Good morning!

Khale, a cold is AWLAYS a cleansing of the body, getting rid of excess mucous. What else? Good riddance, eh?

From what I've read, and from testimonials, yes the body does gain weight on the same diet. Joe Alexander, just for one example, relates his experience of this. He got thin and then gained weight back on the exact same diet. It seems, if one eats properly the food intended for our cells, the body will wisely clean house at its own pace until such time as there are clean cells and all waste is gone. This is called the canabolic period, the detoxifications. The body then can gain weight on the same good food, as the cells are so much cleaner, the body is more efficient, and less energy is having to go to cleansing. It is different for everyone of course. And it can be a process of years, with the body taking its time in a cyclical pattern of detox periods...otherwise I guess we would blow up and die if the body did it all at once! Sometimes it is hard enough gradually, heh!

But, ALSO, with the detoxifications there is ALSO the gradual increase of positive energy, better feelings of health, the flip side of the detox! I have to remember that too.....In between detox symptoms, which haven't been that overwhelming or prolonged, I am feeling Better Than Ever! The dreaded DETOX has a FLIP SIDE!!!! I have to focus on that when I am grumbling! LOL

That is what I want to do...go the distance. Persevere! I'd like to let my body go as far as I still have the vitality for, even if means getting too thin, and then rebuild. It ain't easy. And I have a big backload of toxicity and habits and addictions. I'm here though. Day by day. In fact, I think that's when a lot of people falter...after the prolonged period of cyclical detox and much weight loss. It is ego upsetting to look bad or thin, and also that is when the pressure and harangues from friends and family get really hairy....you're losing so much weight, you look awful, etc. I went through some of that the first time I went raw. I caved.

I lost a pound yesterday, and I ate 2 avocados and lots tahini dressing. My body is on its own schedule as long as I eat 100% raw. At this stage, overweight, I can eat more fat on some days and it doesn't make any difference to my body which is very busy, hummingly gratefully busy, . The key for me is to only consume real food, 100%, and cooperate as much as I can at this time by resting, sleeping, getting some exercise, being as positive as I can, and so forth. I still have toxic habits which I have to address as soon as I am able. I am doing the best I can right now.

Since I am here, my breakfast so far has been a few bites of a not ripe enough honeydew, darn! I have a papaya. A banana. Red delicious apples.

Have a great day everyone, PERSEVERE!
Elakti

The juice fast continues

Today

300ml Coconut Water

Green juice- mango, kale, chard, orange

Some pineapple juice

1 Litre water

A total of 1 litre juice

Not a lot calorifically but I figure I have to forget that and do what feels right right now. which is this.

Sounds like everyone is experiencing major breakthrough, emotionally and physically- its rough but its worthwhile

Thanks khale, this thread is wonderfull!!

Xxx

Hope you're feeling better soon Khale. Too bad work has to get in the way of life sometimes. Thank goodness you're eating such healthy food. I'm sure you'll soon be well again!

I agree with Elakti that the same raw diet that brings on detox, can also bring us all the way through detox and build us up again.

I'd just like to qualify by saying that IMO it's only true if the raw diet is sufficiently nutritious.

One additional point. Even on 100% raw, and even if we get to the point that all our past food mistakes are eliminated from our bodies, we'll continue to have stuff in our bodies that needs to come out (that's why we'll still be @#$%&, sweating, peeing, etc.).

And it's not just leftover food and/or environmentally ingested toxins and pathogens that we'll be excreting. It's also old cells that are constantly being discarded, as our bodies build new healthy cells to replace the old. We're not made of plastic (clean it and it's good to go). We're organic, along with the rest of life, and we're continually flowing, shrinking, growing. We're constantly recycling ourselves in and out of the cycle of all life, the plants making use of our discards, as we make use of theirs.

If our bodies, for any reason, slow down in their attempts to eliminate, those dead cells will become toxic inside our bodies and begin to adversely affect our health, even though they might have originated from the cleanest of foods.

