Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Raw Diet = NOT a diet


Good morning everyone!

So you may have read that I am interested in trying out what is sometimes called the "raw detox diet", but I hate to phrase it that way because I don't see it as a DIET at all. You never count calories, and you can eat most foods - and the foods that you shouldn't eat, there are substitutions for. I will talk more about that later. But, first I wanted to ask my readers to see if they know the answers to some questions that I have about this because I want to make sure I am doing things right today.

I'm trying to find out if the following foods are considered ok on the raw "plan":
* frozen fruits or veggies? (I know canned are not ok)
* mayo is out - what about vegenaise?
* canned beans are not ok I am pretty sure...
* is it true that edamame is out? (I know soy is a no-no, but why not edamame?)
* stevia is ok, is Truvia ok? (I think the taste is more palatable)
* store-bought salad dressing
* store-bought hummus
* nut butters that are not "raw"

????????

I have this food sitting around the house and hate to let it go to waste :) Maybe I will eat "high raw" until dinner and then will consume some of these foods?

Sorry to jump right into the questions without explaining more about what I will call the "raw plan" (instead of raw diet), but I will do more of that tonight. I have a feeling that will be a lengthy post, and I need to go for a run while they weather is lovely and cool like it is now! If you have further questions, one of THE BEST sources to go to is to read Gena's blog at http://www.choosingraw.com/.

Be back soon!

8 comments:

  1. HI it's me again! (Georgia from Texas: rebornrunner.wordpress)... Anywho.. I've been toying with the idea of trying vegan/vegetarian/raw for a month (picking one of course) to see if I can lower my cholesterol.. I'll definitely be watching what you're doing.. Mind you- I'm in big red meat country here.

    Question: I want to train for a half marathon- how did you ever get motivated to really keep going?? It's like I'm stuck at 3 miles... over and over again... :(
    And sorry for the worthless lady at the nursing home... Some people are vortexes of unhappiness and they want to suck you in...(I have had a few students like that!!!).
    Georgia

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  2. Hey Val

    I love the idea-- good luck! I say good luck because I would find it so hard to stay away from bread and chocolate. Unless there were subs for those things? Or maybe I just need to have more faith in myself?

    I think I know what you mean by raw; just utteraly unprocessed foods. I'm really interested in how you go about this, so I'll be checking back!

    What do you think a typical breakfast would be? Just curious.

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  3. Thanks for the shout, sweetie! Very proud of you!!!

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  4. Hi Val! I'm ever so sorry I haven't been in touch. I haven't even had time to blog. Life is sort of taking over at the moment. Keep up with the research on the raw food lifestyle.. i'm still thinking about it. I do mainly raw until dinner, however my almond milk in my morning smoothie is not raw. I sway back and forth a little bit and I haven't committed 100% but I want to! I will keep doing my research and go from there. I think after my half marathon this weekend I will feel much more in the 'game' so to speak.

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  5. I've read Gena's very informative and detailed post about this yesterday. While I am not considering being a raw foodie in the near future, I think being informed and educated about it is the most significant step before transitioning. I know you do your research well (reading books, blogs, etc.) so I'm sure you'll do great. Good luck!

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  6. i heard that regular nut butters aren't raw because I think they are roasted? im not sure though

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  7. sadly raw does not involve many of those things. but if you are doing a detox rather than eating entirely raw, im not sure what that includes. in general, any nuts that have been processed are out (ie roasted) which is how many nutbutters are made (and i think all peanut butters, too?)...dont quote me on it. anyways, there are other raw nutbutters out there...and they are GREAT!
    canned beans are not considered raw bc they have been cooked....but you can live sprout some yourself? i dont think you can make hummus from those though...so if you are a chickpea fanatic like yours truly, just alter the detox to fit you. im pretty sure stevia is ok.
    anyways, hope that helps...cant wait to hear how it goes!

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  8. I love raw fruits and veggies! I need to eat more of them, in fact. I'm pretty sure that Truvia is just a brand name for Stevia, so I would imagine it's OK to include in your raw foods plan. Truvia is actually the form of sugar substitute that I use. I started buying it because I had a coupon :-)

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