I am new to raw. About two months ago I started making dietary changes in conjunction with a detox/cleanse program. I expected to go about 50% with an eventual goal of 80%. What happened is that I flipped to 80-90% almost overnight. It just worked for me. The problem is that I feel as though I spend all my free time cutting vegetables and preparing meals. I am not kidding. I believe I spend 1-2 hours everyday and it is wearing me out. I try to take 1 or 2 days a week and chop and prepare everything but it just doesn't seem to work and then I start running out of stuff. Out of simplicity at the moment I am eating almost all salads which, incidentally, is not how I started. Salads just became the easiest thing to make but I am rather bored of them and not feeling very satisfied. I almost don't want to eat I am so wiped out from the prep. Then, I get so hungry I will grab anything. As of late I have just wanted to get a pizza because I am so frustrated. In all honesty, the thought of eating pizza kinda scares me. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips? Thank you.

I went through the same thing. I actually had to remind myself of the prep time and cleanup when I was cooking. Now I eat a banana or 6, cut open a watermellon and fill up a bowl, eat 20 figs or a couple apples. If I want fat I eat a handful of almonds. Once or twice a week I might spend thirty minutes making nori rolls or something "special". I still eat lots of salads but they are very diverse. I think the longer I am raw the simpler my meals are and I have to make a consious effort to roll with the changes. I find myself doing things out of habit.

Maybe you can find out different ways to make your salads more apealing by buying raw uncook books. I found some excellent raw dressings and I love to dip my broccoli, green & red bell peppers in it!

To tell you the truth, I like to know that I'm eating everything that I take time to do. Frozen, canned, pre package, even restaurants I worry about, is it organic, does it have animal products in it, how much sodium? I don't even want salt, if I do I use Celtic sea salt.

Go to a health food store and get some great ideas from there.

Do you have a juicer, blender, or dehydrator, that adds fun into it!

I got the impressiion that at this phase you're rather eat heavier or more filling foods than just salads--if it were not for the time constraints. Maybe you could consider alternating meal formats. For example, prepare 2 quickie salads and/or fruit/veggies recipes to last let's say 3 days. Then on another day prepare let's say 2 different gourmet or more complex recipes to also last let's say 3 days.

This way only once a week you'd be spending as much time as you seem to be describing preparing meals, and the other day you'd be done with meal preparation in a jiffy.

Who knows, maybe with time, even the more complex recipes will be prepared faster, since you would have had the practice making them beyond the period of your learning curve.

Wishing you vibrant health

i used to spend up to 6 hours a day cooking and cleaning

3 big ol' farm square meals ..then snacks

i spend maybe an 2 hours if that now

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thanks all for the input. I have a juicer, food processor, blender, and 2 dehydrators. That is where all my time is going - prepping food items, processing, juicing, and washing dishes. I have a few cookbooks - simple and gourmet raw dishes. The fun isn't really there as I am overwhelmed by the fact that I don't even have much time for stuff I enjoy once I get home from work, take care of household stuff and then spend another 2 hours in the kitchen. I guess I need to find someway to simplify or condense but all I seem to do anymore is wash dishes. I live alone and almost always have a full sink of dishes.

Thank you. Patty

sorry for your frusteration. I to am overwhelmed with the extent of processing the foods. I have a counter full of sprouting seeds and then trays of grass growing {but my yard is not as grean as my wheat grass} I have never made these concoctions ever and on top of it all I have to prepare food for my children. The family still eat sad food but in some ways they are trying raw foods. When I made seed cheese they tasted it and thought it was horrable. I am beginning to get use to the sprouting but I want to make some veg krout and some other formented foods. Good luck to you and keep up the good things your reward is a healthy body.

Others may beg to differ, but I believe that a veggie salad is only as good as its dressing. Is it possible that you could take an hour or so to make up 4 great tasting salad dressings? This way your basic salad, which is easy to prep, can taste like four very different, delicious meals simply due to your choice of salad dressing.

