Food to fill you up/Comfort food?

[PansyLo]

I'm meeting my first early hurdle at day 6 of converting my diet.

I'm craving something comforting and filling like bread/pasta/rice/potato. I'm not even hungry and I still find myself craving this sort of food.

Is it just because it's so early for me and my body is still mildly addicted to these sort of foods? If I just persevere will I stop craving them? Or is this something that I'm going to continually crave.

What raw alternatives are there for this sort of craving?

I'm probably not drinking enough water, my main goal right now is to drink more. Is that part of the problem?

[michigan roman]

itll take a long time to adjust , i starved for those heavy foods for years . i dreamt about them constantly . but one thing i wish i would have done differently is buy a dehydrator in order to make dehydrated breads / crackers . also bananas and avacados in diet however can get helps . and vegi rich salads with things like chopped walnut - sesame seed - avacado - broccoli =- mushroom help . plus almond mylk with banana smoothies . and homemade trail mix aten with fruit

[Traceyraw]

Try some dates or bananas. Bananas contain tryptopan which is the precurser to seratonin. It should help with your cravings. You can eat more don't be skimpy on the food.

[PansyLo]

I can't afford a dehydrator. I could do with buying so much equipment and I don't know what should be my first priority. I don't even have a proper blender. I have a cheap smoothy maker that has a tendency to not even cope with smoothies.

I'm doing my food shopping tomorrow though so I'll keep all that in mind and buy some nuts/avocado/mushrooms this week.

Some flat mushrooms stuffed with guacamole and chopped nuts or something sounds appetising right now.

[Traceyraw]

Keep it simple. I spend a few hours on the weekend chopping carrots, celery, peppers, etc. so they are always available. Since I increased my fruit intake I no longer get those cravings. I always have dates on hand for I do crave starch or sugar. When I first started I used to dehydrate and make gourmet meals. My body no longer wants them just fresh fruits and veggies.

[PansyLo]

I do feel a little better after snacking on some frozen banana.

I've never really tried dates they just never appealed to me I've had them in salads etc before but never bought them. They seem to be a raw essential for cravings... so I'll put them on my shopping list.

I think another thing may be that I'm not a huge fan of fruit. While not disliking any particularly I find it difficult to eat very much of. I don't mind a little added to salad but I wouldn't really eat it by itself.

I do love smoothies but I need some practice making them still as the majority I make turn out seedy, warm and disgusting.

I assume that store bought fruit juice and smoothies are no good even if they are 100% fruit and not from concentrate on account of being pasteurised?

I just looked it up on google. Pasteurisation requites 63º C where as the temperature limit on raw food is 48º C.
Does it really make a huge difference if it's warmed just that little bit more for a few seconds?

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

I'm meeting my first early hurdle at day 6 of converting my diet.

I'm craving something comforting and filling like bread/pasta/rice/potato. I'm not even hungry and I still find myself craving this sort of food.

Is it just because it's so early for me and my body is still mildly addicted to these sort of foods? If I just persevere will I stop craving them? Or is this something that I'm going to continually crave.

What raw alternatives are there for this sort of craving?

I'm probably not drinking enough water, my main goal right now is to drink more. Is that part of the problem?

Maybe for yourself, buying a dehydrater is in order. Have sprouted breads made from 2 day old sprouted wheat and 2 - 3 day old sprouted chickpeas.

[Traceyraw]

Bought juices are pasturized which kill the enzymes. If you have a blender you can blend and strain to make juices.

Take frozen bananas put in food processor, a little vanilla, agave. Let it run. It turns into banana soft serve ice cream. It is so good.

Smoothies, Sometimes I use frozen berries. Make a simple smoothie with just banana and water.Put some ice to keep it cold. You will find your favorite soon. Mine is spinach and orange juice. I just peal the oranges and throw it in the blender.

[PansyLo]

Thanks! This is great, I have a much better idea of things to try this week and have added plenty to my shopping list. :D

Hopefully by this time next week I'll be doing even better... and probably be asking more questions :P

I did just try to buy Alissa's book as I have a little spare money this week but it wanted to charge me almost $50 to ship it to the UK. Nooo way. :(

[janice_dale]

The best way to overcome your cravings is to double your consumption of fruits like apple and banana. Sometimes we need to divert our attention to something in order for us to forget our cravings on a particular food that we like to eat most of the time.

[MysticTree]

Thanks! This is great, I have a much better idea of things to try this week and have added plenty to my shopping list. :D

Hopefully by this time next week I'll be doing even better... and probably be asking more questions :P

I did just try to buy Alissa's book as I have a little spare money this week but it wanted to charge me almost $50 to ship it to the UK. Nooo way. :(

I can't remember where I got my copy now but it was from a UK seller and they must have been a distributor I think because although the book was expensive, it wasn't as expensive as it would have been if I got it from the states. There is a copy on Amazon, used, £25.00 + P+P at the moment.

