Craving heavy starchy food!

[Yon Little Pig]

I am only 1/2 raw but want to increase my raw foods intake. I am middle-aged.

Does anyone here know what might be the cause of wanting rice, etc? I have been eating lots of starch (along with adequate protein) most of my life but after doing some reading it's hard not to conclude that my not feeling right is related to too much heavy carbos. I have respect for the teachings of Norman Walker and would like to be able to take more of his dietary advice.

[walnutty]

It's hard to mix the two worlds as you will continue to crave the cooked foods if you are eating them. The cravings do subside when you are eating all raw and living foods! Best of luck to you on your raw journey!

[michigan roman]

19th year vegan whom til raw 7 years ago ate huge amounts of brownrice-boiled potatoes every day

i still cheat here and there on boiled potatoes

but as i keep working at fasting and shrinking stomach my cheats on cooked taste worse and worse

i can tell now after fasting a few days at minimum per week , check monday fasting club thread , that when i eat
cooked it makes my gut feel loaded down like cement . and ive less energy with bloated gut feeling . after
getting into fasting you feel the empty un nutricious junk in gut that just sits there providing no clean fuel
for cells to burn such as say a salad or raw fruit does and you learn to dislike cooked

and you learn after getting in this mode of high raw / habitual fasting that raw plants burn up in gut like dry oak
logs in a roaring fire becoming energy and leaving no waste / fat sitting behind , and that you can truely totally
healthfully exist without all the cooked junk youve been addicted to . and eventually very surprised to find
your way more energized / way less sick days

bottom line for me has been habitual short term fasting has been a HUGE key

and to this end im a proponant of using rich juices like tomato or orange juice on fasts ,
along with when feeling weak making nut or seed milks in blender . as most important
factor is keeping g.i. tract empty of solids

[Raw Angel Mom]

Does anyone here know what might be the cause of wanting rice, etc?

Well there are two possibilities that i know but most likely a combination of the two.

Food addiction and parasite.

There are micro organism that thrives with stagnant lymph. Starches, clog your system and a few of them, such digestive and lymphatic.

Alissa highly recommend to take the plunge and to do a minimum of 30 days 100% raw food. This will reset your craving. It is like someone who is addicted to alcohol and once in a while, he/she will still have a little bit of alcohol. It just doesn't make sense because we all know that this person needs to stay away from that substance.

Cook food is very addictive and especially starches. a great variety of cook food even vegetables convert to starches. Our body is truly design to eat raw food if our goal is to rejuvenate and to thrive.

You will need to write down, why you want to do raw food and make a decision from there.

All the best!

[Yon Little Pig]

Many thanks to all 3 of you for your insight and good wishes, Walnutty, MR & R.A.M. It is much appreciated and I have to carefully consider all the advice.

I would not be surprised if I had "stagnant lymph" from too much starch. Also, a few years ago, I did a few liver flushes and discharged tons of the little red "tubes" which I am told are the outside skin of the liver fluke. These remains are red because the flukes have been living in the liver, which is always loaded with blood. (The main body of the fluke is broken apart during its trip thru the intestines.) What a lovely topic! :drool:

I am excited about doing 100% for 30 days but don't particularly care for the emphasis on fruit that I see so much of. Can anyone here show me where to look on this site for a low-fruit version of total raw food regimen? I thank you.

[Traceyraw]

Fruit is wonderful. If you eat fruit early in the day you won't get so many cravings.

[Yon Little Pig]

I know. I've experienced that. Guess I keep hearing about how BAD fruit is for us in anything more than small amounts. (If at all!) Dr. Mercola goes on at length about fructose, etc., so am divided on this now, not sure what to think. I don't have strong cravings for fruit at all, except for 1 or 2 small servings per day, esp. for first meal. I do recall reading Alissa say that we shouldn't force things on ourselves, though I do understand that you are not doing that.

Do you have any further thoughts on any of this? Thanks.

[MysticTree]

Fruit is wonderful stuff and life even if shorter due to eating lots of fruit is a richer life for it. I don't think fruit is bad for though.

