New to RAW in SC

[tammy85]

Hello my name is Tammy, I am 38 and live in South Carolina Mountains with my husband and two small children. This is my first time going raw (or attempting to). I decided to try it after reading about the many health benefits and while looking for the "new" way to lose weight without all the gemmics as I am still trying to lose those last baby pounds that seem to be lingering on my bottom, legs, arms, etc....! I would love to say I have had no problems but I have yet to make it a whole day. This life style requires planning and that is something I am learing to work out. It is hard with work and two small children...it is easy to eat the hotdog! But I know that is not the way I want to continue and I want my kids to learn to eat healthy now. Living in a small town does have it's draw backs though.....we do not have any vegetarian/raw type resturants so eating out is almost impossible and resources are limited. But I have found some great web sites (like this one!) and have found great help from a wonderful cook book Real Food Real World. It was very helpful to me with putting everything into simple perspective. Well I look forward to chatting.

[SimplyRawesome]

Hi Tammy,
Welcome. I live in Murfreesboro, TN which is no longer a small town. We have no healthy restaurants either ... oh, except for Wild Oats which is 1/2 an hour away and they have a salad bar!

Just take it one day at a time... ease into this lifestyle. Whatever you do towards becoming raw is a step in the right direction.

Best of luck to you.

[AJ Bodine]

Hi Tammy,

I'm not here on this board that often, but check in once in a while. I live in the mountains of NC and am also 38, with a young child and still trying to lose the baby weight. I've been on and off raw for the past three years, lately more raw. We just went through a big move, which I didn't stay raw during. Lots of stress.

I now live between Charlotte and Asheville, my dh works a lot in SC though, what area are you in? I've found quite a few good resources for raw organic up here, how about in your area?

Talk to you soon,
AJ

[RowanC]

Welcome Tam... lots of great info on here and a lot of really knowledgeable folks that are nice and helpful. You've come to the right place!

[tammy85]

Hi AJ....I live in Pickens Sc which is about 45 min from Cashiers/Brevard NC. I work in Greenville,SC which does have an organic grocery. It is a little out of my way so I try to stock up on things I need but too far to go everyday or so for fresh produce. And being the only one in town it is very pricey. I wish we had choices for going out to dinner. Maybe one day! We are catching up with the times here. Now what part of NC mountains are your from??? I love to visit Asheville NC. It is about 2 hours away so don't go very often but they have wonderful resturants. Lots of earthy. healthy choises. Nice talking to you.
Tammy

[AJ Bodine]

Hey Tammy,

We are up in the South Mountain range, about an hour east of Asheville. I've been through Pickens and I've been to the Earth Fare in Greenville a few times. During our relocation, I lived near Spartanburg for a while. My husband has quite a few customers in the Greenville area, he goes there a few times a month.

I love going into Asheville, I don't get to go that often, but I'm going tomorrow as a matter of fact to stock up on some great produce. Do you ever go to the farmers market at Biltmore? We don't have any raw restaurants nearby that I know of, however the markets are great! We are still getting to know the area, so you never know what I might find.

[AJ Bodine]

Oh and I forgot to mention that I really like the Brevard area, my intention is to someday hike to all the waterfalls in that area and take pictures. :D

[tammy85]

AJ......I have never been to the market at Biltmore, I will have to remember to try next time I go. If you are planning a visit soon, try a resturant called Salza's. It is on a side street in Asheville.....don't think it is all raw but it does have a lot of wonderful, different vegetarian type dishes. Great place to splurge! And yes the wterfalls here are beautiful. Two great ones close are whitewater and rainbow...if have not gone already. My husband and I love to hike. We are very fortunate to live right across from Table Rock Mountain...so in the summer time we can go hike every evening after work and the waterfall is a big plus for the kids.

[AJ Bodine]

That's funny, we live right in front of South Mountain and there are miles of hiking trails up the mountain and there is a big waterfall there too. We hike whenever we can, it's one of our favorite things! We went to the top of Chimney Rock last year, that was a hike!! We did the advanced trail and I think we should have stuck with the intermediate or beginner.

Thanks for the restaurant referral, it would be nice to find a place that serves raw meals in the NC/SC area. I really miss going out and being waited on!

I got some great FL strawberries at the Asheville farmers market yesterday and they are gone already. The first weekend in May is herbfest. People come from all over the country, it goes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Lots of vendors, growers, crafts, classes, etc...