Dreams

I have noticed that my dreams are more vivid. I am not sure if this is connected with changing to a raw lifestyle or not, but I would love to research it. There are studies done to show that improved cognitive thinking and clearer minds are the result of eating raw. When eating cooked foods, your body has to work harder to digest them since they are "dead" or life less. I wonder if this is connected with dreams. I wonder if they are vivid because my body is not working hard to digest food but can put more effort towards my mind. Since I have been eating mostly alkaline I, too, have noticed the difference in a clearer mind. I am just not sure about the dreaming aspect of it...

When talking to my mentor, she mentioned to me that one of the biggest things she noticed was her eyesight. Before she decided to go raw, she was told she would need glasses within the year because of the rapid aging of her eyes. Needless to say, her eye sight improved and her prescription actually went down. She also told me that colors are more vibrant to her. When walking outside she notices that everything is so much brighter.

Coping with a Cooked Food Set-back

This week was really difficult for me and my raw food ways. My roommate made a lot of cooked foods including tarts, chocolate chip cookies, and ice cream. It was really hard to stay on track. I ended up faltering on a couple of them, but I refuse to let it get to me. I know that changing my lifestyle, as drastically as I currently am, will for sure have bumps in the road. Eating nothing but cooked foods for 22 1/2 years and then trying to eat nothing by raw foods is going to be more than a struggle for anyone. Like I mentioned previously, according to The Raw Foods Resource Guide, it takes about three years for someone to convert 100% to a raw foodist when eating an average American diet.

With the amount of raw foods I am eating now, compared to how I was eating, one little cookie (or 6 in my case) will not be too bad since I eat everything else raw. Eventually I know that those temptations of cooked foods will no longer be desirous to me. You cannot let yourself get down about these little set backs. They are going to happen. You must embrace them and realize that you will do better... and of course you have to put the effort out there to do better.

When I am tempted to eat certain raw foods, I can usually find something to replace it. For example. Today, I came home from church to find my roommate making some delicious ice cream. I knew she was going to be making it so I prepared myself. The day before I bought some raw ice cream by rawmelissa and placed it in the freezer until the time had come when I knew I would be tempted to eat the stuff my roommate had made. Instead, I pulled rawmelissa's carob flavored ice cream and chowed down on that til it was complete gone! I am satisfied and have no feelings of regret.

I woke up today feeling good! Tom Hanson, a friend in the ward, came by last night with a green drink for Katie and me to try. Apparently he has been drinking this every morning for the past couple days in hopes to better his health. Green drinks usually consist of raw spinach, raw kale, assortment of fruit, avocados and pretty much anything else you would like to throw in the blender that you find laying around your kitchen. These drinks are so full of nutrients from the raw vegetables and fruits that they contain. Digestive enzymes are crawling all throughout them... sounds gross huh? This concoction of green goodness gives your body the nutrients it needs and can do a number to your body, including that of subsiding hunger.

Jaime, my bosses wife who is also my mentor for my raw foodist conversion, has been telling me to have a green drink in the morning to kick off the day. It has been difficult for me to put a drink with pureed vegetables mixed with fruit, in my mouth in the form of a breakfast, let alone any meal. That was definitely not a type of food I would have eaten in my younger years and has taken some real coaching in my mind to convince myself that it is okay to eat. Jaime swears that when she drinks her green drink in the morning, her life is transformed. She has tons of energy, not to mention less cravings throughout the day.

Today, Tom brought us another concoction of a green drink for us to try. I have been drinking it for an hour now. I can't say that it is gross, but it is not something I am used to. It mainly tastes like fruit with a hint of green leaves. I will have to conjure up my own green drinks for the week and see the difference it makes in my life. So far it has been a positive experience.

I must admit that I have not been hungry in my raw foodist ways. In fact, I was just realizing today that I have not had any cravings. I have eaten some foods that were not raw, but I do believe it is mainly out of habit and convenience rather than a craving fix. I did buy a non-dairy type of ice cream on Friday night to take to my cousin's house since I knew that they were going to Cold Stone. I didn't want to falter so I figured it would be a good idea to bring something that I can eat. The ice cream I ate was not raw, however, it did not contain dairy which is something I am trying to avoid. I am still not 100% raw, however, I am on my way to become a complete raw foodist.

I read in a book, The Raw Foods Resource Guide by Jeremy Safron that I picked up from the library yesterday, that for an individual on a standard American diet, it will take 3 years to become 100% raw. For me, I figure it will take 4 - 5 years since my American diet was a little crazier than the standard one. This is an exciting change, yet very much a challenge. One thing that keeps me ecstatic is going to the farmer's market on Saturdays and buying fresh produce. The thought of consuming fresh organic vegetables and fruits gives me a jump start for the week. I like to think of the different foods I can prepare with them which keeps me from wanting to give in to my old ways.

