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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

REATS (raw eats): 8/18/10

Today was a rainy and slow day with not too much activity other than a little dancing to the radio this morning :-P
So far I've managed to eat:
3 Ataulfo mangoes
and 1 nice and large watermelon
I'm thinking of making a 'raw pasta' for dinner to switch it up

Also, the other day at the grocery store I found some exotic fruits that I'm very excited to try!
I found cherimoya, pepino melon, guava, dragonfruit, and another mysterious fruit. What are your favorite 'exotic' frutis? I really want to try sapote as I've heard they're yummy!

Back and Ready for RAW

I went to the beach for a week with my family and had a great time!
Now that I'm back home I am looking forward to eating as much fruit and veggies as possible and limit my nut intake.
I've never been a big fan of nuts, but since I became vegan over a year ago I was advised to eat nuts since I wasn't a fan of any processed vegan proteins (seitan, tofu, tempeh...) Like I mentioned in my previous post the cashews I've been eating just aren't agreeing with me. I also had thought that the 'raw cashews' were really 'raw', but upon e-mailing the company I found out that what I thought were raw nuts were actually blanched and tunnel-shelled. I have also been getting some breakouts whose cause I am not sure of. Could it be 'detox' symptoms or possibly the nuts? Anyway, as of now I am going to stay away from any 'overt' fats and stick to good ol' sweet fruits and some vegetables. If I find some TRULY raw nuts in the future I may give them a shot, but I'm going to abstain from eating them for the time being.
I've also not been 'eliminating' as well usually...I've read that can be normal initially when starting 80/10/10. It could also be due to not eating 'enough', or not staying sufficiently hydrated. Hope it improves...any tips?

Something I noticed a couple days ago was how much my weight could fluctuate in a day! I was playing the Wii fit the other afternoon at my friends house and my weight was exponentially higher than expected! Though I had just eaten a cantaloupe, was wearing jeans and a sweater...I was still shocked at how much weight I had gained! I did however doubt that it was fat, since I had not noticed any physical changes other than a little 'water' bloat. Anyway the next morning my weight had gone down 7 pounds! Guess that just shows how much weight can fluctuate--and I'm pretty small! Whats the most you've fluctuated in a day on RAW?

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Reats (Raw Eats): 8/2

Yesterday was a nice day filled with lots of grocery shopping at various places :)
Here are my raw eats ('reats') for yesterday!
2 Ataulfo mangoes (got a big box at whole foods on sale)
3/4 ripe papaya
1 ginger gold apple
a lot of grapes
some baby carrots
banana raisin 'pudding' (one mashed large ripe banana, couple tablespoons raisins)
1 small fuji apple
1/4 large cucumber
some organic green grapes
2 small farmer's market yellow peaches

Now here comes the downhill for yesterday...
After that my mom was worried that all I was eating was fruit...and it was (almost completely) true. I had bought a "Raw Revolution" bar to try in a new smaller size in the 'banana supergreens' flavor or something like that. So I ate that...not horrible, but not my favorite thing. After a while I became hungry so I decided okay maybe I should have some raw cashews to get a little fat and curb my hunger...bad idea. I ate a few handfuls of raw cashews with raisins and not long afterwards my stomach started to hurt. I felt pain in my stomach and bloating too. Has anyone had this reaction to nuts? I used to eat soaked raw cashews and it was okay but overall nuts sort of weigh me down (though their filling properties are a plus.)
What raw foods (other than bananas) do you eat to stay comfortably satiated and satisfied?

Monday, August 2, 2010

Ridiculously Easy Raw: Hi!

Hello everyone (or no one, since I just made this blog and have no followers...yet!) My name is Alex and I am a raw vegan teen. I have been vegan for over a year, and raw off and on a few times during that time. Recently I have become fully raw as of last week. Before being vegan, I was pescetarian for a while, and had been vegan a couple years ago, too, after reading "Skinny Bitch." I firmly believe that a raw vegan diet (particularly one that is high in sweet fruit, low in fat, and with a moderate amount of vegetables and greens is optimal.) I also have always been a fruit lover, and tended to eat fruit as much as I could since I was a little youngster. Similarly, I have always been an animal lover, and whenever I ate meat, eggs, chicken, dairy, pork etc, something just didn't feel right. How could I be consuming creatures that have feelings and hearts just like my beloved dogs?
Transitioning to a vegan diet was hard, especially since I was and still am the only vegan in my family. I first gave veganism a shot in 2007 after reading "Skinny Bitch." My mom was very supportive, and we bought things like soymilk, 'mock meats', and tofu. Pretty much everything was very processed, and just tasted like a strange version of their original counterparts (except the soymilk--that was better.) Eating those foods made veganism out to be maybe not the most appealing diet, so sticking to it was difficult (especially as a very young vegan teen at that point.) Eventually I drifted back to a carnivorous diet, though instinctively I ate little to no meat, chicken made me feel sick every time I ate it, and I didn't eat any cheese or cow's milk, and eggs rarely. I guess I was an "almost vegetarian." I went to Costa Rica last summer and everything there was delicious and fresh--every morning I would have a ton of fresh fruit and loved it. However, for lunch and dinner I would eat fish, fish, and more fish. Everything there was very environmentally conscious; recycling everywhere, farmers markets by the beach, and simple living. I felt pretty good then, but once I returned home I began reading more about the environment and it led me to some vegan blogs. The first I read was VeganLovlie and I decided that I wanted to give veganism another shot. All of the recipes I found on the blog were of great help to me because I saw that there was a great multitude of options for vegans to eat--not just fake meats and tofu.
Since then I have been vegan, but for some reason eating my body would always crave "cold" foods. I think by cold my body meant "fresh, LIVING, raw" foods. Around late february of this year I began researching veganism again to see what recipes I could find that might satisfy my cravings. That was when I found out about "raw veganism." At first I thought to myself "how in the world can people survive off of vegetables and fruit?" It wasn't until later that I found the answer: by eating a LOT of it! I started drinking green smoothies in the morning adding more and more fruits, and I loved it. However, my parents got worried about what/ how much (or little) I was eating, so they pushed me to start eating cooked foods again. Bleh. I didn't feel so great anymore.
Now in the summer I've been having those same craving feelings as before, but this time I've done my research (and read great raw blogs like Kristen's Raw), and am prepared to fight them if they (or my doctor) disagree with what the nutrition I am eating. They can't say that I 'need to eat' cooked foods, because their reasoning behind that is not going to be stronger than the facts contrary to their opinions. I understand their concerns, but a balance of cooked and raw foods maybe be okay for some people, but not for me; there can be a balance in raw foodism--eating a great variety of fruits, some vegetables, and nuts when I feel like eating them on the rare occasion (I'll get more into that later.) But basically, at this point I'm just going to be chronicling the trials, tribulations, and happiness that comes with being a raw vegan [teen!]