- smile

** When I feel burned out, I just throw everything in the blender for a smoothie and drink it down with a straw. Eventually I'll crave something more complex, and I find that the energy to create it shows up naturally.

smilebig I agree,could you guide me to the salad dressing recipes.

sewraw. I have been doing this transition raw thing for 6 or seven weeks. When I get the munchies at night I make a banana date smoothie. Frozen bananas and a small handful of dates.
At the present time my willpower is strong as I am in negotiation with a hospital in Dallas for a $ 10.000 6 hr bill.You may want to check out David Kliens site and read up a little to help with your dicipline.

Hey there, Patty,

I've been living a hectic life, not able to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so I've been living without complex meals for a while. Here are some suggestions:

1) In the AM, go for heavy smoothies (mix fruit, nuts AND oil; since you're still in transition, you'll need a lot of bulk). Don't use your juicer for these, that just adds cleaning time. Use bananas, oranges, berries--things you only need a blender for. Walnuts are great in smoothies.

2) Don't wait longer than two hours before eating a snack. Since it'd still be morning, consider apple and raw almond butter (mix sea salt and agave nectar into the almond butter, and if you have time, chopped almonds). An alternative is a bowl of peaches and banana w/walnuts and coconut cream mixed in. Another quick but heavy snack could be something you dehydrated a million of, like cookies or crackers. (Remember, when you're going to dehydrate something that could last a couple of months, fill up both of your dehydrators!)

3) Only eat salads once a day. If you eat them too often, you won't be just be psychologically burnt out, but your body will be tired of it, too. I recommend eating it at lunch, and if you didn't have one at lunch, then at dinner.

4) Two hours after lunch, eat another quick snack. Try cucumber dipped in the following sauce: almond butter, nama shoyu, agave nectar. Now, if you feel up to it, you can add garlic (cut the clove(s) in half and take out the bitter hearts if you don't like it strong), lemon juice, lemon grass, ginger, cayenne, cilantro, scallions, and sea salt in any combination--but that's only if you want to spend the time to make it truly delicious.

5) Okay, now it's dinner. Assuming you've already had a salad for lunch, this is just another time for a heavy snack with nuts and fruit again, or guacamole on the crackers or bread you made last time you had time. (Again, if you made bread, you quadupled the recipe twice and stored it in an airtight container so it's lasting a long time.)

6) Yes, it's bad to eat at bedtime, but while you're in transition, you're allowed to break every single rule. When you're hungry, eat. Even if you're just a tiny bit hungry, you're emotional eating, or you just feel up to something, this is a time to baby your psyche. Indulge yourself. If it's sweets you crave, go for candied walnuts, macaroons, or something else that tastes heavenly and makes you feel comfortably sick when you eat too much. A good bedtime treat that's quick is dates, coconut and walnuts whirred in a food processor and shaped into mini-logs or balls. You can omit the coconut or the walnuts if you don't have one of them, and you can add cinnamin for spice. (Honey and nutmeg makes it reminiscent of baklavah.)

Don't limit yourself to 3 meals a day, and don't beat yourself up if you end up eating pizza. (After two month's raw, your body just might do that for you.) Make sure you have recipes that are worth the effort of chopping, mixing and dehydrating. (_Raw Food Real World_ is fabulous! That's where you'll find the scrumptious macaroons.) Limit your heavy prep. stuff to once or twice a week--once a week for crackers/bread that'll last, and once a week to spoil yourself w/something gourmet.

And finally, when you see a sink full of dishes, fill it up with warm sudsy water, turn on some great tunes, and have a blast taking advantage of what could be the best, most relaxing activity of your day.

Cheers to you for making this, the hardest and most rewarding choice of your life.

Betty

Wow! Betty, thanks for the suggestions. Patty

betty can you repeat the above with some more exact measurements

thanks

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

perbetty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> 1) In the AM, go for heavy smoothies (mix fruit,
> nuts AND oil; since you're still in transition,
> you'll need a lot of bulk). Don't use your juicer
> for these, that just adds cleaning time. Use
> bananas, oranges, berries--things you only need a
> blender for. Walnuts are great in smoothies.


how much fruit, nuts and oil? cups? tbs?


