The crunch factor?!?

[bananaberrie]

I have been on a very high 85-95% raw diet for 6 months now. Woohoo for me!! :woohoo: But the one thing that always seems to tempt me and hang me up is the crunchy things. I just really miss the crunch factor of some things like, crackers and chips. I talked to a friend who use to eat all raw ans she said she was the same way when she ate raw. The funny think is neither of us were really big on crackers or chips before going raw.

So my question is, does anyone know of something that can help with the need to crunch something thin and crispy, and no carrots don't cut it :)

Thanks

[Revvell]

There are a LOT of cracker recipes around; plus, Alissa's got a recipe for corn chips in her first book. What I do? Get the heart of Romaine lettuce. Very crunchy and sweet.

[Steven]

When I first attempted going raw over a year ago, I failed due to intense cravings for stuff with a crunch like corn chips, crackers, etc. The main reason was because I was not eating enough and my body was craving carbs in the one source it knew- grains. Do you track your daily food intake in a program like cronometer, nutridiary, fitday, etc? If not Id reccomend doing that for a couple days to see if youre eating enough calories and carbs for your height and bodyweight. Try eating more sweet dense fruits like bananas, dates, mangos, and see if that helps.

[adobegirl]

Here is a link to a website for the Krazy Kracker lady. Her videos and procedure makes me want to make a bunch of them. But my blender is not high tech enough to get smooth enough to make them like hers. :/ One day though. :)

http://www.absolutelyabebaskrazykrackers.com/

[bananaberrie]

When I first attempted going raw over a year ago, I failed due to intense cravings for stuff with a crunch like corn chips, crackers, etc. The main reason was because I was not eating enough and my body was craving carbs in the one source it knew- grains. Do you track your daily food intake in a program like cronometer, nutridiary, fitday, etc? If not Id reccomend doing that for a couple days to see if youre eating enough calories and carbs for your height and bodyweight. Try eating more sweet dense fruits like bananas, dates, mangos, and see if that helps.

Very interesting. I hadn't even thought of that. I "feel" like I eat plenty. I am not a big person but eat what feels like all day long :) I usually eat 5 times a day. I have never put my food intake into a cronometer before, but I would be interested to see how it measures up. Once I put my food into sparkpeople, but got totally freaked out by the HUGE amount of calories I ate so I figured it might be best if I don't know. I'm happier and enjoy my food more that way. But I will look into the cronometer.

Thanks

[bananaberrie]

Here is a link to a website for the Krazy Kracker lady. Her videos and procedure makes me want to make a bunch of them. But my blender is not high tech enough to get smooth enough to make them like hers. :/ One day though. :)

http://www.absolutelyabebaskrazykrackers.com/

Wow! Thanks. IT looks like I should be able to find something that will satisfy the crunch craving.

Have you tried any of her recipes? If so, is there one that you really like that has a good crunch and not chew?

[Dimond]

I've always craved savory more than sweet. My way of getting those types of snacks was to buy pre-made ones. There's plenty of raw companies that make delicious chips, crackers, breads, etc. Eventually though I found that other savory foods were better such as raw tacos, pate on tomatoes or cucumber, salads, etc.

[RighteousYogini]

When I first attempted going raw over a year ago, I failed due to intense cravings for stuff with a crunch like corn chips, crackers, etc. The main reason was because I was not eating enough and my body was craving carbs in the one source it knew- grains. Do you track your daily food intake in a program like cronometer, nutridiary, fitday, etc? If not Id reccomend doing that for a couple days to see if youre eating enough calories and carbs for your height and bodyweight. Try eating more sweet dense fruits like bananas, dates, mangos, and see if that helps.

Hey Steven

you seem so knowledgeable..... I think this is serioulsy part of my raw problem... why I keep "failing" because it seems crazy to me to eat like 10 bananas............ but I forget how many calories are in the junk I used to eat!! I came home tonight and totally binged on junk, I was so starving and couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat.........

[Steven]

Very interesting. I hadn't even thought of that. I "feel" like I eat plenty. I am not a big person but eat what feels like all day long :) I usually eat 5 times a day. I have never put my food intake into a cronometer before, but I would be interested to see how it measures up. Once I put my food into sparkpeople, but got totally freaked out by the HUGE amount of calories I ate so I figured it might be best if I don't know. I'm happier and enjoy my food more that way. But I will look into the cronometer.

Thanks

Hey Steven

you seem so knowledgeable..... I think this is serioulsy part of my raw problem... why I keep "failing" because it seems crazy to me to eat like 10 bananas............ but I forget how many calories are in the junk I used to eat!! I came home tonight and totally binged on junk, I was so starving and couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat.........

Im gonna reply to both of you in one thing so I dont end up repeating stuff. :)

Being male and a teenager, I need at least 3,000-3,500 calories a day to maintain my current weight. When I was even just high raw while still including bits of cooked food I would eat this many calories easily, so it only makes sense to find a way to eat a lot while fully raw. The problem with raw foods is that there are less calories per bite than cooked foods, so you have to eat more than what is "normal". When the majority of people fail on raw they go off and binge on stuff like pasta, rice, cake, bread, pizza, etc. Why? Because their body needs carbs to run on and it will find a way of getting them in one way or another! After a 10 bananas meal I feel full and satisfied, and dont feel tempted in the least for any cooked foods that may have seemed drool worthy before. A lot of people can not just go out and eat 10 bananas though because their stomachs are not stretched out to their normal capacity, so the way around that is to eat as much sweet fruit as you care for then take a few more bites and after a while your stomach stretches to fit the volume of food needed. Smoothies are another solution, blend 10 bananas up or a pound of dates with a bit of water and just start sipping these till its gone. Something about blending up the fruit makes it easier and quicker to get the calories in.

[Bamagirl]

Dehydrated bananas usually satisfy my need for the crunchies!

[MyRedPanda]

I second the need for tracking macros - just for a week or two - to make sure you are eating enough. As far as just craving crunch, celery does it for me. Kale chips are great too though, and you can make those in your dehydrator.

[CaraS]

How about Kale chips for a crunch factor? When I get the urge for snacky foods, its definitely one of my go-to foods. I make them myself whenever kale is abundant but when its not I sometimes rely on packaged. Lydia's makes the most AMAZING kale chips I've ever had in a package.

[adobegirl]

Wow! Thanks. IT looks like I should be able to find something that will satisfy the crunch craving.

Have you tried any of her recipes? If so, is there one that you really like that has a good crunch and not chew?

I haven't tried hers yet, but I love anything with cayenne and garlic in it. I think the key to her chips is the smoothness of the batter and the thinness of the chip. Mine aren't as thin because I don't have a great blender, but they still taste good. Usually I just take pulp from juicing and add spices, or I soak flax seed and process them up with some veggies or sometimes just garlic. I just think if they were thinner, they would have the crunch like in her videos. :)