If you're willing to share, I'd love to hear what types of meals you put together when you do go to raw restaurants such as Cafe Gratitude?

I follow a low-fat fruit-based diet in line with 80-10-10 philosophy and guidelines. Last time I went to a raw restaurant during a trip to Chicago, I ingested loads of fat and salt in a raw deep-dish pizza entree and a brownie that seemed to have mostly dates and walnuts as the main ingredients. I had a lovely dining experience and the dishes were artfully prepared, but that night I couldn't sleep at all and felt incredibly weak, irritable and foggy the next day...as was to be expected! Kinda put a damper on the last day of our trip.

Do you make an intentional effort to put together a gourmet meal that will cause you the least amount of discomfort? For instance, do you avoid extra nut-heavy dishes or entrees that include multiple excito-toxins like garlic, onions, cayenne and other spices? Do you try to stick to food combining as much as possible (for instance, foregoing a fruit-based pie or other dessert after a main dish composed of veggies/nuts/spices)? Do you go there exclusively for a dinner meal, so that you can give your body time to process everything overnight and through the next morning?

Or do you simply throw caution to the wind, enjoy the experience in the moment and deal with the physical consequences later?

Thanks for any thoughts and insight you can provide

Hi there -

- I'm not Bryan or Uti, but one of the others who thrives on that kind of diet with occasional trips to Cafe Gratitude, and can provide my experiences/instincts for what they're worth.

The first few times I went to Gratitude, I was very anal about trying not to take in too much fat, avoiding onions/garlic, etc. Later, I discovered that at Gratitude they actually have a list of savory menu items that don't contain onions/garlic, which is really nice.

I have actually preferred going there for lunch, and perhaps not having dinner that evening or just eating very lightly. I've tried not eating before going and come to the conclusion that it's actually better to eat some fruit beforehand - I usually wind up craving fruit after eating there.

Other than that, I've done 'all of the above' - but the anorexic mind is still there even this far into healing, so that it's hardly surprising that I put unnecessary energy into trying to figure out the 'best' meal to get there, and do some 'post match analysis' afterwards 'was this the best choice?'...

I've thrown caution to the winds on occasion also - last fall I went through a phase of really enjoying the savory flavors and even trying things with onion/garlic on occasion, A trip to Gratitude and ordering the lasagna special, which was totally over the top garlic, helped me to realize that my body _really doesn't_ like garlic, and go back to avoiding it as carefully as I normally do.

It actually feels very good to lighten up and 'let go' - but I'm also aware that some choices are better than others for me.

One last thing: if there's ever a time and place to eat some cacao, I feel that it's in the context of a complex meal like that - maybe two wrongs making a right, but some cacao in the system seems to help everything else through. I also drink _much_ more water than normal if I'm going to eat like that.

Hope this is some help!
love
Ela



seeing is freeing
hearing is clearing
feeling is healing

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ela Wrote:

The first few times I went to Gratitude, I was very anal about trying not to take in too much fat, avoiding onions/garlic, etc. Later, I discovered that at Gratitude they actually have a list of savory menu items that don't contain onions/garlic, which is really nice.

That's fantastic. Lots of restaurants indicate nut-free items in the menu, but I don't think I've ever come across a menu that makes that same consideration for onions and garlic.

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I have actually preferred going there for lunch, and perhaps not having dinner that evening or just eating very lightly. I've tried not eating before going and come to the conclusion that it's actually better to eat some fruit beforehand - I usually wind up craving fruit after eating there.

Cool. Sounds like a fun opportunity to play with your own awareness.

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Other than that, I've done 'all of the above' - but the anorexic mind is still there even this far into healing, so that it's hardly surprising that I put unnecessary energy into trying to figure out the 'best' meal to get there, and do some 'post match analysis' afterwards 'was this the best choice?'...

I'm glad you mentioned this. I really stressed myself out that evening in Chicago as I realized that I was frantically trying to figure out how to eat healthfully at a raw restaurant! I used to be angered that discovering raw food brought so many emotional issues and ties to food to the surface. Now, I am grateful and learning to free the knots, one by one.