>
> 2) Don't wait longer than two hours before eating
> a snack. Since it'd still be morning, consider
> apple and raw almond butter (mix sea salt and
> agave nectar into the almond butter, and if you
> have time, chopped almonds). An alternative is a
> bowl of peaches and banana w/walnuts and coconut
> cream mixed in. Another quick but heavy snack
> could be something you dehydrated a million of,
> like cookies or crackers. (Remember, when you're
> going to dehydrate something that could last a
> couple of months, fill up both of your
> dehydrators!)

how much ingredients?

>
> 3) Only eat salads once a day. If you eat them
> too often, you won't be just be psychologically
> burnt out, but your body will be tired of it, too.
> I recommend eating it at lunch, and if you didn't
> have one at lunch, then at dinner.

example of the salad? does it have dressing? of what?

>
> 4) Two hours after lunch, eat another quick
> snack. Try cucumber dipped in the following
> sauce: almond butter, nama shoyu, agave nectar.
> Now, if you feel up to it, you can add garlic (cut
> the clove(s) in half and take out the bitter
> hearts if you don't like it strong), lemon juice,
> lemon grass, ginger, cayenne, cilantro, scallions,
> and sea salt in any combination--but that's only
> if you want to spend the time to make it truly
> delicious.

ingredient amounts again? an example?

>
> 5) Okay, now it's dinner. Assuming you've
> already had a salad for lunch, this is just
> another time for a heavy snack with nuts and fruit
> again, or guacamole on the crackers or bread you
> made last time you had time. (Again, if you made
> bread, you quadupled the recipe twice and stored
> it in an airtight container so it's lasting a long
> time.)

ingredient amounts again? an example?

>
> 6) Yes, it's bad to eat at bedtime, but while
> you're in transition, you're allowed to break
> every single rule. When you're hungry, eat. Even
> if you're just a tiny bit hungry, you're emotional
> eating, or you just feel up to something, this is
> a time to baby your psyche. Indulge yourself. If
> it's sweets you crave, go for candied walnuts,
> macaroons, or something else that tastes heavenly
> and makes you feel comfortably sick when you eat
> too much. A good bedtime treat that's quick is
> dates, coconut and walnuts whirred in a food
> processor and shaped into mini-logs or balls. You
> can omit the coconut or the walnuts if you don't
> have one of them, and you can add cinnamin for
> spice. (Honey and nutmeg makes it reminiscent of
> baklavah.)

ingredient amounts again? an example?


>
> Don't limit yourself to 3 meals a day, and don't
> beat yourself up if you end up eating pizza.
> (After two month's raw, your body just might do
> that for you.) Make sure you have recipes that are
> worth the effort of chopping, mixing and
> dehydrating. (_Raw Food Real World_ is fabulous!
> That's where you'll find the scrumptious
> macaroons.) Limit your heavy prep. stuff to once
> or twice a week--once a week for crackers/bread
> that'll last, and once a week to spoil yourself
> w/something gourmet.
>
> And finally, when you see a sink full of dishes,
> fill it up with warm sudsy water, turn on some
> great tunes, and have a blast taking advantage of
> what could be the best, most relaxing activity of
> your day.
>
> Cheers to you for making this, the hardest and
> most rewarding choice of your life.
>
> Betty

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Sure. I never measure, so if you just want to put the ingredients together any old way, I'm sure you won't go wrong. Here's a stab at it though. Keep in mind, these measurements haven't been tested--I'm just giving you my best guess.

Morning Smoothies

Say, use a base of 1-2 bananas and the juice of 3 oranges. Add 1 T of hemp seeds or 1/3-1/2 c of walnuts, a dollop of coconut butter or 1-2 T flax seed oil. If you have raspberries to add, 1/2 cup. Add a few cubes of pinapple, or substitute a cup of cubes for the orange juice.

Of course, as this is the first meal of the day, it's is a good place to put your green powder, bee pollen, nutritional yeast or other less than ideal-tasting suppliments. Just don't ruin the whole blenderfull. Take out a cup the smoothie, mix in your suppliment, chug it down, then enjoy the rest of your yummy tasting stuff.


