May 2012 - 30 Day Challenge - Join at any time of the month!

[LexieW]

Good morning, all

Looks like my detox isn't quite complete - that's what I get for my weekend non-raw meal. My glands feel a little swollen and my ears ache a bit - bleh. I'll do some dry-brushing tonight, along with my oil-pulling and we'll see if that helps.

Also, I bought some Magnesium oil yesterday! Super excited to add that to my regimen.

Hope you all are doing well! Stay strong!

[Traceyraw]

Hello all. Hope everybody is having a great day. I had chocolate smoothie for dinner last night. Sunflower milk, sunflower sprouts, and raw chocolate powder. A little stevia for sweetness. It was like a chocolate milkshake.

Breakfast : pineapple juice
Lunch 2 mangoes and more pineapple juice.
Snack : carrots.
Dinner: nori wraps with sprouts.

Lexi, If I fill up on fruits early in the day I usually don't have cravings. You can make warmed soups...

Way to go 25 lbs you ROCK.

[Lucy76]

Hello all. Hope everybody is having a great day. I had chocolate smoothie for dinner last night. Sunflower milk, sunflower sprouts, and raw chocolate powder. A little stevia for sweetness. It was like a chocolate milkshake.

Hi everyone!

I haven't been posting for a while, but I 'm still here

I haven't had salt in three days, this is the fourth, and I plan on doing it for a week. I can't have salads without salt though, so I'm having mostly fruit, some nuts, and green juices and smoothies.

So today so far, i've had:
Breakfast: 1 L carrot juice
Lunch: 1L green smoothie (spinach juice, bananas, ice) I didn't, know, this, but ice makes a big difference. Without it was kind of ok, and then I added some ice and it awesome!)
And a big bowl of strawberries
Dinner will be bananas and strawberries, and maybe a handfull of sunflower seeds and some goji berries

[robh]

ShantiDass, 51 days and 25 lbs - congrats. Good luck finding variety. I have the same problem; I eat fruit and salads - not much variety. That's why I've been playing with the breads. The onion bread isn't my favorite. It's stinky, to be honest.

LexieW, sorry to hear about your detoxing. I think what you're going through with the cooked food is very normal. I did the same thing. Anyway, you were saying about wanting something hot. Yesterday, I wanted the same thing so I invented this:

Citrus Spice Tea

1 lemon
1 orange
whole nutmeg
cinnamon stick
agave

Lay out a paper towel. Onto the paper towel, take a microplane and zest the orange and the lemon. Next, add some shaved nutmeg and the cinnamon using, again, the microplane (you don't need the entire nutmeg or the entire cinnamon stick just eyeball it). Either empty the contents of the paper towel into a tea ball or do like I did and fold the paper towel into a tea bag. I had to use a rubber band to keep it from unwrapping. You don't want the zest and stuff in your tea. Place the tea bag / tea ball into some hot water for 10 minutes or so. I personally don't care about the temp, in this case, but 104 would keep it raw. Pour your tea into a cup and sweeten with agave until you like it. The zest of a whole lemon and a whole lime can make 2-3 cups of tea.

Did any one try the zucchini bread yet? I made it using my own directions last night. The batter came out really dry. I added an additional 1/4 cup of agave. Then, it was too wet so I added a cup of quick oats and two more cups of zucchini. Then, it was exactly the same as the first time I made it. LOL This is by far my favorite raw treat. I'm going to be making loads. I also was to play with oat groats and see if I can't make it more raw. Anyway, sorry for my messed up directions if you tried it. I'll post it in the recipe forum once I have it nailed.

My raw journey is going well. I am starting my third week of being 100% raw. I still have to deal with SAD food. I cooked dinner for the wife and kids 3 times in a row now. The smell of the meatloaf last night was killing me. I really wanted something salty and meaty. I ended up with handful of sun dried tomatoes and cashews.

Today, I'm eating lot of fruit before diner (bananas, oranges, apples, nectarines). For dinner is a salad. I stop the fruit before dinner. I found if I eat fruit with my salad, I become a very gassy person.

I have a mediterranean bread recipe that I've been waiting forever to try. The place I get my sun dried tomatoes has been out. I was so happy to see them yesterday. I really need to find something savory that I can have a dinner time. Maybe this will be it.

[LexieW]

robh, that Citrus Spice Tea sounds delicious! I'll have to give is a shot. Mostly when I crave something warm (usually at work, where sit right beneath an A/C vent and usually freeze all day) I just drink hot water. I try to limit my tea intake to one cup/day, and I try to keep it green tea at that.

This makes things boring. I'll definitely be trying your concotion.

The good news is, I seem to be past the worst of the detox! I was craving pizza last night and the night before, but I kept 100% raw. I've been having a lot of various fruits, various dark greens, chia seeds and a few raw cashews and almonds. Occasionally an avocado. I'm feeling good, sleeping well...my belly is getting so taught and toned I don't think my BF will recognize me this weekend

Today is my birthday, so I plan to celebrate by taking myself out to a local raw food restaurant. And my friend is taking me to a Korean spa this weekend! Very excited to try the mugwort tea bath!

Keep up the good work, everyone! We're doing great, and we're a third of the way through the challenge!

[Shel]

Hey everybody!

Happy Birthday Lexie! OH boy, a Korean spa! I've heard things about them. You're going to be like a bowl of jello when you're done....oh man and blissed out from being raw too. Sounds divine to me! Let us know what you got to eat at the restaurant. Here in MD, we have one and it's alright, but it sure would be nice to have a bit more to choose from. Def' great if you're in a pinch and need a fresh juice or to grab something raw out of the 'fridge.

