Sara, yay! I can't wait to hear the story!
Amanda, I am so sorry you're dealing with this with your daughter. I'm petrified of elementary school, too. Petrified. I had a pretty horrific time. I was desperately unpopular and dorky and uncool. The bullying that went on was abusive. So I get it, elementary school girls can be so sickeningly cruel. I don't have ideas yet, but I promise to think about this. Again, I'm sorry. Hugs and hugs and hugs.
ZippyGirl, I never answered you before about my going raw story! I have been vegan for many years, and I always loved raw food restaurants and preparation, and was intrigued by the idea of going all-raw because of how great I felt after eating a raw meal. So one day I just decided to do it. I was 100% raw for 4 months. I'm sorry to say I didn't get the results I'd hoped for. I'm certain now that it's because my diet was SO high-fat, which is a common issue with many "gourmet" raw diets. You know, lots of nut-based "crackers," pates, etc. And lots of avocado and olive oil. I was often very lethargic and tired. I LOOKED amazing - I lost about 7 or 8 pounds, and I had clear skin and bright eyes, but I just didn't feel as great as I thought I would. I actually started the the 80/10/10 diet (have you heard of this?) but it turns out that I was pregnant at the time, so I felt crappier than ever before. Plus my cooked-food cravings (BREAD OMG) got out-of-control. I figured my diet wasn't working for me, so I just started eating cooked food again. As it turns out, I was pregnant! So I don't know how the low-fat/high-carb raw vegan thing would have worked. I'm pretty sure now that a raw food diet can work if I limit the fat. I don't know if I'd want to try 80/10/10, but I think that the incredibly high fat content of the gourmet raw-food thing hinders my energy level like crazy. Days when I had a ton of fresh, organic green juice and smoothies, big salads, etc. I felt much better.
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