Hi all!
I'm new here, I am a full-time Stay at Home Mommy, Wife, and Homemaker; I have three little boys ages 3 and under.
I've been a vegetarian my entire life (as has DH), but know plenty of unhealthy/obese vegetarians (most of my family)
I'm very interested in a raw lifestyle or at Least vegan, but really don't know where to start.
I am currently Exclusively breastfeeding my youngest, and hope to for a Minimum of one year; Unfortunately I was only able to nurse my older two for 9 months each because I lacked enough support and that, combined with the subsequent pregnancies and not eating enough, kind of killed nursing for me...
I currently am 100% sure I do not eat enough each day and am concerned about my nursling and growing boys as well.
I'm going through some major personal life issues right now which makes daily function difficult because of the mental distractions, so really having a rough time with all my health related ponderings.

I've heard just about every crazy diet related idea I can handle, and really feel that at the Very least it would be nice to include MORE Raw fruits and vegetables in our diet and do some daily juicing and more green smoothies, but it is So expensive...
My main issue is expense. I have Under $400 per month to feed five people on (we're talking less than $3 per person per day, which is less than $1 per meal... omg I never did the math before now...), and when your two toddlers will go through an entire bunch of bananas in a day if you'll let them, it's Hard to keep healthy food in the house! (IF I am able to get my husband to bring home some fresh fruits, usually my kids will get into it between meals and I will end up not getting much at all for my pathetic nursing self...)
If this keeps up, there is no way I am going to be able to nurse for a few Years, and may not even make my 12 month minimum goal, I don't want that; I would Love to still be nursing my older two -all three at once? -Sure!
I just need to be able to eat more each day...
We do green smoothies (fruit, greens, water/herbal tea/aloe juice with flax seed meal) every now and again, though I had to quit while pregnant because they started making me bloated (something I never experienced before) and haven't gotten back to it on a regular basis since.
Could use some friends who are not so new to raw, and could give me some good ideas on making a healthier diet affordable.
I have stopped buying store bought bread and will only use my own (I can't stand the ingredient list in most commercial breads!) whenever I find time to make it that is, hope to start grinding my own flour soon -all the store flour is nearly gone now...
So... sorry this is so long, but HI! :)
Please introduce yourself, all support and advice is very welcome indeed, I just need some friends who don't think I'm crazy for wanting something better for my family despite our financial situation. (My husband works a full-time job as well as a part time job some evenings and on days off, so it's not like we're lazy and just sitting around...)