I realize that I have unintentionally eaten nearly 100% raw for 8 days in a row. By "nearly" I mean I've been eating a few non-raw ingredients like cocoa powder, maple syrup, and 70% dark chocolate, etc. For the past few months I have been following the "slow transition" suggestions as read about in Natalia Rose's books. But during this past week, I just haven't wanted to eat anything else. And it's not that whole "perfectionist" itch I can get...it's just that the meals that I've been craving just so happen to be all-raw. And it feels great! I know I will still eat the occasional baked sweet potato or lightly steamed veggie or piece of sprouted wheat bread. But it's interesting to see that, without even trying or even intending to, I've transitioned closer to an all-raw diet.
An occasion I'm curious to experience will be this Sunday; one of my only vegan friends, Brandi, is coming to visit. She lives out of state now, so I always get really excited when she comes to town because we meet up at my favorite vegan comfort food restaurant, Squid and Ink. When she lived in Seattle, we would go almost every Sunday. But I haven't been to Squid or really eaten "vegan comfort food" at all in the past couple months. I've managed to avoid fried foods, mock meats and soy cheese; three things I used to eat regularly. While I still have a place in my heart and tummy for vegan comfort foods, I don't crave them the way I used to. So I'm curious to see what I will order and how it will make me feel afterward. I predict my appetite won't be nearly as hearty- I used to wolf down my entire plate of whatever I ordered and get dessert. But, then again, I have surprised myself with my ability to binge on foods I didn't even know I could tolerate any more...ahem...Christmas Eve dinner ring a bell? (So ashamed!)
But I feel at peace with my diet right now. I feel like I have control. I feel like I can handle this occasional little splurge. I am happy to eat mostly raw food and I also feel the freedom to eat the occasional non-raw meal, if I so desire. I'm a little nervous that my sense of control will mysteriously disolve and my meal this Sunday will inspire a binge-fest, but I recovered easily from the Xmas Eve mishap, so I now know I can turn any backslide around again.
To remind myself of my power over food-addicitons and binging, I'd like to mention that ever since I've stayed away from molasses cookies from Starbucks, I no longer crave refined sugar treats. I've heard that you will crave whatever you continue to eat. That's why Alissa Cohen, in Living on Live Food, suggests committing to an all raw diet, if possible, because keeping cooked food in your diet keeps the cravings and addiction to cooked food alive. In my personal case, I agree with that to a certain extent. I don't believe there is much harm in occasional cooked veggies and such, and some raw foodists include a few cooked items in their diet, but I do believe you need to keep out all potentially negative foods from your diet, like all refined, processed, and sugary foods. Those are in no way harmonious with your body. I saw for myself; when I ate one molasses cookie, I needed one the next day, or the next week. When I ate refined flour in the form of a pita on Xmas Eve, I was desperately craving the cheesebread Brian ordered at Claim Jumper two days later. I will keep those lessons in mind this Sunday at Squid and Ink. If I start getting violent cravings for fries and mock meats the next day, I'll know why!
As a side note, I'm not saying that a traditional vegan "comfort food" diet is bad; it's just not me anymore. I feel like I've come a long way from when I ate like that every day- I've lost a LOT of weight and feel so much better now that I am on a mostly raw diet. I want to keep it that way!
And now for more news in my raw life: I've joined the Raw Freedom Community Forum. It's an amazing forum with so many recipes and interesting threads. As I don't have any raw friends here in Seattle (or anywhere, for that matter), it's nice to find a place where I can ask questions and read what other people in similar situations have to say. And the recipes, did I mention the delicious abundance of recipes? Yum! The RFC is also where I discovered the version of the Raw White Chocolate Cheesecake I made! The forum also lead me to two awesome blogs (Raw Goddess Heathy and The Sunny Raw Kitchen) that I frequent for their amazing recipes! They are both really inspiring. I've never seen so much RAW in one place! I'm new to the world of blogging and forums, so discovering all of this is really exciting for me. Yes, I feel like a nerd. I get easily excited about this kinda stuff, if you can tell.
