Guest guest Posted October 12, 2003 Report Share Posted October 12, 2003 Hello, everyone. I'm new to this list and am very interested in making the transition to 100 raw%. My husband and I are currently vegan and doing a lot of reading about raw foods. We have been experimenting with raw foods and observing our bodies on cooked food. Emotionally, we don't feel we can make it through the holidays raw, since this will be a big deal to our families and we will almost certainly face criticism and pressure. My family has already gone vegan but pretty much scorns the idea of eating 100% raw food. Food is still a MAJOR comfort to all of us, so I think this change, even if I refrain from advising and preaching (which I certainly don't want to do--I have no interest in changing their diet), might seem threatening to them. We've decided to read and experiment, doing what seems comfortable until January 1, 2004. Then we plan to face our cooked food addictions directly and begin a more focused transition to raw foods. We're both a little concerned/afraid about detox symptoms. Also, I'm wondering how to eventually break this news to my family. Any ideas? Thanks, Julie P.S. Does anyone have any book recommendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 Hi Julie, You sound exactly like me, although there's only me doing it, my hubby is a vegetarian still. I'm like you in that I'm reading everything I can get my hands on. I look on Ebay all the time to find cheap books to read and scour the net and read all links posted. I don't know about the family thing, thankfully we don't have thanks giving over here and we stopped going to my families for Christmas when I went vegan. I think the hard part will be persuading them that you are enjoying the raw food, because to them, the idea of just eating raw food would be a torment. It's the change of attitude towards raw foods that will be their problem I think, they will think you are hungry all the time I bet. Would love to hear how you get on though, I must admit that I'm frightened to tell people as I still feel a bit weird about it all. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 13, 2003 Report Share Posted October 13, 2003 Shell wrote: <<Hi Julie, You sound exactly like me, although there's only me doing it, my hubby is a vegetarian still. I'm like you in that I'm reading everything I can get my hands on. I look on Ebay all the time to find cheap books to read and scour the net and read all links posted. I don't know about the family thing, thankfully we don't have thanks giving over here and we stopped going to my families for Christmas when I went vegan. I think the hard part will be persuading them that you are enjoying the raw food, because to them, the idea of just eating raw food would be a torment. It's the change of attitude towards raw foods that will be their problem I think, they will think you are hungry all the time I bet. Would love to hear how you get on though, I must admit that I'm frightened to tell people as I still feel a bit weird about it all. Love Shell.>> Thanks for replying, Shell. Maybe we can be a little support group for each other! I enjoyed reading Victoria Boutenko's " 12 Steps to Raw Food. " (I think that's the title, or something like it.) We just got " Living Foods for Optimum Health, " which also seems quite good. A book called " Nature's First Law " really gave us some food for thought, but the writing style really didn't resonate with me. What have you been reading? Victoria Boutenko's book really helped me in two ways. First, it helped me realize that I'm addicted to cooked food, and that addiction is a very powerful thing. I now feel I have some strategies that will give me a better chance of being successful at sticking to a raw foods diet. The second point was to change your attitude about recipes. She remarks that when trying to prepare delicious raw food, it's important to test for a good balance of all five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent. I'm one of those people who follows recipes to the letter and isn't very creative. However, I just had a breakthrough of sorts. Responding to my cravings, I concocted a salad of pears, raisins, lemon juice, raw walnuts, and just a tiny bit of sea salt. No recipe! The result was completely delicious, and for some reason it made me think of the Snickers candy bars I used to eat when I was a kid! I'd eventually like to focus more on whole foods (just eating the pear), but I think Boutenko is right that it's important to pamper ourselves during transition. Of course, I'm still ingesting all sorts of horrible things on my cooked vegan diet , but I'm trying to do it mindfully and to say " goodbye " as I do so. It feels sort of like a mourning period for me. I'm observing myself, gradually retreating from cooked foods, and saying goodbye to things that once gave me such comfort. But I'm still dreading family ridicule... They're wonderful people and we have a really close relationship, but they'll definitely feel threatened by my decision. It's just a defense mechanism, really. They don't want to think about giving up something that's such a source of comfort. Even if I keep my mouth firmly shut, when I sit across the table from them and eat nothing but raw foods, it's going to really bother them, I think. Anyone out there have any experience dealing with this? Thanks again, Shell, and I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences with the transition. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 So far, I've read Norman Walkers juicing book and another juicing book that I've forgotten who wrote. I'm waiting for a raw cookbook to arrive from Ebay any day, but it didn't say who wrote it. I have asked Santa for Nature's first law for Christmas. Some people say it is a bit hard going, but it seems to be one of those books that you just have to read. I also signed up for the Fresh network magazine and have just finished reading my first issue, which was very enlightening. Now I would like to win the lottory, so I could by one of everything they seel, just to try it all. Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Shell wrote: <<Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list.