hi, y'all are a friendly bunch

[swingbolder]

Hi,

I'm new and wanted to introduce myself.

I live in upstate NY and am 39. I'm a wife and mom (to one boy) and am contemplating what's next in life now that my son is of school age. I'm thinking of going back to school to study music, my first love.

I first heard about raw back in the late 90s when I did a supervised juice fast with a wonderful NYC-based herbal healer named Queen Afua. I was watching a food prepration video she made and she talked about how the goal one day should be to go 100% raw. That really took me aback bc I'd never heard of anyone eating all-raw food before. But I knew there must be something to it bc I felt so fabulous living on fruit and green juices. I contemplated going raw in '99 (I'd been vegan for several years) and read some books on the subject -- including Juliano's which was a mistake bc his recipes were too involved and time-consuming -- and then decided raw wasn't for me. It didn't help that at about this time in my life I met my husband who is a gourmet junk food vegan who started cooking for me every night. So I put it in the back of my mind.

Until a few months ago. I had a terrible bout with asthma recently and then did some extended juice fasting which really helped clear up my breathing. That got me thinking about going raw again. There is so much more support and info out there compared to just a few years ago. I love this board out of all the ones I've been lurking on lately bc it seems the friendliest and least-dogmatic.
I also just ordered Alissa's book and DVDs since I have only heard good things about them from a variety of message boards and email lists.

Okay, that's enough about me. I'm happy to be here and want to thank all of you for inspiring me to do this very healthy thing for me and my family.

[RawGranny]

Welcome Swingbolder. Great to have you here. I just got Alissa's book on the 18th and it is great! I watched the dvd yesterday and got a lot of wonderful ideas and it made a big differance on how I viewed the recipes. They are not as hard as they looked. This is much easier than Cooking your food.
You can do it. ;) Jump right in and make it simple.

[glad_2beme]

welcome to the journey

[misslinda]

Warmest Greetings Swingboulder,

Well we try to be friendly I'm glad you found this site and it looks like you are already one step ahead--it will joyous to read your journey and what changes you notice............let the "Good TIMES," begin.

luv,
linda

[sweetgoddess]

Welcome to the forum! Thanks for introducing yourself. Best wishes to you on your path to a raw and healthy lifestyle!
Blessings~

[heatkins]

Hi there! I agree that this board is great. Everyone is so supportive. I did raw for 9 months a few years ago, but information and support on raw was not as easily accessible as it is today. I don't know how/why I would ever give this up again.

Welcome!
Heather

[askcassyfirst]

Welcome.

I agree that this board is very supportive. Others I have visited have been full of flame wars and the like. You will like it here.

Cassy. :) :) :) :) :)

[greengirl]

So glad to have you join us! It's wonderful to learn from everyone's experiences. I don't know if I could stay raw without the great people on this board! It sure wouldn't be as fun! :)

[SedonaSun]

So glad to have you join us! It's wonderful to learn from everyone's experiences. I don't know if I could stay raw without the great people on this board! It sure wouldn't be as fun! :)

I'll second that! I think it would be a difficult road without y'all I especially like when many of you shout praises for certain recipes that don't necessarily sound like they'd be so tasty--like the Raw Chili. The support and friendship here is fantastic!

[SimplyRawesome]

Hi Swingbolder,

Welcome to the family. I too have had a terrible bout with asthma - for the last 40 years!! Perhaps I should do a juice fast after my 30 day challenge is up. Heck, I've been eating less and less as time goes on ... so it seems.

This has been the best thing I've ever done for myself as far as health goes. I love this way of eating and the wonderful benefits I have experienced in just 3 months. I think you're making the right decision and we're here to cheer you on!

[swingbolder]

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. :)

Nutrimom, one thing that's really helped me with the asthma a lot (besides way upping the raw food) is making a point to eat lightly (or not at all) towards the end of the day. I make lunch my biggest meal so by the time I go to sleep I'm not heavily digesting. I'm not sure why this makes a difference but it does.

[Rawkinlocs]

Welcome Swingbolder...glad you found us too! I don't always get to the "Meet and Greet" area...but kept looking at your username trying to figure out where I've seen it and was going to ask you if you were on any other raw food boards. As I'm typing this, now I remember where I've seen you! ;) Good having you here!

[swingbolder]

>>As I'm typing this, now I remember where I've seen you! Good having you here!<<

Rawkinlocks: Ditto. And thanks for recommending this site!

[FEELIN'GOOD]

What a nice introduction Swingbolder! Boy, you really did steer wrong with Juliano's book as your first! Whew- I got it too, and It would cost a fortune for one to make most of the recipes- and finding the 'rare to find' ingredients is another issue! Alissa's book is the best. You won't regret your purchase! Glad you are here!

Melissa

[SimplyRawesome]

Nutrimom, one thing that's really helped me with the asthma a lot (besides way upping the raw food) is making a point to eat lightly (or not at all) towards the end of the day. I make lunch my biggest meal so by the time I go to sleep I'm not heavily digesting. I'm not sure why this makes a difference but it does.

I'll try that tomorrow. Too late for that today, I just polished off the last of my date-nut torte!! Thanks for the tip.