Raw Foods, anyone??
 

Is there a thread for raw foods people? I am interested and I would like to talk to likeminded people.

Please feel free to move this thread..or push me to another place, if I am totally wrong as to where I posted this :o

Hope all is well..

:carrot: Peace :carrot:
Sarah

Hi Sarah and welcome! :wave:

I think your post is in the right place but I'm not sure if anyone here is doing a a raw food diet.

Hopefully you will attract some like minded people here. :)

I have also been curious about this. I like to keep my diet as "raw" as possible, but would love to pick the brain of someone that's "all raw all the time". I don't think I could do it myself completely, but it's definitely a topic I would participate in!

I am all excited to give it a go...I love the crunch of fruits and veggies..

Raw Veggie Fans Unite!
 

Hey SarahL and others interested, I am not vegan or raw foodie yet but have been chatting with 2 vegans about starting a challenge/support group doing the Eat to Live system by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I've just started browsing the book so my knowledge is limited but the first part of the program is plant foods only, raw being best. Anyone want to join us? :grouphug:

I followed a raw foods diet a few years ago and felt fantastic. I lost weight, my skin was gorgeous, I felt the best I'd felt in years, but traveling several days a week and lunch meetings, dinner meetings, etc. made it more than difficult to stay on it. When I'm home now, I try to eat as much raw as possible.

Raw here ! :)
 

I just went raw 2 weeks ago, I was aiming for a true 100 percent too, but after alot of thought and self awareness I have decided for now, for this moment in my life I am ok with only doing 75 percent most days, and some days 100 percent..So my new official title for myself is *Pretty dam close to Raw Vegan* LOL :)

I try to keep my all my morning and afternoon foods ( I dont really offically eat meals anymore, I nibble..off and on all day pretty much )
But I try to keep what I eat before *dinner* time 100 percent raw, then around 5pm, if I am going to have a cooked something thats when I eat it, and then after that I stay raw the rest of the evening

except sometimes when I just HAVE TO HAVE POPCORN..lol

But then there are some days when I do stay 100 percent raw..Those are my *cleansing days*
What I would like to do is, 3 days a week raw and 4 days 75 percent raw and then eventually in time, start you know 4 days a week 100 percent, untill I am like at only Saturdays eatting cooked food incase I go out to eat and there is a lovely bready vegan dish I want or something:)
Like have a cheat day once a week

But I have only been raw for 2 weeks and the first week I lost 4 lbs, this week I lost 5lbs so at this point I am really afraid to mess with whatever I am doing, because apparently I am doing something good:)
So I am going to keep on this path I am on and when I start to platue or something then I will maybe add another 100 percent day or something and see if that wakes up the platue or something..

But I love Raw, I love it, love it, love it, love it, love it !!
I dont shove it on anyone, my friends are all now asking me why I am loosing weight so fast, or well how I am and I tell ppl I went raw ..when I was vegan I was a bit of a bread addict..and peanut butter ..lol I mean really..I was eatting ALOT of bread and peanut butter..like I would go on kinda werid complusive binges of eatting kinda vegan junk like that, not that bread and peanut butter are horrible for you, but it was WHITE bread and ALOT of peanut butter..lol
I was pretty heavy for a Vegan still actually, When I was just a vegatarian I was a utter junk food veggie too, I ate all sorts of crap I am totally embarrassed to admit I was eatting..as long as it didnt have meat in it, I was still eatting it in mass amounts..lol and it wasnt fruits and veggies..lol
But anyways so my friends are askings how I am loosing this weight, and its funny because when I went vegatarian a few years ago and then eventually vegan I lost just a few lbs here and there but ppl didnt go OH MY GOD JESS what are you doing? But now since going Raw, thats what I hear and I tell them about it because it is exciting and important to me, but I try not to shove it on anyone at all cuz its not meant for everyone I dont think just like vegatarism and veganism are not meant for every single person, I dont like when people shove religous stuff or what not on me so I dont want to be like that you know?
But I cant help be excited about what I am doing so I tell everyone I went raw , well pretty dam close to raw, and its amazing the people who now want to look into veganism and raw foods now..Now that I am really starting to trim down and my skin looks really good, now I am inspiring, ..
which is cool..
cuz yah being a vegan junk food junkie was apparently not inspiring to other ppl at all..lol

But I have to admit I have one horrible habit that keeps me shy on raw food boards on the net, I still smoke cigs, I am quitting Nov 1st, that is my quit date, the program I am in you can set it up to 6 months in the future, so I set mine on Nov 1st ( it was a good date due to some other stuff going on in sept and oct )
And I will quit this time!
But yah till I do that I carry this guilt thing with me..

