So That's what I'm feeling as I sit her on my second day. Dinner's the hard part! A Breakfast shake and a salad for lunch with other fun stuff was easy. It was filling and felt great. But I'm used to eating something crunchy after work. Popcorn being a favorite. But that's not something I can have right now. The funny part is that I haven't had it in days, but was craving it something serious today! I guess it's just one of those things I'll have to get over. I'm feeling that it's largely psychological but that doesn't make the craving go away and dehydrated hasn't yet quenched that hunger. But I will begin experimenting with different marinades and flavors so that might help!
While I missed the starch and crunch from the diet, dinner was very good. I started off with a Watermelon, Strawberry cooler. I added mint, lime juice, nutritional yeast and raw whet germ and it was great. Although I do think it was a bit much for my blood sugar. I then had a Green bean salad suggested by Nancy.
Raw Green bean salad
(I made some minor changes Nancy)
Green beans (Of Course)
Sea salt
olives
garlic
red pepper powder
oil
soy sauce
wheat germ
grape tomatoes
ground flax seeds
I didn't measure anything so use your own discretion when you make this. When it comes to the spices, you know your own taste buds. Let it sit for two hours and then enjoyed.
I'll be taking that to school tomorrow to have with lunch.
I've decided on my off days to try and eat one raw meal a day and see how that goes. I figure that it will serve two purposes: 1.) I'll keep getting my body used to the food, and 2.) It will help me improve and grow comfortable with the preparation of the food. This way I'm not scrambling at the last minute when I'm eating raw for the day!
I think I might be seeing an rather sudden and unexpected benefit to the raw diet. i noticed it both days I was eating raw. Today it was much more obvious. many of you are aware that i have severe Acid reflux. So bad that some days I have trouble walking a block with out the burning pain to cause me to stop, catch a breath and let the burn subside It never seems to go away. But today I actually wen for a walk with my students, a walk which I've made other days and have felt pain, but today there was none. I was able to walk the distance, back and forth with out stopping. Now I've had good days in the past, so I want to be careful and not claim an early victory, but the coincidence is rather strong, both days.
I'm going to start tomorrow off with a breakfast shake again and then eat a non-raw diet for the rest of the day. I think my next whole day will be Saturday and I'm looking to Tuesday August 3rd as the first of two consecutive days. We'll see how that goes, cause part of whats sustaining me to day is the knowledge that I can eat different stuff tomorrow!
Well that's all for now! See you all soon!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day two and gearing up!
So I'm gearing up for tomorrow. I'm going to start off with a spinach/strawberry/banana shake. I'll probably through in a little wheat germ and some stevia.
For lunch I'm taking a salad with romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, wheat germ cucumbers and balsemic vinegar! On the side are some raw sunflower seeds, two figs and jicama! Dinner I'm not so sure about yet. Leaning towards Watermelon shake or soup and a green bean salad.
A fun side note is that I've not bought or had jicama since the march, and to my surprise I really liked it and the flavor and texture was so familiar.
It was interesting, i was conversing with a fellow peace marcher, Phil, and he said that he eats raw for breakfast and lunch and eats a regular meal for dinner (I think regular was either vegan or vegetarian.)
I'll update tomorrow on how things went.
For lunch I'm taking a salad with romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, wheat germ cucumbers and balsemic vinegar! On the side are some raw sunflower seeds, two figs and jicama! Dinner I'm not so sure about yet. Leaning towards Watermelon shake or soup and a green bean salad.
A fun side note is that I've not bought or had jicama since the march, and to my surprise I really liked it and the flavor and texture was so familiar.
It was interesting, i was conversing with a fellow peace marcher, Phil, and he said that he eats raw for breakfast and lunch and eats a regular meal for dinner (I think regular was either vegan or vegetarian.)
I'll update tomorrow on how things went.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Day After!
Wasn't that a movie title!
Today, as planned, I returned to my regular diet. I think I'm going to go raw again on Thursday and see how that goes. The plan was to ease into it which I plan to do. Today I felt a bit hungry. I think it was more psychological than physical. But I did feel it.
I didn't see a drop in my blood sugar and while i wish I had I'm okay with it staying the same. Not much else to report today. See ya tomorrow I guess!
Today, as planned, I returned to my regular diet. I think I'm going to go raw again on Thursday and see how that goes. The plan was to ease into it which I plan to do. Today I felt a bit hungry. I think it was more psychological than physical. But I did feel it.
I didn't see a drop in my blood sugar and while i wish I had I'm okay with it staying the same. Not much else to report today. See ya tomorrow I guess!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Twice today
So I'm sitting here eating a very late dinner. (Yell at me later1!) And enjoying it more than I thought I would. I must be honest, as I was preparing it ('Cause I can't really say cook it any more can I?) I was thinking "Am I really gonna be able to do this? Do I really want to?" The answer to both is yes, but it's funny how intimidating a life change like this can be. I figured I needed to be honest with my apprehension on the food. which is why I included it in this blog. I don't want others trying this and thinking is so damn easy so I want to include some of my random thoughts!
