what it wants! :)

[appifanie]

Silly food combining so far today - watermelon and kale chips - back and forth - ha!

Head hurts, but I think that's mostly cause I woke up too early (kid woke me up at 5:45 or so) and it was humid in the house.

[GlimR]

Just got back from shopping and trying to cool down...it's 92 here and very humid.....summer in fla is NOT my favorite. There were no young coconuts to be had...the produce guy said because of the political issues in Thailand right now they were not exporting any. Was so looking forward to some. I did buy beautiful collard leaves, kale, parsley & cilantro and gorgeous organic strawberries, honey mangoes & blueberries...also spinach and carrots.....yup.cooling off and then off to the kitchen to make some "stuff"!
Hope everyone is well and happy today~

btw....am down 7 lbs since I started...lots of water I'm sure but feels great.

[missgabbygrl]

Hey All!! Im hoppin on day 5 today is going to be my first day 100% raw!! Ive dabbled in raw food for over 3 years but never gone longer than like 2 weeks full raw but planning on staying raw for good this time.... Have a half marathon in 3 weeks and want to feel clean and light when I do that! Love all the support thats given here! lets see for today the plan is

B- Carrot and celery juice
L- Greeeeen smoothie (I do love my green smoothies)
D- Either another green smoothie or a nice big salad, my stomach hasn't been feeling too great lately so I might just do another green smoothie ;)

Great job all and im sooo happy to be here!
Love&Peace!
-Gabby

[amarryth]

Good luck missgabbygrl! I'm in the same boat as you... my longest full-raw was 3 weeks last summer. I've realized that one of the key things is if you know you're going to be out somewhere where there will be temptation (that happens to me A LOT.. I LOVE FOOD), bring something to snack on with you.

So far today I've had blackberries (again), and another cabbage leaf taco wrap. I'll probably eat those until I get sick of them.. it's kind of what happens with me.. haha

[paperoceans]

Today is going to be hard... My family is having a cookout so can I say, temptationville?! Sigh, I believe in myself... I think :(

[GlimR]

paperoceans~
That is hard..I hope you will have something to eat for yourself that you really love....that's the key to me...so you don't feel deprived...wishing you the best today~

[GlimR]

Ok...having a good day......finished drying some glazed walnuts and buckwheat. I put two trays of onion bread in the D and a batch of Lower East Side Patties from Living Cuisine........not sure about them but will keep an open mind...not so crazy about parsley. Am in an uncooking mood.I don't do many sweets but am making some to have on hand if the desire strikes...they usually last me a very long time. Today I made a chocolate and a caramel sauce. Tomorrow, when the other savory stuff is done I'm gonna make mango/peachy flat bread, macaroons and brownie cookies, basil/marinara sauce, raw ketchup and sun-fired tomato vinaigrette.

I cook traditional foods for the other members of my family and being prepared with many choices
for myself keeps me successful at what I chose for myself.otherwise I wait too long and then am starving or feeling deprived and under eat...that leads me down the road to SAD at a fast clip...so...am glad to do this on the weekend for myself.

Food today-
salad
strawberries
blueberries
one date stuffed w/a brazil nut
almond milk w/cacao, maca, bee pollen and frozen banana
will have salad for dinner w/spinach, pears & pecans

[StarFire]

WOW!! :D Everyone is doing sooo good!! and GlimR... I'm coming to YOUR house to eat! yummm! and thank you for the suggestion .. using Alissa's Calzone filling on onion bread? THAT'S GENIUS! I know that must be heavenly! I'm excited to try that.

and paperoceans.. good luck today! I do hope you are taking some things for you to munch on! we'll be thinking of you today!

I'm still enjoying my oranges... these are seriously the BEST oranges I've ever tasted... and they are SOOOOO juicy!
and - since I'll be out the rest of the day and evening - (performing hula at the Kahilu Theater in Waimea) I'll be packing a beautiful salad with lemons for my dressing (that way I don't have to drag along a container of dressing! I'm always concerned it might leak!)

Sooo... everyone have a RAWmacious day.... :D
((BIG HUGS EVERYONE!!)... goodluck paperoceans! ;)

[tloftus]

Beautiful day at the farmer's market with my buddy. Got lots of gorgeous veggies and herbs. My friend got a brownie that smelled like heaven, and the craving kicked in big time. Kept my focus on the beautiful radishes in my hand, and popped a fudge ball when I got back to the car. Craving squelched! Yes!