I also still drink wine in moderation, and most raw foodists and fruitarians get really crappy about wine drinkers too, I dont think I will give up my wine, I really enjoy my after dinner glass and my few glasses on Saturday nights outside in the summer here, and that is just something that I feel is ok for my body at this moment in life..if it ever feels not ok or is not in decent moderation then I will consider giving it up..

Hi, I just went 100% raw last week and I love it to. My plan was to just do it for a couple weeks butI don't think I will be able to stop. It is the easiest "diet" I have ever gone on, no figuring out portion size and ratios. Instead I just eat whatever I feel like. Going to the farmers market and the grocery store is a treat because I don't have to do any planning or wondering I just go to the produce section and buy what looks good.

This first week I lost 5 lbs. OMG! I have never lost that much in a week and I have never eaten so healthy.

I have been reading lots and lots about it so if you have any questions ask away!

Can you share some typical foods you eat? I have tried to incorporate more raw foods, and read a lot, but I just can't get my mind wrapped around what a day of raw eating would look like...and how to get enough protein while doing it.

So what would a raw food diet day look like? (considering Breakfast, lunch and Dinner + 2 snacks)...

I eat raw foods but not ONLY raw foods. I do salads for one meal but I cant them without adding the fat free dressings (atleast a few drops of zero cal balsamic vinegartte)
is there absolutely no cooking??? it must require lots of motivation...

Originally Posted by Monet:
Can you share some typical foods you eat? I have tried to incorporate more raw foods, and read a lot, but I just can't get my mind wrapped around what a day of raw eating would look like...and how to get enough protein while doing it.

On a varied raw food diet, protein is not a concern. The proteins in meat and the proteins in vegetables are different in that the proteins in meat are broken down less efficiently than with vegetables and much of it is wasted (but still keeping enough to benefit from it). The lowest protein source in vegetables is the potato (11%). If you were to live solely off of potatoes, you would have plenty of deficiencies, but protein would not be one of them. The other idea is that cooking the protein source in turn kills off half of it. By keeping the enzymes in tact, it becomes much more useful to your body over an extended period of time.

The problem with protein difficiencies in vegetarian diets and what gives it a bad rap is that some vegetarians don't rely on natural food sources, instead opting for vegetarian "junk food" (high sugar, high refined carbs, processed garbage- you get the picture). A natural vegetarian diet actually contains twice the protein of the standard American diet.

A raw food diet relies heavily on fruits and vegetables, so protein is the least of their concern.

So that's my soapbox on protein.

I typically eat one raw week per month, but it is a difficult lifestyle to maintain. It's a very committed way of eating and I've said before that it's hard to assimilate with a group that focuses on their bowel movements so much. But the benefits are outstanding with the proper education. If you are curious about what a typical raw foodist eats, you may want to check out rawfoodtalk dot com. While the topics are nothing short of interesting, you will find the every day stuff as well.

When I go raw, I don't get very creative. There are all kinds of "fake" recipes out there, some of which are really good. I try to make sure I have enough fat (avocados and bananas), and salads that can contain every vegetable under the sun. I've also recently discovered the wonderful world of sprouts and rely heavily on juices (green ones in particular). If you are serious about going raw and stick to it, you may start out with a salad heavy diet, but it will bore you eventually and you will be forced to find new stuff anyway. And there is some interesting stuff! :)

I'm certainly not 100% raw foods... but I have been more and more discovering how yummy my veggies taste RAW... which is nice as I have never really cared for them that way. Much easier LOL.

junebug, it is my understanding that you can't get complete proteins from just veggies unless soy is included in that list.

