I've been reading more and more about raw vegan eating, and it just keeps popping back up for me over the last few months as I battle hormonal problems and who knows what else. I want to give it a shot, but I'm wondering just how tough it is to make the switch.

Also, looking at how many recipes call for sprouted grains, sprouted beans, soaked nuts and the dehydrator, I'm also wondering how much advanced planning it takes. Does it take a little while to get into a good rhythm with it? I realize I could just keep fruit and veggies around and make it easy on myself, but I don't know if I'd stick to it that way.

Any information and stories of others' experiences (good or bad) are welcomed. Thanks, mamas!

i also have recently become very interested in a raw diet.

the first switch we did was to buy a juicer. dh, ds 14, and i each drink 16oz for breakfast and another for mid afternoon. there is a great book on 'recipes' on which veggies to juice to address which concerns. one recipe that comes up frequently is 10oz carrot w/ 6oz spinach juice.

we have been juicing for about 3 months now and ds' excema is starting to clear and his struggle with constipation is over.

i have read a lot about raw/juicing for women and hormonal issues and myself saw a positive adjustment to AF.

i suggest trying to switch to raw for 1 meal(breakfast) a day and then 50% for another (lunch). since during the day is when you need to the most energy. then eat whatever for dinner. it seems to make a difference for me when i stick to this. in essence 50% of your diet is then raw.

hoping to see some more raw info here.
luna

This is my true dream but will take a bit to switch over. I recall looking at a site months ago where there is a family who eat raw and the husband writes books about it that you can order. I just can't recall the site :wah:

Was it http://www.thegardendiet.com? I just ordered Alissa Cohen's recipe book from http://www.alissacohen.com. And I checked out the ONE book our little bitty library has about raw foods. What a disappointment! It was published in 1980 and advocates eating raw beef, fish, eggs and dairy products regularly. :rolleyes: Not what I had in mind.

Yes! that's the site. I think it's been revamped but I remeber the story of the mother on there which was really inspiring to me. I am hoping that once the baby is here and we are a bit more settled that I can start to switch over the summer. I am all ready to order our garden seeds and potatoes and am so excited to involve Maya in the garden this year.

I was raw for a short time. I loved it and felt great, but it was very hard to stay with it.

If you don't mind me asking, Shannon, what made it hard to stay with it? Did anyone else in your family go raw, or was it just you?

I am not now, but I have been in the past. Longest was 6 months & I was VERY motivated. I felt great, better than ever. Allergies & long-standing illness were gone. I had so much energy. i did not mess with many recipes - but I also live in an area that has raw food restraunts & such which helped keep cravings at bay.
To be perfectly honest the only reason I gave up on it was that i had my first of many miscarriages after being raw - I felt like I had done so much to make my body a temple & it was all for naught. I went on to have many more reproductive issues. So - its not going to make your life perfect! But had I the motivation once again I would so do it. My kids were raw too & so healthy. there is nothing like having the dentist nearly fall on the floor when he asks your kids what their favorite food is & they say avocado LOL & having kids asking for cookies & what they really mean is cucumbers ;)

Oh - and the detox period is the WORST. I was so weak & looked so bad. Once that was over though I felt great! :)

If you don't mind me asking, Shannon, what made it hard to stay with it? Did anyone else in your family go raw, or was it just you?

I was the only one that went raw and that was part of the problem. I was still having to cook for dh and ds. Dh would bring home pizza once a week and that was very difficult for me. He (dh) is not supportive of healthy eating. :rolleyes:

In your op, were you talking about http://www.rawfamily.com

Igor and Victoria Boutenko and their 2 children have some books and you can buy Igor's "burgers".

I have been making a serious attempt to eat a raw lifestyle since Sept 2004. I keep a journal along with many others at my friends site.
http:///www.fromsadtoraw.com
Michelle Reeves is a friend of mine and she sells raw food at a great price from her site and at a local location (farmers market) this summer.
She has been a great inspiration to me not because she is a raw food expert ..but because she is REAL and has REAL issues with eating raw.
Often I set myself up for failure and when I read other journals of people who struggle like I do...it keeps me grounded.

As far as sprouting...I have been sprouting beans and nuts. I am learning to grow my own wheatgrass and currently looking for a used juicer for wheatgrass that I don't have to spend a mint on.

