New Rawdie & no imagination in how to eat raw foods!

[TealClear]

Hi!

I've been googling forums to see which would be a good place for a new Raw Foodie to pop up on (namely me :)). This place seems to get a lot of traffic here, so I thought why not sign up.

I've tried a lot of different eating plans over the years since I was a teenager (vegetarian, vegan, rosedale diet, weight watchers, etc). I've gone down from 307 lbs to 157 lbs and back up to my current 310 lbs again.

I realize a lot of this was related to yo-yo dieting and/or peer/family pressure in losing weight.

Over the years, I always felt so frustrated, wishing I could quit food since I honestly felt like a drug addict (in relation to food, nothing else!) I don't smoke or drink or take illegal narcotics.

I first began to think about Raw Food when I saw Angela Stokes' story about losing weight on the Raw Food Diet on CNN.com but didn't actually start to seriously think about it until I began reading some literature on Raw Food.

(Before that, the only time I heard about the raw food movement was from that "$ex and the City" episode where Samantha takes everyone to the opening of a raw food restaurant.)

What made me sit up in my chair upon reading about the raw food lifestyle was the comments from many people who said once they stopped eating cooked foods, they began to feel like a normal person instead of someone hooked on cooked foods/fast foods/SAD diet.

I was also interested in the possibility of the human body actually healing itself by following this lifestyle for this time around, I really was not interested in losing weight per say from peer pressure, but I was feeling just crappy inside myself and thought maybe a raw food lifestyle would make me feel better inside, intestine and all.

Since I live in Portland, Oregon the idea of being a raw foodist is not as whacky if say I was visiting friends in the deep of Kentucky (they would think I was certifiable).

I checked out the DVD "Raw for Life" from my local library and got to see for the first time about the raw food lifestyle... that there is such a thing as raw food gourmet with a lot of possibilities and substitutes for usual American fare like burgers or pies or cookies or whatever.

I already found energy bars and chocolate snacks and cereals that are raw. I even found raw, unpasteurized cheeses (that according to Carol Alt who has written some books on raw food diet) to eat.

Last week Saturday I literally went cold-turkey in going 100% raw and had really bad headaches for the first day or two (as a result of quitting my wonderful cafe lattes from Starbucks in addition to cooked foods). I've also felt really nauseous at times throughout this past week, though I admit I haven't felt that way since Wednesday. The bathroom has also become my new BFF since I'm not used to going that frequently to the lavatory.

I'm waiting on some raw food "cookbooks" from the library, Ms. Alissa Cohen's book included. Until then, I'm just having salads and snacks and fruit/green leaf smoothies, etc.

I pretty much am a newbie to the raw food lifestyle and I'm not sure what is kosher to eat or not on this forum (no or yes on eating raw, unpasteurized cheese or seared fish or sashimi? Or is this forum totally raw food vegans?)

I do confess that before I started going raw food last week Saturday, I did like eating meat and sushi and fish, etc. I had some weird raw fish and steak cravings at one time or another this past week but I was pleased to also find myself salivating over making a snack of sliced tomato and cucumber with a little olive oil drizzled over it.

The only thing I can say that I can notice since starting this last weekend is that I noticed my back pain has now gone away and I get very little confusing food signals here (many times when eating cooked foods I would get confused if I was actually hungry or if I was just craving for some junk. That would be hard especially when I was dieting in the past.) I'm amazed that I'm not as frequently "hungry" as I thought I was before eating cooked foods.

I'm still trying to learn how to "eat" correctly as a raw foodist. While I do have a blender at my disposal and a fridge, I decided I wanted to hold off on buying a dehydrator or a food processor until I'm sure this is something that's doable long-term (plus dehydrators from what I've seen on the internet can also be a bit pricey too).

I hope this is a place where I can ask questions and learn more about managing a raw food lifestyle! (Any suggestions people may have for new raw food dishes are welcome!)

Thanks! :)

[sport]

Welcome. Have you tried green smoothies yet.

[TealClear]

I've been blending leafy greens with fruit for smoothies. I haven't made the leap yet to only leafy green smoothies, but any recipes are welcome! :)

[sport]

I do not think that anyone has made that leap.
We all add fruit to our smoothies.

