So I've been raw, sort of raw, not raw at all, semi-raw, high-raw, "up-there" raw... blah blah blah, and have even fallen back on non-vegan binge food here and there in my month-long journey of exploring the world of raw food. Ahhhhhh! Sooooo, since my eating habits are so out of whack right now (along with my body, ugh, the physical and mental swings I've had are too many to list), I think it's time to settle on one thing: 100% raw! I've already experienced too many lapses with having even the slightest midge of cooked or processed food stuck in my mouth, so, as they say, I'm going to start eating as if my life depended on it... which is funny to say, because food is a huge part of my life, a great and very detrimental part, a double-edged sword.

So, to start Day 1 of my quest to reach a 10 day goal, and hopefully continue from there, here's my planned menu of sorts:

Wake Up --> go to the bathroom and finish off a cup of Senna tea left on my nightstand

Morning --> a nice mug of warm, spicy lemonade (fresh lemon juice, cayenne pepper, agave nectar, a pinch of celtic sea salt and some delicious agua)

Morning II --> apple sauce with raisins and probably some cinnamon/nutmeg!

Lunch Lunch Lunch! --> a salad of mixed greens, probably mustard, romaine and spinach with avocado, red onion, radishes and a hemp seed dressing

Afternoon --> snacks!! fresh or dry fruit and some nuts, plenty of agua, yadda yadda yadda

Dinner --> another salad, at a restaurant (going out!), this time letting the server know I'm a raw vegan and request the chef to make a special salad, as politely as humanly possible (I think the chef would get a kick out of it... well, I would at least!), with a fancy dressing I'll bring and maybe some raw nuts I'll hide in my pockets

Evening --> ??? who knows! Evenings are the time when I'm most vulnerable, so maybe a pudding of avocado, banana, carob and psyllium (cleanse that colon while I sleep!!) with some fresh fruit on top.

Plenty of water during the day, of course! I find the water cure recipe really nourishing and tasty. I never thought I'd be drinking salted water before, but damn, celtic sea salt is soooooo yummy!! I'll be outside most of the day, have to come home to rinse my mung sprouts though (so much fun)! It's beautiful outside, so this is a great day to start Day 1 (er, another Day 1, I've done this a few times, hehe)!

Wish me luck...!

So yesterday went over pretty well. The salad I had out to dinner wasn't bad. I had brought some pre-soaked and dried walnuts to throw on our salads (my dining partner went raw with me for dinner, which was a huge help!) and the olive oil they drizzled it all in was top-of-the-line stuff! The olives probably weren't raw (most likely canned), but what the hell, they didn't make me feel woozy or anything. So maybe not 100% clean-cut perfect, but seriously, who is? I skipped out on dessert and just had some water before I went to bed.

Anyways, to start this morning... I woke up and my arms from the elbows to my fingers were all energized and tingly, kind of ghostly. It was a really weird sensation, and I topped it off to some sort of detox/cleansing whatever-the-hell you want to call it thing. Then what did I do? I remembered I have a small tub of unpasteurized red miso sitting in my fridge and binged on the paste for about five minutes. I must of ate like half a cup or something with my finger! Ugh. This is a huge problem that's really making me ill mentally and physically and I am trying to hard to get over it. To make things more confusing, there is so much contradiction with whether or not miso, nama shoyu, and especially BRAGG's (and I have that stuff too) is raw or not! Guess you have to make up your own mind! I did feel moderately dizzy and somewhat queasy after binging on that delectable paste, though, so I am almost compelled to dump it or give it away. But it tastes soooo good, and has good bacteria and enzymes, so isn't it a "friendly" food?!

I then had some spicy lemonade again to try to make myself feel better for binging, and it actually eased the dizzy feeling a lot. I then made a breakfast of blended buckwheat, raisins and prunes with some allspice and raspberries on top. It was okay, a little floury tasting and sorta dry. Kind of want to eat the buckwheat un-blended next time. The grains are nice and soft with a sweet flavor when just plain soaked.

Then I snacked on some gojis and raisins. Ugh. I still feel like I'm eating way too much. Sure it's all raw (I know I know, what about the miso?), but that doesn't make the habit any better.

I've been reading a lot about how doing a short fast can help stem cravings for unwanted food and obviously detox and release some nasty emotions. I'm very drawn to this spiritually as well. The Master Cleanse is so highly regarded, but maple syrup is addictive for me and not really raw, so I'd like to avoid that, and apparently substituting something like agave nectar during the cleanse won't replace the maple. Any suggestions? I also hear drinking green smoothies/drinks helps stem cravings when done in the morning. I don't have a blender, just a small Cuisinart, so my green smoothies are always wayyyy to pulpy.