Day 5 and I am noticing my skin is soft and smooth like my 4 year old nephew's. I have lost 9 pounds and am no longer needing my allergy meds, despite the crazy amount of pollen in the air. Yay! Thanks Alissa!:)

[tloftus]

I am preparing myself for a family BBQ tomorrow. It's a birthday for my brother, his two kids, and myself. I'm sure my mom's gonna try hard to get me to eat my own bithday cake, but I am going to hang tough. After all, I am just as stubborn as my mother, and with this new found energy from eating raw, I'm going to win the food temptation, family pressure - battle!:D

[rawmoose]

Today has been rough for me, compared to other days at least. I am trying to kick what I think is a candida overgrowth by avoiding fats. I've been trying all week, but only yesterday and today have I managed to go all day with no nuts, avocado or EVOO. Yesterday was fairly easy, but today, not so much. I've been ravenous all day. I no sooner finish eating than I'm feeling starving again. It's just like it was when I was eating SAD! It's either the wee yeasties perishing or my body screaming for fats. Or both. I'm sticking with it though, I can tell it's making a difference. I just pray it won't take too many more days of this.

I've been super spacey today, can't focus on much and feel like I'm looking through water. Cravings for cooked food like mad. Was so hard to resist eating the food I cooked the family, but I did it. I felt much better after eating my dinner, that really hit the spot. I'm hungry again already though, so I'm sure I'll be eating something else.. maybe a blueberry-banana slushy.

So, today I ate

B: half a grapefruit and a pile of pineapple (SUCH a good pineapple too!)
S: orange, dried fruit
L: most of a green smoothie with spinach, kale, banana, pineapple, blueberries
S: rest of green smoothie, bowl of spinach and broccoli sprouts with ACV and a little salt, a few cherries
D: salsa made with tomato, cucumber, onion, garlic, red pepper and corn and some dried cilantro. SO YUMMY, even if all I did was eat it with a spoon!

[Rawdina007]

Had a bad night last night. Went out with friends and while I was conscious I was fine, as the night went on I dipped my hand into the basket of (SAD Fried artery clogging Starch) and was eating quite a few before I realized what I had done. So anyway, lesson learned, because I was starting to become relaxed. Oh and my healing crisis abruptly ended of course so I'm sure I have to redetox or something.
Anyway, I'm vigilant again. Next time I'll have some snacks in my purse.

Today:
Sun Herbal Tea
Almonds, Cashews, Raisins

Grapefruit-Lemon-Cranberry-Orange Juiced w touch of Agave

Green Smoothie - Collards, Apple, juiced apples, juiced grapefruit, nutmeg

Not sure what dinner will be, not too hungry

[Shels]

Hey everyone!

Welcome in, firefly. This board is so encouraging. :D

Tloftus, awesome job resisting. Chocolate still gets me sometimes. I'm sure the barbecue will be a piece of cake for you. Or..well, not. :p I don't know about yours, but my mom takes things like that personally sometimes, you might consider finding her a simple raw cake recipe and requesting that she sub it in?

GS's are taking a bit of a toll on my wallet, so I'm trying to cut down on them.

B ~ peach and grapes
S ~ dates
L ~ spinach w/ sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts

For dinner I'm thinking of scooping some guacamole onto cucumber and red pepper slices, but as it is it's so suffocatingly hot (104) I don't even want to eat.
Waterwaterwaterwater.

[ms_ray]

Today I was feeling more hungry than usual. I am not suprised since I hadn't consumed too much the day before.

B- Avocado, onion and tomato chunks with lemon juice and evoo
S- Banana
L- Marinated mushrooms with a herb mix of greens
S- Banana dipped in a tahinin and honey mix
D- marinated Mushrooms
S- One peach dipped in tahini and honey mix

I combined sweet corn, avocado, tomato and evoo; blended to make a sort of bisque. I added cayenne pepper and black pepper and evoo. I have to tell you the bisque is so good! I can't believe how sweet the corn is. That will be my lunch and probably dinner for tomorrow. Mmmm so good!

[appifanie]

More kale chips, a smoothie (hemp, raspberries, peach, bananas), some not to be mentioned stuff (but mostly not), salad.

I ate most of a huge head of kale in kale chips today :D


Just got back from shopping and trying to cool down...it's 92 here and very humid.....summer in fla is NOT my favorite. There were no young coconuts to be had...the produce guy said because of the political issues in Thailand right now they were not exporting any. Was so looking forward to some. I did buy beautiful collard leaves, kale, parsley & cilantro and gorgeous organic strawberries, honey mangoes & blueberries...also spinach and carrots.....yup.cooling off and then off to the kitchen to make some "stuff"!
Hope everyone is well and happy today~

btw....am down 7 lbs since I started...lots of water I'm sure but feels great.

93 and humid here as well so I am feeling your pain - I am a New Englander and southern summers don't do it for me at all.

[Basenjimamma]

Hello happy saturday crew..sounds like we are trucking along..some uphill others downhill...keep your eyes on the road and we can get there...cheezy I know, but motivation is good, right?

