July 2011 - 30 day challenge - Join at ANYtime of the month!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Welcome welcome welcome!!!

Welcome to the 30 day challenge and welcome to our new monthly format.

This is our monthly challenge thread. We are choosing to do one (or perhaps split into two) continual threads so we can create a community of support within this challenge. You can join this thread at any time during the month. Don't be shy... we love new posters!!! So if you want to join us... please do!

I welcome people who are already 100% raw to join in the conversation - supporting our challengers in their quest!

This thread is specifically for those of you who are eager to commit to 30 consecutive days of eating 100% raw foods and seeing miraculous results!

I will start a new challenge thread on the first of every month. If I forget... send me a quick email and remind me... I'll get the challenge thread online for you quickly.

The focus of the monthly challenge is on staying raw and accountability. Therefore, if you have eaten all raw and then slip up and have something cooked, don't beat yourself up over it or dwell on it - but this is not space to discuss it. You are more than welcome to document it in your journal/blog or ask for help in the discussion area, but it is not necessary (and not allowed) to discuss your slip-up here in the challenge threads, just get right back on track and keep going! This thread is about celebrating what you are eating that IS raw!

I welcome you all to share pics of your dishes, ask questions, share what you are consuming (as long as it's raw). We are here to listen to your emotional and physical challenges. So share share share!!!

OH and the best part of this (not only the support but...) you can subscribe to this thread and get notified every time someone posts to it. This way you will be connected!

So let's get this party started!!!

[Aleesha Sattva]

Please do not post in this thread until the 1st of July.

thanks,
Aleesha
Admin

[MysticTree]

Well it's early on the 1st and I have a bunch of stuff to do before work but at least the weekend beckons. I'm looking forward to it.

Lots of salads for me today I think.

[Sweetberrie]

Hello!

I'm starting the challange tomorrow (it will the the 2:nd here in Australia, but still the first in the US)

I currently fighting somekind of cold/flu, I have lost my voice but I hope going raw would help speed up the recovery.

Looking back in my online journal, I see that I get a cold every 6-8 weeks. I want to focus on buliding up a strong and healthy immune system.

I don't have a dehydrator or a juicer, but I do have a normal blender. Any tips would be great.

[rawdanig]

I've been waiting for the official challenge to start! And after a week of being in a transitional stage i'm glad to finally be able to commit a full 30 days of 100% raw! I'm definitely am in the challenge and you shall see many updates as i experiment with new recipes! Good luck to everyone and can't wait to see your results!

[DearWanderlust]

I'm soooo ready to get started. My skin is a wreck and I'm ready to lose my last 10lbs that I've been trying to lose for over a year. It's good that the challenge starts on a 3 day weekend because those are 3 days that I don't have to fight food temptations at work. I swear these people have potlucks, birthday partys, ice cream and cupcake partys almost everyday!

So far I've had a fruit smoothie for breakfast. It's almost 11am and I'm not starving...although I'm looking forward to eating a BIG salad for lunch. :-)

[Horsekisses1]

I will be starting tomorrow, July 3rd.

[greenrunner]

Good very good days with green smoothies, fresh habanero hummus, banana "ice cream", some various nuts & fruits, and salads.

Not looking to loose any weight and an athlete (long distance runner). I'm a vegetarian and looking to see how the raw challenge goes energy wise!


hummus:
1 habanero
1 can organic garbanzos
2 cloves garlic
sesame seeds (to taste)
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
sprinkle in a little cumin

toss all ingredients into vitamix and blend until the preferred texture


Banana ice cream:
2 organic bananas (peeled, sliced, frozen)
1 tablespoon fresh ground peanut butter
pecans

Once completely frozen put all bananas in food processor, process until creamy.
add a the peanut butter, pulse to mix in, add pecans (I added 8 or so) and pulse.
eat.

[midesire]

Hi everyone,

I would be interested to participate in this challenge.

I have lots of recipes and have researched raw food sites.

I would appreciate some help with daily menus. What do you all eat in a day.

Thank you

[Nad]

Hi everyone,

I would be interested to participate in this challenge.

I have lots of recipes and have researched raw food sites.

I would appreciate some help with daily menus. What do you all eat in a day.

Thank you

Welcome to the challenge! If you need some help with menus I'd recommend having a look at some raw food books for beginners, Jennifer Cornbleet's "Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People" is filled with simple recipes and offers some sample menus. Ani Phyo's "Raw Food Essentials" is also great for beginners but features slightly more complex recipes. Another good resource is Raw on $10 a day (or less), they feature menus all under $10 so you really can't go wrong there :)

And if you're still looking for more inspiration have a look at some of the older 30 day challenges to see what people have been eating.

Enjoy!

[jennyfedei]

I'm interested in giving the 30 Day challenge a whirl. I met the most amazing lady at the health food store today who told me she has lost over 100 pounds on a raw diet. She looked like the epitome of health, so I came back here to see about getting started. I have never done anything like this before, so I must admit that I am completely clueless as to how to do this correctly.

I don't know what all the foods are (besides fruits and veggies) I need to eat and in what quantities daily I should be consuming them to receive the maximum nutrition.

