So I've decided to try out polyphasic sleeping. Because of this, I would like to take up a raw food diet so that I don"t have to waste so much energy digesting.

Because of a chronic illness, I have no sense of smell and my sense of taste is quite lackluster. My diet currently cosists of a lot of speghetti.

I am a 24 year old male. 6'4 200 pounds.

So I figured since I can eat the same thing, day after day, without getting sick of it, I could pull off this eating plan pretty easy. I'm not picky. Eating is just like filling the gas tank in my car, just kind of an annoying waste of money.

But everything I find is stupid elaborate recipies that I don't wanna deal with.

So I just want some super easy (5 min prep time max) and cheap ideas for what to buy and eat. But I would like it to meet my nutritional needs as well (I doubt my current diet is.)

Thanks!

Also, do I need to buy a blender or anything? I don't even have a microwave...

Oh yeah, before I leave for work I should mention that I have been caffeine free for 4 years.

wow what an interesting person you sound like !!

can you explain to me what is polyphasic sleeping?

and what is your goal (s) for being raw or vegan ?

no you don;t need a blender or any fancy equpiment .. its interestin that you say your sense of smell and taste is diminished at the moment

i think if i was like this id probably do alot of green smoothies lol

but i dont know what your goals are .. 200lbs at 6'4 doesnt seem like a bad weight

are you researching this because of your chronic illness .. which is ... ? (if im being too nosy its ok you dont have to tell .. or you can Private message me !)

the easiest things about raw foods is you can make it as simple as can be or .. as you say stupidly elaborate

what are you top 5 favorite fruits? top 5 favorite vegs? top 5 favorite vegan fats?(like nuts .. avos ..coconuts .. )

and welcome to the site !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hi Jodi!

My motivation is mostly due to my plans for adopting a polyphasic sleep schedule. [www.stevepavlina.com]

It's a really weird sleep schedule, so the less time and energy spend digesting food the better. Also, I am sick of my spaghetti diet.

I've thought about adopting this diet a while ago. I needed a good reason though as my I grew up on the family beef farm. It would cause my father great shame to know I wasn't eating meat for no "good" reason. But I'd like to try this diet for at least 6 months.

So I went to the grocery store after work. I got a bunch of apples, bananas, spinach and balsamic vinigar and olive oil.

I just ate a hefty amount of spinach and vinigar and 4 mac apples.
Put too much vinigar on though.

My favorite fruits are, bananas - mac apples - strawberries (but I'm in -30C Saskatchewan weather) - oranges are good - grapes and berries - pears are decent - kiwi is good - peaches but they are gross here.

My favorite vegtables are, cucumbers, celery, brocolli but only steamed with cheese, can I steam brocolli still? uhhh, all the veggies I like are only good cooked! I think carrots are kinda nasty.

I'm not a fan of the texture of coconut. I love almonds. Peanuts are ok, hate the soft un-crunchy texture of cashews.

I should make smoothies! What kind of blender should I get? And where do I get almond milk? What is an avo?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2009 07:22AM by Garrat9.

yay another canadian im just outside of vancouver


thank you for the sleep link i will look intothat

i hear ya about the spagetti .. ima pastaholic in the past but even loving it so much ya get sick of it

im from farming family too dairy an cattle and all sorts of other critters im the vegan blacksheep of the family now lol 6 months is a good goal .. dont worry about what your other family members think .. honestly the bigger deal you make out of it .. the bigger deal they will make out of it theres nothing obscure or weird about eating more fruits and veggies look at it as adding good things to your diet and not taking away things

hehe watch it on the vinegar it can come back to bite you ! i get heartburn from it something bad when i over do it

sounds like you got a good repetoire of fruit an veggie tastes but like me are waiting for warmer weather to bring fresh stuff lol i really feel that north america got divided up the wrong way ... it shoulda been dived up an down not side to side so we could all have a little NORTH and a little SOUTH

the americans got it good this way

go ahead an steam stuff if you want too , it helps with transitioning nobody is gonna yell at you here if you do

i was never in 40 years a big coconut fan and for some reason i have really aquired a taste for it the last year .. even ifyou dont like something .. give it a try later on you might like it and young coconut is wayyyyy different taste an texture then older (hairy) coconut

im an almond nut too !! i could eat em all day lol i find peanuts ..cashews need salt and i tend to stay away from too much salt ..

blender blender blender ... well that all depends on how much you wanna spend

you can get a decent in store one maybe 30-100$ .. i prefer ones with glass containers myself .. if you wanna spend BIG and get something like a vitamix or similar check out our forums here on juicing and blending there is alot of good advice there

better to start reasonably and if you fidn you really dig the smoothies then buy better equipment later no sense spending 500$ or more one a peice of equipment you find out you dont enjoy using

you can make almond milk .. i will see if i can dig up a recipie for you

avo is avocado !!

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

so what suppliments should I be taking to make up for lost calcium and protien and stuff?

And what should I eat?

i would go for a multivitamin if anything there is no real loss of minerals and vitamins eating raw .. in quite pretty sure much quite the oposite ...

b12 is an issue with most people it seems .. if you feel you need it take it .. iwas on b12 shots for years and finally stopped them last year .. with no noticiable difference

you have to remember that the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for most vitamins, minerals, fat, protein and carbs is based on a diet that is not vegan or raw and therefore compensates for the lack of nutrition with higher base values

eat what you like and LOTS of it !

are you able and willing to buy any books that can start you on some ideas ?

i never bought any books i just transitioned slowly .. still am .. been 100% just over a year now with the odd flake out

i learned alot from this site

don't be afraid to ask questions even if they seem silly

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2009 02:10AM by Jgunn.

