I love the WF over on hampton as they have a raw bar and vegan parfia's (SP?)hehehe but the new one over where villa italia use to be is closer to home
We've been making the trek to the new one at Belmar- the Cherry Creek one is just TOO MUCH. And the variety is not as good compared to the new ones. The salad bar is the draw for me and the CC one just doesn't stand up.
Hi again
I don't worry about the protein thing at all. In my understanding most raw foodists who have had the test done have perfectly fine protien levels. It is something that you can check with your doctor as you go through the process. A lot of raw foodists believe that one of the huge reasons we have so many problems in America is we are having way too much protein. The people that eat the most meet (us, Canada, Britian etc) have the highest rate of heart disease and obesity of anywhere. People who are in different Asian, African, and South American countries have fewer health problems related to their life styly. As far as soy goes, even if I wasn't raw I would try and not eat many soy products. I believe they do more harm then good. Check our Alissa Cohen's site, she has a lot of info and there are some other good ones too.
My typical diet
Breakfeast- Fruit (usually peaches, banana, stawberry etc)
lunch- Salad or nori rolls or fruit smoothie
After work-green smoothie (kale or chard or spinach + mango, peach, or berries)
or regular smoothie (raw cashew butter, mango, frozen banana, vanilla extract, agave necter, bee pollen, hemp, or flax seed)
Dinner- If I am really hungry I will make a meal like "spagetti" (thinly thinly sliced zucchinni with a marinara sauce of tomatos processed with basil, cold pressed olive oil, olives, red pepper, garlic) or gazpacho or a tostada (hard to explain)
My favorite book about being raw is Raw Food Real World. The people who made it have a high end restaurant in NYC and the recipies are sooooo good.
As far as raw nuts go, many raw foodists dehydrate things, that makes the raw nuts taste like roasted nuts without the cancer causing toxins associated with roasting things.
cc is a little cramped I'm not crazy about that store and the parking lot is a bit much but I do like the jamba juice. but I noticed there tofu selection was not very good. and I think the tofu at the other store was less expensive.
B-12 is something that most people are defficiant in (meat eaters, vegans, everybody) it is a good idea to supplement that one. I don't know about folic acid.
You can eat some beans if they are sprouted but not very many. Nuts are used all the time. You can soak them to digest them eaiser, put them in a dehydrator with spices, bleand them to make nutmilk, mix them to make salad dressings, or blend a bunch together dehydrate and make crackers or cookies. Last night I made a pizza crust combining raw walnuts, squash, flax seed and hemps seed. I dehydrated it over night and it looks beautiful! I am going to be eating pizza all week.
If you look at post 32 I wrote down what I normally eat in a day.
Just wanted to pop in and say "hi". I too, eat high raw and am presently trying to stay to around 90%. I love Alissa Cohen's website as well as her book. My favorite "cookbook" is also Raw Food, Real World. Sarma seems so nice and down to earth. (one of the authors) The food is beautiful and delicous too. Well, just wanted to hop on and say "hello" as it's nice to have raw foods in common. Take care all. You guys RAWK!
I'm glad someone started this thread. I am on my 4th day of going raw and so far I love it (as everyone else who's gone raw here has said ). I am not 100% because I have a hard time giving up my beans but on a typical day I am usually around 80-90% raw.
Some of you have asked about a typical menu. Here's mine. I'm trying to do the 5-6 "mini meals" instead of 3 big meals since it's supposed to be better for your metabolism and it's so much easier to do with raw:
- Smoothie made with banana and other fruit and some orange juice or banana and raw carob powder and hemp protein powder (which gives a good protein boost in the morning and is raw)
- fruit
- either a bean dip (not raw) like hummus or a nut pate with raw veggies
- raw veggies, such as celery or baby carrots
- salad with some kind of citrus dressing (or with interesting veggies - I made a salad of grated zucchini, red apples, avocado, and cumin yesterday that was very intersting and very good ) and either beans (if I haven't had them in the afternoon) or nuts
- fruit again (usually two of what I love, such as pineapple and cherries)
I hope to eventually go 100% raw but I wanted to ease into it slowly, since I've been eating so bad for the last few months due to the stress of moving.
Sorry guys..I haven't posted in awhile. Jeeze..I just read the 3 pages of posts..lol..since I started this thread. There are sooo many good ideas about the raw foods lifestyle. I am like 95% raw right now..I cook for 6 people and they won't go raw..just won't...and I was a vegetarian for soooo long and finally started eating some meat after getting pregnant with my daughter (baby #2) so...I don't think I would be able to go complete veg again...but, I would like to get as raw as my family/body/lifestyle will let me. It seems the most wholesome and most natural.
I've lost a few pounds on raw but the big difference is in how I feel and look. I have to make sure I get raw fats; nuts, avocados, etc; or else my hair gets really dry but my skin is so clear I don't even need makeup!
I love to start my day with a smoothie made from juiced apples, a banana, and some blueberries or strawberries. I feel clear, clean and energized. My family says they notice a definite difference when I'm eating raw, I seem "light" and more carefree according to them.
I tend to eat more fruits than vegetables but so far my blood tests are great (just had my physical) and I'm doing really well.
with the raw food diet. am i aloud to have unlimited raw foods?
typically yes but don't overeat nuts, they can stall weight loss. If you are eating unlimited fruits and vegetables, I've read that you can eat till full and not worry about calories. I don't count calories and I eat a lot of fruit and I'm losing weight.