Almond Butter Improved

2 c almond butter
1 T agave nectar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
Optional: Add 1/2 cup chopped almonds to the mixture.

Dip a sliced apple (or if you're transitioning, 2 sliced apples), or spread it on raw crackers.


Hearty Fruit Bowl

Any combination of seasonal fruit (sliced peaches, bananas, apples, etc.)
Berries if you have them
Choose your nut or seed: a small handful of walnuts, slivered or chopped almonds, sesame seeds (black are healthiest), 2 T pecans, etc.
A dollop of coconut butter or 2 T of any oil that won't ruin the flavor of the fruit for you

Note: It was very important for me to combine oil w/fruit when I was transitioning. Without it, the fruit would leave me lightheaded and hungry too soon. Now nuts are enough, but coconut butter is always welcome as it adds a smooth texture to everything. (Coconut butter is coconut oil that hasn't been warmed above 70 degrees.)



Salads

For lunch eat one with dark leafy greens like a spring mix, red leaf lettuce or if you like it hearty, finely-ribboned kale. Add ¼ c water to the Thai-tasting Dipping Sauce below (or oil or lemon juice) to turn it into a tossable dressing. Or try one of these:

Standard Dressing

1/2 c olive oil
2 T cider vinegar or the juice of one lemon
1 T agave nectar
1 tsp. sea salt or, if using lemon juice, 2 T Namu Shoya
Optional:
1 clove garlic, mashed, pressed or diced (again, take out the pesky core of the clove to soften the flavor, but then you'll need 2 cloves)
1 - 2 T chopped cilantro, mint or both
a sliced scallion
a pinch of cayenne or 1/4 diced jalapeño


Chinese Dressing

1 c rice vinegar (I cheat with this sometimes—it’s not raw. Don’t get it seasoned or you’re really cheating, because the seasoned rice vinegar has refined sugar.)
1 T unrefined sesame oil (I found this at Whole Foods)
1 T Namu Shoya
1 T agave nectar


Vietnamese Dressing

1 c rice vinegar
3-4 T agave nectar or to taste (Use it to get the bitterness out of the vinegar.)
1 tsp cayenne
1-2 T water to lighten the flavor
1 T sliced scallions
1 T ribboned mint leaves (Roll the mint leaves up and slice them fine.)


Thai-tasting Veggie Dip

3/4 c tahini or almond butter (any nut butter will do, these are just the cheapest)
1/3 c Namu Shoya
2 T - 1/4 c agave nectar
1-2 garlic cloves (one w/its core, two if you've removed the cores)
1-inch nub of peeled and finely grated ginger
1-2 thumb's lengths of lemongrass chopped fine (totally unnecessary, but nice if you can get it)
The juice of one lemon or two limes
1/2 c shredded coconut
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 c chopped cilantro
1 sliced scallion
Dash of sea salt might be necessary, even though you've got the Namu Shoya
Chopped nuts (cashew, almond or peanuts if you eat them)

Note: This dip is perfect for a potluck with cookies (my term for people who eat cooked food). Line the platter w/beet greens or curly kale and lay an array of crudete over them: jicama, halved mushrooms, long sticks of English cucumber (or regular cucumber with the seeds scraped out with a spoon), long celery and carrot sticks, colorful bell peppers, baby bok choy leaves sliced in half down the middle, a few scallions for the adventurous, and cherry or grape tomatoes. Put the dip in the middle; garnish the veggies with sprigs of cilantro leaves. This is the first time I've ever written the recipe down because it seemed more time-consuming to do that than to make it. Now that it’s in writing, I can email it to the throngs who’ve said, “Please send me this recipe!”


Guacamole

3 avocados
1-2 garlic cloves (one w/the clove's core, 2 w/out)
1-2 T diced onion (1 if pungent, 2 if sweet)
Juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
1/2 tsp or more of sea salt (a good guac is salty. Add more if it tastes bland.)
Garnish with cilantro, cayenne and/or diced red pepper

Note: I eat guac over halved cherry tomatoes. Transitioners can put it on raw bread, crackers, or tortilla chips. I’ve seen great tortilla chip recipes in different cookbooks, but most are in cookbooks that only have 2 or 3 recipes that are practical to make (ie. there aren’t impossible-to-find ingredients like quince). Books that have these as well as a myriad of other good recipes can be found in _Raw Gourmet_, and my current favorite, _Raw Food Real World_. The former has some truly weird or bland recipes, but many are pretty good. The latter is just out of this world.

