Hey, My husband and I have commited to eating raw for a month to try it, and it's going well except that my husband consumes a lot of food. He doesn't feel satisfied after a raw meal like I am. I tell him to eat until he is satisfied so that he doesn't crave cooked foods but the whole time i'm thinking about the cost of all the organic food he is consuming. We also like to make nut milks to eat with our sprouted grains for breakfast and that gets costly. Any suggestions?

When switching from cooked to raw i think its natural to crave more food, because we're used to eating large portions of heavy/filling/starchy foods. it takes a while for our stomachs to shrink and get used to eating less density foods.

for breakfast i usually have fruit smoothies... if you buy at farmer's markets and fruits that are on sale in grocery stores, it's not that expensive. bananas are cheap and filling. and salads aren't too expensive if you make them yourself at home. drinking more water helps your stomach feel fuller as well.

Ditto on the farmer's markets and fruit on sale. Even though bananas are not expensive, I buy the ones on sale because we eat them so quickly that they don't have time to bruise or turn brown. I shop often - almost daily - and frequently find fruit and vege on special. I also shop at an independent fresh market that only sells fresh fruits and veges because many of their prices are lower than the bigger grocery chains. Perhaps you can find out if there is a food co-op where you can get items in quantity at reduced prices. Things are cheaper in season. Make bigger servings using cheaper fruits/veges and smaller servings of more expensive ones. Have you looked up raw recipes on this forum? And did you know there are other raw forums with recipes? On some you can look up raw recipes using a certain ingredient (e.g., ones in season and cheaper).
Sometimes I get more expensive items anyway because I also want variety. When I splurge on them I try to savor them in the way I can enjoy the taste most. For example, when I am concerned about expenses I might make a fruit salad with LOTS of grated apple (cheap) and less peach (medium price) to fill up; but another time I'll eat a mango by itself (expensive).
This won't help you in the short run, but I planted some fruit trees and they are already bearing this year. I'm so happy! I can't wait for them to get really big so I can have FREE fresh fruit!
BEST WISHES ON YOUR TEST RUN! (I started with a 30 day trial and just kept going!)

My food budget is almost always less than $200 a month.

Stephanie

Thank you guys, i'm finding that in the past few days he hasn't felt the need to eat so much, and i'm learning how to shop. I can't shop every day because I have small kids, but I realized I need to shop more often. It's a little harder when you're feeding a family. Thank you.

dark leafy greens
even organic
are cheap
most under 2 bucks
parsley and kale are my staple
and u can make salads out of them
u can add avo or nuts to them too if u wish
and they are quite filling as well

let your hubby eat the salad FIRST then he may not be so hungry for other expensive items

try it
let me know how it goes

a big salad can feed the whole family too

Thanks. We do eat a lot of dark leafy green, and I noticed my husband was more satisfied after a meal with lots of them. We always eat them first He likes them a lot too. Kale is one of our favorites also. I think he was looking for calories still afterward. He is used to taking in a lot of food. I'm concerned now though because I upped our fat intake because he seems more satisfied. I don't feel as good though. I wonder if we have different fat needs or his body needs to adjust. Thanks for your suddestion.

Hi,

I'm still pretty much a newbie (62 days mostly raw) but I found I was eating a lot more fruit in the beginning. Now I'm balancing out and it's about a 50/50 split between fruits and veggies.

Fruits only satisfy me for a short time. The green stuff and other vegs tend to stick with me longer. I noticed that it was the FAT that I must have been missing and what ultimately satiated me. Afternoon used to be the hardest time for me (and it wasn't really that bad compared to when I ate cooked/bad food.) I found that raw nuts and seeds took the edge off. Also, olive oil (on something) and avocado's are very satisfying. Depending on where you live though, avocado's can be very expensive. I get them when they are on sale and have 3-4 a week.

From what I've read here, your husbands experience will probably change over time and you might be writing some day that he isn't eating enough! lol

Good luck.
Bill