Yesterday was the second--and last--day of eating only raw foods. Tonight and for the rest of the cleanse, we'll be having a healthy, whole-foods dinner every night, staying raw for breakfast and lunch. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm not going crazy for cooked foods like last time! I think the difference is having NT to help me prepare the food; it is a bit labor-intensive since it's all new, unfamiliar recipes and preparation techniques. Though I can't say enough about the Vitamix blender!
Yesterday's breakfast was half a cantaloupe and a big bowl of Rainier cherries (so expensive but delicious). For lunch we had raw chili--the sauce was blended sundried tomatoes, avocadoes, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic and spices with lime juice and olive oil stirred in, and the "meat" was chopped red and green bell peppers, green onion, avocado and tomato. Surprisingly tasty! I also snacked on dried dates.
For dinner we had raw corn salad--corn, red and green bell peppers, parsley, red onion, tomato--with avocado dressing--blended avocados, lime, cilantro, jalapeno. Mixed the dressing into the salad, served on a bed of mixed greens, and topped with slices of avocado. Yummy! A little later I made a frozen blueberry-banana treat in the blender. Consistency of ice cream and very sweet. We were going to have a juice or a smoothie later, but found we weren't that hungry.
We'd weighed ourselves on Sunday morning before this began. This morning we weighed ourselves again, and we'd all lost between 1 and 2 lbs. I didn't expect that! We all felt satisfied, even full, most of the time, and NT mentioned Monday that he couldn't imagine he was going to lose any weight feeling as full as he did. Well, weight loss will probably (and should) slow down from now on, with addition of some cooked foods. But hopefully continue!
The main goal--to appreciate whole foods more and stay away from junk food--is definitely being reached.
Second day of raw foods
July 8th, 2008 at 02:16 pm
July 8th, 2008 at 02:20 pm 1215526854
July 8th, 2008 at 03:22 pm 1215530576
The going theory of raw foods (I don't know how much of it backed by science) is that cooking kills important enzymes that aid digestion and absorption of nutrients. I do think it's widely accepted by science that key nutrients can also be lost during cooking.
Of course, without cooking, one could argue that most of modern society wouldn't have developed, since cooked food compresses calories and satisfies for longer, allowing for other pursuits besides hunting and gathering.
I could never go raw-foods for life. But I do find it's a good way to reset my diet, in a sense. Makes me stay away from processed foods for a time (even vegetarian and vegan foods can have lots of sodium, preservatives and so on) and reminds me how energizing and tasty fresh foods can be.
And, you can eat til you're practically bursting and you probably won't overload on calories.
July 8th, 2008 at 04:31 pm 1215534717
July 8th, 2008 at 09:20 pm 1215552040
My wife is gone for the week. So my my cooking consists of eggs, bacon, ramen noodles, doritos and ice cream.
Would doritos and ice cream be considered raw foods? After all I din't cook them. I eat them in their natural state. I guess I could cut at the bacon, eggs, and ramen noodles for a few days and join you in the raw deit.
July 8th, 2008 at 09:43 pm 1215553428
July 8th, 2008 at 10:01 pm 1215554480
Hello, CJ - I want you to know that I am blaming you and your raw food spurt on a $10 produce purchase today - DD10 and I walked past the cherries for $4.49/# and she said, "Mom, I'm dying for these ..." So one large bag and $10 later we have been snacking on them all afternoon!
Thankfully blueberry picking opens up on the 14th and then we'll be able to transfer our penchant to a cheaper means!
July 8th, 2008 at 10:11 pm 1215555066
At least it's one of the healthier vices to have!