[DawnD]

Welcome to RFT. You will find lots of support here. I would suggest fruit and greens for green smoothies. Victoria Boutenko (raw foodist and author of green smoothie books and lives in Oregon) has tried greens alone and invented many greens and fruits recipes as a result. I wish you the best on your journey.

[sport]

The main advice that we all will give you is to start out eating what you enjoy. Do not punish yourself with food that you do not enjoy.
As your system cleans up you will be drawn more to the better foods.
Also, eat enough. If you undereat you will fail as your self resolve will crumble and you will give in to temptation.
Always be prepared. Have things that you enjoy in the house. If you leave the house take something with you in case you are caught out. I take either 3 or 4 bananas or a lara bar. Always have a fast and easy snack available to you when you get in to the house to avoid being tempted.
Pies are handy, You can get 3 or 4 meals out of a good pie. If you blend bananas and blueberries in the blender and pour it on a pie it will set like a regular pie. You can make a base with dried fruit such as dates or apricots and either some seeds or nuts. You can pile some fruit in such as raspberries or kiwi and then pour the banana blueberry mix on top.

[modernmonkey]

Hello and welcome.

I too have embarked on a raw food diet due to years of 'failed diets' and an addictive nature to foods. It seemed I would always find a way, on every diet, to start cheating. It would involve eating something that was allowed in moderation (be it bread, bananas, chocolate or whatever) which I would eventually start eating in replacement of the good healthy food on the diet. I could stick to the Weight Watchers Points System but my daily diet could end up being 3 chocolate bars. Eventually my cravings and hunger would become so powerful I would cave and just eat anything and everything.

I am nearly into my 4th week at 100% raw and nothing in 13 years has had such amazing results with my cravings and my relationship to food. When you realise that 90% of the supermarket is an unnecessary temptation and the remaining 10% you can eat as much of as you want to eradicate those temptations; food, eating and life become a joy again.

My advice to you is to keep it simple at the start. Don't empty the health food stores, spend your whole paycheck and attempt mock pizzas etc... Stick to fruit and veg and healthy fats and allow yourself time to undo everything you thought you knew about food. This way you won't be following a 'new regime' that can easily be abandoned at the first sign of stress which will result in another failed diet. Instead you will be unravelling habits you never questioned before and setting yourself up for a long term life style change. I believe all diets fail because they make you hungry. This doesn't.

I wish you luck.

[Aleesha Sattva]

I've been blending leafy greens with fruit for smoothies. I haven't made the leap yet to only leafy green smoothies, but any recipes are welcome! :)

you'd need to get a book by ann wigmore. she was big into greens only smoothies. not tasty but effective.

*gags a little*

[blizzardfrisbee]

I have been raw since August. It has been a journey. I am finding that my body only wants the food that is better for me. If I ate the cooked food, my body says ugh! I think that is funny.
I've just gotten into the green smoothies--I have greens and fruit in mine.
I use Alissa's books for recipes but have found that I might make one recipe a week and the rest of the time just eat simple.
I love the simple and how my taste buds and body love the raw.
I had arthrtis in my knees and that is all gone now. I have energy --so much energy.

This is a fantastic forum--your questions will be answered and much support will be given-- it has for me!!

[changeisgood]

Iwanted to also say hello and welcome. You'll love it here and you will love how you feel on raw food. Keep it simple. Just get the basics and clear out the cupboards of anything that cnbe a trigger.It's so much easier. And there are plenty of salads to make. I made a cauliflower salad tonight (chopped it very tiny) with tom, cuke, orange pepper all chopped timy, and then addded lemon, oil, apple cidar vinegar, that even my non-raw husband liked and he hates cauliflower.

I have signs up around my home to remind me to exercise. Signs reminding you of the great results you receive from eating this way and with a lline down the middle of the page, on the other side how awful eating cooked, junk, and anything else other then raw, makes you feel.
Chart your weight on the wall next to your scale with the once weekly date next to it so you can see for yourself your progress.

Have some type of raw bar with you at all times in case you get stuck somewhere. I was glad I had a Lara bar to ease my hunger so I didn't reach for the wrong thing.

And have fun. There are many sites on the web to keep you busy and in recipes for months! years! Enjoy yourself. We're all in this together!
Hope you stay with us.

[spicyfull]

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW...........Welcome to MY World.