In a sense then, even in the best of health, "detox" is a natural, healthy, and continuous process in every living being. The more our wastes are kept to a clean, natural, and digestible minimum by eating a nutritious raw diet, the easier the process will be, and the less strain is placed on our bodies in our recycling activities, so that we're able to continue to recycle for a long time to come.

IMO, an occasional water fast, juice fast, and/or mono food cleanse COMBINED with a regular nutritious raw diet (plus exercise) will help facilitate that process and keep us strong and healthy into old, old age.

RawdancerUK, good job on the juice fast!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2007 08:57PM by suncloud.

Hello, I'm still here. I've really been struggling the past 3 days. It's interesting...I took a look and found a pattern. It seems that I sabotage myself every 2 weeks. I've been "going raw" since September and I've never been 100% past the 2 week marker. At 2 weeks, I feel awesome, my skin is clear, my mood is grounded and Alive, and my body looks tone and slimmer. Why is it then, that I am afraid to go further? I play mental games with myself. Also, every time I get back into a workout routine, I get injured after 2 weeks or I get sick.

So, there I was Memorial Day going strong, feeling grounded, wise, elated, when BAM! a cup of coffee jumped into one hand and later a beer, among many other strange and packaged things. People, hear this, I don't drink coffee OR beer!

Tuesday I was eating raw all day, but my mind was f@#$%ed up at this point. I couldn't stop thinking about cooked foods. I felt in the clutches of desire, and not the kind of steamy novels (my poor sweetie!). Anyway, I was abducted and replaced at a Mexican restaurant where I totally pigged out! I really enjoyed the food, but I felt really terrible that night and the next day (today).

My goal is to be at a level of cellular health where I can go ahead and choose to eat a cooked meal now and again and not be completely derailed and ravaged by cravings, not to mention the emotional swings I currently experience from eating cooked. I'm just not there yet. It may take me years. I don't know how to get over that perceived 2 week hump. I like what someone said about Perseverance. I'll work with that. Self-love and honor, I'm working on those too.

Today I ate:
1 small papaya
some bites of pineapple
a few strawberries picked fresh from the local farm
arugula and baby greens salad with lemon and oil dressing
banana pine nut popsicle (WOW!!)
a delicious parsnip, parsley, carrot, avo, onion, garlic soup
fresh broccoli, bok choy, greens (from the farm) marinated in a lemon herb dressing
apple slices dipped in tahini honey cream

Thanks for listening.
Love,
Shawna

I hope your day of rest helped you heal khale.

Shawna-You are not alone sweetie!!!

We will persevere!!!

Today I ate:
-tea
-leftover marinated vegetables
-leftover save the salmon patty with hollandaise sauce
-tea
-raw cereal (fresh apples and bananas, dried raisins and cherries, buckwheat crispies and almond milk)
-tea

I am really out of food! Tomorrow I restock! Today's fare is minimal. I still had two avocados but now there are none.

Papaya
sm. red delicious apple
raisins

small salad--only red leaf and romaine and one avo.

larger salad--red leaf, romaine, and some left over tomato salsa, and the last avocado.

I feel hungry. I have a couple very ripe bananas in refrigerator and I may make a smoothie of bananas, red leaf lettuce, and goji berries. Yes, right now.

I may make apple juice later or eat an apple.
*
Yes, I agree---detox is continual until the last day. It is a natural process...and I hope I get to experience what it feels like to be in a relatively clean machine with assimilation and cleansing operating smoothly. I hope...I sometimes wonder how far I could go in regaining healthy state, I'm not a spring chicken. I wonder how much my longstanding abuse has jeopardized and limited the level of vitality I can re-gain. I'm sure I can get to a very good level, I trust in the amazing healing ability of the body. I'm determined to find out!

Khale---how do you feel? Yes, it is so hard to go through some difficult periods and not be able to call "Time Out" from your day. Hope you can get some time to yourself, and rest. That day I was walking around in detox limbo I could not wait to come home from work! Man, that was a day! I came across some info regarding the feeling of weakness and the muscular weakness (I had cement legs)...during a good cleansing episode, the body is taking the energy from the periphery and muscles and is concentrating it in the cleansing of the organs. We experience this as weakness, when really the body is using a great amount of energy! This is when, ideally, we can cooperate and lay low....ideally. I hope to detox only on my days off! HEH HEH If only...!

