Sunday, May 24, 2009

Sample

I was asked for sample meals. Well, we're not always completely raw but here is what we ate yesterday:

- breakfast: fruit smoothie (I am addicted so I don't vary but you can): 1 banana, defrost mango chunks and equal amount of frozen 4 berries with small amount of water. Put everything in blender and blend until thick and yummy. Drink your fruits (easy way to get sugar high - uh - all your fruits).
- lunch: big salad (yesterday was traditional with olives and feta cheese (which I believe is cheating but I am hungry so not feeling fussy at all).
- dinner: fake hamburger: you take a shitaake mushroom (or 2, but 1 was enough) for the bun, add a nut spread for dressing + tomato and lettuce. Side of fries is actually jicama (yeah, I didn't know what that was either. It is sold in the vegetable section. Quite fibrous and watery) peeled and cut to resemble fries and seasoned with the recommended dressing. Swiss chard salad with pine nuts and raisins. Bits of chocolate from a chocolate bar I bought at the pharmacy yesterday (I used to eat that quite a bit but found it very sweet and not that good yesterday - new taste buds?). Usually we skip dessert or have a fruit.
Though yesterday we had a fake chocolate cake (dough made with dates brownie-like) choco cake yesterday topped with cherries - absolutely decadent).

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Raw Eating - Pros and Cons

I am finding it difficult to switch back and forth between cooked and raw. I spent the week-end away from home and ate cooked food. My digestive balance is off.
Eating raw means you need to work at eating - you chew more before you swallow. There is more volume and you tend to get full faster.
No cravings. None.
Very few dishes to wash.

We are still waiting for the dehydrator. We received a call saying it was in back order and would be shipped in 7 days.

I still need to up my water consumption. Yesterday it was freezing cold at the office so I hardly drank at all.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Rah rah!

In the last week, we have started eating raw. My friend M had lent us two raw recipe books that we perused and immediately bought off Amazon (with a third one thrown in for good measure).
Raw means we get our protein from fruits, vegetables, nuts of all kinds. A sample of meals: california rolls; huge salads (cauliflower or red cabbage or kale or zucchini); warm soup (not hot as to not break down something that needs to stay intact - yes, I need to read on the subject); warm miso soup; fake sushi rolls (the rice is replaced with grated carrots). Everything Y makes is just wonderful. I passively sit and get served whatever she feels like eating. I was intrigued by the raw food movement a few years back but just couldn't get past the meat. How do you prepare meat if you don't cook it? Simple - you don't eat meat! (we cheated and had smoked salmon last night to celebrate)
I have been been bringing my lunch to work with morning and afternoon snacks (fruits) and, to my surprise, I haven't been hungry nor had any cravings. I have tried to drink more and have felt more alert in meetings and generally sharper of mind. We're happy with how we feel and are contemplating buying a dehydrator to prepare raw bread, dried fruits, etc.