The One Month RAW Challenge

[Sim]

Not only will I sign it, yours will be free!

[mtmouse]

Aw ...

Better watch it though - this is a public forum! Soon you'll be giving away the store!

[Res]

Put me on the list, and I want a signed copy!

Yeah me too but I want lip marks instead of a sig!

[NewDirection]

[New D. is jealous] SIM! How exciting for you! I'd be excited to be
able to be able to raw up anything better than a salad. lol [/jealous]

I am still completely undecided as to the length of my cleanse... I either
have 2 more days or 32 more days .

Either way - I'll be back here ready to rock the raw soon enough. I've put
in a DVD and planning to spend my evening copying down recipes, tips and
ideas from this thread.

Time to get on that...

New D.

(btw... I know I shouldn't be over here right now... but I figured I had a
great detox symptom free day - good time to gather recipes. We'll see how
wrong I am in a few hours... )

[Res]

I'm looking forward to this thread firing up again - especially
now that I know what to expect. In the meantime I'm going to make Ani Phyo's Stuffed Peppers with Black Pepper cheese. Those were SO good! I think using Poblano chilies will work best this time around.

It would be nice to know who all is coming aboard: so if you're up for the challenge, count yourself.

1. Res

Love,
~Res

[mtmouse]

2. mtmouse!

I'll probably transition on Sunday and then go raw for the rest of the week. Then, unfortunately, I'm sure I'll make some exceptions while on my ski trip, but by February I'll be back and ready to commit again!

[Res]

That works for me.

[alicein1land]

Hi all! Been catching up w/ everyone's posts and recipes since last Oct. Yum! I will be joining you when I finish the MC.

Sim: I have to say that you write the most inspirational posts! It totally motivates to stick w/ raw; I know I feel so much better when I eat raw, compared to what I used to eat. Seven months ago, I was 35# heavier, w/ high BP barely controlled by my meds. Today, I eat so much better - I eat stuff like chard and KALE, for heaven's sake, which I had NEVER eaten before. I was in Whole Foods yesterday for lunch, and bought their kale and seaweed salad. The woman behind me in line kept looking at me, and then at the salad as the deli person was scooping it up. She asked me what I did with it, and I said, "I eat it." She said, "Like that??" (in a totally horrified tone), and I said, "Oh, yes, that's lunch! It's really good; you should try it!" She just made a face, and then ordered her sandwich. Seven months ago, that would have been ME making the face!

At any rate, I start my 3rd MC tomorrow and plan on going back to RAW afterwards (fell off the wagon somewhat during the hols). Although I did bring a huge platter of raw fruits and veggies to the family Christmas gathering. Fresh Persian cukes, cherry tomatoes, red/yellow/orange Bells, baby carrots, Jap. eggplant slices - mmm! I think I ate most of it, as the rest of my family isn't too big on raw veggies. I did introduce them to raw agave syrup, though, as I used it instead of sugar in my cranberry sauce, which isn't raw. I make it every year, and everyone kept exclaiming how good it was this year, and what did I do differently?? I finally told them, but they had no idea what agave syrup was. Oh well, they know they like it!

[Sim]

You are all too much! I'll tell you what, but keep this to ourselves, right here on this thread: anyone who's still with us, right here, gets a FREE copy of my book....and Res, yours will have a bigRED pucker on it
Who else in this world would I rather share raw success with than y'all?

I'm here for the challenge, Res, although I won't be officially done with my cleanse until February 7, if my body allows me another 40 day cleanse. Even so, I LOVE being here when everyone's talking recipes and asking for info...and I'm at the point where I can cleanse and still peruse books, Internet, videos, foodstands and markets without it adversely affecting my cleanse. (I can't believe that's possible but the MC has been my magic light switch.) And I have about a thousand new recipes to share and experiment with...from lots of different sources, too. Oh, life is good.

Alicein1land, you are FABULOUS! You may not know it, but you created a ripple effect for that lady in Whole Foods...if I were a gambling kind of girl, I'd put a thou on the bet that that lady will be back for a small container of that salad one day when you're not around. And maybe she'll even start to eat better because of it. You're 35# lighter than you were 7 months ago???? I'M SENDING YOU HUGS, KISSES, AND TONS OF MARINATED KALE SALAD!!! (My current favorite salad.) Good grief, woman...YOU ROCK! And the bp? Is that still needing meds to keep it down? You're right on track and now your third cleanse... superb.

By the way, I've decided there's no such thing as "falling off the wagon." We make food choices every day. Sometimes it's hard to decide if I want a green smoothie, a banana shake, some cut fresh Mr. Mango, or soaked oat groats with almond milk, almonds, raisins and banana for breakfast. I never have all, though I'd like to. Food choices. If I really felt like having dairy cheese (camembert, cheddar, Port Salut, feta) and some toasty whole grain bread, I would have it and not look back. It's a food choice, not a moral choice, for me. No wagon involved. BUT my body would not be happy, so I probably won't make that choice. Still, unlike during the lifetime I spent on diets, I won't feel like I've "ruined" something if I have some cooked food or something that isn't totally raw (after all, maple syrup, agave--even supposedly raw agave--nutritional yeast, and even nama shoyu aren't really raw). So what? They're better food choices than other junk that we consumed earlier...bravo to us for improving ourselves. 'Nuff said. Have a beautiful day, my lovelies. Have I told you all lately how much I love you?

[alicein1land]

Thanks, Sim! You're right, that woman might walk in one day and order some kale and seaweed salad. Or maybe just a taste of it...

RE my BP, it dropped so low during my first MC that I went off my meds for almost a month (w/ my MD's rec). My BP gradually crept up again so that I started taking them again. However, overall, my BP is down 10-15 points compared to where it was before my first MC! If I miss a day - occasionally I forget to take my meds, usually on a weekend - I don't worry because I know my BP w/out meds now is nowhere near what it was before. When I first started taking BP meds, my uncontrolled BP was 190/100!!! This morning, Day 1 of my 3rd MC, it was 128/80, and I haven't taken my meds yet (have to wait until I drink my first lemonade!). Big improvement, and I'm very happy w/ it. Eventually, I would like to get off my meds, and maybe I will, if I continue to eat healthier and exercise regularly.