Tracy’s Raw Food Journal

Alright, here is the list of things I always make sure I have in the house. As I mentioned, not everything is 100% RAW, but I believe this is a huge step in the right direction. Your mileage may vary. Follow your own intuition and listen to the needs of your body.

Vegies -

Fresh/raw – carrots (bulk bag from Costco), cucumbers (bulk from Costco), broccoli (florets in a bulk bag from Costco), organic spinach (bulk tub from Costco), avocados (in a bulk bag from Costco), tomatoes, red bell peppers (bulk bag from Costco), romain lettuce (bulk bag from Costco), celery (bulk bag from Costco), yukon gold potatoes (bulk bag from Costco), zucchini, crimini mushrooms, yams, onions, garlic.

Frozen – organic white corn (in a bulk bag from Costco), a variety of frozen mixed vegetables.

Fruit -

Fresh/raw – apples, bananas, (both sometimes from Costco depending on quality and pricing), lemons, limes

Frozen – mixed fruit blend (in a bulk bag from Costco), strawberries (in a bulk bag from Costco), mixed berry blend (in a bulk bag from Costco), frozen orange juice concentrate (6 pack from Costco)

Dried – raisins, dates, sometimes apricots

Nuts & Seeds -

All nuts in bulk bags from Costco – almonds, walnuts, pecans.

Seeds – (bulk section at Food 4 Less or in the cooler section of natural health store) Sunflower, pumpkin, flax (golden and brown)

Condiments -

(Most I get from the health food store) Shredded, raw, unsweetened coconut,  Stevia packets (natural, no-cal, no-carb sweetener), vanilla extract, tobasco sauce, worchestershire sauce, soy sauce, cold pressed olive oil, real butter, sea salt, whole pepper corns to grind, spices (cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, ginger -fresh and dry powder, dry basil, dry oregano, onion salt or powder, garlic salt or powder), agave nectar, honey, cocoa powder, carob powder, apple cidar vinegar.

Dry red wine and a chocolate bar frequently make their way onto this list and into my mouth, as well!

Ok, there’s my basic list. This isn’t my “shopping list”, these are just things I make sure I keep in the house most of the time. Obviously, I have to replenish some things more than others…like the fresh produce. Much of this keeps for a long time on the shelf or in the freezer and is used as needed.

Next blog entry? A typical food day for me and some of my favorite meals.

Till next time!

Blessings

I was online today exchanging messages with a friend who is also interested in learning about the Raw Foods Lifestyle. He asked me a question that is really relevant to deciding whether or not to go Raw.

Is it expensive to eat a Raw Diet?

This is such a great question and honestly, I thought it would be expensive, too. So I will share what I have learned from my own experience and you can decide for yourself.

Now, keep in mind that I am a regular person and I believe fanaticism is just as unhealthy, or more so, than a lot of other choices we could make. For me, balance is key.  So, you will find, if you decide to educate yourself about eating a Raw Foods lifestyle, that for most people in the “movement” this equates to the following:

1. No animal products of any kind – raw or not.

2. Only certifiably raw, certifiably organic produce.

So, granted, organic is more than likely going to be better for you than the alternative, in that hopefully it won’t be exposed to any pesticides or other chemicals during the growing process. And if you can afford to buy strictly organic, by all means, you are probably going to be better off doing it.

HOWEVER, this is how I look at it. You see, I am a very practical kind of person. I figure, if my body is used to being subjected to all kinds of processed foods such as bleached white flour and sugar, artificial sweeteners and colorants, fat-dense hamburgers, pizza, ice cream and all kinds of other dairy, processed and sugared cereals and grain products, carbonation, preservatives, and otherwise enzyme absent, dead foods… then my body is going to be a helluva lot healthier and happier simply cutting this junk out and consuming PRIMARILY raw foods and vegetables.

So, looking at it from this perspective, I completely advocate simply continuing to shop at your regular grocery store and continue purchasing your produce there. Organic can come later, if that’s what you feel your body would benefit from. But when you are just starting to transition over, it’s wise to be sensible. And make it cost-effective.

