I wish I could remember what the form of raw eating that chooses food through spontaneous present moment feltsense...anyone know? Most often done outside in a permaculture garden or the wild.

[en.wikipedia.org]

[www.rawtimes.com]

Thanks Fresh, exactly that.
Has anyone followed up on Guy-Claude Burger with books and video/film?

If I ate according to felt presense,I would be eating grilled cheese sandwiches all day.
I have to make a logical decision constantly to eat raw,or it aint gonna happen.

Vinny

I know. When I was pregnant with my first (after having been 100% raw for a long time) I had cravings for Chocolate and Shrimp. Together. *gag*

the "sensing" only applies to raw, not cooked.

I don't know, in my experience the more healthy foods you eat, the finer tuned your senses get and the less likely you are to crave unhealthy things... that said, EVERY time I juice feast, I get the exact same craving for cheese and it is INTENSE....

It's the oddest thing because I never crave dairy any other time and haven't had any dairy in about two years. BUt that addiction must still be trapped in some toxins in some of my cells somewhere. PLanning another juice feast in a week or so here, and I'm interested to see if I have those cravings for a third time.

But yes in my everyday life I feel like my body guides me to eat what I am supposed to. One day I will just wake up and out of nowhere have this NEED for a ton of oranges that day. Or raw zuchinni. Just random things. BUt whenever I eat them, I feel better!

It's different when you have a family to feed, you just don't have time to focus in on what weird combo of food you want to eat that day. You're making food for other people, spending lots of time in the kitchen, maybe even preparing more than one meal (for your fussy children who like opposite things). It gets confusing.

BTW I didn't actually eat shrimp and chocolate together or anything. Because Eww.

some raw diet aspirants question typical food prep, and think of the raw diet like this:

maybe i don't have to feed my family - is my family is capable of feeding itself?
maybe i don't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen!

how wonderful and exciting and free to be open to the possibility!

Well LOL I don't expect someone without their own young children to understand but let me assure you that while they are quite capable of physically feeding themselves first I have to prepare the food.

not sure who you're talking about "someone without their own young children"

this likely has something to do with what one thinks is a proper diet.

maybe what a young child is capable of eating (post breastfeeding age), he/she is capable of choosing/eating by herself, no prep by parent required. And it's nutritionally sound too!

maybe?
possibly?

nah... impossible.

I'll run that by my 3 year old and let you know how it goes.

You don't have to be the martyr is the point. The other side of it is to just consider how things could be simpler, healthier, more fun for everybody even in the smallest ways. If you prepare a meal like it's a chore, eating it is going to be a chore. Anyways, it's idealistic sure and a bit high minded for someone wrangling with a couple kids in a fast paced lifestyle, but it can only be constructive to think on the little embellishments that could make the difference between a frown and a smile or laugh.

I can't imagine chocolate covered shrimp being appealing lol. I wonder how it would be frozen hah. I certainly would not make a large batch for a test run!

There is a difference between meals that are fun and "maybe i don't have to feed my family".
We eat an incredibly simple diet and share meals together regularly though this has fallen out of fashion with many families. Still, we create the time for togetherness. But it is not effortless by any means and it doesn't lend itself to spontaneousness very often. I remember to bring snacks when we go out (we spend lots of time outside, it's fun) as there is rarely any food that can be purchased from a corner store while out (if you happen to live somewhere that is saturated with organic grocery stores you might not have to think ahead) and this means we eat what I have packed in my bag, not what we might in the moment have a craving for. I also create meals around what is fresh and available organic for a good price. In an ideal world we'd have a garden and orchard to graze from but as it is, meal planning, even for very simple meals, is incredibly helpful for most people.

Awesome Coco, way to be a mom. It's a shame we can't just graze wherever we are like our ancestors did.

Fresh's contribution to my thinking was in the warning of that mental block we sometimes have in believing that family members are incapable of contributing to the prep or collection of the food. As long as that block is there, you won't give them a chance. You miss out on some help too.

My mom did that with me, and as a result I did not learn to cook. I'm 25 now and am just starting to dabble in cooking, and most of the time not even from recipes very often, mostly intuitive experimentation which I revel at. Certainly nothing elaborate or complicated. I could have learned this in my teens if my mom had been cooking in the first place, and if she had included me.

I am still learning really elementary stuff like what are all the different kinds of fruits and greens and veggies and how to prepare them. I should know this stuff, but I don't, all because of a parent who had a mental block. My mom was totally capable, she was even produce manager for a few years so it's not like she hated fruits or veggies, she loved em, she just skipped over me as someone who could help. I suppose part of it is the extra energy and patience, the attention it takes to teach someone.

Anyways that's what I have to say about this. I just wanted to make sure this got through to you Coco, or anyone else reading for that matter, because it means alot to me to have missed out on that. You sound like a great mom, and you are doing the right things. Your kids probably too young to be helping in significant ways etc. But when they are old enough I hope you think to enlist their help, even if they are slightly resistant. It could be a really rewarding experience all around.