On Michelle's site...she has WONDERFUL recipies and techniques to sprout..open coconuts...etc....

Today I am detoxing from eating terrible crap last night while we had a guest....I just ate out of emotion....modified crap...it even said it on the package...lemon cake...man it was good but today my face is swollen and I feel terrible. So its raw bananas with coconut milk and caco beans for me today.

Some people in this lifestyle get high and mighty and try to present themselves to be perfect.....stay away from "know it all -never eat anything raw and dont understand how you can" people.

Gain support from real people who want health for there families and themselves :)

Detoxing is hard....but it makes a big difference....

I encourage you to read Valerie's journal :) She has a great way of expressing herself that is real :)

http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/Journals/Valerie/April2005.htm



:happy:

Thanks for posting the link Michelle. I've taken a look and I'm thinking I'll reap a lot of benefits from her site. Is she in Arkansas? She mentioned doing workshops with Victor Kulvinskas and partipating in "Ozark potlucks". I use to live down the street from Victor. His wife is a good friend of my midwifes. They hold a week long women's festival on their land that I've wanted to go to for the past 7 years and never have. I have several of Victor's books. You should see his wife. I know that she has to be in her 50's (probably mid to late) but she is the sexiest women I've ever met. She teaches dance and yoga, has the body of a 29 year old... skin that is baby smooth ... just radiant.

Anyway... I recently ordered Eat to Live from amazon.com and have just finished reading it. It's a very informative, inspiring book. I'm beginning my raw food diet on Monday...after I grocery shop and work out a food plan for me. It's going to be difficult as my husband is doing a low carb diet so I'm already cooking his meals differently than mine and the boys. Now having to cook his, the boys, and then mine. I'm not sure how I'll manage but the desire and motivation is there...so we'll see. I'm anxious to get my boys on a better diet. Since I've gotten off course I've just drug them along with me. Very disappointed in myself for that.

anyway... would love to talk more with anyone enjoying a raw food diet.


edited because i meant to type that victor's wife had the body of a 29 year old...not a 19 year old. I liked my body at 19 but *really* loved it at 29. :)

One of my bf's is about 75% raw. She has 7 kids and loads of energy.

My other friend and I are working toward 50% or more of our daily diet being raw. Right now I'm at about 20-30% Not great but it's a start. Since I've been whizzing up smoothies in my vita-mix it's been a little easier.

I thought I posted to this again last week thanking you all for the links and information! Either I was dreaming or I posted to some other thread.

It's just so exciting to find other mamas out there who are interested in raw foods. We have some IRL friends who are mostly raw, but they live in a converted bus and travel full-time so I don't often get to see them and talk about things like this.

It's funny, though - since I started thinking seriously about going 100% raw, I've been craving things like pineapple, raw guac, fresh salsa and this awesome looking raw ravioli recipe in the new book I got - the "pasta" is made from thinly sliced turnips! This week will be my big shopping trip for organic veggies, and I'll order the juicer and dehydrator, so within a week of today I want to be on my "raw journey!" How are you all doing with it now?

Melissa. I am excited as well. I've been easing into this because I feared a bad detox. I stopped all caffeine 5 days ago and sugar 3 days ago. My worst day was yesterday... terribly shaky and sick stomach. I am spending next week comprising a recipe/food idea book. I need to be organized with this in the beginning because I have a husband doing a low carb diet and 5 picky boys to cook for. I need to make certain that I have things on hand for me and also quick meal plans and food-on-the-go ideas. I am very serious about this and am treating it so ...at least until it all becomes second nature to me.

I was introduced to a new site yesterday. It may have been mentioned above. I can't remember. http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ There is a E2L section with wonderful recipes. The site that happykisses shared with us is wonderful also. I wish she would come back to this thread. I think she lives close to me.

I am aiming for 80% raw.

I would love to find a board with other women who are going raw as well. There is a board at vegsource but it is nothing like aw. We need something like this place to share our experiences and recipes etc. I think the support would be wonderful.

edited to add : So what is the title of this new book? Give me a review too :)

I would really enjoy a forum here that is dedicated to eating raw. I know I would frequent it daily.