That said, you will find that your grocery bill will likely go down immensely, simply cutting out the stuff you no longer want to consume by going raw, ie;

Meats, dairy products, sugary cereals and desserts, packaged grain-based foods, soda, any canned foods, etc.

If you focus on buying produce “in-season” you will find that this is some of the least expensive food you can buy! Also, cutting out all of the above items will free up your budget so that you can afford to include some of the more expensive fruits and vegetable selections along with some nuts and seeds.

Something else to consider is this – Raw foods are very nutrient dense. Your body isn’t used to this. You will find that you are only able to eat a fraction of the serving size of a raw dish as compared to it’s traditional counter-part. Think about it…you know how you can eat a large portion of lasagna and garlic bread or mashed potatoes and gravy…then an hour later you are craving more? It’s not that your body hasn’t gotten enough FOOD. What your body is craving are nutrients! You have filled your stomach but your body still hasn’t received the nutrition it needs. This isn’t the case with raw foods. You will find yourself making a healthy sized serving of “raw” spaghetti, thinking that this is the size portion you would normally eat of the cooked version, and half way through the meal you will simply feel satisfied. It really is amazing! So, keep this in mind when making the decision to go raw…especially if you are fearful due to budget constraints. I have frequently had to throw out left-over raw food because I made more than I could eat. So, you will learn to pay attention to how much food your body REALLY wants and needs.

When thinking about going Raw, I hope you will consider what I have said here, and I hope it has been helpful to you in your decision making process.

Next blog entry? I am going to offer a shopping list of the items I most often make sure I have in the house at all times to maintain my healthy Raw Foods Lifestyle!

Ciao!

Well, I think I have figured out what works for me! I have been so excited about Raw Foods and all the amazing gourmet dishes that can be created using only wholesome, living foods, and I know I am healthier not putting cooked or otherwise processed foods into my body. But, I haven’t been losing the weight I want to lose, which has been discouraging me. I keep reading all these amazing success stories from people who went Raw and have lost all their excess weight and I keep thinking “Why not me?” Aside from the fact that I eat junk food, or my idea of junk food anyhow, every so often. But most of the time I really am pretty good about staying Raw. So…I think I figured out the catch, for me, anyhow!

No starches or grains and very, VERY few nuts and seeds! At least until I get down to my desired weight. A lot of the creative dishes I have been making are very nut or seed dense, which is very gratifying and satisfying for my MOUTH…but I am not getting the results in my body that I desire.

So, here is what I am allowing myself:

All the fruit I want – except I am severely restricting my consumption of dried fruits. I used to snack on dates or raisins and nuts frequently and I am not doing this any longer. Dry fruits are also now in the “condiment” category for me. A few in a salad, that’s it!

All the vegetables I want, with the exception of white potatoes

Nuts or seeds only as a condiment…say, a handful in a fruit salad…but not used as a base for a meal such as raw tacos or refried beans or hummus or pie crust or nut butters/creams or pie fillings or faux sour cream or nut milks or raw cereal, etc, etc, etc.

I feel lighter already after doing this for 3 days and have already lost 2.5 pounds. I am even allowing myself some raw fish…marinated in citrus juice so that it is the texture of “cooked” fish and lightly steamed broccoli along with the occassional cooked yam. And I am feeling GREAT!

So, for those with weightloss issues who are thinking about adopting a Raw Foods lifestyle, try this approach if you are not experiencing success, and see if it works for you, too!

The last few days I have been feeling really horrible. Not like the stomach flu kind of horrible. But anxious. And when I say anxious, I don’t just mean nervous. I mean…a constant state of self-doubt. Rapid heart rate, fear so intense that it’s nearly immobilizing. Irregular sleep patterns…as in, only sleeping for 3 hours a night and being physically and emotionally exhausted. In addition to this, it has taken a huge amount of self control to keep from lashing out at others, because I feel so irritable and short tempered. I want to cry or vomit or purge myself of this feeling somehow so that I can feel better. I simply haven’t felt myself.

