I went all fresh raw on August 1, 2007 and when I say all fresh raw I mean just that -- 100% all fresh raw, no exceptions. For the following 10 1/2 months everything went well with the exception of a couple of minor slips that I got back up from quickly and continued on my all fresh raw journey. I was amazed at how easily I got back on the raw path after my slips and I became confident that SAD food had lost its addictive power over me. I actually thought that if I wanted to I could even switch back and forth but I didn't experiment with that because I appreciate the benefits of the raw food lifestyle. Then on Friday June 13, 2008 feeling over confident I decided to eat a cooked Mexi Veggie Wrap and wham, I went down for the count. After that I ate some cooked food everyday. It took me over a month to get back to an almost all fresh raw diet. I didn't get all the way back to 100% fresh raw but very close. Now when I have something that isn't fresh raw the exception is a wrap that is made from "Mission" brand heart healthy whole wheat tortillas that come in a package of 10. I mash an avocado + a chopped clove of garlic onto the tortilla wrap and then put 2 oz of fresh clover sprouts on it and finish it with 4 thick slices of tomato. The wrap is all fresh raw except for the tortilla I use to keep the whole thing together. I tried this wrap using various leaves but they just wouldn't hold up. I frequently have a couple of these wraps for dinner. From there everything else in my diet is 100% all fresh raw. I have been doing really well with this high raw diet since my recovery from my slip in June.

I was wondering if anyone else has moved from a 100% all fresh raw diet to a very high raw diet and feels good on it ?

Also I am wondering if anyone has a suggestion for something to try as a wrap rather then the processed tortilla that I am presently using because I would prefer to not have anything in my diet that is in any way not 100% fresh raw.

I don't have any answers, but just wanted to say I'm glad you found what is working for you. I have to steer clear of wheat personally, but perhaps corn tortillas are better than flour if you're going to eat them. I wasn't sure which ones you're using and thought I'd mention it. The Mission brand seems kind of sketchy to me in terms of health. I interviewed with them for an office job a few years ago and walked through one of their plants in northern Calif in the process. I wasn't as aware as I am now with regard to nutrition, but I remember the plant didn't look too kosher to me. They could've upgraded by now. Are there other more natural brands you can purchase on-line or in your local natural food co-op?

I'm also curious is it the texture that you enjoy with the tortilla?

Best wishes.

Quote

perhaps corn tortillas are better than flour

Thanks, I'll try that :-)

Quote

is it the texture that you enjoy with the tortilla?

Its mostly the sprouts that I enjoy. I call it a sprout wrap because with 2 oz of sprouts its got a lot of sprouts in it. :-)

EZ rider Wrote:
The wrap is all fresh raw
> except for the tortilla I use to keep the whole
> thing together. I tried this wrap using various
> leaves but they just wouldn't hold up.

If the only complaint about using greens is their flimsiness then you might find that collards give you the structure you are looking for. I use them myself!

Quote

you might find that collards give you the structure you are looking for.

I havn't tried collard greens as a wrap so I'll try that, Thanks. :-)

cabbage works too

Quote

cabbage works too

I'll try that one also, thanks :-)

i read in "the thrive diet" to rub salt and lemon on a dinosaur kale leaf and use it as a wrap

good to see you're happy happy

ez rider,

congratulations on your long time fresh/raw. well done.

when you say fresh does not exclude olives and dates and dried food?

did you feel high energy during that time?

falling off the wagon only makes you stronger.

Quote

congratulations on your long time fresh/raw. well done.

Thanks. :-)

Quote

when you say fresh does not exclude olives and dates and dried food?

My diet does not include olives, dates and dried food. I also don't eat nuts but I do eat some of the seeds that come through my kitchen in the fruits I eat.

Quote

did you feel high energy during that time?

Yes, it was like backing up the clock by about a decade. Thats when I knew that my gut feeling about eating uncooked natural foods from the garden was right.

Quote

falling off the wagon only makes you stronger.

I agree. When I slipped and had to fight my way back it made me appreciate the raw food lifestyle even more and also I learned to be more watchful in avoiding the first bite of cooked food.

ps -- add to my comments above.