Yesterday, at the Farmer's Market with my roommate (picture of my roommate), I met a local raw foodist who has classes on how to prepare raw foods. She is not 100% raw, and in fact eats meat and dairy once in a while, but she definitely eats mostly raw foods. I plan to take some of her classes and learn of new ways to prepare my own foods...

Eggplant Pizza &Tangent on Meat

So in my attempt to become raw, I thought of this bright idea to dehydrate raw eggplant and spice it up with an interesting tomato concoction that included a variety of fresh produce, spices, and herbs. Don't get me wrong, it seemed like a good idea in my mind, however, upon taking a bite of the first little miniature eggplant pizza, I was quick to realize it was a bad idea. It was too dry due to my lack of saturation of olive oil and not to mention the texture of the raw eggplant grossed me out so much that I couldn't eat but a couple of them. You are probably asking yourself "why would she even eat another after experiencing the initial bite of the distasteful eggplant pizza?" It's simple, raw food is gross. I am trying to train my body and taste buds to really enjoy them. Well, let me rephrase that, not all raw food is gross. However, being raised with the diet of my parentals, you could only imagine the difficulty I have in converting to such a "raw" lifestyle. I really don't enjoy too many raw foods.

I have found that you can train your mind and body to pretty much do anything. It takes a lot of willpower and dedication. Honestly, I don't know how well this is going to turn out for me because if you are close to me you would know just how little of willpower I really have, but I want to be healthy!

People these days eat way too much meat and sugary goods when really the human body is not meant to consume such foods. It says in the Bible and Book of Mormon to eat meat sparingly, but for some reason people have stopped paying attention to that small commandment. There are a lot of factors that go to prove this theory, one of which being that our teeth are not designed to chew the meat. If you look at the teeth of carnivores, you will see that they have many very sharp and pointing canines. Human's have them, but I believe we were designed to have the few that we do have, for those times of famine when that is all available eat. They were given to us for those dire times. Human intestines also do not have the capacity to digest large amounts of meat. The intestines found in the human body are long that have food traveling through them over a 12-24 hour period of time. Meat rots in the intestines over that long period of time a long with the dispersement of parasites and other diseases found in cooked meat. The intestines of a carnivore are very short and their digestive tract is fast, leaving little to no time for foods to rot inside the body. This is probably why colon cancer is so prevalent in humans.

The more I read up on being "raw" the more interesting it is! Like I said before, it is very difficult to become raw, but the more I learn about it the more I want to do it.

Introduction

Welcome to my new blog for those of you who are raw eaters! You don't have to be raw to read my blog, however, I want to make this a place where people can come and get support for their raw lifestyles in a cooked world. I have been slowly converting to a raw foodist for about 2 months now. I cannot say that it is the easiest accomplishment in my life. In fact, it could possibly be one of the hardest. However, I would not trade this decision for the world. I have had digestive issues my entire life. Though, I am not sure they were developed based upon the way that I ate in my younger years, I do feel that my circumstances have messed with my digestive tract. It has caused me difficulty in digesting foods (obviously), maintaining weight, and hormonal imbalances. I could probably go on and on about my health, but I want to just make this an introduction.

I am 22 years old and was raised on the average American diet. Often, I think that I was raised on more of an abnoral American diet that consisted of mostly sweets and fatty foods, but now I have decided to make a change in my life. I was a huge child. When I was a freshman in high school, I was 5'9", weighed 265 lbs and wore a size 24. I couldn't walk up the stairs in my home without becoming out of breath halfway up. During that same year of my heaviest weight, my mother proposed to me the Atkins diet and suggested that we go on it together in hopes to be each other's support. I agreed and shortly there after, found myself eating meat, cheese, and sugar free jello every day for almost 8 months. I lost somewhere in the midst of 100 lbs and felt great after. I only gained a little bit back of that, but that was mainly because I went off to college and didn't exercise. After researching the ways of a raw foodist, I look back and cannot believe what I was eating to lose weight. I wouldn't trade the experience for the world because of the confidence it gave me, I just wish I could have found raw foodism first and been able to do it in a more healthy manner.

I remember a lot of negative affects while being on the diet, however, I don't need to get into them. I want to focus more on what I have learned and how to help others convert over to it. It is a struggle, especially when you are single and live with individuals who like to cook, but I have to say that it is totally worth it.

I have not decided on weather or not I want to become 100% raw, but I do want to become at least 90%. It has been a struggle to give up meat, dairy, and baked goods since that is what I was raised on. However, I think that my body deserves to be treated like a temple and only eat clean, fresh, and nutrient-rich foods. Foods that have not been burned by fire and killed all the digestive enzymes.

In this blog you will probably read of my experiences of this transition I am making and the affects I am seeing. I hope to post recipes that I find along with advice on how to help others become raw.