Raw Food Real World has the best bean dip I’ve ever tasted (and the easiest to make). Just add about 4 cored garlic cloves to the recipe, and be sure to add the tomato sauce they include and tell you to mix in. (This recipe is found with their “Soft Corn Tortillas” recipe.)


A Nighttime Salad (presuming you’ve already had your dark leafy greens for lunch)

Grate a bowl or plateful of cucumber and/or zuccini (both together are best)
Add 1/2 to a whole diced avocado if you have it
Add a small handful of cilantro and/or scallions if you have them

Drizzle the following dressing over the top:

1/4 c Namu Shoya
3 T agave nectar
1 garlic clove mashed, pressed or diced
Optional: 1/4 tsp cayenne


This next recipe is what Israelis call a haroset (also charoset or charoses). Google this word and you’ll get Passover Haroset Recipes, which are raw, or can be easily adapted by omitting cooked ingredients. For this one, the Israelis use honey made from dates. But who wants to search for that?

Simplified Haroset

10 pitted medjool dates
¾ c dried coconut flakes
¾ c walnuts
(Optional) 1 tsp cinnamon or ½ tsp nutmeg and 1 T honey

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pinch a bit together to test its texture and pop the pinch in your mouth to taste. If it doesn’t pinch together well, add more dates or 1-2 T honey/agave nectar. If you can’t taste enough spice, add a bit more.

When it’s just right, scoop out a heaping T, squeeze it together with your hands into a rough ball, then roll it into the shape of a log. Repeat for the rest of the recipe. To dress them up, roll them in coconut and/or push a half an almond into the top center of each log.


One other thing I survived on when transitioning was mushrooms because they’re so meaty and satisfying.

“Sautéed” Mushrooms

4 cups sliced mushroom of any variety (my favorite is portabella, but they're all good)
1/3 c olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Optional
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 mashed garlic cloves
2 scallions, sliced
Freshly ground pepper

Toss ingredients together, then either marinate for a couple of hours, or put it into the dehydrator for 7 hours on 110 degrees. The latter really makes them taste sautéed.


Note: When combining flavors, try to make sure you have the five taste elements if possible: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and heat.

I hope these work out. If you find you can improve on anything, email me and let me know about it.

Betty

nifty thank you very much

i dont measure much either once i get over an initial receipe .. just a pinch of this a handfull of that lol

thanks again

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I can so identify with you. I was completely raw for about 5 months and when I started school, I just couldn't seem to keep up with it because of all of the prep time involved.

I'm back on track now but here's what i did
* Salad bar at the grocery - its easy, its convenient, its my base salad. I then keep easy to reach options in the fridge. Little zucchinni's, cherry tomatoes, cranberries - easy things to liven up the base salad and make things different.

* Eat foods in their natural form - simply - there is something to the mono-eating style.

* Smoothies - much easier than juicing

* Buy fruits and freeze a portion - this reduces the incidence of your fruit spoiling before you get to it.

Good luck to you. It's a challenge for me too.

I just discovered a corner-cutter: When making crackers, make them super savory so that when it comes time to eat them with fresh toppings, the toppings don't require any time-consuming flavoring. (The crackers you make once in the week; the toppings go on daily. Get the logic?)

Make the crackers with extra garlic, onion, herbs and salt, and put in sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and/or olives to make them richer and heavier. When it comes time to top them, coat some spring salad mix w/oil, saturate diced mushrooms w/lemon and/or oil, or slice some avocado and/or tomato. No salt, no seasonings necessary.

Here's a recipe I like. If you quadruple it, it might last nearly a week (unless your a piggy like me).