So back to the late dinner. It's pretty basic. It's the aforementioned Zucchini Pasta.
Raw Zucchini Pasta
one sliced or spiraled zucchini which serves as the pasta
Raw Spaghetti Sauce
one tomato
one red bell pepper
one celery stalk
dry basil
garlic
10 reconstituted sun dried tomatoes
Place it in a blender and puree. Pour it over the zucchini pasta and enjoy. It tastes like regular sauce and is really good.
So I've been telling my family about this and they kinda think I'm crazy. It's hard to see any really support there. But that's not new for my family. Historically they have always been very supportive of many of the things I've done, but my food choices they are baffled by! Honestly, they seemed to take my coming out as a gay man better that they have taken the different stages of being a vegetarian/vegan/rawist(?). I guess they view my orientation, rightfully so, as not being a choice, but the foods I eat, now that is a choice! Oh well. : )
I picked up a mandoline to cut my fruits and vegetables. It was specifically recommended for when I dehydrate foods. Which by the way, I have three trays of leftover zucchini in the dehydrator as well. I also picked up a B-12 supplement. I figure it can't hurt either way.
Should I include the entire recipe for what I eat here? Please give me feedback on that, thanks!
I'm not sure that I will post every day but I will try to be fairly regular!
So back to the late dinner. It's pretty basic. It's the aforementioned Zucchini Pasta.
Raw Zucchini Pasta
one sliced or spiraled zucchini which serves as the pasta
Raw Spaghetti Sauce
one tomato
one red bell pepper
one celery stalk
dry basil
garlic
10 reconstituted sun dried tomatoes
Place it in a blender and puree. Pour it over the zucchini pasta and enjoy. It tastes like regular sauce and is really good.
So I've been telling my family about this and they kinda think I'm crazy. It's hard to see any really support there. But that's not new for my family. Historically they have always been very supportive of many of the things I've done, but my food choices they are baffled by! Honestly, they seemed to take my coming out as a gay man better that they have taken the different stages of being a vegetarian/vegan/rawist(?). I guess they view my orientation, rightfully so, as not being a choice, but the foods I eat, now that is a choice! Oh well. : )
I picked up a mandoline to cut my fruits and vegetables. It was specifically recommended for when I dehydrate foods. Which by the way, I have three trays of leftover zucchini in the dehydrator as well. I also picked up a B-12 supplement. I figure it can't hurt either way.
Should I include the entire recipe for what I eat here? Please give me feedback on that, thanks!
I'm not sure that I will post every day but I will try to be fairly regular!
First Shot
So the first day of my new life style diet has been a bit of a mixed bag. I started the day with a banana shake which included some raw wheat germ, Agave nectar cocoa and frozen strawberries. I then went to visit my sister who it turns out, still had a food dehydrator that she had purchased and barely used 10-15 years ago so that set me off in the right direction.
I did a little shopping and purchased a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables. I was out driving about too long and got hungry so I grabbed a quick Simply Fruit Cider which after drinking I realized was pasteurized so I made my first goof. I also purchased two spring rolls which were completely vegetarian wrapped with tapioca paper, so I'm not sure it that really fit the bill. I'll be making some raw spaghetti and that should be the end of my day.
Now I won't list daily what I eat but thought it was relevant today. All in all I feel good but I know that one day is a poor judge of it. So I'm gonna finish up here and go play with the dehydrator.
I did a little shopping and purchased a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables. I was out driving about too long and got hungry so I grabbed a quick Simply Fruit Cider which after drinking I realized was pasteurized so I made my first goof. I also purchased two spring rolls which were completely vegetarian wrapped with tapioca paper, so I'm not sure it that really fit the bill. I'll be making some raw spaghetti and that should be the end of my day.
Now I won't list daily what I eat but thought it was relevant today. All in all I feel good but I know that one day is a poor judge of it. So I'm gonna finish up here and go play with the dehydrator.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
First Post
I figured this would be as good a title as any for my first post, so here goes. I'm currently on insulin and two different medications for type II diabetes, hypertension and severe acid reflux. After a little research I've decided to try a raw food diet. I had been interested in it some time ago but had never good beyond the curiosity stage.
I've been a quasi-vegetarian for the past 23-24 years. I was first introduced to a veggie lifestyle while on The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. During that 12 months I hated (or so I thought) every aspect of the vegetarian lifestyle and ate meat at every opportunity. When I returned home, I found that I missed the way this healthy diet made me feel so I began to investigate becoming a vegetarian. I started slow by first removing pork from my diet, and then beef. This took less than three months to accomplish. Next was the hard part, giving up poultry. It took about a year to completely remove poultry from my diet. During this time, I ate seafood, as did most of my friends who were vegetarians. I was very dogmatic during this period. Lecturing others and refusing to touch anything that had touched meat. I even gave up my beloved Oreos because at the time they were still made with animal lard. After about 5 years I became vegan.
