The One Month RAW Challenge

[Res]

With all the great recipes and food ideas in this forum, we decided to take "The One Month RAW Challenge". There are no rules, only the obvious. Eat all RAW for 30 days. Now, if you're reading this, and you've successfully done a 10 day Master Cleanse, this should be easy for you.

We'll start in a few weeks and provide more details soon. So, pull out the dehydrators in storage. Dust off your food processors, blenders, Vitamix, and recipes. ~You're in for a Wild Ride!~

p.s. Thanks for the idea mtmouse!

Love,
~Res

[skinnyminnie]

RES! I'm so EXCITED! Count me in!! I'm on Day 8 of my very first MC, have not cheated, have not been hungry, had one craving the other night when my husband wanted a Chicken Pot Pie for dinner (YUK!) But it smelled so-o-o-good! Just wanted one little spoonful but didn't of course. There's no turning back now and I knew if I even tried a small spoonful, I'd be sick. Not going there!! Also, a girl at work the other day was heating up some meatballs and spaghetti with some cheese or something on it and it smelled so GROSS! YIKES! Never thought I'd be saying that about ITALIAN food!

I'm hearing alot on this board about "dehydrators". What exactly is that and do I need to get one? I've order four recommended books on Amazon and am waiting anxiously for them to arrive so I can start eating healthy!

I am so thankful for this site! What a great idea to have a site like this where we can support and encourage each other! I feel like a brand new person!!

[teri3333]

What a perfect thread to have started! I am planning on eating raw when I complete this mc (#2). I was very unsuccessful after my first mc (I did a 24 day cleanse, then bombed big time; I was mentally unprepared.) because I didn't have a dehydrator or vita-mix. I should be receiving both soon. I bought the Excalibur 2900 dehydrator. I plan on storing a bunch of food for when things are out of season; then I will always have something around to munch on. The whole raw food thing seems rather overwhelming. I too have several raw cook books so I'll just keep reading a little at a time and hopefully it will sink in! Thank you Res and mtmouse for the challenge. I can't wait!!

[peanutterb]

i'll join in when I'm done this MC. But just a tip - this is awesome fore those not ready to start an MC yet, whether you're scared or health/surgery etc does not permit you to do a full out cleanse.
You will detox, you will lose wieght and you will feel great.

best wishes everyone.

[Res]

Skinny: Yup, this is going to be fun, exciting and educational for all of us. I'm looking forward to it. We're entering that time of year where fresh food abounds. I'm kinda thinking I'll be going crazy over mango smoothies for breakfast. I can eat a mango day or night - I just love em!

I made almond butter today in my Vitamix: the almonds have less oil than peanuts so I had to add a bit of olive oil. It turned out great.

A dehydrator is pretty nifty: Check out Excalibur Dehydrators. You can use it to dry all kinds of things, fruits, veggies, yogurt (like roll ups) and make food that you can cart around as snacks and meals.

Teri: So if your Vitamix and Dehydrators are on the way you should be in position by the time we kick this thing off!

It will be a committment similar to the cleanse, but the fun part is you get to eat! Plus the recipes in the Lemonhead recipe box and After the Cleanse threads are so doable. This will give us all an opportunity to go through those recipes and either try them for the first time or do it again. Yay!

There's a Raw Apple Pie in there that I love. I've made it for years. It's so easy and tasty. Mtmouse made a banana cream pie and said it was great. She's eating raw dehydrated pizza. If you haven't seen the picture you should go check it out. The thing looks amazing. You can freeze them or refrigerate them for eating at a later day.

Gosh I'm dead tired. Gonna get going for now.

Hey Peanut!! I see you lurking in the Foodie threads! Thought you banned yourself. lol *hug* You should be just about done by the time we start this thing. It will be fun to have you along for the ride!

Love to all,
~Res

[kiropa]

i'm in! been raw since the end of my 31-day cleanse of feb/march. raw truly rocks. i have never felt better in my life -- light with good digestion.

to some, please don't be deterred by not having the gadgets. all i have is a food processor & $30 blender & a $15 spiralizer and i've made TONS of awesome meals.

my fav is cauliflower cous cous. brought it to passover seder last night & it was a HUGE hit.

[Ginger]

I'm thinking about taking the challenge. Probably not till the end of April though. I've been looking at the vitamix blender on line and thinking hard about spending the money. And doncha know I went into Costco today. Lo and behold there was a booth set up selling the 5000. They wer closing up shop, so I didn't get to see the demonstration. I'm going back Saturday and may buy it. Geez, I really can't afford it right now, but I want it and they're asking $359. for it. Anyone know if that's the best price. They swore you can't get 'em cheaper.

[angelica]

This sounds like a great idea! Kiropa, can you tell me what a spiralizer is? I don't have a dehydrator, and I don't know that I could really afford one right now, but I don't want that to deter me from taking on the one month challenge.

[starz]

Wow, you must be in tune with me. Since I finished my second 10 day cleanse on March 29th, I have been eating raw! I was looking at the books on-line but couldn't decide. I need some recipes. Any suggestions? So far I am just eating salads and munching on vegetables. I am in school and working full-time so don't have a lot of time to prepare food.

Thanks for all your wonderful support. I could have never done the cleanses without you! I am on my way to being a new person.

Gratefully,
Starz

[Res]

A resource that gets bypassed quite easily is the LemonHead Recipe box (and the *After the cleanse thread has a lot of recipes). There are a LOT of no brainer recipes posted there. Really all you need is a blender and food processor. The other gadgets are just "convenient" but shouldn't deter you from taking the 30 day challenge.

Tonight I had stir fried (in olive oil) swiss chard with tahini, soy sauce and raw cashews. It was delicious but I was trying to figure out how to eat it raw. There will be challenges and it will be different (cooked food is such a comfort) but it will be another ~WILD RIDE~ that I wouldn't miss for any reason.

I figure if anyone can drink lemonade for 10 days without cheating we can certainly eat raw food for 30 days and live to tell about it!

Some of us are starting in a week or so. Jump on board when you can. It's an ADVENTURE!

Love,
~Res