1 c soaked buckwheat (for at least an hour)
3/4 c sunflower seeds (soaked or ground)
(NOTE: for crackers/corn chips that don't fall apart, use 3/4 c ground golden flax instead of the sunflower-buckwheat combo. I don't like the flavor of flax in my flatbreads, so I don't include it in mine.)
2-3 c corn (I use a bag of frozen organic corn, but you can be good and use 2 or 3 ears of corn, as long as you don't cut it too close to the core. Then you get these hard little bits that aren't so good.)
1 med. to large sweet red bell pepper
1 small to medium onion
3-5 garlic cloves (maybe more!)
1 Tbs. chili powder (not raw--sorry)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (or more)
1 tsp. cumin
1 handful of cilantro, parsley or both
5 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour
Optional: 1/4 tsp. of cayenne or 1/2 jalepeno for heat

Put everything into the food processor except the sun-dried tomatoes. Pour enough water from the soaking tomatoes into the food processor so it blends easily.


Transfer the batter into a bowl. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes into ribbons and and mix them into the batter.

Spread the mixture thinly onto 3 teflex sheets and dehydrate. (Optional: for added flavor, sprinkle more spices/herbs/salt over the top.)

Flip them onto the mesh trays when they're dry enough to do so, and let it dry more thoroughly.

If you used flax, use scissors to make tortillas by cutting them into circles, or chips by cutting them into triangles.

If you used buckwheat and sunflower seeds, just pull them apart into the size cracker you want.

This is a really heavy cracker that I have no business eating at this stage of raw, but they're really hard for me to resist!

Betty

"Don't believe everything you think."

--Bumper Sticker

Hi All,

This is an interesting posting because i'm transitioning too into raw foods. I'm maybe 70% raw maybe even 60...but i go through times where im totally raw for a week to two or longer, then i eat some lightly cooked food...normally because it just faster to prep. I found that making "bulk anything really helps..also, i try to keep in mind i'm eating to nurish my body, not fulfill hunger pangs. I stopped eating big meals and eat several small meals in a day which has not only helped me shed excess weight and detoxify, but it's been a bit kinder on my digestive track. It takes a week or so to get into this habit, but once you do, it's great. You should only be filling your belly %80 anyway so you have room to digest. Any form of diet your eating is completly unfulfilling of your eating too much of the wrong food combinations.
There are many interesting books ive been getting into about acidity and alkaline ph balance in the body and food combinations and how good or bad they can be for you. I noticed that the more time i take to consider what i'm eating, the less time i spend preparing because i realize 20 things making up one dish..(even if it's raw) can make me feel yucky still and sit undigested for hours in a stomach because of the combinations of foods and even make me feel unsatisfied and craving something else.

I know this is a bit off topic probably, but my theory is simply based on listening to my body, what it needs and wants. Sometimes i may be hungry and i know i just ate something...so i'll juice a couple carrots and add superfoods (greens) and drink that...i usually get satisfied. Sometimes i'll just eat some seed crackers with organic almond butter and drink a cup of herbal tea before hand.

I would encourage you to keep on the right path. Knowledge is definately power. The more i have learned to heal myself and take the time to do raw...the more fulfilled i feel...definately. I had to slow down a portion of my life that was making me sick and now i'm smelling flowers again! I'm working 40 hours like everyone else, but i try to involve my child in prep and it's become my whole life. I'm amazed how much respect my friends have for my dietary needs it's amazing. My daughter too...she's realy enjoying the food as well, especially if she helps.

health is wealth my sister.
blessings!

I am new in raw (from April 2007) and I work 50-60 hours, 6 days/week- but I NEVER spend more than 10-15 minutes/day "cooking".
I use a 3+ HP blender and mix there everything.

No need to chop (only if u have a cheap blender), only to wash and remove the kernel from fruits like peaches or plums - everything else (any kind of mellon, aples, grapes, avocado, etc.) goes in with their seeds.

I blend everything and consume without to refrigerate if I have enough time and I am @ home, because the stomach (and especially mine) does not digest much if I don't puree the food.