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I've thrown caution to the winds on occasion also - last fall I went through a phase of really enjoying the savory flavors and even trying things with onion/garlic on occasion, A trip to Gratitude and ordering the lasagna special, which was totally over the top garlic, helped me to realize my body _really doesn't_ like garlic, and go back to avoiding it as carefully as I normally do.

It actually feels very good to lighten up and 'let go' - but I'm also aware that some choices are better than others for me.

Isn't it beautiful that we are free to make so many choices in life?

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One last thing: if there's ever a time and place to eat some cacao, I feel that it's in the context of a complex meal like that - maybe two wrongs making a right, but some cacao in the system seems to help everything else through. I also drink _much_ more water than normal if I'm going to eat like that.

That is really fascinating! That's probably the only setting I'd consider ingesting cacao in, anyway. Will have to try that one! I am with you on drinking water, too...in my experience, I can always rely on water to bring forth clarity and safety.

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Hope this is some help!
love
Ela

Yes, what you wrote was lovely! Thank you, Ela!

Macfly,

I've done both, paying attention to what I'm eating, or not. If I have to do things after eating where I don't want to feel uncomfortable, I'll order a large salad without dressing and a smoothie or fruit juice. However, if I don't have plans or commitments, I'll eat the rich gourmet stuff. And I do feel it.

What I do when I know I'm going to eat the heavy stuff is I'll bring a bag of romaine hearts with me in my bag. As I am eating the rich foods, I'll eat the 3 romaine hearts. Or If I don't plan in advance, I'll just buy 2 large green salads(no dressing) to help with all the fats.

What also helps for me is to not worry about it, and to send love to my stomach. Its kind of hard to explain what this means, but I send my stomach a feeling of calm and acceptance and love, and it seems to digest the food just fine. However, this does not mean that I don't get to feel the detox effects later.

In an earlier thread, I shared what I do when I am feeling the discomfort of a past decision:

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Here is my process around my lessons. I look to not beat myself up over it. I remind myself that I am not a victim, that I made a choice that seemed to be a good idea at the time. I don't allow my discomforts of my past decisions to affect my current now. I feel the pain as much as I can so that the next time, I might be motivated try something different. And if I do talk about the experience I see if I can express it in a way such that my words express the gift of the lesson of the experience, rather than seeing the experience as a mistake I made.

macfly, thank you for sharing - it's alwys interesting and affirming to hear other's takes on similar processes.

Bryan, I love what you say about acceptance and choices. I too have had the experience of sending love to my belly after that kind of meal and really noticing a difference in the way things feel. It so helps to come out of the harsh fear/judgment space into the gratitude space.

love
Ela



seeing is freeing
hearing is clearing
feeling is healing

Glad you asked this question macfly, it gives me a chance to share my raw gourmet restaurant protocol! I live several hours from SF so I only go there once in a while. When I do go, the following things seem to really help optimize the experience and minimize the after-effects:

I start by eating all the fruit I want during the day. If I try to control my daytime fruit eating in order to 'save room for dinner' I invariably crave sweet fruit after dinner which doesn't really work for me to do!

When I'm at the restaurant, I bring a bag of lettuce with me, AND order their large salad with lemon or lime for dressing.

I order whatever I feel like for appetizers and the main course, and I throw caution to the wind as far as spices, salt, oil, etc.

However I do avoid the blatantly ill-combined fruit/fat dishes, such as the nut/fruit shakes & ice cream, or the nut/fruit cakes, pies, etc. So I guess I avoid the shakes and the dessert. I find that my body will deal with the occasional salt/spices, etc. and in fact these toxins help move the heavy meal through faster it seems. But the fruit/fat combo-a-bombo thing really slows my system down and does not feel good (especially after the fatty main courses)--and I've had so many negative experiences with this that it's not even worth going there for the enjoyment of the pie or cake or whatever. Why bother when I can eat all the pizza/hummus/taco salad/raw burger/etc. that I want?

At the end of the meal, while the pals are desserting, I order a green juice. Cafe Gratitude's "I Am Healthy" is kale, cucumber, celery and lemon. It seems to be kind of like a hangover remedy, and I seem to feel great after all this!

Then the next day I'm usually pretty full and don't eat till late in the day, usually starting with citrus just in case there are still fats digesting!

