The One Month RAW Challenge

[Nance]

SIM, HAVE A GREAT JOURNEY!!!! I will be thinking happy thoughts of your, missing your posts until you return! DRINK lotsa pure water on the plane and walk the aisles! Transcontinental flights are a trip, excuse the pun!
Bless your time in Ireland!

Thanks for the full report . . . be true to yourself!!

with hugs

[Nance]

Nance - I spent a good portion of my last cleanse buying all the gadgets and cookbooks necessary for raw. I agree with all the cookbook choices mentioned. Then, planning a grocery list and first week menu. Good luck to you. And this is a very supportive group. Glad you're joining us.

Ginger, I really see the wisdom in this . . . planning. I wrote my list on the After the Cleanse thread, and will write more here when I get into the recipes. Thanks again for the warm welcome, I hope to camp here for a long time!

I have a feeling I am not totally raw person . . . but I plan to stay open and give it 30 days at least! Have 10 more days of juicing/transition.

[JoJoGtnHealthy]

Hi I'm JoJo and since I can't quite do the cleansing yet because I'm nursing I want to start my RAW DIET! I'm so excited! But I've been skimming through these posts and I'm a bit overwhelmed. I have a few questions if someone has the knowledge and time to answer Does anyone know of a cheaper brand of dehydrator? With a new baby my hubby would KILL me if i spent 200 bux on that. And what's the deal with the vitamix? Couldn't I just use a blender? and one more....I promise. Can anyone recommend or direct me to some really good RAW cookbooks?

My Husband is overseas and I'd like to look and feel incredible when I see him!

[mookie47]

Hey Jojo, Congratulations on your new baby! I am very much a newbie, but I might be able to help with some questions. I have an excelsior 4 drawer which I bought on ebay brand new in the box. I think I paid about $130 including shippng for it. Also, there are used ones for sale there. I think that you could also just buy a cheaper brand and it will probably work just fine. I do not have a vitamix yet, but my food processor works great. I think a blender would be fine too but I don't know. I am really liking allissa cohen's book and I especially liked her dvd that I bought along with it. So since we are both new, it will be nice to be able to support each other as we are figuring this whole thing out! Good Luck

[Candace]

Hi I'm JoJo and since I can't quite do the cleansing yet because I'm nursing I want to start my RAW DIET! I'm so excited! But I've been skimming through these posts and I'm a bit overwhelmed. I have a few questions if someone has the knowledge and time to answer Does anyone know of a cheaper brand of dehydrator? With a new baby my hubby would KILL me if i spent 200 bux on that. And what's the deal with the vitamix? Couldn't I just use a blender? and one more....I promise. Can anyone recommend or direct me to some really good RAW cookbooks?

My Husband is overseas and I'd like to look and feel incredible when I see him!

I just got a dehydrator and vitamix- you could probably find a cheap small dehydrator, I got a 9 shelf excalibur with a timer (auto shut off) because I love to cook. Also, the vitamix is not a necessity, it is just really good- you could do a blender and a grinder for seeds etc. The vitamix makes sorbet too, which I love because I make raw ice-cream. It is just an easier machine because it is so powerful and has a 7 year warranty.

Raw Gourmet is a great book. It is not really that gourmet, and it has recipes for a lot of different things.

Good luck! You will look great RAW.

[JoJoGtnHealthy]

Thank you ladies SO MUCH thats a huge help! I'm heading to B&N to get a RAW book.

what do you do with the dehydrated food? Well, besides eat it! haha I've never used one and am thinking of investing in one. Can you offer some examples of what you would use dehydrated fruit and veggies for? I'm new to this whole thing and I just assumed i had to use the produce the way it was.

Thanx darlings!

[JoJoGtnHealthy]

Mookie- Thank you! I've been checking prices on e-bay it's crazy!

Candance- I am thinking of investing in a dehydrator and you sound like you use yours a pretty good deal. So maybe you could toss some ideas at me as to what you can do with dehydrated fruits and veggies. (besides eat it! haha) I was assuming i had to make food with the produce as is.

