The first time I was exposed to raw food was a few years ago at an all raw restaurant in Minneapolis called "Ecopolitan". I walked through the front door and I was in heaven. I had been a vegan for about two years and had always been angered by the lack of vegan options at other restaurants. I glanced over the menu, and it suddenly dawned on me that I could order ANYTHING I wanted. That had never happened before, and it was exhilarating. Not to mention the fact that the food was so incredibly healthy.

Trying to get into raw foods was very frustrating, though. Because my initial exposure to raw foods was through elaborate recipes (both at Ecoplitan and in the reading I did) I thought that this was the only way to do raw foods. I'm a terrible cook, and just as bad at un-cooking It was so overwhelming, because in addition to needing the raw food know-how I also needed a blender, a food processor, a dehydrator, a juicer...

I just recently discovered the 80/10/10 diet. I took a gander at Sarah's "going bananas" blog, and was a little shocked. There was one post she had made in which she mentioned eating 6 bananas for breakfast. She ate 6 bananas? I was so confused at first! It just seemed too simple, when every bit of raw food I had been exposed to up to this point had always focused on complicated recipes. From her blog, I ended up on Dr. D's website, and looked around a bit. Needless to say, I liked what I saw.

I've always been so basic about what I eat. I love snacking on asparagus or carrots, just by themselves. I love to eat apples and bananas mangoes all alone. But it's been such a struggle, because I felt like I should be making more "complete" meals, with dehydrated flax crackers, raw dressings, or blended sauces. Not only are gourmet dishes difficult for me to learn, they rely so heavily on fats, which is why many raw fooders end up eating a higher percentage of fats when they switch to raw (that bit of information was surprising).

I'm really not trying to be insulting towards raw gourmet foods. They are, after all, what got me interesting in raw foods! I've just realized that they don't work for me at all.

If you read this, Sarah, thank you for linking to your blog in your signature. This is gonna sound weird... but I feel like reading that you ate 6 bananas for breakfast has changed my life, ha ha. Eating just became so much simpler than I ever thought it could be.

-Alex

Hey Alex!

So happy you found 8/1/1! I am just beginning my 8/1/1 journey...so far so good! I too love the simplicity of the meals and how I have more time for the important things in life!

Blessings!

Was the same for me, Sarah's blog is amazing and so inspirational.

Raw dosent need to be hardwork, just crack open those banana's

I started with some raw gourmet, followed by the low sugar & fat wheatgrass/ sprouted seed approach.
Then i discovered 80 10 10.
Still work in progress, but it really suits me.

Hi Werewolf!

I know just what you mean. I finally went ahead and ordered the 80/10/10 book a few weeks ago, and I was absolutely thrilled to discover the simplicity of it all. I still like a "fancy" meal some of the time, but what freedom to just sit down with a bowl of fruit and start peeling and eating! And a meal of bananas is so filling and satisfying - my family thinks I have gone crazy,but I love it! My husband was watching me nibble on one banana after another one day while I was waiting for everyone else's supper to cook, and he commented that I was going to spoil my appetite. I just smiled and thought to myself, "I certainly hope so!", haha!!

I'm still pretty crazy about green smoothies too - they really taste great, and require such a small amount of preparation and clean-up, and best of all, they are so easily portable! All in all, it seems that the healthier I eat, the less work it is - what a bonus!

Sapphire

I hear ya, Sapphire. My mom is gonna think I'm crazy too when she finds out about this

I feel like such a geek... I had trouble getting to sleep last night because I was SO exciting about discovering 80/10/10 (I couldn't stop smiling). I was thrilled about breakfast this morning. I just ate a bunch of bananas, and thats it! No prep time I'm sure I'll still have some gourmet foods now and then, but I don't know, a plane honey crisp apple, to me, practically IS gourmet.

Sometimes I can't believe how fired up I get over food. Yep, definitely a geek.

-Alex

dr doug would probably love to hear of your enthusiasm...beautiful!

Aww, that's way too cool! It's nice to find some people once in awhile who don't think I'm off my rocker. Glad something I said struck something with you! I learn so much from so many people myself.

Sarah
[goingbananasblog.com]