Gosh, after writing all this I feel kind of obsessive-compulsive! But, these things do seem to work for me and make it so indulging in restaurant yummies whacks me out as little as possible. Enjoy!!!

Love,
Uma

Hi There,

I eat a very simple, fruit based low fat diet and I when I go to the one restuarant here in Seattle that has a raw food menu I either order a glass of apple juice or a smoothie made with just fruit.

All the best,

Audrey

Macfly,

I have to admit I've pretty much been a hedonist when I've been to Gratitude. I downloaded their menu before I went there the first time and had my hit list of possibilites. I didn't take any greens with me, but I've had 2 salads in the course of my meals. I don't do heavy garlic, cacao, smoothies or grains. The food is spicy and salted which are items I don't eat daily. It's heavy on nut concoctions because it's emulating gourmet cooked food. I mostly stay away from fruit after eating the high fat. So far my meals have looked like this: 1 or 2 appetizers, salad, entree, salad, dessert. This is a lot of food for me, but I sit back and do a lot of people watching, try to stay conscious about chewing really slowly, and spend about 2 hours eating.

I try to sip water with no ice during the meal to help balance the dehydrated foods, but not dilute my digestive juices too much.

I go there to have a great time and be in the energy of all those people eating raw food. Its a loving act; a reward for the hard work I've done. I indulge with awareness and take responsibility for the consequences. So far I've only experienced a mild "fat hangover" and have taken it in stride and gone on with my day.






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2007 05:12AM by uti.

Thank you all for so graciously sharing your insights and thoughts in such detail. All of you have helped me explore new perspectives that I have implemented into my life, both in this post and others, on this message board nad in other forums. I hope one day I can thank you all in person with a hug or two

- Adam

Bryan: As indicated by yours and other posts in this thread, it seems like greens are a friendly companion to be with in these situations. As is self-love. I love what you wrote about choices, "mistakes", and lessons. I am so thankful for the lessons that raw food have given me. It has been so liberating to begin to discover the experience of letting go of dualism, "good" and "bad", and instead begin to see my world as an infinitely possible realm of simple choice and consequence. We are so cultured into feeling pain upon feeling pain upon feeling pain, onward to infinity. It is so much more rewarding to gather knowledge and lessons from the experience of feeling...whether the feeling is happiness, pain, frustration, anger, or anywhere along the continuum of emotions. Mistakes are our greatest allies! Thank you for stating that so eloquently.

Audrey: I so adore your generosity and positivity. Whenever I read something that you write my heart smiles. We have corresponded in a few threads on RawSchool over the last couple of years. You bet I enjoy fruity simplicity at a raw restaurant! I am glad that you do too!

Uma: I, too, find that sweet fruit/fat combos, while often texturally and colorfully exquisite, wreak havoc upon my belly and body. I would much rather appreciate them from a visual perspective! I think your method of sipping on green juice after the meal sounds divine...of course green juices are not something I include in my daily life, but in this context it seems like a nice way to ensure hydration without diluting the digestive juices too much. Thanks for your thoughts

Uti: How wonderful, to quietly and intently observe the diverse and colorful energies that swirl in and around Cafe Gratitude for two whole hours. What a superb gift to give yourself! Truly nourishing for the soul.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2007 06:38PM by macfly.

bump, just want to make sure those who posted in this thread saw this since i replied several days after the last post.

Thanks!
Love,
Uma

Thanks macfly! Sharing expereince, wisdom, and learning is what's it's about. So glad to hear you have incorporated things you are learning into your own exploration.

BTW, I expect to be at Gratitude in the Mission this month either before flying to Costa Rica or after returning.....God! Maybe even both! There are some new things on the winter menu that I'd like to sample.

I'm an energy junkie, what can I say, I love the high buzz I get from the Love energies of the food and people. Love is the best drug of them all and it's available to anyone for free --- well, there is work to do to get there on a regular basis.

This process is my heart's delight. This raw food board is sort of like people watching at Gratitude; a tasty slice of humanity. Sometimes spicy, sometimes ho-hum, sometimes over-the-top complex and sometimes "just right" for my tastes.