Persevere!

I am buying food tomorrow, and in that security, I may fast

Elakti

i have decided that if i'm just not hungry at night, there's no need to force myself to eat. i just end up feeling too full and i don't enjoy the food as much anyway. i am 100% completely NOT hungry right now so there's no point in eating dinner. oh well...at least that means i have no mess to clean up!

i did get some greens in earlier today but there's a funny story to go along w/ that- i was super hungry and i know when i'm so hungry that i'm craving cooked food just to feel full, eating greens always does the trick. so i went to the uber-overpriced whole foods salad bar and loaded up on lots of veggies. then i put on the dressing- but i got the bragg's acv confused w/ the bragg's liquid aminos and put the aminos on my salad! omg it was awful. i forced myself to eat about half of the salad b/c i paid $6 for it! and also b/c i was so hungry and didn't want to have to resist the cooked foods in our company's kitchen for the rest of the day. but it was awful. oh well, next time i'll pay attention!

-cinnamon roll lara bar, banana
-2 bananas, apple
-half of the wf salad w/ spinach, romaine, zucchini, carrots, onions, cukes, broccoli, and unfortunately, bragg's liquid aminos...and then i had a mango and some strawberries since i was still hungry and had soy sauce taste in my mouth! hehe
-apple & banana
-carrots w/ a little raw hummus, banana

if i get hungry later i may have another salad or just a tomato and half a giant cucumber or something like that. who knows. it's late though...so probably not much.

shower time...i love hot showers when i'm freezing!

5 pieces small of dehydrated bread with mustard haha
1/2 pineapple
1 green smoothie same except bluebrry instead of strawberry (my dad is gonna make me his fav tomorrow for breakfast)
then we went to bonobo's for lunch where i tried my first bite of durian. I like my first taste although the smell was killing me but then i ordered a coconut and durian shake and i couldn't do it. I wanted to gag. OH my god that taste adn that aftertaste adn that smell ahh. I'm sure some people like it but i can't do it. I kept having durian burps too i was like stop haunting me!!!!
i did have 1 coconut water
a plate with a seed burger and lettuce and beets and carrot and raw olives and sprouts oh my and raw jalpeno dressing. really yummy
oh and i had some strawberries and pineapple soaked in a coconut mixture yum
then at work i had a tiny bit of kale
1/4 piece of raw cheesecake
1 coconut meat
khale i'm so glad you listened to your body and you cards how cool! good for you. hope the detox isn't too bad!
shawna we'll be here for you the nextt time you hit the two week marker to cheer you on through it!

xoxo,
Starfruit

Hey everybody...khale stickwith you are doing great huN!! and don' worry about it detox is a great sign you are cleansing your body..... and after a seven year period you have regenerated your entire body and cleansed everything..you are then organic raw body!! so that is something exciting to look forward to..then you are still breaking down cells and regenerating but youaren't ridding it of the toxins and stuff from cooked foods you are now!! it is environmenal mostly...so that is so exciting hang in there

shawna hang in there hun you aren't alone and we are all here to support youand cheer you on!! continue the amazing journey!!!

well sorry i can't write more but i spent forever on my dear gals in the journal section they are always there so i always gotta put that first..but i love you all too!! and am here for all of you!!
take care and have a great night!!!

here is my food for today!
1 banana
1 baby banana
1 gaya melon (size of softball
1 1/2 cups of fruit salad (watermelon, cantelope, and honeydew)
1 cup of carrots with mustard
1 date
1 raw nori roll
1 tsp of guac
1 red bell pepper
2 glasses of oj
lettuce wraps 2 of them with cucumber lettuce...celery and carrots...with mustard haha...that is it!!
and i am now done and can get some sleep!! sweet dreams to everyone

love earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

I think Elakti came up with the word of the day, or even the word of the next few weeks! Or even the word beyond the next few weeks: PERSEVERE. Thanks Elakti!

