July 2012 30 day raw challenge

[MysticTree]

We have been promised a dry day on Sunday. I'm not sure when the previous dry day was.

[robh]

Thx Rob!!! It's Marinated in Nama Shoyu and water.

Nice and easy. I have braggs liquid aminos. I have this hunch that they are very similar.

I am sure we are next for the rain.

[Crystal2870]

Day Seventeen

Smoothie for breakfast, bananas, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, acai powder, lucuma, baobob, dates, coconut oil, chia.. Getting a morning ritual sharing with the little ones ! They come running when they hear the vitamix going , Luca always wants a second glassful and Tallulah stands there like a little baby bird demanding more from a spoon, trouble is they get it everywhere !

Lunch was a slice of cheesecake, followed by a big advocado salad later, I struggled to eat that (lol I shoudl eat my Greens first before pud !)..

Didnt fancy anything else this evening but just had banana and more cheescake and handul of almonds. Really fancied something tasty and crunchy, and crisp like..i need to get some more marianted nuts going, run out of nuts now. May try the potatoe crisps too, my sweet potatoe ones where a flop though !...

MysticTree- Thank you so much the olives arrived today, wow they are really tasty, I wasnt sure if they would be a bit bitter but certainly not, very mellow, and juicy, wish they didnt have the pips in though so I could just wolf them down hee hee ! Ithink they would be great in a tapenade.. xx That wil be next to order I think ! .. Was wondering what your work collegues think of your raw diet , are they critical or curious?..it was quite interesting just being vegan where I worked ! , my boss said once oh i didnt know you was vegan, I have never met a vegan before ! (as If I was from planet zogg !) , another collegue said you dont look like a vegan !....I used to tease them and say that my shoes was made from baked potatoe skins, baked really hard and sewed together !! LOL

Robh - Wow well done for going raw from sad ! , nice to see your picture up its good to put a face to a name, I will have to find one ! I've got one when I'd just had Tallulah but i think I'll save that til a before and after pic lol ! ...msm is sulfer, it helps make the cells more permeable, give you more energy, help you detox, good for inflamation and joints, hair and nails.

ReneeH - Those sushi rolls look amazing !, trouble is I just hate nori or any other seaweed , it tastes fishy to me !

Cathy - Ahhh we will miss you xxx, but you have to do what you feel is best for you, high raw is still fantastic xx

Pansy - You teased us with that coconut and now shattered our hopes ! Could you see another doctor?..

Feeling really shattered today again, still no abundant energy for me, three loads of ironing to do and no motitvation ! ...

Ah glad its not just the UK with the rain then !, its been literally non stop here, never known the weather to be THIS bad !, poor mystic you will get washed away soon, still your veggies hopefully will like it? was thinking you will save a fortune when they get going ! ( I think they can lift the hosepipe ban now dont you lol ?!)

[MysticTree]

Glad you like the olives. They are easy to take the stone out. I haven't tried making anything with them. I just eat them! At work people are mildly bemused but do see the way I eat as healthy even if it is a bit extreme. At least that is what comes across when they talk to me. What they say behind my back I have no idea!

[robh]

The topic of my new eating came up when they asked why I wasn't eating the free bagels (this was months ago). After I explained, it was like I had just spoken a different language (what do they speak on Planet Zogg?). No one understood. No one comprehended.

[ReneeH]

I think whatever my daughter's been sick with she has lovingly shared with me!!!! I haven't eaten anything all day except the Chia Pudding, but I've been fighting her to get potty time!!!!! She's had it for 2-3 days. I just can't eat anything! The rain finally stopped for the moment, but it'll be back. I'm going back to bed! :-(

[MysticTree]

I hope you feel better soon renee.Rob, you know it takes time to learn a new language. Most people understand if you talk about wheat intolerances though which could help explain the bagel thing and most of us have a bad reaction to gluten even just a low level bad reaction.

[robh]

ReneeH, My kids "share" stuff with me too. The nice part about being raw is that I get over sickness quickly now. I hope you feel better soon.

MysticTree, Yeah, I will probably opt for an easy answer the next time someone asks.