[qwerty988]

For comfort food cravings, I like guacamole too. I also really love buying mature coconuts and munching on the meat -- it's creamy and a bit sweet and fatty and really nice. One coconut lasts me several days.

More recently I've been getting into raw "cream" soups -- rich warm cream of mushroom, cream of tomato, corn chowder, butternut squash (I'm trying this one today!) Also savory green soups with creamy avocado -- YUM! These can be made in any blender and warmed up on the stove.

Frozen bananas are great, too. Have you tried them with cacao? Yum, chocolate shake!

When you can, look into buying a spiralizer. This little gadget will let you make zucchini spaghetti -- TRUST ME, it's worth whatever you pay! I paid about $30 for mine and use it all the time. It's invaluable for those pasta cravings, you can make alfredo or marinara sauce, etc. You can also buy a little julienne vegetable peeler for about half the price, which does roughly the same thing.

Anyhow, lots of wonderful suggestions already on this thread! Keep it up, you're doing great! :throwhearts:

[Raw Angel Mom]

Do you have a dehydrator, you can make a raw Essene bread, you can also order it on line (make sure you it is a raw ESSENE bread)

A quick recipe. Shred sweet potato. Add peas an corn if you have any, otherwise any soft vegetable such celery, sweet red pepper, cucumber or zucchini, green onion and any fresh herbs.

With a good blender, make a white nut sauce (ex: macadamia nut, a bit of tarragon, Himalayan salt, a little bit of sweetener of your choice, a little bit of ginger/garlic, juice of a lemon and water to blend). Blend until smooth.

Mix with your sweet potato salad, it is to live for and so so delicious. It will satisfy you.

You can look into a raw soup recipe, i find they are very satisfying.

I noticed that for me eating a sweet red pepper, it seems to kill starch cravings

[Raw Angel Mom]

I forgot to mention, try Alissa's potato recipe, you can substitute the jicama with cucumber. It is also so good.

[The Sproutarian (Mr Raw)]

I can't afford a dehydrator.

Sorry, l missed that first time around.

[PansyLo]

I've got plenty to start out with anyway. :)

I'm about to go shopping and have taken all the food suggestions into account.

I want to get through the 30day challenge before I start buying anything expensive just to know that it's worth it and that I'm going to be able to stick to this. Even after that's up it'll probably just be cheaper things that I'll be able to buy nothing that costs more that £60 as that's as much as I really have to spare.

In June I'll be moving out of my expensive flat and squatting at my mothers new house for the summer rent free! If my health is a bit better by then and I'm up to working full time or near full time then I'll have a lot more money to buy into dehydrators and fancy blenders.

And thanks MysticTree, I had a look on Amazon and bought it for £28 including postage which is pricy but I guess not all that bad. It sounds really useful.

[MysticTree]

And thanks MysticTree, I had a look on Amazon and bought it for £28 including postage which is pricy but I guess not all that bad. It sounds really useful.

It is an enormous book and whilst the wide margins and the sheer weight of it bug the hell out of me, I still recommend it!

[GeoffreyLevens]

Commercial Manna/Essene breads I have inquired about are not technically raw. But if you have a heater in or near floor level in your home you could make a very easy dehydrator out of scrap wood and some window screen material. Maybe put parchment paper under whatever food you are drying to keep it from contacting strange, industrial materials. Some sort of platform in a tunnel or chimney, depending upon the orientation/position of your heater. Hot air in a cooler room will form its own breeze as it seeks to equalize and you can set things up so it passes over and around your food. Takes a bit of DIY creativity but can be done. I have seen cardboard box with light bulb near bottom and some sort of rack suspended closer to top of box...

Something like this http://www.k-clements.fsnet.co.uk/dehydrator.html could be done with heavy cardboard box salvaged from some big shop...

[qwerty988]

A quick recipe. Shred sweet potato. Add peas an corn if you have any, otherwise any soft vegetable such celery, sweet red pepper, cucumber or zucchini, green onion and any fresh herbs.

With a good blender, make a white nut sauce (ex: macadamia nut, a bit of tarragon, Himalayan salt, a little bit of sweetener of your choice, a little bit of ginger/garlic, juice of a lemon and water to blend). Blend until smooth.

Mix with your sweet potato salad, it is to live for and so so delicious. It will satisfy you.


Raw Angel Mom, thank you SO MUCH for posting this recipe! I'm eating it now and it's sooooo delicious and satisfying -- I'll be making this as a regular staple from now on!

:heart