Raw Food?

abbyj700

So one of the ladies I work with goes vegetarian every year for the month of January. It's a way for her to cleanse her system, challenge herself and reach a goal. I really like the idea of the sacrifice, the achievement and the health kick all wrapped up in one. 

I've been a vegetarian for 14 years - so obviously I can't follow EXACTLY in her footsteps with giving up meat as I did that a long time ago. I'm thinking that I may do the raw food diet for the month of January as I would find it quite challenging, beneficial, healthy and interesting.  

Does anyone have an experience going raw? Do you enjoy it? Are there good recipe sites and books to stick to the routine without getting bored? Any and all suggestions, thoughts and experiences would be great! 

levioosa

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

sarahufl

levioosa said:

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

QFT. Nothing is better than cheese or steak.

Cookie Pusher

sarahufl said:

levioosa said:

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

QFT. Nothing is better than cheese or steak.

Bacon.

Maggie0829

Cookie Pusher said:

sarahufl said:

levioosa said:

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

QFT. Nothing is better than cheese or steak.

Bacon.

Yes!

Seriously nothing beats sitting down to hot steak, wrapped in bacon with a piece of slowly melting butter on top.

But if for some strange and odd reason I would try going raw, January would be one of the last months I would pick to do so.  It is cold here in January and I could not imagine not eating warm/hot foods.  This would be something better suited for July and August when it is hotter then hell outside.

abbyj700

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

cupcait927

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

Alcohol. It's my biggest vice.

sarawifenow

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

I guess I just don't ever feel the need to sacrifice things from my life that I enjoy.

 

If I had to? Hot cheetos. They are my drug of choice.

KatieinBkln

One time I gave up alcohol for a month. I discovered that I really don't drink THAT much, but that when I just want a g.d. beer, I REALLY want it. It sucked.

I didn't find it particularly useful. I'm more likely to find value out of adding something as a discipline rather than subtracting. Like, "must work out X days per week" is just as hard as eliminating booze, but with a more obvious payoff. Basically I have to bribe myself into it, ha.

abbyj700

@KatieinBkin - I have given up alcohol two different times for two weeks at a time in the last year- and well, I love to drink. In the long run I felt great doing the sacrifice, flushing my system and all the weight I lost! But yeah...when I want a drink - I WANT A DRINK!!!

jenna8984

sarawifenow said:

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

I guess I just don't ever feel the need to sacrifice things from my life that I enjoy.

I agree. I don't see any benefit in giving up something I love, except maybe a 1 point reduction in my cholesterol (which to me is not worth it). I guess some people do it with the goal that they will feel so much healthier and stick with it, but I know what would be a cold day in hell for me.

What about books by Gweneth Paltrow? I hate her but I know she's been raw for a decade so she probably has recipes and stuff out there.

KatieinBkln

abbyj700 said:

@KatieinBkin - I have given up alcohol two different times for two weeks at a time in the last year- and well, I love to drink. In the long run I felt great doing the sacrifice, flushing my system and all the weight I lost! But yeah...when I want a drink - I WANT A DRINK!!!

I was so annoyed--I could FEEL myself wanting to eat more food to make up for the fact that I wasn't drinking as many calories. Number of pounds lost was zero, which didn't help my overall opinion of the experience!

JennyColada

Cookie Pusher said:

sarahufl said:

levioosa said:

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

QFT. Nothing is better than cheese or steak.

Bacon.

Cake.

esstee33

JennyColada said:

Cookie Pusher said:

sarahufl said:

levioosa said:

Going raw goes above and beyond being a vegetarian.  Your foods can never be fully "cooked," and it's also an extreme version of veganism.  If I remember correctly, nothing is supposed to be "cooked" over 180 degrees or something like that.  Someone who is actually practicing the "raw" lifestyle can correct me if I'm wrong.  

My Mom has a friend that does it full time.  There are a ton of blogs out there with recipes though! 

I love cheese and steak way too much to go raw.  

Cheese, FTW.

QFT. Nothing is better than cheese or steak.

Bacon.

Cake.

Cheesecake.

Maggie0829

sarawifenow said:

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

I guess I just don't ever feel the need to sacrifice things from my life that I enjoy.

 

If I had to? Hot cheetos. They are my drug of choice.

This.  Why do I have to sacrifice anything?  I don't see the benefit.

daria24

Personally I would rather do it in August or September. In August it's so floffing hot, who wants to cook anyway? And that's when the best quality and variety of local produce is available. I feel like January it's almost a waste-if I'm going to eat nothing but raw food for a month, I'd rather do it with locally grown, full ripe fruits and vegetables. Not stuff that was picked two weeks before ripening and artificially ripened. 

I've never done the raw diet, but I've watched other people do it-I would increase your raw veggies for the month before. Because going full-on raw right away leads to some astronomical gastronomical challenges. 

Screw the no cheese part-I can't imagine going without potatoes. Who can eat raw potatoes? Or pasta. Or bread. I needs my carbs. 

lyndausvi

I give up chocolate milk every lent. I drink every morning otherwise.  I'm not even a practicing catholic anymore.  I just do it to see if I can.

I use to give up cokes too, now I do not even drink them anymore.

DH's best friend does not drink from Jan 1 until Superbowl.  I've thought out doing that, but never bit the bullet.

chibiyui

Ivery given up soda for lent before. I love soda.

