Just an update on my rawesome journey with raw foods. I am really thinking of staring a separate blog to discuss all this on a naturemoms subdomain but for now here is my progress.
I am feeling AMAZING! The other morning my family was eating breakfast with my parents and this is how the conversation went with my Dad:
Dad: You look really great. Is it that raw foods thing?
Me: Yes, I feel really good….lots of energy.
Dad: You look it…you seem really alert and your skin looks really healthy.
Me: Yes, I usually get dry skin this time of year but my hair and skin seems to be looking better than ever. In fact, I am just rinsing my hair with water and no washing and it just doesn’t get oily.
My husband also noticed a difference. He said I was more smiley and happy than he had seen me in awhile. It is hard not to be that way when you feel so good.
I have not had much of the detoxing symptoms I have heard about though and I think that is because I am still eating 30% non raw as suggested in The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. She feels that people will give up on raw foods if their detox symptoms get too bad so she doesn’t recommend going cold turkey…she recommends making a slow transition.
I am conflicted about two things though. I have really run into the vegan police again. They are everywhere in the raw foods arena. Many of them think that raw means raw vegan…no exceptions. So I have already run into some raw vegans saying that meat eaters are setting themselves up for disease and parasites and they are saying that meat eating is inefficient and has a negative impact on the earth. They also don’t want to hear about ANY study that says otherwise…so far I am not so impressed with the “tolerance” of the raw foods crowd…they seem pretty militant. I can’t understand why they would get so upset about their fellow raw foodies eating a bit of meat or dairy when the alternative is the SAD (Standard American Diet). It seems kind of silly to me.
I am also wrestling with the environmental impact issue of not eating seasonally or locally. Meat eating hardly seems to be such a environmental horror when the raw foodists are talking about the exotic Asian fruits they are eating. WTH? I think this might be why many raw foods eaters live in warm climates. I am eating a lot of salads and fresh veggies and fruits and those surely are not growing here. The summer would be a snap eating raw but the cold weather months are troubling me.
I did buy some nuts from a raw foods farm here in Ohio though and I am excited to find out they have quite a few other offerings like dehydrated fruits and sun ripened tomatoes. I am looking to buy my own dehydrator this month too. I also found some local raw goat’s milk cheeses at Whole Foods that are really yummy. Another awesome find was Larabars. They are raw and so delicious it blows my mind. I love the lemon, key lime pie, apple pie, and cherry and they sell them in bulk at Costco for a steep discount.
I am just easing my kids into eating raw so they are not eating as much raw as I am but so far so good. I made my son a raw lunch for school this morning with raw key lime pie, fresh salad with sprouted beans and lentils, fresh fruit, dates, and a banana cookie Larabar.
The box is a Laptop Lunchbox.
Ooh I love Larabars! The cheapest I can get them is around $1 a bar. I made my own recipe based on one of the flavors, I can’t remember it exactly but I *think* it was almonds, dates and apricots. I just soaked the nuts, removed the skins, threw it all in the food processor to mix and then placed it in a buttered casserole dish. The kids loved it. Great energy food.
What you’re describing with the militant political kind of stance that so many people take with their diet… yeah, that’s a big turnoff to me too.
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Yes, I think it would be very easy to make your own larabars.
We eat Larabars here by the boxful! So, so yummy. And I’m jealous of your Costco.
One thing I neglected to mention was our use of frozen fruit in the winter. I usually cut up an apple or two and toss it with frozen berries and pineapple (obviously fresh before frozen and not cooked) and I have to say that this is my go-to raw fruit salad in the months ahead.
I think we are a little south of you by down by Cincinnati so we experience very similar summers/winters.
