Craving Meat!

[babeak]

It has been years since I became vegan and if you think about this being a journey and that there is no one to punish you if you go back or take a detour then perhaps it won't seem so difficult.

I had a hard time giving up soda for many years. I would go back to it repeatedly and it was never really what I wanted it to be. It did not make me this or that beautiful person having a lovely life as the commercials like to portray. It ruined my teeth and perhaps bones. It was an ebb and flow til finally I had had enough. THis was not until after I was a vegan for many years. I don't know how I ever thought that that was okay to consume even if it was not an animal.

Becoming vegan did not happen over night. I first was vegetarian for several years, but that did not happen overnight either. I was raised in TX as an unwilling participant in the processing of animals and was entrenched in that culture of you have to have this or you won't live. So, while I never liked it, time is needed for the adjustment and to see how you feel. However, giving up dairy was one of the hardest things, because I would go back and forth until I got some info about what is really in dairy and how it is largely an industry brainwashing....and it is the same with the m*** industry and the almighty *protein* diet recommendations.

I think that going a step backwards is not the end of the world, but if you do so....did you get from it what you really wanted? I daresay that if you diet is well balanced and varied that this might be a mind over matter issue....even with monthly cycles based upon what info might have been pounded into your head as a kid and adult as to what we need to be healthy and/ or strong. I think that it is also hard going against mainstream and the ideas and connections that I need this or that because of what I am feeling. I hope that that makes sense. I have always felt a change in how I feel during that time of the month. However, I don't think that eating non-vegan is going to make me feel better. I usually am very tired the first day or day before. Well, my body is going through some pretty amazing hormonal and dramatic changes. I allow for that to just be...and well accommodate with a nap if I can.

Hope that helps you to be easy on yourself and if you go back to prior diet choices, then so be it. THinking of it is a journey that some people are born in the right place, other travel to the desired destination by many different routes. Some follow a short cut, while others may wander all over the world trying to find there way to the same place.

Best wishes.

[Stella Green]

1. Make sure you are getting enough iron. This is especially important during that time of the month. Leafy greens are an excellent source, but remember that you need vitamin c to go along with the greens so that your body can absorb the iron. That's just ONE of the reasons why green smoothies are so big around here .

2. Make sure you are getting enough calories.

3. Make sure you are getting enough fat. Think: avocados and coconut.

4. Don't poo poo the whole cacao idea. It's got a lot of magnesium that your body craves. Also, treat yourself well and make yourself a beautiful raw dessert. Love your body, love the planet, and all that other lovey dovey stuff is so much easier to dig after you've just had a big ol' slice of date nut torte.

[Fresh_Verve]

RawKnitster – I went to our market and bought ½ lbs of raw green olives and ate ½ of that in one sitting. I didn’t feel that I was swimming in an ocean but I did get my craving to subside a lot – I got to hear my bodys voice going “yeah yeah – I am detoxing, this is helping YOU, not necessarily me" the next day my feet were swollen from all the salt but by that evening everything went back to normal.

Babeak – thank you for your encouraging story

Stella – Oh trust me I use the raw cacao all the time! Love it. I know also from my research that Cacao isn’t exactly raw and some raw food people frown at it – but I wouldn’t turn my back on cacao

Also yesterday I added 1 tbs of grated fresh ginger to my salad and that has whipped the remainder of my cravings. I went to look in my ayurvedic books and sure enough its one thing that does help to decrease cravings.

It has been for sure some intense 5 days with all of it but I feel energetically on the other side of the experience so that feels super wonderful and encouraging. I’m really proud of myself :)
Thank you again.

[Stella Green]

I heart ginger

[January Noir]

Thanks for the Portabella mushroom recipe RawKnitster!

I've been using the recipe for the past month and I haven't found a marinade that's better!

[mcster]

I could be completely wrong here but IMO it sounds like this is neither a mental or emotional issue but rather a physiological one. I'm with Stella in that I'm wondering if you're getting enough fats. Try eating lots of avos and coconut (oil) for a week and see what happens. In regards to the iron angle, blackstrap molasses is a great source not only of iron but of the vitamins and minerals that help your body assimilate it. Give that a try as well.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Maybe you are low in Iron and B12. Look for gojji berries (very rich in iron). Spirulina rich in B12 too.

Keep the faith on raw vegan food, it truly heals your body.

Best luck!

[OnMyJourney]

I had a similar experience my first time on the Master Cleanse. I was craving tuna. As soon as my cleanse was over, I prepared some and popped it into my mouth and it didn't get past the tip of my tongue before I gagged. My body was telling me that I needed something IN the tuna (nutrient wise), but not the tuna itself.

As others have mentioned, take a look at the nutrients in the foods that you are craving and find raw foods that provide those same things. That's likely the ticket.

I wish you all the best!

[mcster]

B12 has been mentioned in this thread several times. Am I the only one who buys into the idea of the B12 myth? For those who don't know, it's just as big as the protein one. My understanding and recollection is that we need a marginal amount of B12 and we get the required amount even through "decent" SAD. No one with a relatively healthy vegan diet and especially a raw diet should have a B12 deficiency.