*sips large mountain dew*

jdluvr06

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

I am no help with the raw diet. There are so many good recipe websites out there though so I'm sure you'll be able to find plenty of info.

I've already given up several things that I love, and granted I stopped doing these thing for my own good but I feel like I already know what that kind of sacrifice feels like and I don't need to go through it again. 

esstee33

@daria24 - I eat raw potatoes every time I cut them up for a recipe, but I fully acknowledge that it's fucking bizarre. 

abbyj700

Maggie0829 said:

sarawifenow said:

abbyj700 said:

As a vegetarian - I LOVE cheese. It's pretty frickin wonderful. That being said - this is about sacrifice.  DH's father gives up booze every year for lent - that's his sacrifice for his reasons. Coworker gives up meat for a month - her sacrifice for her reasons. If it were easy - it wouldn't be a sacrifice.

If you decided to do a month long sacrifice - what would you do? 

I guess I just don't ever feel the need to sacrifice things from my life that I enjoy.

 

If I had to? Hot cheetos. They are my drug of choice.

This.  Why do I have to sacrifice anything?  I don't see the benefit.

In simple terms "to see if I can."

But for me - it's really about self reflection, self growth, self exploration, self control, etc. I know it's not for everyone. I'm just someone who likes to challenge myself, see my own growth, reflect on who I am, where I came from, what I can improve, what I can do for others and the world - and usually my sacrifices help me do that. 

The 1st time I didn't drink I slept better, so I started working out and cooking more - which lead me to go to the local farmers market every Saturday and inspired me to recycle more. In just two weeks of not drinking, I changed the carbon footprint of our household for the rest of our lives by beginning to buy local more and increasing our recycling practice by about 4X. DH and I also both lost weight.

hellohkb

My FH and I have been integrating raw foods into our diet more and more. We eat a diet high in fruits and raw veggies. We're not eating much meat at all and he has almost completely cut dairy out. His headaches, digestive issues, and anxiety have gone away since he's been doing this so it works well for him. I get cranky without cheese but I feel like I have more energy.

I enjoy experimenting with different fruit and veggie combos for smoothies, sandwiches, and salads. Many different raw lifestyles encourages eating whole grain breads and pastas, which makes me very happy.

daria24

esstee33 said:

@daria24 - I eat raw potatoes every time I cut them up for a recipe, but I fully acknowledge that it's fucking bizarre. 

You are gross

esstee33

daria24 said:

esstee33 said:

@daria24 - I eat raw potatoes every time I cut them up for a recipe, but I fully acknowledge that it's fucking bizarre. 

You are gross

Guilty as charged. I also like to dip cucumber skins in ranch dressing, and I salt my watermelon. 

Maggie0829

esstee33 said:

@daria24 - I eat raw potatoes every time I cut them up for a recipe, but I fully acknowledge that it's fucking bizarre. 

My Mom's friend loves raw potatoes.  I remember her chowing down on them when my Mom was cutting them up for dinner and this was my expression...

theartistformerlyknownas

lyndausvi said:

I give up chocolate milk every lent. I drink every morning otherwise.  I'm not even a practicing catholic anymore.  I just do it to see if I can.

I use to give up cokes too, now I do not even drink them anymore.

DH's best friend does not drink from Jan 1 until Superbowl.  I've thought out doing that, but never bit the bullet.

I'm this way too. Last year I gave up meat for lent, and this year it was cheese. I fully expected to lose weight but I ate so damn much hummus and avocado to replace the cheese that I think I put on a few pounds. Whoopsie.

As for the OP, if you want a challenge, you can always promise TO do something rather than NOT do it. Run a certain distance every day. Drink a certain amount of water. Go to bed by a certain time. Discipline doesn't have to equal sacrifice.

daria24

esstee33 said:

daria24 said:

esstee33 said:

@daria24 - I eat raw potatoes every time I cut them up for a recipe, but I fully acknowledge that it's fucking bizarre. 

You are gross

Guilty as charged. I also like to dip cucumber skins in ranch dressing, and I salt my watermelon. 

The skin of the cucumber is the only part I like! I actually think salt on watermelon is far less disgusting than chowing down on raw potato. 

VulgarGirl

Cheese isn't raw? I mean you don't have to cook cheese to eat it...

Clearly I am not good at advice in this arena. I tried to give up caffiene for a week once. Lasted a day.

amelisha

MagicInk said:

Cheese isn't raw? I mean you don't have to cook cheese to eat it...

Clearly I am not good at advice in this arena. I tried to give up caffiene for a week once. Lasted a day.

In most cheeses the milk is heated/boiled while it's being made. I don't know much about it past that though.

SBmini

Forgive my ignorance here.. .but what exactly is the point of the raw diet? Humans have been cooking food for a million years. Literally, I looked it up. And the invention of fire is probably the biggest contributor to our evolution. Without fire, I wouldn't be tying this right now (also because we'd all still be eating raw, haha).

I heard this guy on NPR and it was seriously one of the most fascinating articles I've ever listened to: http://www.amazon.com/Catching-Fire-Cooking-Made-Human/dp/0465020410 

abbyj700

MagicInk said:

Cheese isn't raw? I mean you don't have to cook cheese to eat it...

Clearly I am not good at advice in this arena. I tried to give up caffiene for a week once. Lasted a day.

It's not usually the process of making cheese that involves cooking - but most commercial milk is raw. You can find raw cheeses - you just have to put in the effort to find them.