I still ate honey but everything else was off of the table. I had traded milk for soy, ice cream for rice cream and never found a suitable replacement for cheese. (The vegan Parmesan was the only one that was palatable.) This phase lasted for about a year. It was difficult but a lot of fun learning all different things about food and cooking. It was funny because at the time people would say to me in a rather incredulous tone, "Well what can you eat?" Suggesting that life with out meat and animal products would leave a huge void in my food choices. The truth was, I never felt before that I had had so many options. I was introduced to foods and cooking techniques that I had never known existed. While I have never returned to the vegan lifestyle, I've considered it a number of times. An end result of the raw food diet might be renewed commitment to being a vegan again.
Over the next 15-17 years I'd gone back and forth to including poultry in my diet. I'd gone from a dogmatic position to one of more accepting that everything had cycles, including my diet. This past year I've sworn off poultry again and have been free of it since last September 2009 (the 8th if I remember right). Before that I had been eating poultry for about 3-4 years and during that time had seen my weight increase and a general feeling on being unwell. For the past two months I've altered my diet and have gone almost exclusively to whole grain, fresh foods ands limited my use of processed foods.
All of which brings me to today. Today I went shopping for many of the supplemental foods that will assist me with maintaining a raw food diet. At this point I'm only looking at it as a cleansing. I will start with one day on a few off, another day one, then a few more off. After that I will try two days straight, next I will take a few days off and then try a whole week (I'm not sure if they mean 5 or 7 days in their suggested week, but I will try seven.) I will then take a few days off and finally begin my 21 diet.
I'll post what I eat, how I feel; physically, mentally and emotionally for the next few months. I've never blogged before but I really felt that this would be a good time to start.
What do I hope to get out of all of this? A stronger body, mind and soul. I hope to drop a little bit of weight and most importantly, I want to start myself on a path to decrease and maybe even eliminate my need for my meds.
I am using three books as a guide to this change. The first one is:
There is a cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21 Day+ Program by Gabriel Cousens, MD
Raw Energy By Stephanie Tourles
The Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Raw by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi and Jennifer Murray.
and I've pulled a few recipes from the following website:
http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/
If you are currently living a raw life or have in the past, please drop me a message and let me know what did and did not work for you. Also let me know what resources you used.
I've been a quasi-vegetarian for the past 23-24 years. I was first introduced to a veggie lifestyle while on The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament. During that 12 months I hated (or so I thought) every aspect of the vegetarian lifestyle and ate meat at every opportunity. When I returned home, I found that I missed the way this healthy diet made me feel so I began to investigate becoming a vegetarian. I started slow by first removing pork from my diet, and then beef. This took less than three months to accomplish. Next was the hard part, giving up poultry. It took about a year to completely remove poultry from my diet. During this time, I ate seafood, as did most of my friends who were vegetarians. I was very dogmatic during this period. Lecturing others and refusing to touch anything that had touched meat. I even gave up my beloved Oreos because at the time they were still made with animal lard. After about 5 years I became vegan.
I still ate honey but everything else was off of the table. I had traded milk for soy, ice cream for rice cream and never found a suitable replacement for cheese. (The vegan Parmesan was the only one that was palatable.) This phase lasted for about a year. It was difficult but a lot of fun learning all different things about food and cooking. It was funny because at the time people would say to me in a rather incredulous tone, "Well what can you eat?" Suggesting that life with out meat and animal products would leave a huge void in my food choices. The truth was, I never felt before that I had had so many options. I was introduced to foods and cooking techniques that I had never known existed. While I have never returned to the vegan lifestyle, I've considered it a number of times. An end result of the raw food diet might be renewed commitment to being a vegan again.
Over the next 15-17 years I'd gone back and forth to including poultry in my diet. I'd gone from a dogmatic position to one of more accepting that everything had cycles, including my diet. This past year I've sworn off poultry again and have been free of it since last September 2009 (the 8th if I remember right). Before that I had been eating poultry for about 3-4 years and during that time had seen my weight increase and a general feeling on being unwell. For the past two months I've altered my diet and have gone almost exclusively to whole grain, fresh foods ands limited my use of processed foods.
All of which brings me to today. Today I went shopping for many of the supplemental foods that will assist me with maintaining a raw food diet. At this point I'm only looking at it as a cleansing. I will start with one day on a few off, another day one, then a few more off. After that I will try two days straight, next I will take a few days off and then try a whole week (I'm not sure if they mean 5 or 7 days in their suggested week, but I will try seven.) I will then take a few days off and finally begin my 21 diet.
I'll post what I eat, how I feel; physically, mentally and emotionally for the next few months. I've never blogged before but I really felt that this would be a good time to start.
What do I hope to get out of all of this? A stronger body, mind and soul. I hope to drop a little bit of weight and most importantly, I want to start myself on a path to decrease and maybe even eliminate my need for my meds.
I am using three books as a guide to this change. The first one is:
There is a cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21 Day+ Program by Gabriel Cousens, MD
Raw Energy By Stephanie Tourles
The Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Raw by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi and Jennifer Murray.
and I've pulled a few recipes from the following website:
http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/
If you are currently living a raw life or have in the past, please drop me a message and let me know what did and did not work for you. Also let me know what resources you used.
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