I guess I'm curious as well as from my understanding legumes, nuts and grains help make your proteins complete. I can't imagine eating legumes, nuts or grains raw, especially without breaking your teeth. Well I have eaten a raw nut before, I would say maybe that is doable.

Your body does need complete proteins though so how do you get them from just veggies and fruit?

Ok. So we are made up of 12 amino acids from the body, and 8 or 9 essential amino acids that must be found from an outside source. Correct, animal products contain all the essentials, where as veggies by themselves might be strong in a few and lacking a bit in others. However, over the course of 1-2 days, all needs are eventually met.

Legumes, nuts, and grains are extremely helpful in this area, but it's limited for raw foodists. The most commonly occurring source that I have seen is the juice that comes from nuts as well as the nuts themselves. You can make as well as purchase almond milk, for example and it "completes" the requirement. Also, it sounds odd, but raw foodists, high raw foodists in particular eat a number of things raw that you or I wouldn't think of to eat. It is also my understanding that as long as the caloric need is met, the protein need is naturally met as well.

The other consideration (and this is regarding animal products), is that when you consume a protein source, you must also consider the entire package. Sure, anumal products contain that "complete" protein, but can also contain excessive fat and calories. There is a lot of data coming out about the long term effects of diets that are super high in animal protein. It promotes short term weightloss of course, but also damages kidneys (causing kidney stones), effects your urinary tract, sucks calcium from your bones, etc...

Ok, I know you didn't inquire about that, but it paints a bigger picture for me.

Well I'm converting to vegetarianism, slowly :) The main reason is health concerns. Meat does tend to have high calories and fat, even for lower fat meat. Part of my concern was to make sure that I had complete proteins.

When reading through what I needed, it basically sounded like if I ate a mix of legumes, whole grains and veggies in a single day then I would naturally get complete proteins. Also I use unsweetened soy milk almost every day.

So if someone says they are a raw foodist and eat only fruit and veggies, I'm just curious how they get complete protein? So I'm curious what a raw foodist would eat in an average day. I'd also be concerned about fat as well unless they are eating raw nuts.

I don't want to give the idea that raw foodists eat only fruits and veggies, although there are frutarians, but that's a whole other realm (can you say "rapid tooth decay"?). I tend to focus on vegetables in particular because I am not a complete raw foodist and draw those nutrients from other sources as well.

A 100%, 365 days-a-year raw foodist typically does not eat just fruits and veggies (although it makes up the bulk of their diet). Fat sources should not be the bulk, but a compliment and there are plenty of places to get fats- the main ones being avocados and bananas and nuts (and their milk). This is PLENTY (especially if you have a great love of avocados like I do!). It's just a matter of comparing your daily needs in grams with the grams in your fat sources- not a hard thing to do.

The greatest concern of course, is reaching an adequate amount of calories for the day. Another issue is that raw foods tend to just run straight through some folks and they don't absorb all of the nutrients, which leads to a calorie diffeciency and causes some to be underweight. And then you can argue about how what is underweight in an overweight society and then you just lose everyone. I guess I'm trying to say that it's subjective and that people will believe what's right for them according to their knowledge. It's just simply another way of living.

Seriously, though, check out the site I mentioned earlier. I was curious about the effects of this lifestyle on real folks who are actually living it and what they eat from day to day (and not just a paper debate on right vs. wrong) and I got the answers I was looking for.

junebug, what web site is that? I don't see it unless I missed it somewhere.

I personally try to balance my proteins and carbs. My fat intake has gone way down recently but I keep olive oil in the mix. I also buy avocados when I can. My protein consumption has also gone down but I think that is ok.

I do like the idea of raw food in the sense that we don't need processed junk for our bodies. I wouldn't mind doing something that was very simple but my imagination led me to roasted nuts as a supplement and well if roasted nuts are cooked then well they aren't raw food :) So I got stumped. If you aren't adverse to buying things like almond milk (and soy milk?) then it would make sense you could complete your proteins in that manner.

The shake powder I drink for breakfast, which is vegan friendly, talks about cold pastuerizing and cold processing the ingredients so that enzymes aren't killed. It is also pulverized into a powder so that it can be drank. I like it a lot. Not that I would claim it is raw food friendly but I thought it was interesting.