Khale, I like Bernard Jensen too. I think of him as a seeker of truth. I have his book, "World Keys to Health and Long Life." To write the book, he traveled all over the world looking for the oldest people, and then he recorded their lifestyles and eating habits to try to find things they all had in common. It's very interesting, and the pictures and stories of the old folks are great. He was only in his sixties when he wrote that book, so it's nice to know he lived to a ripe old age.

Shawnasong, I remember going through a similar thing. I'd go weeks on raw and start feeling really good, and then WHAM! It was discouraging.

I think once the mind adjusts to thinking of raw as more foodlike than cooked, the mind will have more raw cravings instead of cooked cravings. And there's so much good raw stuff! Like Pakd4fun said, "We will persevere!!!"

Starfruit, I've had one durian in my life, and my experience was just like yours. Oh, it was so awful. And I couldn't get the smell of it out of my nose! I've read that the really, really fresh durian are much different and better. Someday, I'll give it another try, but it will have to be fresh!

Earthangel, thanks for all the support and concern you're giving us all. It's much appreciated.

Today I had: oranges, bananas, some dewberries, handful of goji berries, 3 or 4 small roma tomatoes, coconut water, half avocado, 1/4 cup sprouted brown sesame seeds (measured dry), 1/4 cup sprouted sunflower seeds (measure dry), 2 big pink hibiscus flowers.

Exercise: ran 3 miles, walked 1 mile, 50 minutes aerobics with weights

Good morning everyone!

Shawna, sweetheart, I hear you! I did the same thing last night. Some weird spirit of rebellion took over; some subconscious desire to halt my own progress in fear of the empowered person I may just become. This has nothing whatsoever to do with food...at least not in my case, but a spirit of inertia that drags on the energies just as an important and big step is about to take place.

I juiced all day until 5:00, when I had a banana drizzled with almond butter and raisins. I felt really bad, and weak, all day and spent the greater portion in bed reading or sleeping, unable on some level to really, deeply rest because of money concerns mostly (yesterday cost me 100 bucks and I just spent 75 bucks on groceries Tuesday) and because I don't do lay around in bed well and have to fight restlessness.

By 6:00 I had to get out of here and took a ride to a friends house and actually felt immediately better just being "out". She was frying shrimp with homemade french fries and a cole slaw. Suddenly, having had nothing but vegetable juice (made a large juice of celery, cucumber and zucchini that I nursed throughout the day) and a banana all day, I was starving! I helped myself to a small handful of the frys and ate a fairly large portion of the cole slaw, which luckily was made with very little mayo and lots of pineapple in its own juice (canned, of course). I "tasted" three shrimp.

When I left I felt so discouraged and confused and frustrated that I actually cried. I can't remember when I last felt so lonely.

This morning, thanks to you guys, the only thought resounding in my ear is the word, "PERSEVERE". There is nothing to do but to continue, thank goodness.

This may be the hardest thing I've ever attempted to do because it hits so many levels of psycho-spiritual "realities" and tests me at every turn. This is its main attraction and greatest value, aside from the considerable value it holds for my body.

Without the light that you all shed here for me, I'd be really stumbling around in the dark (or more so than I am already).

thank you, thank you, thank you

khale

Yesterday, as I lay in bed resting, I read a spiritual biography of M.K. Gandhi. Interesting that the first manifestation of the change that resulted in the heroic person that Gandhi eventually became, was a keen interest in alternative diets, specifically vegetarian diets.

It seems that one of the first signs of a call to a life of which potentials we only dimly at first perceive, can be an interest in something so seemingly mundane as a diet. The diet can be like a little boat we climb aboard that takes us to a far horizon to which our destiny or calling awaits us. As Gandhi repeatedly said, and believed with all of his heart, we all have greatness in us, and this greatness will not leave us alone until it finds its expression through us.