When I went all fresh raw I had an energy increase and started losing weight (flab) right away. The raw foods and the energy increase resulted in an increased activity level that caused weight loss that was a lot at first and then slowly tapered off. The weight loss and the energy have remained and I have experienced a variety of healing as my body continues to strive for better health. I lost a total of 60 pounds and had to buy smaller clothes to fit me. I still have a pair of my previously worn pants to remind me of my pre-raw condition.

Sounds like your doing great,

I would stop the mission tortillas right away. They have way too many ingrediants and lots of perservatives. They have those where I work and I can smell how toxic they are when the bag is opened.

As an alernative try to find corn tortillas with only 3 ingrediants, corn, lime and salt, this will be kinder to your system. Please give this some thought.

Easy dinners:
A whole watermelon is good to fill up on.
I used to do a big bowl of steamed brocolli for dinner, good for when craving cooked food.
Or try your avovcado/sprout combo without the tortilla, it will propbaby fill you up the same without the tortilla.

Collard leaves as wraps are AMAZING!

Check out the photos of the wraps in the Leaf Cuisine menu:
[www.leafcuisine.com]

There are lots of delicious ideas here, and eating a wrap may help you feel full, satisfied, and may also satisfy an emotional/mental craving to eat a wrap as well!

Sunflower
Raw Food Chef and Writer
Comfortably Raw
[www.comfortablyraw.com]

What about wrapping it in romaine lettuce,the big leafy romaine lettuce works great for wraps.

how about nori sheets?

Personally, I am much more concerned about raw food being a substitute for religious dogma than being 100% raw. It is obvious many raw foodies have serious control issues and use the diet as an alternative to more unacceptable food illnesses like anorexia.

There is nothing wrong with focusing on your health and eating as much raw food as possible. However, if you are motivated to do so based on an obsession then that is an entirely different matter.

Just because you eat an occasional tortilla wrapper it doesn't mean you're a failure or that Mother Nature is going to give you the cancer. Forgive yourself and enjoy it. It isn't a character flaw.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2008 08:58PM by Meditating.

Quote

It is obvious many raw foodies have serious control issues and use the diet as an alternative to more unacceptable food illnesses like anorexia.

I don't have any unacceptable food illnesses now and I have never had any in the past. I do not consider striving to be 100% raw to be an unacceptable food illness. Speaking from the experience of having been 100% raw and also very high raw I can say that it does make a difference in the health and wellness benefits derived from the raw lifestyle. It is like looking at a tank of clean, clear water and being able to see through it and see whats on the other side of the tank without any interference and then pouring some ink into the tank. It dosn't take much of the impurities to cloud the tank and not be able to see through the tank to the other side. That is the closest analogy that comes to mind and if I can solve this wrap problem so that I can get back to a 100% all fresh raw food lifestyle I certainly intend to do so. Thanks to everyone for the helpful suggestions on this thread. :-)

EZRIDER - It is difficult to understand where someone is coming from when you don't know them and can't detect any inflection in their written words. This often happens on web forums.

I suspect, given what you quoted from my post and then your response, you are under the impression I was making a personal statement about you. I was not. I was merely commenting on what I think is the rather obvious problem with some raw foodists and my concern is how they perpetuate their feelings on others. Expressing a perceived problem within the raw food community is not an indictment of all raw foodists. While I am not 100% raw, I consider myself a raw foodist.

I have read many posts on raw food websites by people who have been led to believe they are total failures just because they want cooked food from time to time. They torture themselves for not being "good enough." It is sad to read how they turn and beat themselves up for it. I personally think it is a disservice to post any response that perpetuates those feelings. It also seems like a form of bullying to me.

While I don't know how you were feeling about your craving, my post was intended to help you not be so hard on yourself and feel it was okay to shake it off if that was where your head was at. I was trying to post something that I thought would be positive for you regardless of how you felt inside about your cravings.

I hope you will read my post again and understand it as it was intended. I too think striving to be as raw as possible is an admirable goal when properly motivated.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2008 01:37AM by Meditating.

Right on

Hi EZ rider,
If you have access to a dehydrator you can make your own tortilla style wraps. Main ingredients are zucchini and flax meal. Russell James (www.therawchef.com) has a great recipe for these, and you can flavor with different spices if you choose to.

Sunflower
Raw Food Chef and Writer
Comfortably Raw
[www.comfortablyraw.com]