Blah blah blah. I'd like to say I'm still on my 10 Day raw quest, with the miso this morning and the olives last night simply being wild cards

Here goes day 2...!

Well, quick update. After reading a hell of a lot about fasting and the Master Cleanse in general, I decided yesterday to give it a go! Picked up the little booklet by Burroughs, got all the ingredients, and had my first glass this morning. Damn, this stuff is delicious! Sure, it's not totally raw, but I know this will help stem my horrible cravings for binging, and then some. I'm looking forward to reading more about raw foods and stuff while on the fast, and looking forward to that glass of pure OJ afterwards!

See you in ten days!

Heheh, I find this all kind of embarassing. That cleanse wasn't for me. I did make it four days though, and broke the fast with some raisins last night. Sorry, but the lemon juice and maple syrup have made my teeth super sensitive, and that ain't cool! I feel good that I fasted at all, though. Really put a lot of things in perspective, aside from food.

Back to the ol' raw journey!

Hi!i just wanted to tell you to be careful with the senna and psyilium. they are both very hard on your colon. senna is a harsh laxative and psyilium is not water soluble, many call it colon blow. ground flax,oat bran and acacia gum are gentler and both soluble and insoluble. I am getting ready to do a juice fast to lead up to the master cleanser then raw. i am getting a lot of support reading everyones experiances .Thankyou.

squidmafia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, quick update. After reading a hell of a lot
> about fasting and the Master Cleanse in general, I
> decided yesterday to give it a go! Picked up the
> little booklet by Burroughs, got all the
> ingredients, and had my first glass this morning.
> Damn, this stuff is delicious! Sure, it's not
> totally raw, but I know this will help stem my
> horrible cravings for binging, and then some. I'm
> looking forward to reading more about raw foods
> and stuff while on the fast, and looking forward
> to that glass of pure OJ afterwards!
>
> See you in ten days!




could you tell me what is in this one? I have a liver detox tea that tastes like battery acid. I have a hard time choking it down. the salted water and lemon isn't too bad, though.

Hi Luna! Squid Mafia is refering to the Master Cleanser you can get a booklet at a health food store by Stanley Burroughs a natural hygenist who practiced many fasts.The master cleanser is 1/2 an organic lemon squeezed into a large glass of purified water then 2Tbs. real maple syrup, darker amber means more mineral content. but grade A or B is fine and 1/8 teaspoon organic ground cayanne. very cleansing! I plan to do this fast as long as possible. last year i fresh juicefast for a week then idid the master claenser for a week. I wasnt ready for raw foods at the time but i have been reading and preparing myself for my transition to raw foods for many months. I begin my fast this Sunday.
Sqiud Mafia did really good four days is a good amount to cleanse and experiance tis fast. my favorite fasting book is called The Fasting Diet by Steven Bailey, N.D . A lot of good information on all types of fasting and there affects on all physicaly,mentally and spiritually. Also good recipes including master cleanser,enemas etc.

oh! ok! thank you! ! HOw well do you think master cleanse works in compairison to Dr. Natura's system?

Hi Luna! i am not familiar with Dr.Natuara's system, ill go look that up. i found a really good website, tons of information.Freedomyou.com.
I am on my second day. i had a very hungary day yesterday but today i am good. last week i ate minimally and raw so the transiton to juice fasting has been good so far. i am drinking 3 320z combination of carrot, beet and celeryfor ten days then the lemonade cleanse for awile then end with more days of juice and on to a diet mostly raw and totally vegan.

I ended up using the master cleanser, too. I'm on day 4 now. I screwed up last night, though. I ate, and oh! boy! did I pay for it later! My stomach was killing me for a little while! I feel soooo much better today!

Hi Luna four days is a good cleanse, yes you have to be careful when going off a fast . i am on my fourth day and feel good i am still on juice till the tenth day then master cleanser. i think its harder to go straight to lemonade from solids. much easier and gentler detox to do raw one week,veg juiceone week to ten days then master cleanser . Im actually going to fast as long as i feel good. Im wanting to really commit myself to raw . this fast will make me stronger for that!

I found my transition to raw was much easier than I had expected. I did the master cleanser and i feel great. I'll commit to 4-6 days monthly with that. I think that should be a good amount of time for me. My monthly days will work out fine.