Raw Vegan / Raw Foodist / Living Foods Support Thread - Page 2

[MoonStarFalling]

I'm not strictly vegan all the time. We do a combination of TF and raw here. There was a thread in the general nutrition forum for non vegan raw foodists at one point.

[nicky85]

We eat raw honey from time to time. We generally stay away from dairy products though because my husband tends to feel really lousy when he eats dairy. MoonStarFalling, thanks for your sharing your experiences!

[Weevil]

I'm vegan but not even close to raw. I'd love to do a high raw diet but it's really tricky with my colitis that reacts horribly when I eat too many raw foods. I've heard of people going into remission on a raw diet but haven't been able to make that work for me (probably due to lack of information and motivation on my part).

However, I am always looking for new raw foods to add to my diet when I can. Sometimes when eating at restaurants, farmer's markets, etc, I will have a nice raw kale salad or coleslaw. They're usually very mildly 'seasoned', but I can't quite figure out the ingredients (a bit of apple cider vinegar? lemon juice? olive oil?).

Does anyone have any guidance? Or any links or recommended books where I can find simple raw recipes? I don't like how complicated some raw recipes can be, I'm looking for some that can be thrown together quickly without a lot of advance preparation (such as soaking, etc). I'm not big on mono meals but don't need anything too complex.

Thanks

[maryeb]

Hi Mamas,

I wanted to answer Nicky a little-I was all raw vegan for almost 2 years and my periods did last at least 4 days for sure. Some days I did have a normal flow but definitely not as heavy as before. I also experienced much less PMS or cramps. Now I am high raw and do use honey and it's pretty much the same, thankfully! I conceived easily while all raw and knew right away. Not really different than the first time. One thing that was different was not getting my period back this second time on raw until my baby was 15 months. The first time it was around 8 months. That was a bonus!

And to fyvel-we dress our kale salad with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon, dulse, salt/pepper. Yummy! Just make sure to really massage the kale. Have you checked out any raw blogs?

Take care, Mary

[Weevil]

Originally Posted by maryeb

And to fyvel-we dress our kale salad with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon, dulse, salt/pepper. Yummy! Just make sure to really massage the kale. Have you checked out any raw blogs?

I have seen a couple of blogs, but am interested in more if you have any good recommendations!

Thanks for the tips on the kale, I never thought about dulse, what a great idea. I had read some recipes but none of them sounded quite 'right' (ie what I was looking for) but yours sounds right on. Thanks!

[Geigerin]

[TrishWSU]

I've played with raw eating since about May and I love it when I can make it work.Just by cutting out processed foods and eating way more fresh fruits and veggies I ended up losing 20 lbs over 2 months (I was still eating some meat occassionally.) I discovered through this that I cannot eat dairy! By unintentionally eliminating it and then adding it back in I realized that it is what has been a major factor in my painful acne breakouts and it makes me bloated and gassy. My husband also started eating a more raw/less meat based diet about the same time I did. He also has lost weight and now he says he craves salads. His friend was grilling some steaks one night and my DH turned one day and made a huge salad instead!

Recently I've transitioned to an animal free diet, but I seem to be eating more cooked foods. I'm trying to get back to more raw foods. But I'm currently in Iraq so my options are pretty limited to whatever they have in the dining facility...which is pretty much the same things every.single.day and that gets kind of boring. And not much is actually fresh, you can tell almost all of the "fresh" fruits and vegetables were frozen for shipment. I'm not sure if that counts as raw still. Does anyone know if something that has been freeze dried is still considered raw? I've found freeze dried spinach online and I've been thinking about getting some to make green smoothies.

[E.V. Lowi]

Thank you for starting this thread and for the great links!

[nicky85]

Originally Posted by TrishWSU

I've played with raw eating since about May and I love it when I can make it work.Just by cutting out processed foods and eating way more fresh fruits and veggies I ended up losing 20 lbs over 2 months (I was still eating some meat occassionally.) I discovered through this that I cannot eat dairy! By unintentionally eliminating it and then adding it back in I realized that it is what has been a major factor in my painful acne breakouts and it makes me bloated and gassy. My husband also started eating a more raw/less meat based diet about the same time I did. He also has lost weight and now he says he craves salads. His friend was grilling some steaks one night and my DH turned one day and made a huge salad instead!

Recently I've transitioned to an animal free diet, but I seem to be eating more cooked foods. I'm trying to get back to more raw foods. But I'm currently in Iraq so my options are pretty limited to whatever they have in the dining facility...which is pretty much the same things every.single.day and that gets kind of boring. And not much is actually fresh, you can tell almost all of the "fresh" fruits and vegetables were frozen for shipment. I'm not sure if that counts as raw still. Does anyone know if something that has been freeze dried is still considered raw? I've found freeze dried spinach online and I've been thinking about getting some to make green smoothies.

I think it depends on the temperature the food was dried at. Frozen counts as raw. The enzymes can survive if frozen. Dried counts as raw as long as it's not dried at a temperature above 120-ish degrees. (I think that's the cut off for enzyme survival. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) I follow Robyn Openshaw (aka Green Smoothie Girl)'s blog about high raw eating and she freezes fruits and veggies for her smoothies that she will be making during the winter. (The growing season in most of Utah is pretty short, so unless you greenhouse some strawberries, there aren't many other options for fruit.)