The other thing I think is interesting is the book I'm reading (SuperFoods RX) says specifically for some veggies that certain enzymes are killed in cooking but that some enzymes become available in cooking so that it is suggested to eat both cooked and raw. (Most people seem to prefer cooked than raw) I usually avoid boiling veggies just because I think it does take too many nutrients out of them.

Anyway that is a different topic. I would be interested to see a website with what raw foodists eat from day to day and what differences they notice. I think I could do it for a few days and I would be interested to see how.

I've seen a couple of books on raw foods that had recipes - I think they were at Chapters.

There is a whole "raw cuisine" - I'm sure you can find some recipes and sites if you do a search. It is more than just eating a plateful of raw veggies and some of recipes the I've seen look pretty good. :)

I think I also missed the site you mentioned Junebug.

Here's a link to Amazon showing some books on the subject. :)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...350119-8548641

rawfoodtalk.com :)

Thank you! :)

Since there seems to be a growing interest in this subject I have made a sticky in the recipe section for Raw/Living food recipes if anyone would like to post some recipes. :)

I am also working on a FAQ section which I hope to have up in the next few days. Thanks for everyone's input on this thread - great questions and info - especially you Junebug! :D

Thanks Mauvaisroux- I think it's a great compliment to the new Whole Foods section. It's certainly a good way to try new stuff that you may not have thought of to try before.

Originally Posted by nelie:
The other thing I think is interesting is the book I'm reading (SuperFoods RX) says specifically for some veggies that certain enzymes are killed in cooking but that some enzymes become available in cooking so that it is suggested to eat both cooked and raw.

I remember hearing this (Oprah, maybe?) about tomatoes. Something about how the antioxidants are more available when they are cooked/stewed.

Junebug,
HAve you been raw in Winter here in Denver? I'm from Califorina and I get so cold here in Co. It seems like it would be hard in the winter with out my warm soup.

G

I don't recall being 100 percent during the winter.... and cold is not a winter-specific feeling for me anymore! Since I have lost weight I am cold more often than not- there's even a thread about it in the maintainer's section. I also work at an ice arena where it's possible to see your breath indoors on any given day and I think this is a big contributing factor. It's odd though. I have noticed that when I was overweight I would shiver uncontrollably. Now, I may be on the chilly side a lot, but I don't shiver like that anymore.

I'm with you on the soups, though! When it starts snowing all I can think about is making a lentil soup! :)

oops I should say Junebug do you ever go out to eat I was wondering if you know of any really yummy veggy resturants around I really like the wholly tomatoe (SP?) but I don't know of any others.

thanks G

watercourse foods- downtown on 13th kind of across from the Museum.
http://www.watercoursefoods.com/WaterCourse_Foods.pdf :drool:

If you look at the menu it tends to be more vegan friendly than raw friendly.

More often than not, though, my rest. of choice is Whole Foods.

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

I went to Trader Joes yesterday and they had a raw trail mix as well as other raw nuts. I guess I never really noticed. I got tempted by raw Brazil nuts (love love them) but the price was a bit more than I wanted to pay.

I used to live in Denver and I know there are some good indian restaurants that are veggie friendly. I don't know of any that are entirely veggie though. There is one near me here in Maryland though that is entirely veggie. Not sure that indian would be vegan friendly though.

Originally Posted by gggbdomino:
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.

And that parking lot. Yikes.

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.

That second smoothie of yours sounds delicious! And I'm also digging Shazzie's site as well right now.

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.

What about B12 and Folic acid! I think you should incorporate multivitamins with more supplemenrts of B12 and folate.

Proteins can be found in sprouts.other veggies have low proteins. Are beans allowed? I didnt know nuts was ok!?!

Can anyone write a typical day on raw food diet? like breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks?

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!:carrot:

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 :D). 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 :D) 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.

Tam

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.

Talk to you soon,
Sarah

Sarah don't worry about not going completely raw, I think just incorportating some raw foods will do anyone a world of good.

I also adore Raw Food Real World

Tam- did you know that you can make raw humus with nuts? You can find some recipies online. I got some from whole foods and it was pretty good.