[Sim]

...maybe you could toss some ideas at me as to what you can do with dehydrated fruits and veggies. (besides eat it! haha) I was assuming i had to make food with the produce as is.

Hi JoJo~Congratulations on the baby! Oh, your husband will be sooooo surprised when he sees you after you've been living on a little more raw! Here's the deal on dehydrated foods: they're great because they add a different texture to your life, mimicking some of the cooked foods you've been used to, including chips made from veggies and yes, potatoes and fruits, breads, enchiladas, jerkys...you name it. I just made blueberry bread, carrot raisin bread, pizza crusts, rye bagels, and buckwheaties for cereal....all of this is for when I return from my vacation in Ireland (I leave in just a few hours..yay!) But could I live without the dehydrator??You bet, because to be honest, I try to minimize the amount of dehydrated goodies because I tend to overeat them...what I love most about raw is the freshness of the produce, the salads, the fruits, the desserts...when I dehydrate, it takes the "freshness" (water) out, and so I eat dehydrated foods sparingly. But that's just me and I'm just offering one more woman's view of Raw Also, if you decide to get a dehydrator, it's worth it to get a used Excalibur if you can't afford a new one. It is the best brand available and the cheaper ones produce iffy results.

As everyone on this here thread knows, I have my Vitamix...it's still in the box because I ordered it while I was on my latest cleanse, which was a long 41 day cleanse, and I was afraid to open it and want to experiment before my cleanse was over! Now that the cleanse is over, I'm leaving for Ireland so I didn't want to open it yet...I will when I return. For the past 6 months, I've been using my regular old blender and although it's not as easy or powerful as a Vitamix, it works just fine, just with a little more scraping down and effort. You don't have to spend a lot of money to be Raw, although I confess, I now own just about every gadget I need. I had to make a choice this winter: a new dishwasher or the Vitamix. Well, you know what I chose! Just relax, have some fun, look at a few cookbooks at B&N before you buy....we all like Alissa Cohen's book, available on her website, Jenny Cornbleet's Cooking for One or Two, Matt Amsden's RAWvolution...these are just a few that we seem to reference a lot here. And Raw Gourmet is great too (Nomi Shannon)...Candace is right! (She has a recipe for Sunny Paté that I have now seen referenced in 7 other cookbooks...I love it and I agree with the "experts" that it is a special, fresh, easy and extremely flavorful paté. Must be so: it's in tons of other chefs' cookbooks!)

Nance~ Thank you so much for your blessing! And yes, I loved your pun! I will be taking advantage of your travel advice, thank you. And remember: you don't have to be 100% raw to be healthy; just a little more than you were previously is great. And from there, you can decide if you want to be more raw or not. This is not a race and there are no prizes except for the great feeling of doing something healthier for yourself in mind and spirit! It's so great to see you here on this thread. You and Ginger and JoJo and Candace and Mookie...you're all loving and supportive people who are embarking on a new adventure. This is a great thrill and I can't wait to read about your "experiments", the failures as well as the successes! Today I had "cream cheese" (Alissa Cohen's macadamia cream) on her rye bagels...everyone was raving about them and I had no idea what to expect...they were good, the cream cheese was good BUT it was even better when I added sea salt, dulse flakes, basil and oregano, and garlic...like having Rondele or Boursin cheese spread but no dairy involved! And that's what we're doing here: looking for a better way to eat so we can have a better health experience as we traipse through our lives.

I want you all to behave while I'm away; experiment and enjoy yourselves, and please, no dirty dishes in the sink when I get home! Love you all.

[TeePee]

SIM HAVE A GREAT TRIP!! WE WILL ALL MISS YOU!!!

Just a quick check in here, to see how everyone is doing. I am on day 4 of my cleanse, so I'm a lurker here for now!!! I miss everyone on this thread, but it makes me hungry to read your awesome posts.

I gotta tell all of you considering raw, I have been raw since my last cleanse in January, and being on the cleanse again, just reinforces to me my love of raw!! I did have a few carb oriented foods here and there in the last month at special events. But right now all the fresh fruit and veggies are what is calling to me. (Time for another lemonade!!!)

