I'm an 'all or nothing' kind of person so I've tried to jump on the all raw wagon...I know there's no such thing ideally. And not so ideally I fell off on SAD...or SRD (I'm Romanian). I'm trying again and I have to force myself to have one cooked meal a day...lightly cooked, one vegetable. Yesterday I had cabbage, today is the potato day. I hated the cabbage but the warm feeling was great.

I'm detoxing, I'm stuffed up and not much energy but I keep hoping it's getting better overtime. Last time I tried, over 2 years ago (I've been vegetarian/vegan since) my detox was mainly on my face...awful breakout. I hope I will stay clear this time - nothing works worse socially than a pimpled face and on a "special diet". I'm using clay masks and clean my face regularly so I hope the detox will stay in my nose and throat.

I've been a good girl so far today - achieved my goal: raw all day except one small meal of one cooked vegetable. Today - potatoes. I boiled them, had some raw garlic over, fresh parsley and a cucumber on the side. It was ok and it stopped my cravings. I'm still detoxing, mildly though. I'm still a bit stuffed and tired. I hope it is going better soon because my 9mo old daughter is killing me with herr energy and I hate leaving her too much on her own in the walker.

My husband agreed on eating healthier - he's been tired every day for the past few years and gets sich (flu) real easy. He's beena meat eater all his life (almost every day) so I have to take it gently. I'll cook vegan for him tomorrow and some raw veggies too. Hope it's going to work. I'm not a very good vegetarian cook - even as vegan I cooked very lightly for myself.

hi there welcome to the forum and congrats on going raw!! it is an amazing thing!!! you will feel so wonderful....and as you know you do detox.....make sure you don't use any products that have chemicals in them so that way your face can breath and detox well....
good luck and have a wonderful day...
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hi and welcome! If you haven't already, I'd suggest reading "12 Steps to Raw Food" by Victoria Boutenko. That was the book that got me over the resistance. If you leave it around, perhaps your husband will look at it too! Good luck and keep posting.

Thanks guys for the support! Earthangel, I definitely do not put on any chemicals as I am pretty allergic to those on my face...clay works good and it is from a good, natural source, nothing added. I also clean my face with an organic, natural face cleaner that my sis sent me from the US. Not bad either, rather drying though.

Leafdrinker, I read quite a lot on vegan eating, raw and living food. I'm not sure if I have seen your particular suggestion, it doesn't ring a bell. Unfortunately sometimes I feel I live at the end of the world and it is quite impossible for me to purchase that book from here. I might try to ask my sis to do it for me, though she is a student and lives on a tight budget. I'm sure you can find it used and cheap on amazon or something. I really wish somebody would be raw and writing in Romania or around here so that I can figure out my meals as most of the produce you have avfailable year round in the US are not available here. I distinctly remember one young (teenage) guy beeing on the news once - he was completely on vegan raw food (veggies included). Other than that...there was on book published...Living food (now I'm approximating from Romanian), don't know the author and my sister has it with her. I'll try to see if there's anything translated here - I'm getting ideas as I type...good...love this diary!

Thanks again folks!

Hey
I feel sympathetic to the far away from california feeling. I´m in Chile in the middle of winter, and there isn´t a date, a kale, or a young coconut anywhere in sight. The grocery isles here are not organic and are far from interesting. Despite this I try to remember that simplicity is best and now I can appreciate a mango more when I find one. Although I have to say that the neighbors lemon tree is totally awesome. sorry

Hey there good for you!!! keep that up and always check the ingredients..sometimes it says all natural and it is not..i spent like 150 dollars on some products and didn't relaly read them and found out later they had stuff in there when i really read through it.........sorry that you can't find a lot of things there....there are so many places like that though and it is sad.....but most things that are shipped to the US are not good cuz they have been treated somehow to preserve...like young coconuts...they are soaked in fermaldhyde so don't worry enjoy what you have!!
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Oh, don't get me started on winters in Romania - potatoes, carrots, old cabbage, rice...and some more potatoes. I'm hoping to relocate to Canada next year and it's going to be a bit easier I suppose.