I'm still raw, hanging..feeling great. I need to have a smoothie if not every day ever other day. They make me feel good and I love 'em! I made this raw salad...man, is it good...with kale, cauliflower, peas, carrots, onion, parsley, ses seeds ses oil, sea salt, herb seasoning. I think that's all. I've eaten it the past two days with a diced avo and the texture of it is just out of this world.

Next, I'm looking to make coleslaw but with a truly authentic dressing that mimics the SAD version. I do love regular coleslaw...that mayo creamy taste, oh yes, lol. Have a great day all! :)

[Smallu]

I've been a vegan for almost four years, and was a pescatarian for seven years prior to that. I'm looking to take the next step in my dietary journey: going raw! Previously, my attempts to go raw would last about a day. But I recently came across "The Sunfood Diet Success System" at Half Price Books and it makes the most compelling case, that I've found anyway, for a raw food diet. I started a raw diet today, not knowing about the 30-day challenge here (just found this site from a Google search). So, consider me in! I'm loosely following the diet in the Sunfood book, so I had a pound (about 4 cups) of watermelon for breakfast and an ounce of walnuts. I'm now noshing on my lunch of 3 celery stalks and a mango. Nothing fancy this time around, just plain, raw, whole foods. I spent the last week upping my raw food intake to about 60+% and I think that transition was helpful. So far, I have no detox symptoms and no cravings...unheard of for me, I am cravings girl! I suffer from general anxiety disorder, acne, hair loss (from the medications I'm on), dull skin, fibromyalgia and I need to lose about 10 pounds. I feel very confident that a completely raw diet will cure everything!!! My goal is to get off all of my meds by the end of the year. I'm excited to be on this journey with the rest of you :) Good luck everyone!!

[LexieW]

Welcome Smallu!

[robh]

Happy Birthday LexieW! I am sorry I didn't get back on the forum yesterday. Now, I'm a day late. How did it go? did you have a good time? I too would like to know the details of what kind of offerings you had at the raw restaurant.

Shel, that salad sounds great (very different from what I'm currently eating). Thanks for the inspiration to try something new. Good luck with your coleslaw experiment.

Smallu, welcome. I am kind of a newbie (4 months ago, I was eating a standard american diet). From my experience, the cravings are the worst in the first few days. In no time at all, they will be gone. I am not tempted unless I see the food (or smell it). Even then, in the past, when I have given in and had just a little bit, I found myself let down. The food I eat now is so full of flavor and personality that the stuff I used to eat is bland and empty. Furthermore, I get sick a day or so after eating the old food. Currently, I am exposed to a lot of cooked and processed food. I have no problem resisting the urge to cheat when I see or smell it. Anyway, sorry to go on and on about me, but my personal experience is the only knowledge I have on the subject. I thought you might want to know that it gets better. You just need to tough out the initial transition. Good luck.

Edit: oh, yeah. I dropped another pound today: 263. Maybe next month, I'll be in the high 250s. I haven't been there in like 15 years. Anyway, keep up the great work everyone!

[FaithfullyRaw]

Hi, everyone!

I guess I am joining late. But it has been years since I've attempted a raw food lifestyle (the first time I successfully did it for a month before going back to my old ways :-/). Now 60 pounds later and some new health issues :-(, I am ready to return to what I know is truly the best thing for my body. I am excited to be back and look forward to getting and receiving support and encouragement as well as getting to know some of you!!! :-) :-D

[LexieW]

Thanks for the birthday wishes, robh! I plan to celebrate throughout the weekend ;-). The restaurant I like to frequent is called leaf organics. Their prices are great (especially since many of the raw restaurants I've seen are really pricey), and I like their wraps. The raw nachos are a favorite, and they make the BEST cheesecake and soft serve.

I like to pop in maybe once a week and pick up staples, like cashew cheese and mango bread, since I don't use a dehydrator at the moment. You can check out their offers here. There is also a recipe book for sale.

FaithfullyRaw, hello! You're in the right place - I've been in varying states of raw for the last 2 years, and it's only with the support and community I've found here that I'm succeeding on this challenge.

Let's get healthy!

[Traceyraw]

Hello Lexie, Please tell me more about the Mango bread. It sounds so good. Mangos are cheap right now.

[Smallu]

As some of you know, I went raw yesterday. Wow! I feel awesome today after just one day AND I lost three pounds, literally, overnight. Only 7 pounds to go :) My jeans fit a bit better this morning. I'm really interested to see when/if this starts resolving some of my other issues. Really feeling great. Loading up on fruit in the a.m. seems to really deter cravings/hunger.

[robh]

Lexie, I popped over onto their website. Thanks for the link. They have a lot of awesome stuff. There is a place like that in Philly, but I haven't had a chance to make the trip yet.

Mango bread does sound awesome. I never buy mango because I hate pealing and slicing those slippery buggers. Maybe I'll get some and play around. Tracey, let me know if you find a receipe.

Smallu, congrats on the weight loss.

FaithfullyRaw, welcome and best of luck sticking to it. Post here when you're feeling discourage; that's what we're all here for. :)

[LexieW]

Traceyraw, all I know is they make it, and I can buy it from them in a little pack of 10 squares. I don't know how it's made or the recipe, but it certainly helps me out when I have bread cravings (which, awesomely enough, I've stopped having! Now I just have it around for the dietary variety .)

Congrats to all, and happy Friday!