I recently decided to try eating raw, mostly because of my strong desire to lose weight. So I was wondering, what are some of the staple foods of a raw diet- from your own diet, that is.
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I recently decided to try eating raw, mostly because of my strong desire to lose weight. So I was wondering, what are some of the staple foods of a raw diet- from your own diet, that is.
My wife and I have been vegan for a year now and we are getting more and more into the whole Raw side of it and we run off a basic budget but as far as "Essentials" go we live by is a green juice every morning.
Mean Green Juice:
per person: 1
6x apples
1x lemon
1x ginger
3x stalks of Kale or (Tuscan cabbage depending of your origin)
3x stalks of Celery
on top of that we put in Chia Seeds, Probiotic Powder, Maca Powder (on weekends), Chlorella, MSM powder about a teaspoon of each will be enough. To add these vitamins minerals & protein we are guarantee all essential nutritional values needed to help the body function in it's fullest form.
Note* This is not all we have nor is it all of the nutrients needed in a Raw diet but with this staple juice you can cover ALOT of you body's needs and wants*
After that you can snack on raw nuts, grains, legumes, and of course fruit and veg in abundance!! just try to favor more VEG than Fruit because despite it's good natural sugars... Fruits are high in acidic and can create problems (But you would practically have to hoover down heaps and heaps of fruit on a daily basis to achieve such things. Going Raw is a commitment but certainly one your body and mind will thank you for. We are 80% raw 20% cooked and have seen some seriously drastic improvements in ourselves.
We still are novices too so please don't use this information religiously and hopefully more people will comment on this forum to help you out further with your journeys. All I know is we were confused but as long as we have our Mean Green juice daily. We cover alot of what that body needs.
Enjoy*
Shane
Hi Shane! I'm so happy that you responded with a bunch of great information! I don't know a single vegan here, let alone a raw food...ist! So I get excited.
I have been eating raw for over a week now...and I know it has only been a week but I have lost a pound and I feel very different. I feel less anxious and more...well, happy.
Something I have noticed from eating different types of fruits and vegetables (I almost accidentally wrote "vegetarians" haha) is that mangos give me TONS of energy so I haven't even missed coffee!
I am curious about the Probiotic powder and the maca powder...isn't maca chocolatey? Things like this make me nervous because I have a history in overeating on sweets. I have lost 30 pounds in the past 3 years and most of my family is morbidly obese...so I get anxious. My goal is to ultimately lose 60 all together. :)
Thanks again, do you mind if I message you with some questions sometime?
Thanks!
Veggies and almond butter, banana pancakes (made in a dehydrator), nut falafel balls, coconut in anything, lemons in anything. Giant salads with avocados :) After being raw or mostly raw you get your favorites after trying LOTS of things you don't care for :P
It's great to hear that you have decided to turn your life around and in such a positive & beneficial way, loosing weight is a added bonus that will inevitably happen so don't be too concerned about that. Enjoy the path your on and appreciate the world around you, my wife an I have both lost 16 kilos in under 10 months just by being on a vegan diet. I'm not sure if you believe in the karmic balance in this world but we have found if you love the world the world will love you and treat you well but it starts with loving yourself. Hopefully you will continue to be vegan after you find your optimum weight because this vegan journey you are on only works if you stick with it. I have found that education is key and if you feel at all about relapsing you should watch vegan movies such as "raw for 30 days", "food inc" or "earthlings" (Earthlings is a very intense animal slaughter movie that is very sad and extremely emotional but highly, highly informative and will keep you 100% confident that this is the right path your on) and get yourself some RAW food books.
I suggest get as many books as possible on raw food but the books I have read that have really help so far are...
Going Raw : Judita Wignall
12 steps to raw foods: Victoria Boutenko
Becoming Raw: Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina
The Raw Revolution Diet: Cherie Soria, Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina
And the best one so far I'm still reading is The Sunfood Diet Success System: David Wolfe some really great information in that!
Maca powder: is a root vegetable and it's nutritional Benefits are uniquely revitalizing and energy containing superfood celebrated in South America for its concentrated nutrition – rich in amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements
Probiotic powder: is known for its digestive and immune properties also for its rich amino acids and minerals.
They both are not sweet or chocolatey the are to be placed in juices for added nutritional value to help with the Overall body function. It's funny that you say you have more energy because I was a coffee nut! Now, lol I have so much energy and vitality Coffee has become a distant memory. Rather your body and heart beat faster from the nature of life rather than the synthetic caffeine hit that we know all too well about.there is so much to learn about Raw food you will be amazed in how much your transformation will be. May I suggest you jump on YouTube tonight and watch the movie "fat, sick & nearly dead" It goes for an hour but will be helpful information for you. that is where we got the recipe for "mean green"
Of course you can contact any one of us my wife name is celeste feel free to inbox us with any questions and hope we can be of help. We also don't know many vegans so an added friend is a great thing hope to hear from you
Shane & Celeste
I have been vegan for a couple of years, it will be year seven in October and that's how I lost the initial thirty pounds. But now my weight just isn't budging and, on top of everything, I would like to be healthier.