A new life requires the humus or compost residuals of the old in which to sprout and grow fruit. In other words, the old life has to die in order to nourish the growth of the new. And there is always a station of interregnum or transition in which the old is dying or dead and the new growth has not properly sprouted yet. This is a dangerous time, because the tendency is to try a resurrection of a dead already rotting, in doubt, or fear that the new will never come. The need for security is a powerful force; the need for what is familiar and comfortable, no matter how destructive, operates in all of us.

All of us are surrounded by a society and culture that sustains itself, more or less, on empty calories, empty activities, and empty consumerism. To begin to say "no" to any one part of this is a heroic act that takes great courage and tenacity. To fail is only an opportunity to confront that part of ourselves that fears the greatness that gently goads us into a new day, and to learn to say "yes" with greater experience and wisdom to guide us along the way.

Instead of having a great day...
have a day in which you are great,

with love,

khale

Khale, your above two posts are just simply awe-inspiring! Just so absolutely beautiful and courageous.

You really brought tears to my eyes. First, in sypathizing with you after last night, then tears of joy for your victory in determining to persevere, and your wonderful explanation of the something inside us that sometimes just seems to want to take us down.

"Interregnum". I didn't know that word. I looked it up, and the 1st definition is: "the time during which a throne is vacant between two successive reigns or regimes". A wonderful allegory for why we seek the old, since we don't yet know the new.

"Instead of having a great day...have a day in which you are great".

Well, you are definitely great today! You're my hero! In fact all of us here on this forum who determine to persevere are my hero!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2007 05:58PM by suncloud.

Oh Khale! Such beautiful writing. It is intensified for me being in the place where I am and such insight is so needed. Thank you! I am going to print it and put it on my wall. A wonderful read for any challenge. Thank you! And thank you for this thread.

Agreed, thank you again for this thread Khale, keeps me going!!


Todays eats!!

300ml coconut water (no meat)

200ml Apple's juiced

700ml Pinapple, Orange and water

Yum Yum

I also loved that piece, Khale.

I'm starving but there's nothing to eat in my house. I wanted nori rolls later. Maybe. Here's what I had so far.

- 2 cups of cantaloupe
- 6 blackberries
- 1/2 a red pepper

"...some subconscious desire to halt my own progress in fear of the empowered person I may just become."

Oh, Khale, you see inside my heart... It's like Marianne Williamson wrote which was later quoted by Martin Luther King Jr. about being afraid of our own light and shrinking so that others won't feel small, etc...

Give thanks, I feel strong again and back on track of loving and honoring myself. I really gathered strength from reading the encouraging words directed at me. I needed that. Thank you all.

Today I've eaten:
Papaya boat filled with fresh strawberries
leftover soup from last night
green salad with olives, tomato and avo and lemon herb dressing
banana pine nut popsicle (did I mention these are divine?) (Blend 5 bananas to 1/4 cup pinenuts; pour into dixie cups, freeze one hour, then put popsicle stick into center; freeze another few hours. I used frozen bananas to start so I was able to put the stick right in and freeze for a couple more hours to harden again.
My 1 1/2 year old son loves these too! Make them!!)
Nori Rolls
Salad of freshly picked greens with olive oil and lime juice drizzled

Cheers,
Shawna

I am delighted that you all found inspiration in what I wrote for you (and for myself) this morning...it means the world to me.

I took a very relaxed approach to eating today; eating whatever and whenever I wanted. I ended by eating more fats than I would normally feel comfortable with, but there were no cooked fats, or fried fats like I had last night, so I refuse to be displeased with myself.

I had:

juice of 2 oranges, a mango, a cucumber w/tahini thinned with umeboshi, an apple with cashew butter, a huge salad of swiss chard, kale, and romaine lettuces w/grated beet, cucumber, avocado and tomato seasoned w/salt (no dressing) and finished w/a banana sliced with an almond butter drizzle, raw honey, pumpkin seeds and walnuts

Shawna: the banana pine nut popsicles sound really good! I'll be sure to make some of those soon. Your food always sounds really appetizing Shawna. You must be a really good un-cooker upper.