I was wondering about that as well. We love to eat raw food (including raw meat, my boyfriend is a sushi addict, even though I don’t think meat eating is the most healthy thing) but most of what we get is from far far away, perhaps even foreign countries who may be using bad chemicals on the food. We try to buy organic, but there isn’t alot of variety and at our local grocery store alot of times the organic food has gone bad. Were growing our own food next spring and there are a few plants that will grow through the winter. A wide variety of roots (although I would find it hard to eat them raw) grow, some herbs and small tomato plants which can grow inside. Some plants like pumpkins and squashes grow pretty late into the year as well. Apples too.
It’s such a bummer when people in a certain crowd – be it raw foods, attachment parenting, frugality – get all judgmental with each other… We’re all one the same side, you know? But we have to make the choices that are right for us too. Seems like we’d all make more progress without the strife.
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Both are trying to eat healthier and do better for themselves (and possibly for their families), each within their own values system, and, they clearly have some shared beliefs (raw).
If we all agreed on everything, what a boring place it would be. We don’t have to disparage others, and again, we’d probably get a lot further in educating others (the “masses”) if there wasn’t such a rash of in-fighting.
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Uh, I don’t think raw meat eaters & raw vegans are “all on the same side,” Michelle.
You are right..we don’t have to agree. I have zero issue with that people that eat differently than I …unfortunately I seem to run into these militant foodies everywhere I go that are more than happy to attack me over what I eat. I am just lucky I guess. ;)
Just tried a Larabar. YUM! It was so dense it took me 1/2 hour to eat it, which is a Good Thing since I’m prone to stuffing. I’ll be looking for them at my Costco on Monday. Thanks for the heads-up!
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I wish I had a Costco myself. I will have to check my natural foods store to see if they have the Larabar. I really can’t wait to try them and I think I must read that book.
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I’ve been eating about 50% raw most of the last 30 years…. and like you, Tiffany, I have found that I encounter Raw Foodists (especially recently) – who are somewhat fanatical. I was going to post earlier but never got around to it.
I think that what can happen is that for some people who have eating disorders, they can get too carried away with the Raw Food solution, and it becomes an obssession or almost like a religion.
Then others can feel guilty if they are not eating 100% raw or if they are “failing” and so set themselves up for “failure”.
I can be an extremist — (I used to fast – as in only distilled water for 10 days or more, long long ago…) — so I can be extreme, and I always have to keep reminding myself that Balance and Moderation are big keys!!
I think everyone needs more raw foods in their diets – raw plants – and “whole plants” with lots of the minerals, vitamins, live enzymes still intact.
I have lots to say on this subject, but I just wanted to post this while I’m thinking it!
Love your blog, Tiffany!
Diana Walker, Cravings Coach
Lib,
Both of my local grocery stores stock them. Look for them where you would find Zone Bars, or Luna Bars.
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Historically climate has had a great influence on how people eat. If you live in a colder climate, say Germany or Switzerland where my ancestors are from, your options for winter foods were meats, fish, cheeses and other dairy and whatever fruits and veggies you could preserve. So to say that ALL raw and vegan is the “natural” way to go seems a bit off. I understand the vegan argument and I have nothing against those that choose to live that way, but for me it doesn’t make sense.. finantially or environmentally.
I am glad you are doing so well on the raw foods though! I am *trying* to gradually incorporate more raw into our diet as well. Hey the further away from the SAD the better right? :)
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I, too, am a Lara bar lover. The price did me in so I started making my own. I have the recipe over on my blog if you’d like it. Your blog is fairly new to me but I really like it a lot. Looks we are on the same page about many things.
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It’s important to understand that it’s not JUST about eating raw and living foods, but also about drinking lots of clean water, chewing slowly, exercising, correct portions and FOOD COMBINING. When I first started out eating raw I didn’t realize the method behind the food, I just was overcome with joy that I could make such tasty dishes, and especially desserts, with fresh food. However, that is where nutritional deficiencies start, and over time you will find out that not only will your intestines be rebelling, but you will be lacking in important vitamins and minerals. I suggest really looking into how to create a balanced diet with the correct foods if you are going to be raising your kids this way.