I found the author of the book I knew: Ernst Gunter -a German it seems but I don't know if he lives in Germany actually. Nothing else yet...keep looking.

hey there...haha potatoes can be eaten raw..carrots are good and so is cabbage!! you just have to adjust and be willing to accept what you can get!! that is what i am working on right now!!
good luck
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Earthangel, your enthousiasm is contagious! Ha..raw potatoes? I'll be frutarian if God wills before I eat raw potatoes. Yak! I was ordered by a doctor once for a stomach condition as a teenager to have a few raw potato pieces every day. It was one of the worst medicines. I try to enjoy summer and delicious cucumbers, tomatoes and spinach...and oh..all the fruits that I just LOVE. As you can see I'm in a much better mood today. I've been battling depression for a few years...have fortunately not taken any drugs for it. I haven't felt this up and up for ages. The detox symptoms are milder too. My nose is clearing up and I have some more energy. I can't wait for my joint pain to go away. Youppeeee...

Love
peace
cricri

I know my goal was to go every day with one small cooked meal...I didn't need it today and I had it though. Made it all worse...my cravings are up...energy down...stupid stupid stupid...help...I don't want to binge on cooked. One positive thing though: I cooked vegan for my hubby today and a cabbage salad. Dwonside - we are leaving on Saturday for a 3 week vacation. It's going to be really hard to stay on raw - lots of social situations - staying for a few days at my aunt's, then at my parents, then in the mountains for about a week. They don't know about my diet. I'm sure my mom will be very accomodating, she tries to eat healthy too. The rest of the bunch...I expect lots of sarcasm. Any advice? How did you handle such situations?

Yey! When I hit the bottom and cravings were so up I got a call from my best friend ever from London (she's Indian, met her in Belgium in 2002). I haven't spoken with her in ages - the occasional e-mail, picts of our families...and that's about it. I missed the gal enormously and she made me such a wonderful surprise. I feel excellent now, no more cravings, no hunger, lots of energy and my daughter went to sleep on her own (well, I put her to bed), no crying, no fussing, no mammmmmaa with rolling big tears.

Friendships are a wonderful thing, grow them like the most exquisite flower on earth!

love
cricri

Just checking the way to upload images...i'm not a computer expert..LOL. No, it doesn't work. Someone...some help?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2007 05:39PM by cricri.

Hey

If you are thinking about moving to Canada it´s a great choice. Montreal is the cheapest place to live and it has a strong organic community. Allthough their environmental policies could use a face lift. You can find a lot of stuff there but vancouver is the best place to be a raw fooder in canada. I have never been to Vancouver but I love Montreal it´s a great place for artists and liberal minded people. The only drawback is the long cold winters, and I mean cold.

Flora,

Although we applied for immigration in Quebec because it was a shorter process (man, I could't be more wrong) we eventually intend to move into an English speaking area. Neither of us is confortable in French so...Other than that..we don't know yet. I wouold like vancouver, yet my sister and some good friends are in the US, Detroit area and it would be much easier for us to stick to this coast. I don't know yet. You are in Montreal? We might meet...nice! I'd like to have vegan/raw friends. I have none here...it feels kind of lonely.

Glorious morning here, had a glass of lemon juice and water and a bit later a big slice of melon...close to cantaloupe, yellower. Goooood. My detox symptoms are still there, bothering me mostly at night. I guess it's the time when I rest and don't eat...First pimple though...sad sad sad...keep cleaning my face and hope for the best.

nice day to everyone
peace
cricri

hey there...glad things are going well for you!!
keep up the good work
take care
love earthangel
xxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

We are leaving for a 3 week vacation today and I hope it's going to be fun. We are taking our 9mo daughter with us so less relaxing for me but...well, oh well. yesterday it was my lowest: my depression kicked in really hard. Thought I would lose it by the end of the day when the little one would not fall asleep after more than an hour of attempts from our part. Could this depression be detox as well?