Pakd4fun: I'd love the "save the salmon patty" recipe. It would be good to use up some of the carrot pulp I end up disposing.

rawfrancoise: I'll be eating deep in the produce bin of my refrigerator too for the next few days. This unplanned week off from work will certainly put a kink in my food budget for awhile. Guess we'll just have to get creative.

hang tough friends, and good night,

khale

Yes, Khale, I agree with everyone else, that was a lovely post. Yes, we are on a path of transformation. This "mere food" thing is multi-dimensional multi-faceted. That's why I like the word 'perseverence' and it is also why I need support.

Let's see, what did I eat?

Apple juice first thing.
Then, ate a small apple.

Soon followed by a small very simple salad. (lettuce & baby spinach) Then I went shopping!

Devoured a lot of grapes. Then, a lot of cherries.

Later, avocado mushed with tomato. (I was feeling a little woozie from the fruit.)

Later, more grapes and an orange.
Another salad---red leaf, tomato, 2 olives.

I will be up til 11:00 tonight as there is something I want to watch on tv. I am sure I will be having a cherry party. And I know I will have the customary glass or 2 of orange juice.

Felt quite good today, enjoying day off, the sunshine, gardening, my little funny dog. I ordered "80-10-10" today; also, "I Only Eat Fruit" by Essie Honibal. I've been wanting to read that for some time, an account of her illness and her come back on fruit alone. I love reading rawfood books; and, when I recently realised that Graham's views align with Natural Hygiene I wanted to get it. I am so in debt.

Was so in need of shopping and so craving fruit. I got rather woozie though on the grapes and cherries. Last night I ate more dates than I've ever eaten in one sitting and also got very woozie. Adjustment, adjustment, patience, patience, day by day, .....PERSEVERENCE!

We can do it, keep at it, cooperate with our body, and allow ourselves to enjoy and learn from the entire process...with all the ups and downs.

As Khale alluded to, our apparent 'downfalls' and 'short circuiting' are fodder for our growth. For us, our difficulties and challenges in this are not necessarily negative...it's all COMPOST!

Here's to our growth!
Bon appetit!
Elakti

...........and the entire contents of a small basket of blueberries.

khale, your mention of the word "interregnum" jolted my memory back to one of my favorite books, it's called "no telephone to heaven" by michelle cliff. it's about a revolution on a caribbean island- i am totally blanking on which one, maybe jamaica but i don't think so- and she has a quote about "the old is dying and the new cannot be born"...it's sooooo good, i reccommend it to anyone! but anyway to get back to the topic, i think we're all in an interregnum right now. i certainly feel myself caught between the person i used to be, the person who didn't question everything, who found it easier to look the other way when something ugly crossed her path, and the new me, the person who wants a say in the future of the world, the person who has strong opinions and is determined to do something- basically, the person who is emerging as a result of the raw foods journey. it's weird and i felt really lost for a few weeks, like i didn't even know who i was or what i liked and disliked anymore. it's overwhelming. but it's better than being static, and letting others think for you.

anyway keep on truckin'. it's all a learning experience. there are no mistakes, there are no bad days. there are only lessons to be learned and opportunities to grow.

my day:

-smoothie w/ 2 bananas, strawberries, oj, blueberries, mango
-lara bar, banana
-fruit salad w/ the rest of the mango and more strawberries, banana
-apple
-baby carrots, some dipped in raw dressing
-HUUUUGE salad w/ spinach, romaine, 1.5 tomatoes, carrots, red pepper, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, an entire avo, a bit of raw dressing (ACV, garlic, sundried tomatoes)

wow, that salad hit the spot. i didn't get to eat as much as i needed throughout the day b/c of lack of time at work, so i was super hungry to the point of dizziness. i was sooo full afterwards though, i swear i looked 8 months pregnant! but only for 10 mins, then i started to digest and now i'm just normal-full. that avocado thing is going to become a weekly treat- it is sooooo good, i've never had a whole one on my salad before! i barely needed any dressing b/c the avo tasted amazing. and it fills me up, unlike fats from nuts & seeds. yuuumm.