And new developments have been making their way through my mind about my future with raw foods as a career. I keep getting more ideas. I'm now thinking of starting my own raw personal chef service. I've read some wonderful tips and advice on the RFC about making a living with raw foods. I also received some very helpful advice from Vanessa Sherwood, who runs a personal raw chef service in Chicago. Oh, and I will probably be taking a raw chef certification course over the summer. There are a couple I have looked into. The most affordable is a simple course taught by a student of Alissa Cohen's certification program. I am also looking into a few others, like one taught by Bryan Au. Since I am already confident in my ability to make delicious, edible, beautiful raw meals, I figure I should opt for the least expensive course to start with. I can always take more expensive programs in the future if I find that I need or desire it. I do not believe that "certification" is completely necessary, but I would just like to experience a class with a fellow raw chef; gain a little more confidence in my abilities.
I would just like to say that I am so grateful for all the help and recourses I have found! It's making this raw food journey more and more enjoyable by the day. Even now, while I sit at home, sick (I'm either experiencing some detox symptoms or I somehow managed to catch the guitarist's of my band The Shy Ones cold), all I want to do is search the RFC for recipes or make sketches and plans of my ideas for my raw business. Oh wait, maybe I just don't have a life haha. Just kidding. This is my life. My life is awesome!
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Hi Tessonja,
ReplyDeleteI just read your blog. It was impressive, but intimidating. As a confirmed bachelor, I am not a cook; have never been a cook; and never will be a cook. As a 65 y/o bachelor I'm not even interested in getting into all the complicated recipes, with unique and expensive ingredients from all over the world, and I'm not interested in buying lots of blenders, food processors, dessicators, or whatever it takes to make a raw meal. I feel like it's "too late" for me to be starting all that, if you know what I mean.
Right now, I think I'm doing good to switch to a diet of beans and grains, fruits and veggies. In fact, at 65 y/o, I have begun to have angina (chest pains) when I eat a big holiday meal. That is pretty scary!
So I have started the Reversing Diet, by Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D. It is designed to lower the blood cholesterol to around 100. It recommends that I don't eat seeds and nuts, avocados, olives, or oil of any kind--including sesame or olive oil! So that practically means I cannot eat the things they serve at raw vegan potlucks! The raw vegans have apparently exchanged a diet of 30% animal fat for a diet of 30% plant-based fat! That won't work for me!
In fact, I'm not supposed to eat salt, sugar, stimulants (coffee, cokes, energy drinks, etc.), or even the chemicals, preservatives, dyes and emulsifiers added to processed and refined foods.
So my diet requires very demanding changes, but going raw is not exactly it. Raw foods seem to have lots of nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, and even oils!
But the main objection I have to eating raw is that I don't want to get into lots of cooking and food preparation. I prefer to eat simply; like beans and rice; oats and soy milk with nutritional yeast, ground flax seed and a sliced banana. I stir-fry veggies in coconut milk and eat baked potatoes, fruits and green smoothies. One problem I'm having now is that I cannot find a salad dressing that does not have salt, sugar, chemical additives, vinegar or oil!
So I have settled for what I call "the cave man diet," which is just the simple meals that don't require lots of cooking, shopping and dish-washing.
I've been at it since 1/11/09.
I decided to comment on your blog because I live in White Center. I am also feeling like the only person in West Seattle who can't eat pizza and ice cream!
Ron McClure
When I first moved to west seattle/white center me and my boyfriend would eat and White Center Spaghetti House, Viva Mexico, Jack in the box, and Taco Bell ALL the time! Everything I ate had tons of cheese on it. It's crazy how much my diet has changed in 5 years!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that the traditional raw diet is filled with dense fats from nuts and oils. While it's fun to make these recipes on occasion, I am realizing my body just doesn't feel as good when I keep eating these dense meals day after day. Listening to my body, I have been eating very simply these past few days: salads, veggies, sprouted grain bread, fruit. Especially since I am also dealing with a cold right now, making complicated, dense recipes is the last thing I have energy for! I'm hoping to give my digestion a break for a few days. I'm also hoping to cut out desserts for a few days too. I've just eaten so many rich desserts lately that the thought of sugar (raw or not) is making me nauseated! Once I'm feeling cleansed and back to "normal" I'm sure I'll go back into the kitchen with some wild recipe :)
Your diet sounds very well balanced and healthful. That's what I like about the underlying truth of raw food: not the pressure to go "100%" but just the awareness that adding more raw in the form of fruits and veggies is healing and beneficial to any degree. That's what really matters. Trading in junk and dead food for pure, life-enhancing foods.
About the salad dressing: I often don't like making complicated dressings and will usually just add a squirt of fresh lemon juice to my greens.
thanks for the comment!