I think the easiest way to go is with green smoothies- fruit of your choice, a handful of greens (spinach, kale, chard, etc) and liquid of choice (water, tea, almond milk, juice), throw in blender and there you have it! Seriously, you can make and consume within 5 minutes.

A great resource for Green Smoothies is "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko. (www.rawfamily.com)

"Avo" is short for avocado.

For blenders, I believe that the Vita Mix is the best- it is an investment, but worth it. My parents have had theirs for over 15 years now...

As far as supplements, depending on how much raw organic produce you eat, you probably will not need to supplement. Raw, organic food is the best source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals- there is much more complete protein in greens than most people realize. The best source of protein, as I understand it, is Spirulina- which you can find in powdered form at the natural foods store- then you can add it to your smoothies.

Another great book that talks about eating in quick-elimination combinations (don't worry, it isn't complicatd!) is "The Raw Food Detox Diet"- I found this book very helpful, inspirational and easy to do. That will help a lot with your new sleeping patterns. The author is Natalia Rose (www.detoxtheworld.com) I was able to find these books at my local library, though at some point I will own them as they are great resources.

Eating a raw foods diet doess't have to be complicated- I love salads, even with the same things most days, I still enjoy the simple salad. And in the right season, if you can grow your own food, or shop at the local Farmers Market, it will be much cheaper than buying the organic produce at the supermarket. Sure, organic can be a little more expensive, but it is a priority for me and we place a high priority for this in our budget!

As far as what to eat- like Jodi said- eat what you like!
A typical day for me is: upon waking- water, then I head downstairs and make my juice- 36 oz filtered water, juice of 1 lemon, a heaping tablespoon of a green phytofoods powder, a teaspoon of fresh minced ginger, bee pollen (if you do that, start off slowly as it can trigger allergic reactions!), and agave nectar to sweeten (tastes like sugar but without the harmful affects). Then, midmorning I juice whatever I feel like- right now I am really liking carrot- apple (I juice this, not blend). Then I eat what ever fruit I have/feel like eating- I like to eat a plate of fruit- pineapple, apple, orange, kiwi, etc. Then I make a big salad for lunch, and I'll either put an avocado on top or a mix of raw nuts and seeds. Afternoon, I may have another small salad or a green smoothie, then for dinner something like homemade sushi, lettuce wraps, etc. I am not completely raw- I try to eat raw until dinner, and lately I have been having some kind of cooked vegetarian dinner. Honestly, the hardest part for me is the support- my husband eats a highly processed, cooked diet, and there are times when it is so tempting, with a fridge full of junk... but thenI just remind myself that it is junk, and I get over it pretty quickly. Anyways- sorry to be so long...

I hope that helps! Have a great rest of your day!
Hannah

dont be sorry for being long ! lots of good thoughts there Hannah

and dont be afraid to try foods that you dont like right now .. down the road you might find them quite splendid

honestly when i started this i had a huge fruit aversion ... i loved veggies couldnt stand fruit ..

i love so many fruits now .. but they have to be ripe or .. its ewww @!!

green smoothies are a great way to sneak in greens that yer not fond of .. just start making fruit smoothies and add greens more an more tothem

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2009 06:37AM by Jgunn.

WOW! Thanks a bunch! And that was not to long at all Hannah

I slept so good last night. I set my alarm 12hrs off, and I only slept 15 minutes past it! Usually I would sleep 10 hours easy! I think it has something to do with not falling asleep with a belly full of spaghetti and chips.

I am going home to the farm this weekend and my Mom has a blender she doesn't use!

Today I ate spinach and apples for breakfast. Then some more apples. Then some spinach and iceberg letuce and apples.

And I just got finished a spinach, iceberg lettuce, orange salad with balsamic vinigar. It was pretty decent I suppose. I'm craving some chips and dip and spaghetti and greasy greasy pizza though

I think fruits are good, but I could easily go weeks without eating any, which is bad I know. My sense of taste isn't all there, but I love the texture of green veggies. Not so big on carrots.

I bought some frozen wildberries and mango and cranberries. But I have to get my Mom's blender.

I am going to make sooo many smooties!

I will have to try this "green phytofoods powder" and bee pollen. Agave nectar
sounds very promising.

Sorry for yapping so much, thanks again!

Here's my 2 cents...

Sprouts are cheap and easy raw food too. I just grow mine in mason jars, rinse twice a day, using only filtered water for everything. I buy the seeds online: alfalfa, wheat, clover, radish, etc. from Mumms. 2 tablespoons of seeds will fill a whole jar in 4-5 days. I eat them in salads, smoothies, etc. Good, cheap, very nutritious and low calories.

I buy organic eggs (high in nutrients and protein) and use the plastic cartons to sprout my wheatgrass. I use two raw eggs each day in my breakfast smoothie, some people are afraid of raw eggs but I've never had a problem as long as they are quality eggs and stored right. 7g protein per egg, lutein, B vitamins too.

Hands down, I believe green smoothies are the best nutrition bang for your buck