converting when you have a non raw family

[Guest guest]

Heeelp! I'm trying so hard to convert and so far have failed

miserably. I went mostly raw a few years ago and felt more alive

than I ever have. Combined with daily yoga and meditation and

cycling for miles every day I felt wonderful. Then I moved from the

Uk to USA and married and had children and flopped in my health

attempts.

 

My husband was on a very typical S.A.D and while i've converted him

to healthier foods, somewhat, over the years, I've also converted to

his ways. I feel stuck in a hole as I know exactly where I want to

be going with my health but it seems all i do is read about it, make

endless notes about it and forever stay in the planning stage. I

flip flop back and forth between healthy eating and junk. I'm

feeling worse by the day and am quite rock bottom. All kinds of

ailments and anger oozing out of my ears. The worse I feel the worse

I treat myself. I know joyful living is just round the corner but I

just can't seem to get there. I feel so full of gunk right now that

veg and fruit seem unpalatable but I still have the memory of how

utterly delicious I find my raw meals-sooo much more satisfying in

so many ways.

 

What seems to be holding me back is trying to feed a family and

maintain my own seperate lifestyle. There is no way I can convert my

husband to raw, at least not in the forseeable future and I also

have no idea how to even introduce it in a small way with my two

young boys (1 1/2 and 3 1/2). I started off great with the oldest.

All homemade babyfood (not raw). He was an avid veg eater for a long

time but now has tapered off to literally no veg. I guess the main

problem is lack of time to be creative in my cooking. And the

youngest refuses most veg also but they will both gorge on fruit-not

highly desirable but better than neither I guess.

 

I'm wondering how to get around this. First off, resisting eating

the cooked food that I will have to prepare for my family. And

second, finding what I can eat. I get overwhelmed when I think about

the complications of finding the time to devise new meals. I'm

thinking I should start off really simple but then I get put off by

not desiring to munch on a raw carrot or a bowl of lettuce. i need

some delicious incentive to get started but not so much that I have

to think too much. Having 2 young kids makes concentrating on

anything impossible during the day.

 

As i'm feeling so crappy right now, I'm hoping to start a juice fast

tomorrow for a few days (I hope) and then I'm starting a colon

cleansing kit that lasts 3 months. Thought I would try to fast for 7

days at the beginning of that. After the fast, I want to start raw

fooding. anyone got any suggestions for a good starter book that

will entice but not overwhelm? I have sproutman's 'kitchen garden'

but right now it feels a bit extreme and not too tempting. And I

have The Raw Food Bible by Leslie Kenton. But I've had it a few

years and has never really drawn me in. Any recommendations for Matt

Whatsit's book 'Raw Spirit'?

 

So how DO I get started and stop planning? I'm more of an all or

nothing kind of gal than an ease into it gradually over a period of

months gal. I think if I start slowly I will do what I always do and

allow junk to slowly creep back in and then take over.

 

Desperately,

 

Katya

[Guest guest]

My boys' favorite thing to do at this age was to get

to pick wheat grass out of mommys " garden " and chew on

them. Three day old was the fave. Children that age

are pretty easy to get to eat anything mommy will.

 

I have the same problem you do with falling off the

band wagon for so long. What seems to be working is

doing a juice fast (cleanse) It's quick and you can

make it real quick just before you put his food on the

table if you eat together.

 

 

 

______________________________\

____

Looking for earth-friendly autos?

Browse Top Cars by " Green Rating " at Autos' Green Center.

http://autos./green_center/

[Guest guest]

What works is to develop sustainable, lifelong eating habits, not to dart in

and out of quick fixes. We are designed to thrive on whole foods.

 

Elchanan

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Donna Chapman

Friday, January 19, 2007 6:43 PM

rawfood

Re: [Raw Food] converting when you have a non raw family

 

 

My boys' favorite thing to do at this age was to get to pick wheat grass out

of mommys " garden " and chew on them. Three day old was the fave. Children

that age are pretty easy to get to eat anything mommy will.

 

I have the same problem you do with falling off the band wagon for so long.

What seems to be working is doing a juice fast (cleanse) It's quick and you

can make it real quick just before you put his food on the table if you eat

together.

