Raw food diet

adelight

Angel_Jenny wrote: »

Don't know about the protein! Nut butters? Nuts!?

I can't seem to stick to low carb ..... the temptations of bakeries at lunch time!

Most nut butters aren't raw, a lot of nuts in shops aren't even raw.

How will eating raw food stop you going there? That's about will power and kicking sugar all together. No sugary treats, simple carbs or sugary fruits and you will crave less and be less tempted.
I walk past and work above dozens of delicious looking bakeries, cafes and delicatessens where my colleagues buy their lunch and there's always croissants or holiday chocolates on the cabinet right next to my desk at work. Personally I know I never have just one so I stop myself pigging out by never having any

I've tried to "go raw" and it was difficult and quite expensive, I didn't eat much because what I could eat was generally quite pricey and I didn't make complicated meals involving dehydrators and really expensive ingredients. Even just all the fruit and vegetables you get through in a day to get enough calories gets expensive. If OS to you has a lot to do with budget then I don't think it's all that OS- you'd need a polytunnel bigger than your house to grow it all!!
Vegetable juices and green smoothies were the only thing I've stuck with long term. Delicious and you can get 3+ servings of fruit and veg in a pint of smoothie.


Why don't you just try to kick the refined carbs and increase your veggies? Maybe aim for one vegetable only meal a day or try replacing your spaghetti with courgette ribbons like you mentioned - that is seriously tasty!

Angel_Jenny

I figured that if I was eating raw food mostly I would lose the cravings for the junk. Or my taste buds would adapt to not having artificial flavours and then the junk wouldn't taste as nice ... That was the theory anyway!

The expense is what is putting me off and the idea of carrying half a fruit and veg stall to work every day!

Maybe baby steps are the way to go! I do like smoothies even with green stuff in them.

:(I used to really like eating raw potatoes!

Sambucus_Nigra

pixiedust09 wrote: »

...and don't quote me, probably completly wrong but think Potatoes are from the nightshade family.

They are and so are tomatoes.

PixieDust

A friend of mine's mother and her husband do this and swear by a raw food diet.

At best, a "raw food" diet is about 80% raw.

Apparently most people start off doing just one or two days a week totally raw and build up, or plateau out, from there. My friend even had a raw birthday cake and raw brownies recently andsaid they were yummy!

[Deleted User]

I explored eating raw in the 80s but being fully raw was just a step too far, however I still have the (expensive) green life juicer and that is when I got my first dehydrator. I now have all the needed equipment ie a masticating juicer, a fast speed liquidiser and an excalibur dehydrator and I am back to some raw foods.

Start by making nut milks, they are easy. Soak nuts, seeds and grains overnight before you eat them and get some books from the library. Ani Phyo is one I am reading just now. Sprout some alfalfa seeds
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/134746
enjoy them in sandwiches, with salads etc

Important thing is to change one step at a time. I used to take tahini and alfalfa sandwiches to work so was no hardship

Lizbetty

Hey, I'm a bit suspicious of bananas. They were my main food when I used to go to Slimming World years ago, and one day I passed out in the middle of a shopping trip (cue ners ners, onto a stretcher and the whole caboodle!). I have low blood pressure anyway, but the specialist at A&E said he was surprised I was conscious while he was speaking to me as my blood pressure was so low.

I have read that they help lower blood pressure. I still think it was the bananas that made me pass out! :eek:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

It's an area with vast quantities of pseudoscience, ie, 'Chest pain? Radiating down your left arm with difficulty breathing? That's you detoxifying that filth you've been shovelling down your throat for 30 years', 'Osteoporosis? No chance, it doesn't exist unless you eat mouldy mammary secretions and animal flesh. The universe provides everything you need on trees'. :mad:


And people exhibiting evidence of competitive eating disorders 'I eat less than YOU, you still eat THAT muck' or 'feel ill? Of course you do, stop being so greedy and eat less food'/'the xxxxx tribe in Darkest xxxxx live a joyous life in communion with the planet and feed solely on the bounty that gently falls off the branches of a magical tree once a year on a Blue Moon in August. They never get fat or have cancer. The fact that they also eat goats, Macdonalds and anything else they can find and only live to about 38 years old if they are one of the few to make it through the first five years and aren't female (as they will most likely die in childbirth) is something we don't mention'.


Having said that, there is no reason why you can't cut down on processed foods or those with lots of calories - courgette ribbons made with a peeler, wilted in a pan or steamed briefly and then tossed with pesto or some form of light dressing are nicer than tagliatelle, for example.

And a grated carrot, beetroot and cucumber salad, dressed in a little vinaigrette and sprinkled with some slow cooked mushrooms and sesame seeds is much nicer than a luke warm cheese and onion pasty.

trailingspouse

Go Jojo!! I couldn't agree more. I don't know why anyone needs faddy diets, complicated regimes or 'only' eating this or that.

The fact is that 'eat good food perfectly cooked - and don't eat too much' doesn't fill very many column inches. But that doesn't make it any less true. It's not about faddy fashionable quick fix diets, it's about lifestyle choices and about making the effort to cook when every bone in your body is crying out for a carry-out pizza.

vickiem30

Hi

I don't eat a raw diet, but I like this site and make some of the recipes (mainly the brownies!) quite often.

http://www.therawtarian.com/

gien

I've read about eating raw and have tried to find a kind of compromise this summer by eating a lot of raw fruit and salads, very lean meat or fish and lightly steamed vegetables. I've eaten hardly any carbs in the form of bread/flour or pasta, a very small amount of rice or potatoes. I've added in nuts, olive oil and some pulses.
I've really avoided all sweet stuff, most dairy except for plain yogurt and milk in tea and I have ended up over half a stone lighter and feeling fine. I guess that the first week or so I missed the carbs and sweet stuff a bit but very soon adapted, and I haven't really felt hungry as I've been eating so many veggies! I do think it's easier in the summer as there's a lot of lovely fruit and veg and I'll have to see how it goesin the winter.
I also kept an eye on what I was eating using the cronometer app which calculates your vitamin and mineral intake.