My guess is we're on the same side and arguing for the same thing. That happens sometimes. Hope this does not offend you or sound condescending in the least as it is not meant to. I'm probably telling you things you don't even need to hear. Think of me saying this stuff just in the off chance you or someone else needs to hear it.

Thanks for your story and good luck with your food prep journey Adam. It's a shame when parents don't teach their kids the things they themselves know how to do well. My mom was not a great chef, that's for sure, but she did enlist me as the eldest to do a big portion of the childcare, food prep and house work so I learned on my own at an early age how to feed fussy kids. Mom was a hippy health freak too so we grew up with a taste for the good stuff (thanks mom!).
My dad didn't teach my sister or I how to fix a car and I've endlessly regretted that. I show my kids how to do everything...

Coco,

Any chance you'd be into adopting a 50 year old? Like Adam, I could use the help...

nice thoughts adamlogan.

if one were to simply place bananas, grapes, lettuce, nuts, avocado, apples , berries, pears, figs... etc, etc
out on a table and see what happens, it might be enlightening. and they could copy our model if they have trouble opening something..

3 yr olds are quite capable.

preparation implies that nature did it wrong and that we must improve it.

Jimtoo, I am all about creating community. I think co-living is the way to go! In fact, I am looking more and more into this. Growing food, alternative energy, the kids and I are on an adventure of self sufficiency this summer that will take us across the country acquiring education and contacts. Should be fun, you're all welcome to join in Gypsy caravan style .

There is always fresh fruit available in our home and even the 3 year old can peel a mandarin. In fact, when in season the 2 of them will often make a meal of it devouring an entire box in one sitting (expensive) and we forage wild berries when in season. She can get cashews (her favourite) from the fridge as well but for growing bodies these are snacks, they are always hungry afterwards and can not exist on that short list.
As for lettuce, LOL, I've hardly ever seen a child eat that without some coaxing. I make green smoothies if I want any greens into them at all. Zucchini pasta is tolerated. Dips and pates, etc. Any parent following any diet will agree that feeding children is an adventure in the creative.

If you're driving through Ann Arbor, MI, pick me up...

I also believe co-living is probably the way to go.

So if you place lettuce and bananas and avocoados out on the floor and let 3 years old have at it, would there choices speak to the 80-10-10 approach, mostly sugar? If you added a bowl of chocolates, older kids steeped in the SAD approach would no doubt go for those, but what would your 3 year old choose?

Chocolate, hands down. Our tastes are geared towards sweet naturally as an easy source of energy and the sweeter the more attractive. That's fantastic for lots of things but mineral dense foods are green and they are needed for good development and fantastically healthy bodies IMO. I love greens now but can't remember them being a favourite when I was a child.
I'm not too far from you, just across the border in Windsor right now. There a lot going on in Detroit and Corktown right now food sovereignty style. Check it out...

wow, we're practically neighbors. I've heard a little of what's happening in Detroit, but am still settling back into Ann Arbor after a long hiatus in Chicago.

I was anti-green as a child, nothing but meat, potatoes, and dessert (preferrably a lot of the latter). I never ate a salad until I was 20 years old, and only when drenched in dressings. The only thing I wonder about 100% raw, is if we were in the wild feasting on fruits, greens, and nuts, we'd inadvertantly eat bugs. That's something your 3 year old would do as well, I would think, if free to forage. I'm not sure what we'd be missing other than an extra shot or two of protein. B12 ? I suppose that's been discussed here a zillion times.

B12, D3, certain essential aminos, omega fatty acids, etc. There is a lot of essential stuff missing in the vegan diet, we supplement...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2011 11:49PM by coco.

anything that is missing from a vegan diet
is also missing
from an unsupplemented non vegan diet

Well, perhaps if you qualified that statement with some facts it would be believable.

There is nothing wrong with ethical veganism but let's not put our heads into the sand here. There are some essential nutrients missing and most people haven't learned the trick of manifesting them from the air . So the need to supplement things like B12 and D3 are real. If someone chooses not to do so that is their prerogative. However, advocating this for everyone is a dangerous and foolish thing to do.

i would prefer not to waste time trying to convince people of something they do not want to believe, and go back and forth regarding
nutrient content, digestive assimilation, physiological needs, etc

my post was not any different from your unsupported assertion.

I was a weird kid coco *referring to post rather high up there* I used to eat lettuce, plain, I just loved it, red lettuce specifically, I did not like iceberg, my mom would call me her lil rabbit...sometimes meant in an affectionate way,lol...other times in an annoyed way,lol...

i always loved veggies
craved veggies
ate veggies
and gamboled about in veggies
veggies veggies veggies

some things never change