I feel really bad but last night I kind of had a stressful day. I just quit my job and I was working my second to the last day and I made a mistake at work and my boss just sent me home. Once I got home I drank for the first time in a long time and then I ate a burrito...Oddly enough, my skin has been super clear since I have gone raw and I woke up and I had spots...just from that!
I do feel really bad, this morning I woke up and ate a banana and half an avocado. I plan on being 100% raw and not let my emotions control what I eat, which is something that I struggle with.
I will totally look into the probiotic powder. I mostly have been shopping at fruit stands but I might have to find a whole foods for that. I am excited to lose an additional thirty pounds and feel better about myself and feel healthier. I'm glad to hear that it's not sweet because I don't know if I could control myself, haha.
Thanks again for the info!
Our emotions get the best of us sometimes, and and body sends fake messages to our minds saying that we need these types of things to feel better but as you have experienced its not what it needs. I lost my job as well 1 month ago and been working as a casual and my stress levels were an all time low. Luckily I have the support of my wife to keep me gong each day but I suffer from depression and anxiety. I found once your in a low mood you should seek some guidance whether it be family, friends or professional. I know you must be feeling really bad about drinking and eating that burrito but you must restore your balance and raw is definately a way to go! Make sure you get 33% chloroyll (green leafy vegetables) 33% sugars (sweet fruits), and 33% fats (fatty fruits,nuts,coconuts,seeds) don't just eat fruit salads you need this balance everyday to balance out the body's need and if you deprive your body of these requests it will act out and that's how you get the cravings... It sounds like you need an action plan on controlling cravings and to seek professional help to maybe discuss any traumatic events or reasoning to why you need these foods to make you feel better definately a hard thing to do. But I know you can! Now without a job you may be in a low mood, this will be a vaunarable time For you but you must get back into it. Good luck!
How are you soldiering on?
I have been all right. I mean I have made a few mistakes and I think that I'm not losing a lot of weight because I have been going off on 4 hours of sleep lately...and sneaking.Quote:
The_Westons
I have begun seeing a therapist a few weeks ago, and so far it has been really helpful in dealing with stress and anxiety. I have a goal to lose five pounds by my birthday, which is over 2 months away so I think it's a pretty reasonable goal. :)
I might be messaging you guys sometime in the future to let you know what's been up. I just ordered the 80 10 10 book, I have heard good things about it. I will let you know how it is once I get it, that is if you haven't already read it.
It's finals week here. 0_o
That's sounds really good. I'm glad you have goals set out and getting back into it. Therapy helped for me, you aren't born with coping statergies so a professional is the best idea. I wish you luck in finding yourself!
Thanks! I just got my 80 10 10 book in the mail too. Should be fun reading this summer.
Gazpacho....Enough said! I LOVE Gazpacho!!! That in itself should be essential eating. Plus it sounds nice too....GAZPACHO!
I just started a raw vegan challenge to see how long I can go on a raw diet. My goal is 100 days and see how it affects my body. I have come to a few different conclusions. Im not saying this is right for everyone but this is what is currently working for me.
1. A awesome green smoothie for breakfast. There are a bunch of different recipes floating around on the internet. I have never seen that mean green juice labeled above but I will for sure give it a try.
2. A calorie staple is a must. It is important to take in enough calries so you have energy for all of your activities especially if you work out. Bananas and dates I have selected as my calorie staple. They are delicious and cheap for me to obtain.
3. Huge green salad for dinner. Rotate leafy greens. Don't eat the same salad every night. Rotate your greens and different vegetables you put in the salad. Really awesome soups are great for dinner aswell granted it is large enough.
4. Variety is necessary not to get bored. In my opinion for me the stuff above is a must but I also like to snack on entertainment fruits so as not to get bored with the diet. These fruits are normally what are on sale. If there is a sale on some fruit I buy some and use it for all kinds of different purposes. FOr instance Im in Florida and strawberries are huge here the harvest is starting right now so for the next month or two Im gonna be having tons of strawberries. There super cheap to get because you can go to the farmers market.
Here are a few things that I have deemed bad for myself for the raw diet.
1. Foods high in fat. Avocado, Coconut meat, nuts and seeds. It is okay to dabble occasionally but you can go over the edge and eat too much very quickly so I usually just steer clear. However there are a few seeds that are awesome that I enjoy Flaxseeds in smoothies and pumpkin seeds because they are delicious.
2 Eat enough calories. Lots of calories. Men should be looking towards at least 3000 calories a day and women 2500. This can of course vary based on your exercise level and your height. Someone who is very small like 5 feet may be fine with a little less or someone very tall will probably need a little more.
Above all else enjoy the diet. Find a plan that you enjoy and works for you. If you arent enjoying the way you are living you are certain to fail.