I am going to Turks and Caicos July 28 to an all-inclusive. I am not naive enough to think I won't sample some of the offerings at dinner. Although I know I won't have meat or dairy, I may have a bit of fish or cooked veg and grains. I am doing the cleanse now for as long as I can before leaving, allowing some transition time back in. If I feel clogged and icky when I return, I will do another small cleanse then. I think that will ultimately be the balance I hope find in this health journey: Raw just about 100% with "exceptions" for rare and truly special events- IF I feel like I really want to. I've been to these all inclusives before (Sandals/Beaches) and I know what the menus are like. I am certain there will be plenty of fresh fruit for breakfast and fresh salads for lunch. Dinner I'll start with a big salad and go from there!!!

BTW, someone on this thread went to Turks and Caicos a while back, no? I am wondering how it is. I hope beautiful!! Any info would be appreciated!

And Res and Sim and mtmouse are all right. All raw isn't right for everyone. We are not robots and all need to find what is right for us as individuals. We have so many interesting people here with varied backgrounds and experiences to bring to the table. (whether or not the table is raw ) We can all learn from one another and bounce ideas, debate and put together our own "custom" eating and health plan. Which, will be ever-changing hopefully.

My gynocolgist aggrevated me today though, because he asked me what century I was living in when I told him I didn't eat meat or cooked food. We had been discussing whether or not my pills were the version with or without iron. I said the iron probably best, since I don't eat meat. Well, we got into our discussion from there. I explained that I don't eat any processed foods and he told me that is virtually impossible. I didn't dare breathe a word about the MC and that as I sat there, I haven't eaten any food in four days and didn't plan to anytime soon!!!!

It is certainly time for a lemonade! I'll be lurking and fantasizing about tomatoes with basil and garlic in the meantime!

Hugs!

[Ginger]

SIM HAVE A GREAT TRIP!! WE WILL ALL MISS YOU!!!
I am going to Turks and Caicos July 28 to an all-inclusive. I am not naive enough to think I won't sample some of the offerings at dinner. Although I know I won't have meat or dairy, I may have a bit of fish or cooked veg and grains. I am doing the cleanse now for as long as I can before leaving, allowing some transition time back in. If I feel clogged and icky when I return, I will do another small cleanse then. I think that will ultimately be the balance I hope find in this health journey: Raw just about 100% with "exceptions" for rare and truly special events- IF I feel like I really want to. I've been to these all inclusives before (Sandals/Beaches) and I know what the menus are like. I am certain there will be plenty of fresh fruit for breakfast and fresh salads for lunch. Dinner I'll start with a big salad and go from there!!!

BTW, someone on this thread went to Turks and Caicos a while back, no? I am wondering how it is. I hope beautiful!! Any info would be appreciated!
Hugs!

Hi Ya'll...I'm back (from Turks and Caicos) and it's been a wild week. I put on a bit of weight. I stayed on Grand Turk, and the only veggies they had were french fries and coleslaw (plus some ugly iceburg lettuce that I wouldn't touch)

TeePee - Are you staying at Beaches, Sandals or Club Med? I'm assuming you'll be on Provo? I was on Gran Turk, a much smaller island, with very little there...just some inns, bars and a couple of outdoor retuarants. It's VERY muggy there this time of year. Take lots of Bugspray, or you'll be eatten alive. I find that Dr. Bonner's peppermint soap also helps a bit. The grouper is always fresh on the islands. You can also get some good conch salad (basically raw, marinated in lemon/lime juice). Being at an all inclusive - you'll have a better choice of foods that I had.

If you get a chance, take a learn to dive course or do some snorkling. There are some beautiful reefs and lots of cool little critters. We actually had some dolphins buzz us off Salt Cay. Speaking of dolphins, thee's famous wold dolphin at Provo. His name is JoJo. I first met him in '84 while I was at the Club Med there. He's picked up a bit of a reputation since then. Here's two links of him:

http://www.geographia.com/turks-caicos/jojo/index.htm

http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/inde...vent_id=109976

I wouldn't suggest donating to the foundation though. A local told me it's more of a "Dean Bernal foundation", the money isn't really used for JoJo.

Have a great time. Give me all the details when you get back.