[Living Food]

You can eat sprouted legumes, grains, and pseudograins as your main carbohydrate sources and only eat as much fruit as you feel comfortable with.

[Yon Little Pig]

You can eat sprouted legumes, grains, and pseudograins as your main carbohydrate sources and only eat as much fruit as you feel comfortable with.

I can't imagine eating raw grain. I do like Manna bread, which is cooked at low temperature, but not low enough to be called a raw food. It is highly satisfying when I don't eat any of the standard, heavy cooked starches that I've gotten so accustomed to. Pseudograins? Do you mean amaranth and quinoa and that type of thing? I've heard that they are sproutable but the quinoa is apparently horribly bitter when raw.

[michigan roman]

i always wonder what happens if you soak wheat seed in tomato juice for 48 hours

obviously it becomes chewy soft , but does the tomato and whatwever else added to soak water like garlic etc tastes go into the wheat /

also thinking apple juice with cinnamon soak , and others

[Raw Angel Mom]

Look into juicing, doing sprout and nice recipes from Alissa. You don't need to do fruits if you don't care for them. If you do like the taste of them, then i also recommend that you go for them. Semi-acid fruits, will unclog you and get our lymph moving.

100% raw food is already a great plan no matter what you do. It is a very important first step.

All the best to you

[SunshineMN]

Raw grains aren't that bad. I love raw oat groats soaked in water with raisins then blended all together in the morning. Sometimes we use maple syrup with it, sometimes a sliced banana or a few more raisins. I also really like sprouted rye.

MR I like your ideas. I never thought about using apple juice and cinnamon with it. I bet oats and wheat would be good that way. I'm going to try it. Thanks! :)

[Yon Little Pig]

Thanks for your recipe for soaked oat groats. I would never have thought of that.

Thanks, Chantal, for your good advice. I intend to take a crack at it. Mainly, to stick with it I will need lots of quite simple recipes, nothing requiring a dehydrator or fake crackers & breads, etc. Not that I am criticizing people who prepare and eat these things at all. I'm just not into anything that complicated, though if you put it under my nose I'd sure eat it. :eat

[LexieW]

You don't have to eat tons of fruit - as with everything else, there are many schools of thought. The key is just to start. You will quickly discover what your body wants.

For instance - in my sad days, I was a HUGE starch-lover. Lots of pasta was my standard, easy dinner. And then lots of chocolate every day.

When I went raw, I was afraid I'd be eating tons of fruit to satisfy the sugar cravings. Turns out, I don't crave sugar all that much - I like to have a balance of fruits and greens (I include things like cucumber, snap peas, bell peppers, etc. in the "greens" category), followed by some fats to help up my calorie count.

Do what feels right to you, don't worry so much about this ideology or that ideology. Your body is yours and it's unique - you need to listen to it and do what it says.

[ReneeH]

Make Alissa's Chili... Trust me!

[Yon Little Pig]

Make Alissa's Chili... Trust me!

1. Is this recipe to be found in a book?

2. Is a dehydrator required? Silly question, maybe, but I know that a lot of raw recipes need such a device and I don't have one.

Thank you, Renee.

[ReneeH]

It's in Alissa Cohen's Book, Living On Live Food, page 400. That recipe is by far one of the BEST recipes in the whole book!!! I'd but it just to make that...honestly! No dehydrator needed for the Chili! It uses Sprouted Barley and it's absolutely FABULOUS!!!!!

[Living Food]

Pseudograins? Do you mean amaranth and quinoa and that type of thing?

Yup.


I've heard that they are sproutable but the quinoa is apparently horribly bitter when raw.

Maybe it is if it's not sprouted, but sprouted quinoa really doesn't have much flavor...I just notice the crunch and water content. It's not bad. They're also very nutritious, so you might want to at least try it and see what you think.

[Yon Little Pig]

Thanks to both of you for your info. Where do we get that book with the chili recipe? Sounds like a helluva book if it has 400 pages' worth of recipes.

[ReneeH]

Heres the link:

http://www.alissacohen.com/shop/Books/

You'll be SO happy you bought this book!!!!! Out of all the books I have, these two are my favorite!!! :dance:

[Yon Little Pig]

Thanx, Renee.