Need to go packing but I'll still have internet connection here and there and I'll be back with more details of how things are going.

love
peace
cricri

hey there where to vaca?? that is fun...i hope you have a great time!!
take care
love earthangel
xoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

I'm back from my 3 week vacation after one week! We need to move out from our rented appartment on rather a short notice because there's no law in Romania about rentals. So...it's going to be fuun: finding a new place...hceap, fast...and then moving with our furniture and stuff...lots of stuff. I couldn't imagine that a little one can have so much stuff!!
Unfortunately for the past few days eating right was not on my priority list but still I didn't want to go back to SAD so I rather starved myself. Yesterday I was feeling dizzy and tired so I need to do something about that. Hope it will work.
Need to go now. I'll be back soon I hope.
cricri

I've been really busy these days: moving, buying carpet (finding the cheapest, and crappiest possible), packing all sorts of things that evade any category. Yet, I've been 100% raw for the past few days (5, including today) and I feel great.I also found some time to take care of the colonics business and it makes such a difference. Eating raw without cleansing the colon defeats its own purpose - I got the detox symptoms without any improvement, I was feeling dizzy, nervous and tired. It's all gone. Even if I have detox symptoms now they are milder and pass sooner and I have ENERGY.

I've just had my GREEEEEN salad and I feel the fuel. I'm enthousiastic about my future little garden (6/9 ft) outside and the balcony. I keep reading about inside gardens and try to plan around. Of course many of the plants people are talking about do not exist here, but many do.

It's extremely hot outside, I had to cook for my hubby so our apartment is like a greenhouse without the greens (no AC - it's Romania). I'm at my third liter of water today (2 are usually recommended, I don't know in ounces).

I had today the best avocado of my life - it was yellowish inside, not whitish, soft/creamy and it tasted great. Avocados don't grow in Romania so they are picked before they are ripe, sit a lot before being bought and are less than good. And they are expensive...about 3.50 $/piece at a 800$ salary! So I don't have the problem of overeating them!hahahaha.

I hope I can be this high raw for as long as possible - at least throughout the summer and fall when I can still find plenty of raw fresh veggies and fruits. Overall it's much more expensive but I try to keep it simple.

love
peace
cricri

Good for you cricri, staying raw in the midst of the moving and everything.

I agree when you say "Eating raw without cleansing the colon defeats its own purpose" Eating raw detoxes us so fast and if we don't get out all those accumulated toxins they just end up recirculating and set off cravings and make us feel awful. Did you go to a colon hydrotherapist or do you use a colema board or just an enema bag at home?

I love reading about someone eating raw food in Romania. So keep sharing and I would love to hear what kinds of veggies and fruits and anything else that you are eating.

Karennd,

Thanks for your post. No, no colon hydrotherapist - not existing in Ro. Just an enema bag - big one (2 liter/half a gallon), filled multiple times - all in all 10 liters (2 gallons and a half aprox). It took me quite a while but what can you do?

What I eat?

Fruit 70% - apples, peaches, melons (not much), and anything is in season mostly;
then veggies - one or two small salads a day - leafy greens in one - spinach, lettuce, parsley, dill...; other veggies in the other - a bit of grated carrot, cabbage, cawliflower, bell peppers..

seldom any nuts (don't feel good with them), never sprouts because I don't have the cereals to sprout. I'll try it one day when I have the time to go search for wholesome cereals. With the baby and no car...not a good combination. I don't have much mobility so sometimes it's rough when my frige and pantry are empty. It's also so HOT these days that you can go out only early in the morning and late at night. Also with my daughter's sleep and eating schedule...not easy but I keep trying. Canada wait for me!

love,
peace
cricri

An enema bag, that definitely works! Good for you.

I admire you, must be tough - with the heat, baby, and no car.

Are you moving to Canada in the near future?

I woll never complaine about the price of avacados now...... So sorry that they are so expensive for you. I have been growing wheat grass and sunflower sprouts. The wheat grass gives me a lot of energy and helps with the detox. The sunflower sprouts I eat in my salads they tast so good and are fairly easy to grow. I use the sunflower seeds that have shells on them and are organic.
You are doing so good, keep up the work.
pam

Pampam,

Thanks for the support. We hope to move to Canada next year. Right now we are still in the process of applying for immigration and it goes SLOWLY. I'll try to find sunflower seeds on less orthodox channels (shops - all of them are roasted and salted). By the way, it might seem weird but what is wheat grass? I've seen everyone writing about it but I'm not sure if I know what that is - is it sprouted wheat - the grass like sprouts of wheat? The whi are people buying such expensive trays of wheat grass when it would be fairly easy to do them yourself. Maybe I'm not getting it right. Please enlighten me!