so we are almost onto week 4- time flies! i really love this thread and how we all learn from each other and are in this together!
-

what a great day
today i had:
1 green smoothie (kale, green apple, banana, and apricot)
1 banana
1 mango
1 coconut spice smoothie
side of marinated kale and collards dad and i split
1 lettuce wrap w/sprouts and sundried tomotoe nut pate
1 bowl of the most amazing soup ever called avacado lovers (avacado, red onoin,cashew cream, and cilantro)
1 plate of zughettti
1/2 bowl of dad's soup (kale, red pepper, lemon, garlic, avacado w/dulse flakes)
Yummy day.
took gorgeous 7 mi bike ride

xoxo,
Starfruit

I woke up feeling nauseous this morning. I didn't feel bad in any other way. I stayed active and busy but my stomach didn't feel quite right all day. My face is broken out in lots of tiny zits. I am guessing this is all detox.

When I started eating mostly raw 9 months ago I had been excersizing regularly for about 5 years. I guess because I lost so much weight and I was muscular from all the excersizing I had been doing I got lazy and wasn't motivated to keep up the excersizes. I have been wanting to start back again and today I did. I did pilates and some free weights. I did better than I ever have.

I ate:
-tea
-figs
-tea
-ate a few fig newtons the kids made and it was a mistake. My stomach hurt.
-my husband came home with much needed greens and I had a huge salad with lettuce, green onions, cucumber, tomato, flax oil and salt
-tea

My daughter is having terrible cravings for mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, corn and fried okra. What is it she is craving? Carbs? Any suggestions for a raw substitute?

Hey there khale hang in there huN!! we are all here for you and you are still doing great!! just a bump in the road you know!! keep it up!!!!

hey pakd4fun...you daughter how exciting how old is she?? that is so awesome she is doing raw with you as well..doesn't your whole family try to??
anyways she is just detoxing probably those foods that she used to eat and she has cravings cuz they are being detoxed out of her body...but a good substitute for mashed potatoes is cauliflower some raw cashews..some fresh water...and herbs..mix well in the blender..i don't use any type of measurements haha i just throw it in there ......and you just mix till creamy..she can also add avo instead of cahsews for that creamy consistancy...tastes yummy like mashed potatoes....is she is isn't 100% raw she can sprinkle some nutritional yeast(tastes like cheese) on them....have you tried dehydrated breads??? they sell some from lydia's bakery..you soak them in water for a few seconds and they come back to life soft not just like bread but close enough..and corn she can have raw right off the cob!! so yummy!! hmm and i have never had fried okra so i don't know
hope this helps some
have a great day!!!
lots of love your way!!



okay well here is what i ate for the day!
1/2 watermelon
1 glass of oj
2 cups of sprouts
1 small bag of mini carrots with mustard
2 baby bananas
2 zucchini chopped up in the proccessor and hmm that is it...

today was weird i had cravings for a chicken sandwhich ( i haven't eaten in years like trillions) and other fast food greasy i haven't eaten..and it's werid cuz i have been 100% raw since january and i guess i am detoxing again haha...hmm so i was hungry all day and ate A LOT
i thought i was going to give in to the craving i was like well this one time won't hurt if i get something but i didn't want it really i just wanted something to eat and the detox and cravings were tricking my mind haha....oh wel i didn't give in came home and had some yummy food!!

have a wonderful night everyong and we will conviene tomorrow haha
love always
Earthangel
xoxoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Earthangel, your suggestions for Pakdforfun's daughter were great. I tried to think of something to suggest, and my mind went blank.

I love raw cauliflower chopped up in my salads.

Don't forget Earthangel, if you're hungry now, don't eat any chicken sandwiches! Ha! You can eat something like you suggested for Pakdforfun's daughter.

Today I had: bananas, oranges, strawberries, 1/4 cup sprouted brown sesame seeds (measured dry), 1/4 cup sprouted sunflower seeds (measured dry).

