raw in the winter...

[myluckystarz]

I dont know if this is a question of macrobiotics or not, but I live in cold Pennslyvania and I'm wondering what those of you who also live in cold reigons do about keeping a warm internal temp during the winter months while raw? Can nuts alone keep you balanced. I'm not finding this to be true for me, and they tend to make me feel constipated. Any suggestions? :confused:

[glad_2beme]

maybe you can warm up your foods in the dehydrator for just a bit

[Rawkinlocs]

These threads may help!

http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350

http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=402

http://rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126

[Curtis]

Hmm I haven't really had a problem or thought much about this. I live in Kansas and it is getting really cold but I still enjoy a frozen smoothie for breakfast. After I exercise and then take a shower I am ready to go! I think layering clothes helps to.

[Melissa]

I'm also in PA, luckystarz, so I'm feelin' the chill too. I find that using onion and garlic in recipes creates some inner warmth...Also a dash of tabasco green label (mild) helps a lot if you like a little kick. Tabasco is not technically a raw product but is one of my teeny-tiny cheats (a little maple syrup in recipes from time to time is another) and it helps heat up the bod.
I like making a Thai or Indian soup with coconut and putting a few dashes of that tabasco in it. Though some raw foodists don't, I drink herbal tea, parsley tea, as well as warm water with lemon juice, maybe a total of 3 cups a day. Lastly (and this is obvious, sorry, my mother gene compels me to say it): Dressing really warmly esp. keeping head covered and wearing some wool (is wool politically incorrect for a vegan? if so, pardon, I'm new to it all :o )...really helps keep the shivers at bay.

Are you close enough for a PA potluck? (I'm in State College) It would be awesome to connect to others in person...I feel like the only raw-bie in town!

[tglasco4]

I am in New Hampshire. Not exactly tropical here...lol When it started turning cold in October I would squeeze the juice of either half a large lemon or a whole small lemon with some hot water and raw honey. That hit the spot for me. I am not feeling even the need for that now though, I think its because I am 100% raw. I also make a banana-date-nut shake that may help you. Here is the recipe:

3 bananas (they don't have to be frozen)
7 dates
2 tblspoons of raw honey.
1 cup of raw cashews
4 brazil nuts
20oz of water

I blend these in the vitamix. Sometimes I add more water. I make sure I get 64oz of shake. It is delicious. It gives you energy hours later and I believe it may ward off the chills.

Peace.

Todd

[monkeyboy]

Todd,

Are you aware that Alissa is planning a dinner in New Hampshire in January? I'm planning on being there. Just a heads up my friend.

Peace,

M.B.

[tglasco4]

No way monkey,

Really? when in January? Where?


Todd,

Are you aware that Alissa is planning a dinner in New Hampshire in January? I'm planning on being there. Just a heads up my friend.

Peace,

M.B.

[glad_2beme]

go to her site, under calendar of events, she will do a seminar Jan 15 in Greenland NH and originally I had read a dinner in Beverly, Maine the next evening but I dont see that right now. I think as of right now I am coming to PA and my friend and I are taking a road trip to be there....hope to meet you!!!

[qetta]

myluckystarz - (love your avatar - too cute!) I live in Minnesota and it's starting to get quite chilly here now. I have found ginger to be a really warming food and put it in practically everything I make now. And like Melissa, I also drink tea, which helps. And I live - LIVE - in those dorky long (synthetic for me!) socks that make you think of lumberjacks. If my feet and hands are warm, the rest of me is feeling pretty warm as well.

glad has a good idea too about warming foods up in the dehydrator. You could also heat up empty bowls slightly before putting soup in.

Hope some of this helps! - Lisa

[myluckystarz]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions....Rawkinlocs, those links were very helpful :)

[pinkglttr]

bumping :)

The following is something I found online
HOW CAN WE STAY ON A RAW FOOD DIET IN A COLD CLIMATE?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions about eating raw. People commonly believe that without a bowl of cooked food on a chilly winter day they would not be able to stay warm. I know many persons who quit the raw food lifestyle because they were afraid that they would become too cold during the winter.

Let us take a closer look at this situation. Would a quarter pound of rice physically keep a 160 lbs body warm? In order to get warmed by it, one would have to fill a bathtub with warm rice and sit in it for 20 minutes.

So why do we feel warmer after consuming cooked food?

A hot meal, a cup of coffee or an ice-cold shot of vodka warm our body in the same manner. When any impure substances get into our blood through the walls of the intestines, they irritate our adrenals the endocrine glands located above the kidneys. The adrenals immediately begin to produce epinephrine, norepinephrine and a variety of steroid hormones. These hormones stimulate our sympathetic nervous system, which is why we feel awake at first. They also force our heart to beat faster and to pump larger amounts of blood through our body, which makes us feel warm. This feeling doesn't last long and we pay a high price for it. After 10-15 minutes our body gets exhausted from performing extra work, the heart requires rest, the nervous system becomes inhibited, and we feel tired, sleepy and even colder than before. However we remember only the feeling of getting warmer after eating cooked food and repeat such stimulation again and again. This harmful practice wears the body out and by the end of the winter many people feel exhausted and depleted.

Winter after winter of eating quantities of cooked food doesn't help the human body to withstand cold weather better. On the contrary, weakened adrenals eventually won't be able to work properly even at warm temperatures. For example, most older people feel cold even in the middle of the summer. Wool socks and sweaters become necessity to them. Another reason why it is hard for many of us to tolerate cold temperatures is because eating a cooked food diet severely impairs our capillary circulation. According to Dr. Alexander Zalmanoff, author of "Sacred Wisdom of Human Body" (Paris, 1961) 80% of all blood in any human body is located in the capillaries and only 20% in arteries and veins. Tiny capillaries get clogged easily by unnaturally large particles of cooked food, and the blood no longer circulates adequately.

If you truly want to feel warm during the cold season, a raw food lifestyle is inevitable choice for you. During your first "raw" winter you may experience some cold due to the weakened adrenals, so put on an extra sweater, take a hot bath, or do some pushups. If you will continue staying raw, your adrenals will rest and recover, your capillary circulation will improve, your nervous system and your heart will naturally strengthen without any artificial stimulation.
In a year you will tolerate cold better than ever before. My family is going now through our ninth "raw" winter. We do not feel any discomfort from cold. We jump in icy-cold mountain rivers year round for enjoyment. In fact that is how we celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve. We always sleep outside under the rain or snow. Sergei, my son, goes snowboarding sometimes wearing only shorts. My daughter Valya never wears socks. Igor, my husband, loves to take snow baths. We strongly believe that staying on a raw food diet has helped us to feel comfortable in any weather and not to feel the cold.

[pinkglttr]

Bumping again for stiletto

[vgloveforlife]

I plan to drink lots of tea this winter to warm my body up.

Warming things in a dehydrator is a good idea.

[RawTruth]

Pinkglttr -- Where did this article/writing that you posted come from, d'ya remember? Would you mind putting the URL here? Thanks!!!

[Pierre]

I haven't hit the point where I have to switch to a winter diet yet, but I've noticed that the 640 g salad with avocado which I used to spend several hours eating is no longer enough. Should I eat more avocados, or what?

[Pierre]

I just got back from a church gathering in Pageland (two counties away, IINR) and when I was in front of the building a girl asked me "Aren't you cold?" It was about 13 and raining. She was wearing a coat, sweater, and shirt, and she was cold. I was wearing shorts, and I astonished her by pulling up my shirt - I had no undershirt. I knew it was cold, but the cold felt good to me :) I'm not sure I could pull this off at freezing yet, though.