 

<http://geo./serv?s=97359714/grpId=5520395/grpspId=1705015482/msgId

=27185/stime=1169257510/nc1=4299912/nc2=4025306/nc3=3>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

My son told me yesterday that my raw pizza looks like poop

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Katya,

 

I can relate to being in the planning stages for awhile. I'm not

sure that's necessarily bad. I had to read a lot and sift through

the various conflicting views on raw in order to find what finally

made sense to me. I also tend to want to do things " perfectly. " But

I realized I had to just start with even the tiniest step. Which at

first was simply buying and trying 1 or 2 new fruits. Then eating

only fruit for a meal to see that it was indeed possible. And so

on. I have stagnated at times and it's been about 2 years and I'm

not eating all-raw yet, but I have come a long way--physically,

mentally, and emotionally. When I heard people talk about it taking

years to get to eating a simple raw diet, I was very frustrated. But

what choice do I have? If I don't take a step, I surely won't get

there. I want to move in that direction, and however long it takes

is how long it takes.

 

I also was very invested in converting my husband at first. But that

just set up resistance in him and caused conflict. I had to let go

of needing him to change. I told him this is very important to me

and I want him to support me, and that I won't try to change him.

Ironically, he has started wanting more raw.

 

I can relate to your saying you're an all-or-nothing gal as well.

But when that sort of thinking came up for me, something inside me

said, I wonder if that's the deeper issue to heal here, and maybe

this journey can provide the opportunity. I'm still pondering that.

Thought I'd offer it in case it helps. Feel free to write back if

that doesn't make sense.

 

BTW, have you read much about the high-fruit, low-fat, raw vegan diet

(as opposed to the ones with lots of nuts, seeds, avocadoes, etc.,

and veggies)? That your young kids gorge on fruit is good! It's our

natural food and they know it! And it's so much easier to eat some

bananas or a yummy smoothie than some of the complicated recipes out

there!

 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful.

 

Take care,

 

Laurie

[Guest guest]

Hi Laurie!

 

I had not yet read this post when I just mailed my reply to you!

You have spoken eloquently here about your husband and trying to get him to

change and him having resistance to you! This is one of my biggest concerns

as well! That is the biggest reason for my easing into this, even tho I am

beginning to be truly ready for going all the way to vegan raw. It would

freak him out! I do not want him to run screaming into the night thinking I

have yet again lost my mind in my eternal quest for good health. He has

been down the road with me on so many diet adventures, the last one being

Atkins, which just made me so ill and took me forever to connect the dots!

I have not done anything in particular for over a year now, and the eating

around here has just gotten way out of control and we are both suffering!

But, he has gone to the store twice this week and my request has been fruit,

fruit and more fruit. He is starting to know that something must be " up "

but he just has no clue yet!

 

 

 

Anyway, thank you for this post, for it resonated with me! I am

going to have to sneak up on him with this one! LOL! But, that is why I

need to be well informed and why I am doing so much reading just now. Can't

wait for my new books to get here! I sure am feeling like I am on an

emotional high the last two days as I am starting to see in my mind's eye

all the possibilities!

 

 

 

Wishing you Good Health,

 

Connie

 

 

 

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Laurie Swanson

Saturday, January 20, 2007 1:54 AM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Re: converting when you have a non raw family

 

 

 

Hi Katya,

 

I can relate to being in the planning stages for awhile. I'm not

sure that's necessarily bad. I had to read a lot and sift through

the various conflicting views on raw in order to find what finally

made sense to me. I also tend to want to do things " perfectly. " But

I realized I had to just start with even the tiniest step. Which at

first was simply buying and trying 1 or 2 new fruits. Then eating

only fruit for a meal to see that it was indeed possible. And so

on. I have stagnated at times and it's been about 2 years and I'm

not eating all-raw yet, but I have come a long way--physically,

mentally, and emotionally. When I heard people talk about it taking

years to get to eating a simple raw diet, I was very frustrated. But

what choice do I have? If I don't take a step, I surely won't get

there. I want to move in that direction, and however long it takes

is how long it takes.

 

I also was very invested in converting my husband at first. But that

just set up resistance in him and caused conflict. I had to let go

of needing him to change. I told him this is very important to me

and I want him to support me, and that I won't try to change him.

Ironically, he has started wanting more raw.

 

I can relate to your saying you're an all-or-nothing gal as well.

But when that sort of thinking came up for me, something inside me

said, I wonder if that's the deeper issue to heal here, and maybe

this journey can provide the opportunity. I'm still pondering that.

Thought I'd offer it in case it helps. Feel free to write back if

that doesn't make sense.

 

BTW, have you read much about the high-fruit, low-fat, raw vegan diet

(as opposed to the ones with lots of nuts, seeds, avocadoes, etc.,

and veggies)? That your young kids gorge on fruit is good! It's our

natural food and they know it! And it's so much easier to eat some

bananas or a yummy smoothie than some of the complicated recipes out

there!

 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful.

 

Take care,

 

Laurie