Man, I'm dying with this heat! My poor baby has lots of insect bites on her legs and I'm still not sure if they are musquito bites or allergy. I covered her a bit more, counted the spots and see what happens. If they still appear it's no insect. It drives me crazy because I'm really trying to feed her right - fruits and all, and there are still so many problems. That's maybe because I nursed her so little.

I went today to the new appartment to make some measurements for the carpet and I looked again at the little garden. It's never been worked before so there's plenty of digging and cleaning to do there. But I'm so decided to do this/ The balcony is large and I can grow many things inside too, over the winter especially. I'm no gardener but I hope to learn in the process.

I was 100% raw yesterday too and hungry right now so I'll go and see what I can do about that.

love,
peace
cricri

I can't manage to edit my post. But I managed to upload the image!

aha, wheat grass...... the greatest thing ever. Do you ever read any of ann wigmore books? She is responsible for wheat grass. I have given just 2 oz of wheat grass to someone who is unhealthy and they can feel more energetic in just 20 minutes. There are so many nutrients in wheat grass juice. I am sure you have a search on your computer. just search it out.
Congrats on being raw 100%

Pampam,

I read today that wheat grass is srouted out of different kind of wheat but also can be made out of the common wheat. That is the only one we have. Do you know if it is at least slightly as beneficial as the one you have in the States?

I'm not feeling too good today. It's code orange in Romania - 40+ degrees C and most people (me included) don't have an AC unit. I'm not raw myself anymore - roasted and juicy. It's hard to keep my daughter cool and hydrated as I harldy move around with a terrible back ache. I think I'll just call my mom and ask her to help me a few days. She lives 4 1/2 hours away from here but she offered to come if I don't get better.

I wasn't 100% raw today - I had some cooked corn in my salad but the salad was rather little - no more veggies at home, no car and crazy hot outside. I just couldn't go out to the market. I still have some fruit - apples and plums, some walnuts and sesame seeds...I'll survive. I'm not that hungry anymore with all this heat. And it's supposed to last at least 2 more days! Then we'lol get some ugly storms. The weather went crazy this year. Global warming...I've seen the first tornado in my life. I haven't seen it in the US which gets tornadoes quite regularly, but I saw it here, where there've never been tornadoes! At least it didn't hit us.

love,
peace
cricri

Sometimes when it is hot just fill the bathtub with some cool water and put a sprinkle of baking soda in it. The baking soda sooths the skin. Drink plenty of water.
As for the wheat grass juice I use the hard red winter wheat. That usually works best for me. It is just regular wheat. I use the organic wheat though. I soak the wheat for about 12 hours in water and drain the water and let it sprout I rinse two times a day or if it is hot more times a day. When the wheat sprouts and the tail is a little longer than the seed I can plant it. You only really need a inch of soil to plant it. I sometimes use a plastic tray like the kind used in a cafeteria. or you can use anything with a lip on it that will hold the dirt seeds and take watering. I water the dirt then I spread a layer of the seeds over the dirt. The seeds need to touch each other. I then cover the tray of dirt and seeds with a news paper that has been wetted down. The Idea is to make it a dark place so the roots will grow and the grass will start. This takes about threedays. After this then you uncover the tray and let the grass grow. You can do this with the sunflower seeds or buckwheat. You can have a indore garden with these. The sunflower and buck wheat you can eat in your salad. Very healthy greens. The wheat grass will need to be juiced or you can chew it but you can't swallow the grass itself. You need the juice itself. There are many other things you can do with the grass. I cut a handfull and place it in a container of water it actually purifies the water. The juice has many bennifits. If you can get a juicer or even a old meat grinder will work to juice the grass. You only need 2 to 4 oz. It is so bennificial for us. I also have grown kamute and rye.
You take care now in that heat. I do hope your back feels better

hey there hun...glad things are going well with you!! how the children??
hope things are working out for yoU!!!
take care of yourself and your family as i am sure you do!!
lots of love and good wishes your way
love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo