*After The Cleanse*

[Res]

Hi Bizy and Congratulations!!

Actually, you're better off with "fresh squeezed" here's why:

Processed Juices

• Bottle juice is pasteurized and the nutrients are depleted.
• Juices made from imported produce may carry traces of banned pesticides.
• Juices from fruit concentrates do not contain the whole fruits and they may be nothing more than sugar water -- possibly made with chemicals in water from industrial sites.
• Acids from juices can leech metal from cans, causing canned juice to spoil.
• Wax and other chemicals found in juice containers can taint the juice.
• Shrink-wrapped juice cartons come under high heat that depletes enzymes in juice.

Natural Juices made at home
Natural juices contain all the vitamins, minerals, fluids, enzymes, amino acids and chlorophyll (with no toxic additives) found in raw vegetables - thereby helping the body by:

• Promoting growth and development
• Assisting with digestion
• Providing energy
• Protecting against oxidation
• Renewing cells
• Enriching Blood

Hope this helps!

Love,
~Res

[Res]

FYI

If you have Alissa Cohen's book, MAKE THE ENCHILADAS!!!

*sigh* please don't make me buy another book. Part of me is cracking up the other part should've been off this computer a long time ago - long day today but I keep getting sucked back to this place!!

Kathy: do you have a plan for the 30 day challenge or are you winging it and just doing what you're doing now?

I think my "fall back food" (for the days when I'm dead tired and can't even begin to prepare anything) will be salads or guacamole and fresh veggies. Those are nice fall back foods. If I can get myself organized to make the dehydrated pizzas, I can have those on hand as well. I'm just rambling....

Oooookay I'm leaving for real now.

Love to all,
~Res

[mtmouse]

Res,

My plan will be to simply quit eating the few bites (notwithstanding my rice of last night) of cooked food that I'm currently allowing myself to take.

Between Cohen's book (which does have an excellent four-week menu plan which has you preparing food only twice a week) and Cornbleet's suggestion of how to make "staples" in three- to four-day quantities all at once, plus PB's toona recipe from way back and stuff like pesto, I can usually find something to grab when I'm having a snack attack.

I usually have a sack of dried eggplant for dipping into toona. I recently dried yams, but I used the mandoline for slicing them. They were nice and regular, but they just weren't thin enough. They got hard instead of crisp, and I almost always bite my lip at some point while trying to eat them.

I love my rye bagels, especially with toona and pesto and sprouts, but they do have to be made ahead.

I almost always have a big salad made up and in the fridge, and putting toona or other pates on that is always a good choice.

And I do love my pizza crusts. I make up the marinara sauce ahead of time, and I could certainly do so with the cheese sauce too. In fact, it would probably be better, because making the cheese sauce in just one portion is almost impossible in a regular blender or food processor. (Where's my Vitamix? Sigh.) But today I took a crust out of the freezer at 4:00 pm and made a cheese sauce and got it all set up and into the dehydrator, and it was perfectly fine at 6:00 for dinner.

I also tried to make watermelon soup today (despite the fact that we got 8 inches of snow, LOL). Had to give it up, though, because the mango that was supposed to go in it was no good. I'm kind of jumping the gun on the summer foods here, I think. But I bought a watermelon at Costco the other day and it tastes so good!

I doubt I'll do anything fancier than that. I'm off "wraps" (probably like the enchiladas, which I don't make because I don't eat corn) because I can't get the texture right for rolling. I think it's because I have to use parchment instead of Teflex.

Oh! But I do love collard wraps, with (for instance) cauliflower tabouli in them! They can just be eaten fresh. No drying.

And then there's the old standby: dried fruits and nuts!

So that's my plan and I'm sticking to it. At least, I will when we start the challenge!

[Sim]

Kathy!
Oh no! Not another mandoline assault! I'm telling you, those things are dangerous. I hope, for real, that you're okay. My thumb grew back...must be all those green smoothies I've been making. But it took a good, long while. Like four weeks. Just seeing your post made me wither. But since you're typing, I'm guessing you'll be okay soon.

Hey, I'm not good enough to be the Raw poster child...I have no idea what I'm doing and I ask all sorts of naive questions BUT Raw seems so much easier than cooked, if you're not dehydrating all the time and thinking "What can I eat now?" I found out that if I'm doing that, it's totally emotional, hormonal eating, just like when I (we?) ate cooked food. The only difference is that on Raw, what's an extra apple, mango, pear or smoothie? Not the same as another box of chocolate (oops! I said that "c" word...sorry!), another cupcake, another pint (or gallon) of ice cream. And here's something else: does this ever happen to you fine people? When I dehydrate foods and they approximate cooked foods, I don't feel quite as light or happy. For example, when there's onion bread, I eat ALL of it in the course of a day or two... and then feel terrible. I'm seriously finding that all the veggies really do feel good, especially if you pair them with flavors. Maybe it's the water that I'm needing and the dehydrator removes that so....

So, for example: tonight was the first night of Passover. I happen to be Jewish and made all the traditional stuff for the fam, and a raw seder for me and a vegetarian friend of mine. Of course, you know what happened; that's right. Everyone wanted my raw stuff. I made Eggless Egg salad, Carrot Pecan Burgers, Cream of Celery soup, tomatoes stuffed with Sunny Paté/Olive Paté, Cauliflower Couscous, Eggplant Casserole (from Gabriel Cousens), Beet Salad, Almond Macaroons and Raw Apple Pie for dessert. I've been cooking for four days but the raw stuff was the least time consuming and the easiest to clean up from. Give me raw any day. And I've said this before: I cannot believe this is me talking. The girl who used to say, "forget the steak, just bring me the whole side of beef." I'm amazed. And if I can do it, anyone can.

Kathy or Res, whoever asked: those little accent marks can be made by hitting Alt while holding down some numbers on the keypad to the right of the keyboard. So the "é" is Alt 130.

I'm sliding into a simpler routine: one or two patés, a fresh bunch of collards, red peppers, sprouts, avocadoes...with those, I can make lunch all week. For variation, I might lay the collard on top of some nori and then make a roll and use some wheat-free tamari to dip. For dinner, it's a large salad with everything but the kitchen sink...or at least spinach, red pepper, and avocado. Those are pretty much my non-negotiables. When I'm feeling really hungry, I'll make "a recipe"...any one will do, to eat along with the salad. But lately, simpler is better. I almost feel like some kind of switch has been turned off and food is just fresh nourishment instead of some kind of holy grail. It's a really nice feeling, eating to live not living to eat. Was that you, Res, who said that? Anyway, I mean it kids: if I can to this, it will work for anyone.

Wow. I'm so intense tonight. Must be because it's after 2am, I've just finished cleaning up my kitchen, I feel really great and I should be exhausted. C'mon, c'mon...let's see if 100% raw really feels different than 90%...I want to know! Nighty night, kids.
By the way, TeePee is my hero...she knows EVERYTHING about the best recipes! Amazing, just amazing.

[skinnyminnie]

Hi Everyone! I'm on my first day of OJ ~ can hardly wait to sip that delicious fresh squeezed juice. But I have some VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS I was hoping some can answer for me. PEANUTTERB, you have been very helpful and right on the mark along with many others so PLEASE, can you help answer these?

1) Tonight I'm making the soup. In Burrough's book he says we can use vegetable soup "powders" in the soup. I bought KNORR Vegetable Recipe Mix and notice that it has some chemicals, Monosodium Glutamate for one along with two others that I never heard of. Is this okay to use? PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE AROUND 7:00 pm TONIGHT. Thank you so much!

2) The OJ ~ Burroughs says to sip "several" glasses a day for two days. How much is several? I imagine I'm going to be quite hungry so how many can we have?

3) I'm really going to try to start eating whole/raw foods. But this is ALL NEW TO ME! I received two of the books I ordered yesterday and will have to go to the health food store to find out what half those ingredients are! I never heard of some of them! SO.........looks like I'm going to need to buy a really good FOOD PROCESSOR ~ anyone know of a good reasonably priced one? Also, guess I'll be needing a DEHYDRATOR??? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? And does anyone know what kind or type and reasonably priced?

4) I have the WORST JUICER in the history of mankind! Took me forever to squeeze those oranges! Any suggestions on a good JUICER?

5) Last but not least and MOST IMPORTANT! While I am going whole/raw let's say a time comes when I'm out to eat like at Buca Di Beppo's and want some delicious ravioli! After not eating that way for any length of time, will I be getting sick? Because from time to time I would still like to "indulge" once in awhile on the things I love. PLEASE ADVISE!

Thank you aLL for all your encouragement, support and wonderful advice! I'm learning more every day and couldn't have done it without all of you!

Have a beautiful and blessed day!
skinnyminnie <><

[Res]

Oh geez, I can't wait to come back to this: I only skimmed it. Have to get to work. I'll be back! MWAH!

Love,
~Res

[Ginger]

Skinnyminnie - I wouldn't use the knorr. Your local health food store has good powder without the added chemicals. Or, just use the veggies and spices to flavor the broth. Most people recommend the excalibur dehydrator, which seem to run over $200. I read in a post that someone suggested buying a Ronco as a starter dehydrator. I just bought a 5 layer for $39. on ebay.

About the oj. You may want to dilute it a bit with water. I just drink enough to keep from being hungey. Some people find oj a bit strong. You can also drink grapefruit juice.

I have to leave the other questions for other folks to answer. Congrats on your ten days and good luck!

[mtmouse]

But since you're typing, I'm guessing you'll be okay soon.
...
When I dehydrate foods and they approximate cooked foods, I don't feel quite as light or happy. For example, when there's onion bread, I eat ALL of it in the course of a day or two... and then feel terrible.
...
Kathy or Res, whoever asked: those little accent marks can be made by hitting Alt while holding down some numbers on the keypad to the right of the keyboard. So the "&#233;" is Alt 130.
...
I'm sliding into a simpler routine: one or two pat&#233;s, a fresh bunch of collards, red peppers, sprouts, avocadoes...with those, I can make lunch all week.
...
By the way, TeePee is my hero

Hi Sim,

Interestingly, I know about the Alt key and number pad, and I've been trying unsuccessfully to use that every time. It works on other applications, but when I hit my Alt key inside the "reply" window for this board, I get flung into the File menu for some reason. Must be some funny computer setting I have or something.

I hear you about going simpler (though your fancy recipes certainly sound fab). I actually don't have the problem you do with overeating the dried stuff. Maybe a little bit at first, but then it turned into "just food" again and I let it finish drying and store it and just take some out when I'm ready to eat. It's true that if I have grain-based stuff like bagels I'll gravitate to those first, but I usually only eat the one serving and that's enough. The rosemary crackers and onion bread don't have any grains at all. I'll eat several pieces at a time, but they do satisfy me. And my frozen pizza crusts don't call to me like, say, "C" does.

(Of course, I've used EFT for quite a while on my emotional eating issues. That definitely helps too.)

But you're doing it! Despite all those hurdles, you've stayed 100% raw all this time! So you definitely deserve a medal even though you're already getting lots of rewards by eating that way. And of course TeePee is also a poster child! I have learned so much since you showed up here!

BTW, the slice into my thumb was on the end, and I only use the side for typing, and for some strange reason it doesn't hurt AT ALL, so I'm fine!

[Sim]

From Kathy:
BTW, the slice into my thumb was on the end, and I only use the side for typing, and for some strange reason it doesn't hurt AT ALL, so I'm fine![/QUOTE]

Oh, Thank Goodness! I was wondering if there's any kind of mandoline that is safe to use and still slices those vegetables to perfection??

[Sim]

Hi skinnyminnie~
So nice to see you here....you'll find that everyone is so wonderful and funny and supportive. This is my new group of best friends!

Since you're fairly new to this, I'd suggest you read through some pages of previous postings (like at least 50! because a lot of your questions have been discussed at length. Alternately, you can search the site for answers. For exaample, you could search for "dehydrator" and see what comes up. But here's a couple of quick, but definitely not all inclusive answers from my own not very extensive but very sincere experiences:
1. I know it's a lot later than "before 7pm tonight" but I would say definitely to not use the Knorr's or any mix that has additives like MSG. You have just finished a cleanse; don't start putting back in the things you just cleansed out! As suggested, there are soup powders in the health food stores that would be fine to use.

2.How many glasses of OJ? Like the lemonade, use as much as you need, but cut it with water.

3. Food processors and dehydrators: depends on your budget, but I wouldn't trade my 11 cup Cuisinart (processor) or my 9 tray Excalibur (every Raw book you read will tell you that's the best kind to get...it has a fan and keeps the temperatures even throughout the process). They're expensive, though, so it depends on what you can do. If you look at our discussions, you'll see that we're all going broke buying out "toys" to go raw! But we're loving it, so congratulations on making an exciting eating choice! You're going to feel so healthy!!! By the way, a dehydrator functions as a raw foodist's oven. You can make dried foods that approximate baked or cooked foods, like pizza crusts, bagels, burgers, veggie chips, onion bread...endless list.

4. Juicers: depends on what you need and can afford, again. If you want a citrus juicer, our talented TeePee swears by her Breville Citrus juicer. It's $150. I have a $30 Cuisinart...it's okay but I'd rather upgrade if I ever have enough money. Okay, those do only citrus. If you want to juice carrots, apples, beets, greens, etc, you'll need something else, like a Champion, an Omega, a Green Star...it's endless. Different price ranges, different functions. Look up "juicers" online and you'll find endless information on how they work, decide what you need and what you can afford, and make a decision. Sure, sounds easy...took me three weeks to decide!

5. We were just having a discussion about doing a month long "raw challenge" (look on alissacohen.com). Some people here are raw 100% of the time, some people a little less, some people a lot less, some people just incorporating a little more raw into their normal Standard American Diet. It's all good! The trick is to become healthier. You will not get sick if you eat a meal that is not raw but you might have a little tummy trouble for a few hours afterward. My own daughter is doing exactly what you describe: she eats raw with me but goes out with friends to bars, restaurants, etc. and eats a meal or has a drink and snacks once in awhile. She describes the experience as being "uncomfortable" after she starts to digest cooked meals and then says she can't wait for her next raw meal. So I asked why she's bothering to eat cooked food if it makes her uncomfortable and she says that socially, it's just easier. I can understand that. For me, I'd rather feel great all of the time and be social by ordering salad. But in any case, don't worry. You won't get all-out sick or anything.

6. Thanks for the blessing! Good to have you here!

Hi Everyone! I'm on my first day of OJ ~ can hardly wait to sip that delicious fresh squeezed juice. But I have some VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS I was hoping some can answer for me. PEANUTTERB, you have been very helpful and right on the mark along with many others so PLEASE, can you help answer these?

1) Tonight I'm making the soup. In Burrough's book he says we can use vegetable soup "powders" in the soup. I bought KNORR Vegetable Recipe Mix and notice that it has some chemicals, Monosodium Glutamate for one along with two others that I never heard of. Is this okay to use? PLEASE LET ME KNOW BEFORE AROUND 7:00 pm TONIGHT. Thank you so much!

2) The OJ ~ Burroughs says to sip "several" glasses a day for two days. How much is several? I imagine I'm going to be quite hungry so how many can we have?

3) I'm really going to try to start eating whole/raw foods. But this is ALL NEW TO ME! I received two of the books I ordered yesterday and will have to go to the health food store to find out what half those ingredients are! I never heard of some of them! SO.........looks like I'm going to need to buy a really good FOOD PROCESSOR ~ anyone know of a good reasonably priced one? Also, guess I'll be needing a DEHYDRATOR??? WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? And does anyone know what kind or type and reasonably priced?

4) I have the WORST JUICER in the history of mankind! Took me forever to squeeze those oranges! Any suggestions on a good JUICER?

5) Last but not least and MOST IMPORTANT! While I am going whole/raw let's say a time comes when I'm out to eat like at Buca Di Beppo's and want some delicious ravioli! After not eating that way for any length of time, will I be getting sick? Because from time to time I would still like to "indulge" once in awhile on the things I love. PLEASE ADVISE!

Thank you aLL for all your encouragement, support and wonderful advice! I'm learning more every day and couldn't have done it without all of you!

Have a beautiful and blessed day!
skinnyminnie <><