B-almost a whole cantelope and a banana
S-lärabar, I have not had one of those since I went raw, silly right..I used to love them before I started raw..111 days ago...
L-banana, apple and left over kale/cabbage salad
S-mango
D-Green salad with hemp dressing, some cherries
dessert-2 bananas, handful of almonds and a bite or three of watermelon...

[tloftus]

I have an overgrowth of yeast, which I thought was the same as candida. Maybe not. I have been trying not to overdo the sweet fruits because the sugars breed yeast. Just wondering if maybe I'm not doing this right. Would love any info you've got.
I had a bit of a rough day too today. Lots of cravings, but sticking with it because the benefits have already been amazing!

[donnyandcathy]

Still feeling really bad, and weak. I know I need to get more calories in, and I think since I took all the fats out this week, my body is really not taking it well.

I was gone all day today, and had fruit till tonight.
I had cut up some squash, zucchini, eggplant, and red bell pepper, stuck it in my dehydrator this morning so it would be ready tonight for supper.
But, we didn't get home till 8pm and I was STARVING, starving to the point of feeling really, weak, and mean!
So we got home and I rushed to the dehydrator to eat my supper, but they had shrunk so much, that it was hardly a small bowl full :( It didn't fill me up at all, but I couldn't have anything else, because I didn't have anything to fix a salad, and I am trying really hard to make sure I use the correct food combining. I did end up grabbing 3 small Bubbies pickles.
I was going to eat some soaked almonds, but I knew if I even had a few, I would end up binging on them, and not be able to stop. Plus it would be adding fat back in. I don't think there is anything wrong with fat, and I know our bodies need it, but I'm trying to come off of it for a week or so to help with my digestion.
What could I have done or eaten that would have helped me stay on track?
I didn't eat after the veggies, I'll just wait till the morning, but I really need to make sure I get more calories in tomorrow. My calories today was
only 611 and only 3 grams of fat. In fact my calories every day this week have been under 1000, except 1.
I guess that is what's making me feel so weak and bad.

2 Mangos

Fruit salad with Strawberries, 1 Apricot, 2 peaches,

Chopped up veggies put in the dehydrator (zucchini, squash, eggplant, and red bell pepper)

Night,
Cathy

[Shels]

Yay everyone! Doing well so far. :D Lovely.

After drinking glass upon glass of water (I spent most of my time refilling my cup or emptying myself :o ), my appetite returned. :D I had another little spinach salad with fresh red bell pepper and sun-dried tomato.
Now a bit of almond butter w/ cacao. =]

Cathy, first off, fabulous job resisting the almonds. My hat's off to you - I've been trying unsuccessfully to go a week without fats as well. I can tell my body needs a break from them, but so far I've only reduced my daily intake.
In order to stay on track (and feel great) try and get in some greens early in the day, for breakfast if you can. Also, why dehydrate your veggies? You'll be better nourished (and filled up) if you eat them fresh.

[rawmoose]

I have an overgrowth of yeast, which I thought was the same as candida. Maybe not. I have been trying not to overdo the sweet fruits because the sugars breed yeast. Just wondering if maybe I'm not doing this right. Would love any info you've got.
I had a bit of a rough day too today. Lots of cravings, but sticking with it because the benefits have already been amazing!

There are a number of threads on this site that deal with candida/yeast issues. When I was searching, what I found was that eliminating fats as much as possible for a time can help bring balance back, due to how fat is involved in the process of removing sugar from the blood--or rather, how it impedes the removal.

[donnyandcathy]

Thanks Shels, I will get more greens in tomorrow, I will make sure to make a big green smoothie. I know the greens will help me to feel better.
The only thing I don't like about the green smoothie is that it makes me bloat so bad, even when I combine the right fruits. But, I LOVE the taste!!!
The reason I dehydrated the veggies is because I thought they would taste a little better than cold/raw. I don't really like hard sqaush, and I'm not sure how eggplant would taste. But, I will try to eat the veggies raw and not dehydrate them as much.
Thanks again!! :)

[Shels]

No problem sunshine. :)

Ugh, I see what you mean about the eggplant!
Also, I don't know why green smoothies would make you bloated, esp. if you're carefully combining, but parsley is great to counteract that (plus super good for you). ;)

[Gossy]

Hiya gang -

Had a rather depressing day. Wasn't able to sleep much last night, and so I over slept and missed my spin class. I did get up and manage to go to an outdoor festival thing with family, and avoided temptation rather well by bringing my own foods. There were a lot of tantalizing smells, and things I would have eaten in previous years, but I didn't.

Except after a few hours of dealing with almost constant food bombardment I kind of had a breakdown. I said I was exhausted (which was true) and overly hot and went home, and had a total crying fit. About food, about feeling restricted, about feeling like poo lately, about everything else in my life I'm frustrated and upset about, on and on. And I'm still feeling totally low and depressed and exhausted, and I cannot believe how late in the day it is, and how I only have one more day to relax, and then I have to go back to the job I hate so much. This job has been stressing me out and making me miserable for over a year. And I feel so stuck at it.

