HELLO,
I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS!!! I JUST CHANGED MY DIET FROM THE S.A.D. NOW TO RAW FOOD. IS THERE ANY THAT KNOWS IF THIS IS OK TO DO IN THE MIDDLE OF MY PREGNANCY?

I DON'T HAVE A BLENDER YET OR A DEHYDRATOR. I DO HAVE A CRAPPY FOOD PROCESSOR. DOES ANY ONE HAVE GOOD RECIPES FOR A PREGNANT GIRL THAT DOES NOT CALL FOR THESE TOOLS OR ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF ACCOMPLISHING THESE WAYS OF PREPARING FOOD?

I AM OVER WEIGHT AND NOTICE THAT I HAVE LOST SOME WEIGHT AND AM STARTING TO GET A LITTLE CONCERNED. PLEASE HELP!!!

NU2RAWFOOD

Opinion:

-I would avoid radically changing your diet and habits during this most critical time. I think pregnancy would be a perfect time to set a 9-12 month timetable to gradually increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and non-processed items - especially those rich in natural folate.

Here are some examples of folate-rich vegetables & fruits:


Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens and broccoli

Asparagus

Orange juice and oranges

Avocado

Strawberries

-Stay very full during your pregnancy....and snack frequently on low-glycemic fruits to stablize your blood sugar. Drink plenty of water. Take any supplements that you and your doctor agree on - as you determine necessary.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I have my own children and I agree with the above post.

Don't go to extremes, but do add simple, raw, nutrient-rich foods to your diet and continue to increase them as you feel is best for you.

Best of luck and happiness!

trying to make a radical change during pregnancy can be a recipe for disaster. simply increase your raw as you go, don't put so much pressure on yourself to be 100% right away. that's a difficult transition at the best of times. personally, i stopped being raw during my pregnancy because i was just too hungry and all i thought about was food. i added some lentil soup, grains, etc. and that was better for me.

try this: when you are hungry reach for fruit first, have a salad. when you crave something sweet go for dates or grapes or juice. when you crave something junky eat something healthy first then see how you feel. substitute healthy versions of your favorite meals, incorporate more and more raw as you go. keep it simple, what you can chop by hand or eat whole is terrific. i hardly use tools any more at all.

be gentle with yourself and focus on all the great things you ARE doing instead of the things you are going to do later on. be in the present with yourself and enjoy the moments.

blessings.

i wanted to try no more than 50% do you think this is too much? i should clear up one thing i was on a s.a.d. vegetarian if that makes sense. i was eating a lot of prepackaged foods until a couple weeks ago i was getting bad migraines. come to find out that i was very allergic or very intolerante to msg. so there went my morning star food and boca and amys. since i stopped eating msg all of my headaches went away.

i think, for you, choosing the home made version of your packaged stuff is a great first step. that eliminates all the chemicals and preservatives and junk, hidden salt and sugar, colour etc.
you could increase the fruit and salad in your diet and try to have 50% of each meal be raw. that could mean that you could have a stir fry with brown rice or another whole grain, chop your veggies up small and/or grate some of them and cook them very lightly in the pan or sprinkle them cold or just warm onto your rice (this works well with carrots) and have that with a salad. or heat some veggie broth (you can get a good powder version at the health food store), take it off the heat and throw in very finely chopped or just grated veggies and eat that right away with a salad. have fresh juice if you can. make some sprouts for yourself.

remember, every small thing that you do towards your better health is a terrific thing that you're doing for yourself. focus on the positive and you'll see the rewards before you know it.

lots of good info here-

go slow- you don't need to detox with a baby on board. detoxing is really hard on them.

and listen to your body-
if you get a headache and realize you've only done fruits and veggies,
eat something a little more stablilizing- like brown rice.
but adding fruits and veggies in is always important,
and you'll probably find the more you eat,
the less prenatals you can stomach.
do not try prenatals with a 100% raw meal unless it is heavy- avocado or flaxseeds
b/c it will usually come back up.

and that's not pleasant.

congrats! whats the due date?

peace-

I'd also like to add that you probably don't have to worry if you are losing weight and started out overweight. Obviously, discuss those concerns with your doctor and you obviously get weighed and charted at each appointment, so they'll be aware of that too!