As hot and dry as it is in Iraq, I guess you could theoretically make your own dehydrated food using the sun, like Essene bread the way the Essenes made it, although I don't know how that would work in practice. From what I've heard from uncle who did tours of duty in Afghanistan and Kuwait, living in the Middle East is kind of like living in a big dehydrator.

[treeoflife3]

Hey, I'm currently in the process of looking into transitioning my diet to more raw and vegan and was wondering if anyone had any good tips for starter menus/shopping lists?

I was also wondering about detoxing and if you automatically detox switching from a fairly lousy diet to a mostly raw diet quickly and how that will work out with breast feeding. I'd love to do a cleanse (which surprises me as I used to always be very against them) to kick of the diet change but from what I understand, this is a no for nursing.

[MoonStarFalling]

treeoflife, I buy whatever produce I'm craving. Sometimes I do lots of citrus for juice, sometimes coconut, sometimes I eat an avocado every day for weeks. I just try to have some sweet and some savory foods.

If I haven't been good for a while I will go through a detox. It can last for weeks. I've seen people recommend trying to sweat a lot to reduce the amount of toxins going into the breastmilk. What kind of cleanse? I would drink a lot of fluid, sweat and get the bowels cleaned out. The only issues I've had are that I can sometimes fall really low on calories (below 800), which once caused my supply to dip very low. I would pay attention to getting enough calories and fat.

[Maine Mama Doula]

I'm back for inspiration and support. I've definitely fallen off the wagon. I've gained back 20 pounds and generally feel pretty crappy. I've just been diagnosed as bipolar and started on medication 2 weeks ago. I think that I need to go raw again. Diet does really seem to help me, but maybe I need to try vegetarian/vegan first. It's tough because we're getting WIC and it is so dairy and grain based. Raw is usually too expensive for us, but if I can just keep it simple...

[lunamegn]

*bump* I'm doing a raw cleanse for this month (but hopefully it will last longer). I've done a mostly raw diet before so I feel prepared this time. I know that I want to focus more on whole foods versus going through all the work to make things that mimick processed foods. I do love making raw crackers, which are easy and simple. I'll also be making some raw desserts.

What are your favorite raw dinners? What do the kids love?

What are your favorite raw soups?

Thanks!

[alittlesandy]

I'm loving this thread!

When I was pregnant with my son I pretty much became a vegetarian (couldn't stand the taste or texture of meat anymore) and he has been mostly vegan. We still eat a lot of eggs (from our neighbor's chickens) but I'm thinking of giving up dairy and wheat and transitioning to raw. I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do all raw in January!

Those of you who are mostly raw or have been in the past, what do you do in the winter? Can you drink tea on a raw diet?

I'm thinking of going 50-75% raw and keeping in tea, vegan soups, and the occasional plate of pad thai

[MoonStarFalling]

I can't do 100% raw in the winter. I tried last winter and even living in south Florida getting very fresh produce I didn't fare well. I could never get warm. I just didn't get as much of a benefit as usual and felt more sick and weak than anything. I think 50% is more my style in winter. I know a lot of people still do warm herbal teas. If you like pad thai there are plenty of raw versions you can try too here and here.

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by OrangeMoon 

Does anyone have any dessert/sweets recommendations? I am a sucker for sweets and we have been living at this amazing vegan ice cream parlour but I'm guessing that isn't raw.

i just made a yummy chocolate mousse pie & it's raw.  the recipe is from jennifer cornbleet. here's the youtube video: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsP3E73bAJw

(there are 2 parts to watch)...it's yummy. all of her recipes are yummy! hth.

[bonjourmama]

Hi everyone! We just picked up a copy of Kris Carr's "Crazy Sexy Diet"

She talks a lot about how raw food is healing food. Anyways, we are all over the place with our diet, however we both (DH and I) really feel connected to the healing powers of living foods. Our biggest problem is that we are so poor!  Obviously it seems ideal to have a whole food diet when you are poor, but growing up with a SAD diet, comfort food comes in packages for us. Long story short we are trying to make a change. Inspiring to read your ideas and links. Thanks!

[Malva]

I bought Crazy Sexy Diet in spite of the title after reading the article on Kris Carr in VegNews. I *love* it! 

At first her chipper tone was annoying but it grew on me and by the end, I really liked her. And it's NOT a "diet" book, it's more a prescription for a full healthy long life.

Anyway, I'm done gushing. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonjourmama 

Hi everyone! We just picked up a copy of Kris Carr's "Crazy Sexy Diet"

She talks a lot about how raw food is healing food.  

[calynde]

I love the Crazy Sexy Diet book, too...highly recommended! I think her approach is very doable...although i eat quite a bit more fruit than her program recommends.

[VeganEmma]

Hey I love this thread! I am vegan and have been slowly transitioning to a more raw lifestyle for a year or so now. For breakfast I eat fruit or a smoothie and try to eat a big dark green salad for lunch. We usually do a cooked dinner. We are having trouble coming up with dinner ideas. What do you usually do for dinner?  I don't like doing too many nuts because they do not agree with me, but I love avacodos! I am currently 9 months pregnant and feel great even though I am not 100% raw. Would love to chat with some mommas! Do any of you feed your children raw? My son eats what I eat, so if I eat raw he eats raw. He also still breastfeeds frequently, but he does a lot of fruit and smoothies, fresh coconut water and avocados. He loves flax crackers too, when I make them. :) 

It is a learning process and takes time- I go back and forth, but I always come back to raw because of how it makes me feel. It would be nice to find some support and get ideas from you ladies!