Crystal2870, that is so cool that your babies are eating some raw food. I would like nothing more than to instill raw eating habits in my kids. Sadly, it's just a pipe dream when only one half of the parenting team feels that way.


Eating at 5pm last night really helped my sleeping. I set an alarm so I could get some work done before everyone work up. I woke up, feeling so well rested that I thought I slept through the alarm. In truth it was 3AM and my alarm is set for 4:10 (the time I get up for work during the weekdays). So eating two hours early allowed me to feel more rested on less sleep. It might have been a coincidence. I'll keep it up and see what happens.

The lack of weight loss is bugging me. It seems like going 100% caused me to lose some weight quickly but only for a while. For now, I think I am just going to let it go. I'll get on the scale every week or so just to make sure I am not going up.

Things I am eating are: figs, dates, nuts, some fruit, ground sesame seed and raw honey, chia seed pudding and then vegetables in the evenings: salad, guacamole, zucchini, squash. I typically snack on more figs and nuts after dinner.

Last night, when I snacked I wasn't really hungry. I think I did it out of habit or boredom. I was full after dinner. I need to stop doing that.

We are almost half way through the month. :)

[ReneeH]

ReneeH, My kids "share" stuff with me too. The nice part about being raw is that I get over sickness quickly now. I hope you feel better soon.

The lack of weight loss is bugging me. It seems like going 100% caused me to lose some weight quickly but only for a while. For now, I think I am just going to let it go. I'll get on the scale every week or so just to make sure I am not going up.

Thanks Mystic & Rob!!! Yea, I'm feeling SO much better today!!! I really needed rest I think cuz I slept yesterday straight away!!!!

I had the same thing happen with me and weight loss! I lost almost 25 pounds, then stopped...but, I stopped weighing too. I actually don't wanna be super thin, so I'm happy with where I am and all my curvy-ness. :-) I come from some "hefty-Mamas" in my family, so I don't expect I'll ever be a size 2 ever again. I would like to go down to a 10, but right now I'm about a 14. I used to be a 18-20!!!! (closer to the 20....). I have started exercising though, which may trigger something and I may tone up a bit which would be nice! I know that I am healthier than I've ever been in my life. Anyway, I don't know if that helped you at all. Just try to get moving and see if that starts the loss again. :)

Just fruit for me. Salad for lunch.

[MysticTree]

It's been an odd day for me. I've not really felt hungry and we've been quite busy. Went to the healthfood shop, Harvest, and bought various goodies including things for sprouting, kale chips, raw crackers, raw hemp, raw choc, some amazing miso which has no soy in and tastes incredible - I think we got other things but I forget. I know my bag was heavy on the way back. Stopped at market as we neared the car. Saw some lovely mushrooms which I had to get. They were called Paris Browns but I think this is the same as Crimini which I hear people on RFT mentioning. The stall owner was passionate about mushrooms. It was all he sold. When I bought them he asked if I had ever tried them raw. I said that I followed a raw diet so I wasn't planning to cook them. This took the wind out of his sails completely. I think he was hoping to trot out his sales patter convincing me to at least try them. He seemed disappointed. Mushrooms are marinating now.

[Crystal2870]

Day Eighteen Wow going so quickly !!

Wasnt hungry when waking just had herbal tea, then later a banana and apple..

Got raving munchies later, all my pesky advocado's where hard except one, which I had in a salad, really fancied guacomole though..

Later this evening made a cashew nut , water, and cocoa powder, dates smoothie, which I hardly got any as everyone wanted some !..

Run out of nuts now so need to go and restock..I've heard my local Julian Graves is closing so Im wondering if they will be selling off some stuff cheap, they do raw cashews there which were on offer (well says they are raw!), Im not buying organic nuts at the moment as my food bill is getting astonomical !