So Amity, do you think this could be a possibility? Pretty please? :flowerkit

OH this would be fantastic and would fit right in with the other forums! What a wonderful idea. I know others would enjoy this too.

This is amazing that you all are talking about this.......becuase my dh started (I don't know what prompted this) researching raw diet and emailed me a link where he saw some recipes he wanted to try. I honestly have not really read up on this much.

I'm vegetarian, but I came to my way of eating from a macrobiotic way which is so different from the raw foods. I love rice and can't imagine not having that....but my dh pointed out that even if we were 75% raw, that would be excellent. He also read somewhere that being 100% raw is really difficult and even being 50% raw is better than not.

Anyway, I'd support a board for raw foods eating.

Now, this blows me away about my dh interest....he is not even total vegetarian yet but last night he told me he was coming around to all of what I've been doing for a while....but the raw food aspect really shocked me about my dh!!

Anyway, I'm helping dd make granola...gotta run upstairs.

Thanks for all the links!!!!

Michelle

bumping in hopes that Amity will read this.

Hey Michelle, did you get your Vita Mix yet?

Hey Michelle, did you get your Vita Mix yet?

No not yet and it is driving me crazy! *lol* If it does not arrive today, I'll have to wait until next week.

I may call vita mix and see if they can give me a tracking number.
I think it is coming via UPS.

It will make bringing more raw foods into my diet a bit easier, I think.

Michelle

OH this would be fantastic and would fit right in with the other forums! What a wonderful idea. I know others would enjoy this too.


I'm really enjoying the forums at the Alissa Cohen site.

Vita Mix arrived!!!! WOO HOO!!!

Boy, I've been using that sucker at least twice a day since we got it.

I made a carrot curry soup in it for lunch the other day and it was so good and so FILLING!

We've had smoothies every morning for breakfast.

I'm going to finally be able to grind my own coffee beans with the dry container.

I hope to make a frozen fruit "dessert" in it tomorrow.

I am really lovin' this thing! I can see how it will make increasing our raw portion of our diet quite a bit.

Also, anyone sprout their own grains according to raw methods? I started buying mine (they are frozen so probably not quite as good).....we will have the tortillas tonight, so I'll see how it tastes.


Michelle

:cuc:

Woo Hoo, Michelle. I'm really happy for you. I'm so glad you are enjoying it.

I love mine. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the smoothies are great.

Keep sharing what you are making. Did you get the recipe book?

I did get the recipe book. I'm glad I got the dry container...have not used it yet, but I read that I can grind coffee beans in it! :) Now I can buy the coffee our local Kroger store carries (only in whole bean) that consumer reports ranked so high and at a low price. Aaah, the little things that make my day. *lol*

We are going to visit my parents later this month, and they eat a VERY mainstream diet.....I'm the only strict vegetarian in our family (children will eat fish and some poultry but I won't allow it in our house but they will eat it at grandmas) so, I'm taking the vitamix and a bag of organic brown rice to eat while we are there. I'm so glad I have that vitamix to take along on this trip as it will make meals easier for me since even non-meat mainstream stuff makes me feel horrid, KWIM? Plus I don't want to be a PITA as a guest with my eating habits/beliefs.

Anyone know if a thread/board has been started here at Amitys yet for raw foods? (or vegan)

Michelle

Anyone know if a thread/board has been started here at Amitys yet for raw foods? (or vegan)

Michelle[/QUOTE]

I started a raw food thread a long time ago. There is a veggie forum here.

I know next to nothing about the raw vegan diets but are soooo intrigued by it. Soooo forgive me if this sounds too cliche....do you think a diet like this is safe for the kiddos too?

I don't know about the raw forum. I hope that Amity will start one. I know there is the vegetarian forum, but I think that raw is so different that it deserves it's own space.

I would love to see a raw forum here.

Sharing the incredible "raw" sites and a fantastic raw message board I have discovered. This will include the ones mentions above. Hope you all find them as inspirational as I do.

http://www.living-foods.com/

http://www.alissacohen.com/ ~ Be sure to join the message board here.

http://www.thegardendiet.com/ (love this one!)

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/eat2live/index.html

http://www.fromsadtoraw.com/

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/ ~ Check out "Eat to Live" for raw food recipes.


I am so inspired by all the information I have read! I can't remember ever being so motivated.