And I'm feeling like trying this raw thing was a mistake. That now, on top of everything else, I'm not even getting enough calories each day. And it's so hard to plan and be constantly cooking (unlike before with cooked foods where I could just throw a microwave meal in a bag and be set for lunch or whatever - no planning or cooking required!) and I feel like I'm letting foods go to waste, because I buy things I don't eat, or don't eat fast enough, and that's money down the drain, etc, etc.

I know deep down all this is change. It's baggage and addictive thinking and deep down I know I'm doing the right thing. Just like an elimination diet to figure out what you might be allergic to. I'm removing things from my body that are no good for me. But that doesn't mean it'll always be easy. And I know part of this is my own laziness. I should make a meal plan. I should schedule in time to cook. But not having a variety of recipes I know I like that are fast, easy, and storable, makes it hard. On top of which, I'm doing all of this, and not physically feeling any better. So now it makes it even more difficult to my logical brain to give myself a reason to keep doing it. The only thing I'm clinging to right now is the thought that it may get better soon, and that if I did eat a crappy cooked meal, I'd likely feel like hell and it wouldn't taste that great anyway.

But it's hard.

And now I feel insomnia coming on, which just makes it that much harder.

Hope everyone had a better day 5 than me!

[paperoceans]

Today was a bad day for me. I've relapse :( My family was having a party/BBQ for my mother and my stepfather and I had pancakes in the morning. I convinced myself that the only cooked thing that I was going to have was pancakes, but then I talked myself into having two hot dogs and two pieces of cake. I don't know what happened, but I guess that it's good to get it out of my system before I lose even more control. I wish that I can restart my 30 days, but I'm just gonna have to live with it for now. Tomorrow, I will be sure to only eat raw for the whole day. Sigh, I'm really disappointed in myself and I feel like crap. I was doing so well too :/

[Coriander74]

Crazy busy day... I just got home.

B: banana
L: lots of strawberries
D: enormous salad with tomato, cucumber and broccoli
S: apple

I really found that I missed my green smoothie today, and the burst of energy I get from it. I was headed out on the road and didn't want the smoothie to kick in during an inopportune time. LOL

See you all tomorrow! Keep rawking it!

[GlimR]

Gossy~
I'm sorry you had such a rough day. All I can think of to tell you is that change is hard...and the angst you feel is growing pains. There is a book I love called Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnacht. She calls that angst divine discontent...the feelings you have before and during major changes..an impetuous for change. I swear so much of this kind of life changing ability is mind set. One of the things I do...say for example when my daughter makes a sad food I loved and the smell is overwhelming I just breath deep and tell myself wow, what a great smell and really enjoy it......it's ok to enjoy it but not to eat it because chances are it will make me sick and I don't want to keep doing the two steps forward three steps back dance for the rest of my life.
Breath deep and let yourself relax...wishing you all you need toward your own happiness~

[GlimR]

paperoceans~
You don't need a do-over--you just need to dust off a bit and keep going in the direction you chose. It's all part of the learning process. Just think about it a little, impress on yourself why you made that choice and how it made you feel, and what you can do next time to take the kind of care of yourself you really want to and go from there. Beating yourself up only makes it harder. What would you tell your best friend if she had that kind of day?? Should you be any less kind to yourself? I don't think so. *hug*

[Gossy]

GlimR - Thank you for the supportive and inspiring reply. Truly, it helps me bunches. I *suck* at dealing with change. Even self-decided good for me change! If nothing else I have committed to sticking to this for a full 30 days and seeing what happens. I've been miserable and sick for much longer than 30 days, so, what's 30 more (assuming being raw makes me feel sick and miserable the entire 30 - which, hopefully, it will not! :) )?

*hugs!*

[revdrcyn]

Bananas x 7
Mango
Cherries
Berries
Flax Crackers
Green Salad
Green Papaya Salad
Cucumbers
Mango Cobbler

[tloftus]

I stayed raw today, despite a large birthday party for 5 geminis in my family - including myself. I brought a cooler full of raw foods: pineapple, coconut meat, radishes, watermelon, mixed greens salad, and fudge balls. Everyone wanted to try my raw yummies, and didn't make me feel like a weirdo. Yay!

[paperoceans]

paperoceans~
You don't need a do-over--you just need to dust off a bit and keep going in the direction you chose. It's all part of the learning process. Just think about it a little, impress on yourself why you made that choice and how it made you feel, and what you can do next time to take the kind of care of yourself you really want to and go from there. Beating yourself up only makes it harder. What would you tell your best friend if she had that kind of day?? Should you be any less kind to yourself? I don't think so. *hug*

Thanks, you're right. I know that if it was my friend, I would tell her that it isb't a big deal. It's just one day... Tomorrow just do better.