Robh - Sorry you asked about my tea consumption !, I probably used to drink two mugs first thing and then maybe another two or three mugs throughout the day..to be honest Im not really missing it that much. I've found some really nice herbal tea called teapigs, it tastes really good..
Yes its great that my kids are embracing more raw ! , I know how it can be though with un co operative people, Im seperated from the twins dad, they stay with him every other weekend luckily he is fairly good, but his parents are "ooh kids need meat ", "cows really moo if they dont get milked!" ect.. and always trying to feed them fish ect..I also have a step daughter who is nine who stays with us , her mother has been a complete nightmare, even feeding her vegetarian, and telling us to stop feeding her that **** !...funny how she gulped down the cashew "milkshake !"..
With regards to the weight loss I can understand it must be so frustrating !, I think I need to excersie more too, I've been reading about the benefits of rebounding (on a mini trampoline) apparantly it gets the lymph system going and doesnt jar the joints , so I'm looking to get one at the moment (pennies permitting!).

ReneeH - You make me laugh !.. hefty mamas !, Well I think I look better a bit more curvy than I did when I was a size 12 and very skinny I was too much like a bean pole, Im 5ft 8..I certainly dont want to loose any of my top half lol !...my weight seems to sit all round my middle, I would like to loose another stone I think but I certainly dont want to look emicated ! (not that there is any chance of that I fear lol, like my grub way too much!)...I was 12 stone 7, lost some with weight watchers, put some back on (as you do) so started raw at 12 stone 4 and half, I reckon Im just under 12 now but just weighing once a week. Its certainly not dropping off ..

Mystictree - Those mushrooms sound good, seems like you have some great places nearby for shopping raw..

I was feeling a bit weak this afternoon, my partner and kids brought some food which smelt so good I was so tempted !!.. I got out some books and read them to inspire me did the trick !..need to sort out some seeds to sprout and the wheatgrass.. Im wondering weather to try and make my own sauwecraut, has anyone tried to make thier own here? I love it (and funnily enough my kids do too well the older ones!)...

x

[bellabelle007]

I'm new here and this is my day 5 so I'm in as well. I can see a difference in my body already!!! :)

[MysticTree]

I've had an exhausting day! We went to a dog show because my mother was visiting and she wanted to take her dog. We took our two and came home with a 1st, a 2nd and 2 third places. We took plenty of raw food to ward off the burger van with but it was very hot and we ate hardly anything. Just got back and had a light salad; you know sometimes you just go beyond wanting food anymore, that's how I feel this evening. I shall top up on water before bed but I doubt I shall want more to eat.

[Crystal2870]

Day Nineteen

Wasnt hungry again , ran out of bananas anyway so couldnt have a smoothie ! , later after shopping had banana and apple

Lunch was guacomole and crudites, carrots, cucumber, red pepper.

This evening had another banana, then made Alissa's carrot and raisen/sunflower seed salad , well a small bowl, that was very nice, i think the kids would like that. Remined me I used to make the kids, hummous, raisen and grated carrot in pitta bread, so was thinking to try and make some kind of wrap raw that would maybe work.

Put some carrot and pecan burgers in the dehyrator , love them and trying the marinated portobella mushrooms, well I only had two big mushrooms left so they will be going in later, also put some courgette slices in the dehydrator, I cut them by hand so not sure what they will come out like, might try and have a go at some soups tomorrow... Im getting a bit bored of salad so need to get a bit more creative I think !

Wow Mystic well done our your doggy wins ! x

Bellabelle007 - wellcome and great stuff day five already ! xx

I measured myself today, lost FOUR inches of my beer belly and one inch of my hips, none of my bust !..WOW was impressed with taht, and that dratted headache seems to have gone at last !

Still feel very tired though..my little girl has had constipation for days, really straining, Im wondering if its to do with some part of my diet change (or unless shes teething) very odd as she eats lots of fresh fruit big bowl of blueberries, grapes ect everyday, I wouldnt have thought its the smoothies? .. Im pretty sure chia is good for that?... I tried some freshly squeezed orange juice today, maybe tomorrow I will try fresh grape or apple, I think a lady on here said apple is very good ?

Im off now to get a slice of watermelon ! hope its a good one ! x

PS anyone here tried Durian ? curious about it !

[MysticTree]

What a lovely lot of food prep you've got going on. Fresh apple juice is good for getting things moving again. But it can be fairly terrific so keep littlun near to bathroom after drinking it.