Greetings.

I am finishing up a two-week Master Cleanse. I know a lot of people don't agree with the supposed benefits of it, but I decided to do it, and it's almost done. After that, I will be on a two-week raw diet, followed by what I hope will be a healthy combination of raw/cooked.

I know for certain that at least for now, I will not be into complex recipes. I will not be dehydrating things; I will not be sprouting tons of this and that; I will not be cleaning two machines for one meal. A lot of those recipes sound so amazing, but I just KNOW that when it comes to it... it isn't going to happen - so I'd like to keep it simple.

I already have three recipes in mind that sound delicious and are relatively simple. What I would like to know is, will I be getting all of the nutrition I need out of these vegetables (and fruits)? I'm going to list everything I plan on buying, and if anyone could give me their opinion, it will be appreciated. If I need to add anything to this diet, I will definitely do so, and I'll find something to make with it.

Vegetables:
Onion (green, yellow, red)
Spring Onion
Celery
Cabbage (& sauerkraut)
Snow/Snap pees
Broccoli
Bean sprouts
Sweet/Bell pepper (green, red)
Jalapeno chili
Habanero chili
Cucumber
Garlic
Corn
Lettuce

Fruits:
Avacado
Tomato
Apples
Oranges
Pineapple
Cherries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Bananas
Watermelon
Honeydew melon
Peaches/Nectarines
Plums
Lemon/Lime

Herbs/spices such as cilantro, oregano, cayenne, etc.
Seaweed, and "rice paper".

I might also be buying nuts if the prices are reasonable.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2011 06:47AM by jargon.

If you are going to be eating some sea vegetables as well then I say the only thing missing is vitamin b12. However if you're only eating this simple diet for 2 weeks, trace nutrients probably dont matter.

I would think those foods cover all the needed nutrients.
I have heard that bananas alone have everything your body needs.

I always go by the idea that your body does NOT need anything other than live foods of the earth,and that each fruit or veggie has these elements.

RE: greens, I might figure out something to make with kale, but I'm unsure yet. And, I did forget to add Spinach to the list.
What about calcium? Do I need to eat more of some specific items to get the calcium I need?

I do understand the B12 thing, but I do not expect to ever eliminate meat and/or seafood from my diet entirely (aside from this 2-week period), so I don't foresee that being an issue.

Thank you all for the input!

Agree about greens; your regimen looks really comprehensive, anyway. Good luck and good health!

I think there's a paranoia here about Nutrition. Eat simple Vegan meals, varying the foods, either whole or blended, and let your Body extract the Nutrition being offered...it'll be enough......WY

I wonder about this phenomenon too. I mean, did anybody worry this much about meeting their nutritional needs when they were eating whatever sort of diet they followed before? chances are good it wasn't half as healthy as this one is and yet, so much concern to make sure every single nutrient is covered daily. Funny that.
That said, I supplement B12 for sure as I know I'm not getting a dietary source of that.

I wasn't really "worried" - especially for a two-week period. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving out something very important. For example, I'm not going to mess with figuring out how to eat potatoes on this diet, and that's something I eat quite often (not fries). So, yes, I did eat a lot of junk before, so this is definitely an improvement. But at the same time, I ate other things that weren't bad for me - things that I will not be eating during this time.

I'm pretty sure bok choy is one of the rare veggies that have calcium in them. The baby variety isn't too bad marinated raw.

you're gonna want nuts
sunflower seeds are a nice cheaper alternative

good luck!

just eat the widest range of fruits and veggies that you can - especially greens/leaves. There are so many different types of cut'n come again leaves that are easy to grow - rocket, mizuna, pak choi etc etc. I eat tons of herbs such as dill, fennel, french tarragon, summer savory, cress, sweet cicely and nasturtium in my salads. Explosions of flavour - feels soooo good. Go and find wild weeds etc - get those bitter greens in too. Orang o'tangs have been seen eating upto 400 different foodstuffs in a day.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/04/2011 07:32PM by flipperjan.

Flipperjan, what is mizuna like? There is some at the community garden for us to take but I didn't yet. Is it bitter? I ask because TWICE I have grabbed what I thought was romaine lettuce only to find that it is way bitter. I think it may be chicory; it wasn't labelled. I realize that bitter leaves are good but I need something more mild for the base of my salad por favor!