What kind and how many nuts and seeds should I eat daily?

How many servings of fruits and veggies and what kinds are best?

What else can I eat that doesn't fit into those categories? What about whole grain breads, vinegars, nutritional yeasts, nutritional powders (such as Maca, Flax or Hemp etc..), condiments etc..?? What about Vitamins??

I can grab carrots and apples and eat a handful of walnuts with the best of them, but will I be getting enough nutrition for my body? I worry about Calcium, Protein etc..

Can someone please point me in the direction of some reliable "guidelines" before I get started so I know exactly what and how much of each food group I need??? I am getting desperate here because my doctor is hounding me to loose weight and would love to give this a try, but definitely need some daily guidelines and some form of structure.

Help!!

Jenny

[MysticTree]

Hi,

At first, don't worry if you are getting x amount of vit B or y amount of zinc just learn which foods you like.

Nuts, seeds and grains are best soaked and sprouted. This is easy to do in a jar on the draining board.

many nuts are not raw if they are out of their shells - you can decide how important that is to you. Many people whilst they eat a lot of nuts at the start don't continue to eat more than a few a day or even a week. I buy organic nuts when I can and soak them overnight until they start to sprout just a tiny point of a root. They are delicious.

fruits and veg and greens in abundance - particularly green leafy veg is good. I have a small garden so can grow a fair amount myself. If you can't do this then maybe there is a local farmers' market or even community vegetable garden.

If it is cooked or of animal origin (except honey which unless you are strict vegan is ok) then it is not part of the program. Breads are cooked. Unless they are raw vegan breads made in a dehydrator. I don't have a dehydrator so I don't have breads but you can use vegetable leaves as wraps and also seaweed if you can get it raw.

I really do recommend you take a look at Alissa's book. It answers all your questions. It's very heavy and I have to admit that I cut it in half down the spine (I hate admitting that) so I could manage reading it. It's crammed full of the whys and wherefores and lots of recipes.

Vinegars, nama shoyu, miso, braggs etc will get different answers from different people. I use organic cider vinegar but none of the others listed. I do miss miso a bit and may review my attitude about that at some point.

No coffee or tea - in theory. I've kicked a 2-4 litre a day diet-coke habit.

Cold-pressed, raw oils such as extra virgin olive oil is fine for dressings and marinades etc.

Just throw yourself into it and think about the balance of foods as you find your feet. Eat as much raw foods as you need to stop you eating cooked and non-vegan.

Enjoy it. It is a blast :)

[rawdanig]

Day 6 has been a rough day. Had an early internship interview that threw my schedule out of whack so no green smoothie but i did throw some salad,banana,apple and the left over mushroom into my lunch bag hoping that would get me through the day....boy was i wrong i'm starving!!! i tried getting a smoothie and i didn't watch her make it(got distracted by the nuts that i bought) and when i get to my car it taste like crap. I look inside they use syrups not real fruit so i tossed it out!(waste of 5 bucks) Now i'm at work starving trying to drink water but it's not helping. Idk why i've been so hungry these past two days even last night i woke up in the middle of the night half consious eating sunflower seeds and pistachios which i never do i'm ususally satisfied all night from dinner. I'm wonderig if it's because of the intense cardio work out. It's a HIIT workout from Turbofire(a beachbody program like p90x) normally i only do resistance training but i've been throwing in some cardio 1 a week and last week i didn't have this problem...idk my metabolism must be super revved! lol

On a side note i'm going to a family reunion tomorrow for the weekend and i'm worried about the food options i'll have...these are black folks we're talking about(soul food super fattening and cooked of course lol) and i wont be at a hotel and you cant bring food on planes...ugghhhghghgh hopefully my aunt atleast has fruit

[MysticTree]

sorry to hear you are having a rough time.

It really does pay to be prepared. I'm lucky in work cos we have a big fridge that doesn't get used all that much so literally fill the bottom salad tray with my various foods that I take with me. Anything I don't eat in the day I bring home and eat in the evening.

When I go to family things which is very rarely to be honest I just go out to a local shop and buy a bunch of carrots, celery, fruit etc and make the best of the situation. people are usually so pleased that I am losing weight that they don't mind if I don't eat their calorie laden cooked foods.

[Nad]

On a side note i'm going to a family reunion tomorrow for the weekend and i'm worried about the food options i'll have...these are black folks we're talking about(soul food super fattening and cooked of course lol) and i wont be at a hotel and you cant bring food on planes...ugghhhghghgh hopefully my aunt atleast has fruit

Aww sorry to hear you've had a rough day If you think your workout is affecting your apetite I'd say up the protein in your diet, so try to include a good source in every meal. That's what I did when I was working out 6 times a week (pre-raw, but vegan), and found that really sustained me. Try some shelled hemp on your salads/in your smoothies? And of course nuts (perhaps your body was craving them) etc.

And for your reunion, just explain to your aunt/family that you're trying to eat healthier if they ask why you're not indulging and see if she can point you in the direction of the nearest grocery store and stock up on some basic fruit and veg to last you while your there. I'm sure you'll do alright if you just stick to your guns. Hell maybe you'll even be inspired to raw-ify some soul food! Good luck :)