Exercise: 1 hour yoga, 50 minutes aerobics with weights.

I probably won't be running for at least a couple of days. I messed up and ran on the pavement for 2 days in a row, instead of on the dirt. It hurt my knee (temporarily!)

Good morning

Well I'm home the entire week having decided to allow myself time to rest and to catch up with myself some. This morning everything is flowing again...the congestion in my chest is breaking up and I'm experiencing a lot of draining...all very good things. I'm even experiencing exceptional elimination (for me) of the bowel, which may be a benefit of rest and relaxation more than anything else.

It's actually been quite nice to "stop the world" for a bit...I get so busy that I end in tripping over my own feet and start wondering why I'm doing any of it. Solitude and quiet have always been essential to me, but in the last few years I get less and less of it.

Pakd4fun: For me it doesn't work to try and make something "like" something else. Cauliflower "mashed", however good in its own right, is NOT mashed potato. All of the foods you list that Peri is craving are to me quintessential comfort foods. Are you getting the rain, the overcast sky and dampness we are getting here? This kind of weather prompts certain desires for types of food in me...could be Peri is feeling that too. Great weather for "bowl-ey" food, as I call it, mashed potato being one of my favorites. I realize that I'm not helping...lol

Suncloud: sorry about that knee. it's been my experience that sometimes our "angels" will slow us down if we are in danger of over-doing. you are also eating very small amounts of food it seems to me. perhaps your body needs more rest for awhile.

meow: I know exactly what you mean about feeling odd toward yourself. This can be such a creative time for all of us. I'm so honored to be in the company of people who are not afraid to go deep. I am used to being asked to "lighten up" most of the time. It's good and rare to feel understood.

love you guys,

khale

Meow- It sounds like you are enjoying your food. You are very upbeat with such a positive 'tude.

Earthangel- My 11 year old is the one on the 7 week challenge. She actually said she was making it a 5 week challenge in the beginning. I am not sure now how long she is planning for. The rest of the family has a cooked meal two to three times a week, so they are mostly raw. They are eating less cooked since we have been on this challenge. Actually my 2 year old has only had on egg and some rice since we started. We have yard chickens. I actually make the cauliflower "potatoes" and the other two kids love it but, Peri not so much. Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will definitely pass them on and see if they help. honestly I don't know if I can take any more of her cravings . I think Khale hit the nail on the head with the comfort food idea. We have been having the dark rainy days and looks like they are going to continue for a while.

Khale- I am so surprised and proud of you for taking time off to allow yourself to heal. Try not to stress over the loss of money. Sometimes you have to focus on your health which will pay off in the long run.

Suncloud- I hope your knee is back to it's running self soon.

I am feeling good today and my zits are less noticeable today. I know I need more greens. I would like to do some kind of juice or water fast.

Dear all, I am sooo in. Please, I am in)))))))) I am excited. I have about 10 or so pounds to lose. My sinus headaches are a thing of the past ever since I went about 75% raw and quit all dairy. God is good.

Now, I would like to do 100% raw (which I already started about few weeks ago anyway, but go off and on).
Thanks and I am in.
Love
Anu

Pakd4fun how adorable!! she sounds sweet..i remember reading her post one day of things she had eaten that is cute!!! well ih ope it helps though..yeah it could be comfort food too she is craving...and when that happens rather then going off the diet just substitute it and the farther along she is with raw the less she will crave cooked foods even the comfort ones you know?
well good luck!!

SUncloud..thanks i won't be eating any chicken sandwhich's haha..i havne' eaten anything like that in years and years it was so weird ..but could be detox throwing the old toxins in the body around
i hope things get well with your knee!!
take care

ANu welcome and congrats on going to take the challenge and join the forum!!
good luck and take care

well so far today i have only did the gym shower and checked in with my dear friends....
and now i am off to work!!
tkae care
love earthangel
xoxoxoxo

Much peace and love!!!
EarthAngel
Xoxo

Hi Anu!