Mizuna is a japanese green and can be bitter. It has a hot, mustardy, slightly bitter flavour. The old leaves are best stir fried (in a different life!! lol) but the young leaves are great - probably best mixed with another blander leaf. I tend to mix so many different flavoured leaves together that I don't notice huge bitterness. I don't grow chicory though as some of those are way too bitter for me as are certain types of sorrel. All those bitter leaves are best eaten young.

However I do think that those very bitter leaves are very good for us - a more natural form of the bitters that powerlifer is always advocating. They certainly grab the back of the tongue don't they.

I personally find romaine lettuce one of the most boring leaves on the planet - only slightly better than iceburg.

flipperjan Wrote:
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However I do think that those very bitter leaves
are very good for us - a more natural form of the
bitters that powerlifer is always advocating.
They certainly grab the back of the tongue don't
they.

Definitely flipper, the standard diet even raw/vegan is very deficient in bitter tasting foods. Mainly because well its quite a funny taste but very beneficial and yeah its great if you can get that from bitter wild greens. The back of the tongue is where the bitter receptors are located on the tongue.

Yeah im finding romaine really boring these days, id go as far as saying i prefer iceberg now.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Jargon,

Looks like you have your bases covered.

Kref

Guess my ignorance is really showing here...but, somehow the diet looks lacking. If only on it for 2 weeks, Ok....but for long term??
People always say "where's the protien" and I can point out certain sprouted grain, etc. or nuts that I eat...but, unless she gets nuts into her diet it seems she'll be lacking in oils and protien to me.

I'm still pretty new...so just my take. I'd find it hard to sustain myself on the above diet for any length of time.

Well, me too HappyRaw. I've been doing this for close to 25 years, but if you're ignorant then so am I.

I get really hungry without my nuts and/or seeds. I think most healthy people (if not all) who consistently eat only raw vegan food do eat some nuts or seeds. Without them, even if the protein and fats are sufficient, some of the minerals may not be.

It's well worth listening to suncloud

You know, I'm quite surprised how not-hungry I've been so far. On Monday, I had "burritos" with fruit in the evening, Tuesday/Wednesday, spring rolls, with spring rolls/fruit in the evening. Thursday, bananas... with a salad/fruit in the evening. And today, Friday, will be like Tuesday/Wednesday. I expected to be hungry around the clock... just as I was a couple years ago when I was on a raw diet for a mere one week. The burritos and spring rolls I made were so filling... I was pretty much good to go for the rest of the day, just as I was on whatever junk food I ate before.

Several days ago I was at Whole Foods. I tend to overlook things when I try to find something specific. I came to the conclusion that they didn't have any raw nuts... yes, I know, silly me. I went back today and noticed the corner that was FULL of effing nuts/grains/cereal/ETC dispensers. My eyes went O_O. I got a half pound of what was labeled RAW cashews and macadamia nuts. But that stuff is expensive... $9 a pound? I could have probably seen myself buying these regularly on the money I used to make, but not lately.

Sounds like you're doing really well jargon.

Organic sunflower seeds are a good deal. Also, organic whole brown sesame seeds and chia.

suncloud Wrote:
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> Sounds like you're doing really well jargon.
>
> Organic sunflower seeds are a good deal. Also,
> organic whole brown sesame seeds and chia.

Thanks for reminding me! I should have looked at sunflower seeds while I was there. That is something I'd definitely be interested in buying. My other trip there, I bought a jar of [white] sesame seeds, 'cause I didn't notice the dispensers. If my attempt at making hummus goes well, I might buy some more from the dispenser next time.

What is chia used for?

Chia is a little black (or white - both are good for you) seed. My understanding is that Native Americans used to eat it for stamina. If it's soaked in a liquid, it gels up after several minutes, but remaines crunchy. It makes kind of a crunchy pudding (I know: weird). It's different, but good (IMO).

It doesn't have much of a flavor, but for some reason, it tastes really, really good in coconut water. Or, you can also mix it with juice. One person here said she mixes it with orange juice. I haven't yet tried it that way, but it sounds very good.

For coconut water, I mix 1/4 cup chia with about 1 1/4 cups water, then stir. I think it's best to wait at least 1/2 hour and stir occasionally while you're waiting.

Chia is lower in fat than many other seeds and very high in calcium. Also, I think it has the highest Omega 3:Omega 6 ratio.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2011 03:21AM by suncloud.

Oops. Flaxseed has the highest Omega 3: Omega 6 ratio. Chia is second.