I had tremendous results this way (lost 33 # in 3-1/2 months, I have tons of energy and I just not need the cofee no more to keep me awake (I used to drind about 1 qt. of cofee/day). I can't even sleep more than about 5-6 hours, even I have a very fizical job, because the raw vegetables and fruits are giving to me so much energy - much more than when I used to eat 8 pieces of chicken at one time or 4-5 steakes.

Pls. excuse my English, I am an foreigner living in US and what I just wrote was not to teach you, but only to share my experience with + results.

Pls. excuse my English - foreigner.

=============================================================
Medicine, Food Industry and Commerce are businesses.
Is their goal to make/keep me healthy or to make more profit?
=============================================================

Erik,

Good for you! Your being able to eat raw on so little time with so little prep is inspirational. And by the way, your English is terrific.

Betty

Erik,

Thank you for the input. I don't have a super powerful blender but hope to get one in the relatively near future. For some of the "meals" that I have consumed blended I find that they are easier on my digestive tract as well.

I realize that you are super busy but might you be able to share some of your blended menu ideas?
Thanks in advance for any recipes/ideas you can provide.

Oh, I agree with Betty, your English is quite fine.

Patty

sewraw Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Erik,
...
> I realize that you are super busy but might you be
> able to share some of your blended menu ideas?
...
> Patty


Hi.

Beeing new at this forum, I still have to find out how to Edit/Delete my own postings.

I have to find how to do this before to "take over" this forum. :-)

I want to provide everyone interested with condensed information, filtered and refined and organized the best I will can.

DISCLAIMER:

I AM NOT TEACHING OTHERS, I only share the way I chosed and make public available the results of my research and practice. In other words I let you know what worked for me and what not.

EVERY PERSON IS DIFFERENT AND HAS DIFFERENT NEEDS, THERE IS NO UNIQUE WAY TO WORK FOR ALL.
Lots of statistics and research, a lot of sound judgment, common sense and caution required.
Methodic, enhanced observation of what-we-feel-after-what-we-did also needed.
Logging everything for future references and comparison - A MUST.



I need to polish my ideas and my posts over time (whenever I have a better inspiration) and to organize them into a kind of "General Rules" or " Common Sense Ideas", so the readers can digest easier and faster the results of my research and practice and then evaluate themself and apply/use whatever they will find that is good for them.

I started my own thread at the "Raw Diary - Your Personal Experience" section of this forum (and I want to change it with a better title). Whatever the title will be, will contain my forum ID of "ErikSkulasonUSA" and one can search the forum for messages I posted using my ID as keyword.

I just started, but I have a lot to tell (not so much time)
I am willing very much to share my experience in Raw.

Pls. excuse my English - foreigner.

=============================================================
Medicine, Food Industry and Commerce are businesses.
Is their goal to make/keep me healthy or to make more profit?
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Hi All! I started this post back in July. I just wanted to check back in to say that I don't feel as overwhelmed as I did back then. I have gotten myself into a nice routine that is not as overwhelming as it was back then. At the start I was trying to make more of the "gourmet" stuff which is rather time-consuming. I am now much more proactive and organized with my "staples" (meaning the stuff that is a regular part of my diet - green smoothies, sunflower pate, guacamole, salads, sprouts, bananas!!!).

I tend to spend more time on the weekend when I do my largest shopping and vegie chopping prep. But during the week I am on top of things and, outside of washing dishes (still a pain but I abhor using disposable paper/plastic), spend small amounts of time each day rather than large chunks of time that feel all consuming.

Sure, I will do some gourmet stuff now and then but the simpler stuff just works better for me. It is amazing how much one can learn just by listening to ones own body and following its needs.

I have learned so much and become so inspired by so many people on this forum.

Thank you all!

Patty

Patty,

I'm glad you didn't give up! I found this thread encouraging, so know that you made a difference in one person's journey, okay? I'm brand-spanking new to this lifestyle.

One suggestion I have when it comes to preparing your meals. Try looking at it from a different point of view. I used to love to cook! (Now, I'll just love uncooking!) The time I spent preparing and making meals was great. It's good thinking time. It gives your brain a chance to slow down and gives you a chance to reflect. Same with doing the dishes. Sorry, I know I'm a freak of nature, but I like doing the dishes. No dishwashers or microwaves for me. (No television or stereo either, for that matter.)