>> My husband and I are very low tech, so we hardly have any kitchen appliances, just a blender that doesn't work very well. We know we're going to need to buy some equipment--a juicer, a food processor, possibly a dehydrator. Do you have any recommendations? (Or does anyone else out there?) Julie - andy.mich rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 5:55 AM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food So far, I've read Norman Walkers juicing book and another juicing book that I've forgotten who wrote. I'm waiting for a raw cookbook to arrive from Ebay any day, but it didn't say who wrote it. I have asked Santa for Nature's first law for Christmas. Some people say it is a bit hard going, but it seems to be one of those books that you just have to read. I also signed up for the Fresh network magazine and have just finished reading my first issue, which was very enlightening. Now I would like to win the lottory, so I could by one of everything they seel, just to try it all. Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Hi Julie, I think you can get by without any equipment really. Most long term raw foodists seem to stop juicing after a while or just juice greens sometimes, and most of the long termers seem to go off the dehydrated goodies too. We couldn't afford any of the best juicers, but on being advised to go for the best we could afford, we bought one by a company called Brevel here in the UK, that is fantastic for a middle of the range piece of equipment. It has an enormous shoot and has no nucks and crannies to make it difficult to clean. I appreciate that it is only a centrifugal juicer, but it will do us for now. I recconed that if I put a little away each week, that by the time this runs out in a few years, I'll be able to get one of the really good ones. I would love one of those Excallibar dehydrators as they come highly recommended. However, I might just pick up a second hand, lesser make just to see if I take to it. I've never tried anything that has been dehydrated and what if I didn't like it? As my other half is not a raw foody, I like to see him enjoying a pint of juice every day, even some raw foods on top of the old burger and chips diet has got to be better than not. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Estate Specialist stores have pro juicers cheap. A lot of people that are dying of an illness buy a juicer. I got the Acme 250.00 juicer for 15.00 at an estate sale(just a week ago). I got a 350.00 grain grinder for 20.00 at a Seventh Day Adventist yard sale. I have not yet found a cheap Vita-Mix. I bought one on E-bay once and it only lasted a month. Another find at an Estate sale was an electric citrus juicer for 5.00. I do own all the raw food prep stuff from the excalabur to the vita-mix but I still pick up all I an find cheap. So now I have the green star juice, the champion, (which I gave to my Mom) and the acme. Bernadette - Julie rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 7:54 AM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food Shell wrote: <<Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list.>> My husband and I are very low tech, so we hardly have any kitchen appliances, just a blender that doesn't work very well. We know we're going to need to buy some equipment--a juicer, a food processor, possibly a dehydrator. Do you have any recommendations? (Or does anyone else out there?) Julie - andy.mich rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 5:55 AM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food So far, I've read Norman Walkers juicing book and another juicing book that I've forgotten who wrote. I'm waiting for a raw cookbook to arrive from Ebay any day, but it didn't say who wrote it. I have asked Santa for Nature's first law for Christmas. Some people say it is a bit hard going, but it seems to be one of those books that you just have to read. I also signed up for the Fresh network magazine and have just finished reading my first issue, which was very enlightening. Now I would like to win the lottory, so I could by one of everything they seel, just to try it all. Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Thanks for the advice, Shell and Bernadette! Julie - abrs rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 12:58 PM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food Estate Specialist stores have pro juicers cheap. A lot of people that are dying of an illness buy a juicer. I got the Acme 250.00 juicer for 15.00 at an estate sale(just a week ago). I got a 350.00 grain grinder for 20.00 at a Seventh Day Adventist yard sale. I have not yet found a cheap Vita-Mix. I bought one on E-bay once and it only lasted a month. Another find at an Estate sale was an electric citrus juicer for 5.00. I do own all the raw food prep stuff from the excalabur to the vita-mix but I still pick up all I an find cheap. So now I have the green star juice, the champion, (which I gave to my Mom) and the acme. Bernadette - Julie rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 7:54 AM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food Shell wrote: <<Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list.>> My husband and I are very low tech, so we hardly have any kitchen appliances, just a blender that doesn't work very well. We know we're going to need to buy some equipment--a juicer, a food processor, possibly a dehydrator. Do you have any recommendations? (Or does anyone else out there?) Julie - andy.mich rawfood Tuesday, October 14, 2003 5:55 AM Re: [Raw Food] Transitioning to raw food So far, I've read Norman Walkers juicing book and another juicing book that I've forgotten who wrote. I'm waiting for a raw cookbook to arrive from Ebay any day, but it didn't say who wrote it. I have asked Santa for Nature's first law for Christmas. Some people say it is a bit hard going, but it seems to be one of those books that you just have to read. I also signed up for the Fresh network magazine and have just finished reading my first issue, which was very enlightening. Now I would like to win the lottory, so I could by one of everything they seel, just to try it all. Have you tried any of the juicing, dehydrating etc? I love my juicer and would love a dehydrator, but think a food processor might t be the first thing on the list. Love Shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2003 Report Share Posted October 14, 2003 Your right on, I did find a Vita-Mix at a garage sale for $20.00 The New with improved product search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.