Yup, I'm doing it. Alissa's book, Living on Live Food, did not have me at hello. But a few friends of mine have tried the raw food diet...one look at their smiles and clear skin made me curious. Then I read the book and realized she maps out an entire menu for 30 days, including shopping lists. Brilliant. Easy wins every time. Suprisingly and happily, my fiance was willing to give it a go. And so it began, three days ago.
The Raw Food Diet is more than just eating raw food, it's eating raw VEGAN food. So oysters don't count. Or raw milk or whatever. Nope, it's all vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. And that's just about...it. The short story is that raw, living foods have enzymes that cooked foods do not have. Those enzymes make the food you eat more nutritious and efficient. It's a very clean way to feed your body that sounds extreme at first. But what's more "extreme" – say, eating a fruit salad for breakfast or eating genetically modified, chemically treated processed cornmeal in a muffin? Or cheese pizza complete with added antibiotics and growth hormone?
So far I've lost 2 or 3 pounds (which is part of the experiment but not a goal) and I feel very energized. Still waiting for my skin to clear up, and any other evidence of miraculous healing. As for what we're eating, my food processor has never seen so much action! Using a vegetable peeler I've made "noodles" out of zucchini, summer squash and carrots. Sauces are usually some kind of nuts blended with lemon or orange juice. Oh, and the Mock Salmon Pate has been a big hit over salad with some capers. I've also been eating sprouted quinoa with fruit for breakfast and a date-nut torte for dessert. Not bad at all. If I had a larger food processor it would be downright easy. And if I were willing to drop $200 on a dehydrator we could actually make
Disclaimer: this diet isn't easy on the digestion system at first. But I think that's because your stomach isn't used to it, and there's a lot of cleaning to be done. See, I enjoy this sort of thing in a weird way, so if you do too, check out the book and be prepared to drop some bank on organic produce.
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5 comments:
congrats on finding raw! i was just found your blog on blackle searching for places to buy raw capers (no luck).
anyway, hope you get the glowing skin soon... it takes a little while, but as you can tell the benefits of eating foods in their natural state start immediately.
if you haven't already, check out goneraw.com for some support...
uh oh, i sound like a telemarketer. sorry!
best of luck to you,
porter
Hi Michelle! Great seeing you this weekend. I am starting a 7 day cleanse this week that involves a completely raw diet. It is something totally new for me, so I may be asking you for some advice or recipes! Good luck on your 30 days - keep us posted.
Amanda
Interesting. I think it's a healthy way to eat for a while but I'm not sure that I could stick with it for a very long period of time! I took out Hip Chick Guide to Macrobiotics from the library and have been finding it fascinating. I try to follow "Eat to Live" in which I eat tons of fruits and vegetables, no snacking and a cup of beans/tofu a day, 1 cup of whole grains a day too.
As an update and to be honest, we did break from the raw diet twice this past week. One dinner at a friend's house and one lunch at Max's dad's house. It felt rude to ask for not only vegetarian but raw options, and frankly I felt too weird bringing my own food. I don't like to be too strict about anything, but I do wish we could have seen what 100% raw felt like. Even with those two lapses, I've felt energized and happy all week.
Wow, I'm really interested to hear how this goes. I know that raw is supposed to be really good for you, it just sounds difficult also. I like your attitude though, about not being super restrictive, as I think that makes this kind of thing more realistic and like something I could someday do.
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