Sometimes, if the time we spend preparing our nourishment is stressful, it could be a sign that we're spending too much time doing other things that may not matter as much. How do we spend our time? Compared to the benefits we get by eating raw, the time preparing that food is worthwhile.

It's good to perform a self-examination periodically. Am I spending more time doing other things for other people to the extent that I'm neglecting myself or always rushing around? Have I said "no" enough? Have I said "yes" enough to the right things? How do my family and friends view me right now? Am I available to them? Am I encouraging or do I snap at them? How's my attitude? Am I the person that I really want to be? If not, what changes am I willing to make to become more like that person? I have tons of these kinds of questions. Friends usually hound me for a huge list of them around New Year's Eve. LOL

I had been trying to "go raw" (did so quite successfully for a couple of years there) for over 15 years.

Recently my financial situation came down to an all-time and long-winded LOW and I could no longer afford even to get the ingredients for one green smoothie per day -- and felt hungry and desirous of food too much of the time, which caused me to binge eat on really bad foods.

Now what I am doing is eating the healthiest of the healthiest cooked foods -- am still super-low on bread (as in bucks), but have found I can satisfy myself pretty well by making homemade hummus (with cooked chickpeas), wheat-free tabouleh and a few other things like that that are gluten-free, filling and cheap.

During this time I have been ASTOUNDED to learn, almost accidentally, that I am allergic to wheat, gluten and corn and in all likelihood sesame seeds as well (though I have not figured that out for sure just as yet). I also found out that when I use ANY added sweeteners, say for tea, it is causing a terrible pre-diabetic or diabetic-like condition in my body. So now I am wheat-free, corn-free, gluten-free and starting today sesame-free as well as added-sweetener-free (as I do still eat sweet fruits in my green smoothies).

I imagine my diet may go as high at 80% raw once I can afford to eat raw. No matter what I eat, cooked or raw, I INSIST on 99% organic or pesticide-free. It's not cheap any way you slice it.

I am very much looking forward to getting a dehydrator (and getting a second job so I can afford my food), and am MUCH relieved not to WORRY about whether I am raw so much. Instead, I am very AWARE of the superiority of raw organic diet but NOT upset when I eat good, organic, unrefined, non-chemicalized and allergen-free cooked foods (mostly steamed and boiled, never fried or baked).

In fact, I have converted my oven to a storage bin inside with a huge cutting board on top (which is promised to arrive soon -- a homemade gift from a talented and generous friend!). I do all my cooking on a BroilKing hotplate, and never turn it up to the high mark (though some things do require boiling at the medium mark, such as chickpeas).

Right now I am working on a sesame-free hummus. I may make it citrus-free as well.

Bottom line, though, for me is the RELIEF -- spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically -- not to STRAIN to eat all raw diet. Now I can RELAX and eat a "very healthful" diet and NOT have the wild binge cravings that have been the earmark of over 40 years of my life!!

I know I am going at thing bass akwards, but that has always been my "style" it seems.

P.S. After a month of using only agave nectar as a sweetener, I can say for sure that even agave is too high-glycemic for me. This is why I am just learning how to drink my tea unsweetened (especially since I don't want tea that is muddied with another color as it would be with green stevia and I don't trust the refined stevias in liquid or white powder form, which I have heard through the David Favor grapevine can be harmful to a body organ, I know not which one).

hey im kinda in the same boat... im a student and have little to NO time to prepare anything! Id love to serve as a support party for you if you need motivation.

Anyway, I dont know if you soak nuts or grains, but I have found it so easy and useful! All you do is toss them in a jar of water for a few hours, and you have an easy snack or base for any simple recipe. I personally like soaked oats with agave nectar, spices, and fruit for breakfast, and then ill add a simple vinagrette to soaked lentils for dinner. Soaked nuts are always available for snacking, and almonds taste sooo much better after being soaked.

There are solutions out there! Im here for any other advice should you need me.