Then I realized it’s “that time of the month” and my hormones seem to be all out of whack. A primary contributor, I am sure, is the fact that I have been eating things the past couple of weeks that I NEVER eat anymore; homemade mashed potatoes with hamburger gravy (talk about a real wild canon for someone who has eaten practically no dairy or meat for months and very limited cooked foods!), store-bought, microwaved chicken taquitos and cheap chocolate, homemade meatloaf with pork sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, rum cake and ice cream with lots of wine. I mean, what have I been thinking? Of course I am going to feel like CRAP! But, even more so considering that I am 45 and have been experiencing symptoms of perimenopause for a while now.

But the funny thing is, I was feeling GREAT when I was on 95% raw foods just a couple of months ago. So, I did some research last night, after spending several days and nights experiencing the above symptoms, in addition to some others not mentioned and here is what I found…the following are all symptoms typical of perimenopause. My own symptoms are marked with an X: (from http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.shtml )

1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling – X
2. Irregular heart beat – X
3. Irritability – X
4. Mood swings, sudden tears – X
5. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats) _ X
6. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles – X
7. Loss of libido
8. Dry vagina
9. Crashing fatigue -X
10. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease – X
11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom – X
12. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion – X
13. Disturbing memory lapses
14. Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
15. Itchy, crawly skin
16. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons – X
17. Increased tension in muscles – X
18. Breast tenderness
19. Headache change: increase or decrease
20. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea – X
21. Sudden bouts of bloat
22. Depression
23. Exacerbation of existing conditions
24. Increase in allergies – X
25. Weight gain
26. Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
27. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
28. Changes in body odor
29. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
30. Tingling in the extremities
31. Gum problems, increased bleeding
32. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
33. Osteoporosis (after several years)
34. Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
35. Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, ‘whooshing,’ buzzing etc.

The interesting thing is…I wasn’t experiencing most of these symptoms while sustaining a primarily raw foods lifestyle. The exception would be the sporadic/irregular periods or spotting between periods. But most of the other symptoms…the general lack of a sense of well being, confusion and fear issues were all pretty much non-existent while on raw foods.

So, my theory is this – I believe these symptoms can be managed or eliminated all together simply by ridding my system of all processed foods and beverages and consuming primarily raw foods. I have had difficulty re-comitting to the 95% raw foods lifestyle…mostly at night. I do quite well most days, but generally give in at night. However, the experiences I have had the past few days have really showed me that I can’t afford to consume foods that are clearly toxic to my system. The pain FAR out weighs the pleasure! So, I will post my results here. I will be most interested to see how I am feeling one month from now, during the week prior-to and week of my period.

If you have had any of the same symptoms and you are even in your late 20’s on, I would highly recommend trying the same thing to see if you get better results with raw foods.

Stay tuned!

Ok, so I really have to come up with a concrete plan of action for overcoming this problem I have with nightly nibbles. I am FABULOUS about sticking to my designated eating routine right up until dinner time. Man! I just don’t know what it is about the evening that makes me crack my resolve…any feedback on this would be greatly appreciated! If this has been a challenge for you but you figured out a way to overcome it, please do drop me a note!

Every day I set a new goal regarding what I will and won’t allow myself to eat. And every evening (pretty much without exception) I give in and eat foods that are “off the beaten path.” I think it may begin with the wine…lol! Actually, I think that’s a very likely culprit. Sip the wine, lower my resolve, get acid stomach needing something starchy to soak it up, and VOILA! Off I go into what most people would probably consider reasonable eating…but when you are working on eating 100% raw, there are a LOT of foods that would seem, to the conventional mind, like healthy, sensible food options, but which are not getting me the nutritional benefits I am seeking from a primarily raw foods lifestyle.

Not going to bother writing down what I have been eating the past few days because I have been very off-again, on-again with it. Got to rethink my strategy!