Raw Food Day 12

i can’t believe it’s been 12 days already that i’ve been on the rawness. i’m so diggin it, except i’ve been totally obsessed with researching things online about raw foodists and reading people’s opinions. i’m a virgo, so i’ve got that perfectionist side to me, and i always want to know why why why!! i’ll share a few things i’ve heard from people and online….

my favorite lara bar: pistachio!! MMM!!!

one thing i’m realizing is that there are many different opinions and perspectives on the whole raw lifestyle. there are people who eat a high-fat raw diet (consisting of a large amount of nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils), and others who eat a high-fruit raw diet (getting majority of calories from fruits, with about 10% of their calories coming from raw fats). There are issues regarding food combining and what is best for digestion and nutrition, which is why there are multiple opinions on the topic. If you want to know more, google it, yo!

I think I’ve been doing a combination of both types of raw since I started. I’ve read, also, that it’s “normal” to eat a higher amount of fats and “gourmet raw foods” (foods you’d find on the standard american diet, but replicated out of raw ingredients) when you first start out – because people tend to want substitutes for all their favorite meals. The longer you’re raw, I hear, the more fresh, simple meals you tend to eat as you learn what your body really needs and how it feels after eating certain foods.

I can attest that it doesn’t feel as great to eat a lot of nut-heavy foods. The other night I went a little wild buying raw snackies at Live Live, and I brought them to work and snacked on them. These include raw lemon cookies (nuts, coconuts, lemons), “mac & cheese” crackers (nuts, peppers, spices), and raw chocolate truffles. I felt so indulgent, and by the end of the day I thought to myself….this probably isn’t the healthiest way to be raw.

That’s when I did a huge crapload of raw research, and found a lot of others who have felt the same. So – while some people will tell you “eat WHATEVER YOU WANT, AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, as long as it’s raw!” – while this is totally possible and you can still lose weight and gain multitudes of health benefits – it won’t make you FEEL as great if you’re eating raw cakes and cookies all day and not eating enough fruits and veggies.

That being said, today I decided to cut down a bit on the nutty snacks, aside from 1 Lara Bar this am. I can’t get away from those damn bars. OY!!

Breakfast:

Lara Bar

Mango

Kombucha

Lunch:

Salad – mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, carrots, avocado, olive oil, sea salt

Snack:

Kale Chips

I am going to try and keep my dinner tonight relatively low-nut if possible and see how I feel. It depends on whether or not I go out to a raw restaurant or make my own dinner. If I go to Caravan of Dreams, I won’t be able to resist their raw nachos!! (flax chips, almond sour cream, fresh salsa, guacamole).

Last night I went to Quintessence and had the most amazing Buddha Bowl salad….all veggies + olive oil/lemon mix for the dressing. Plus the most amazing crisp fresh coconut water!!!!! Being raw in New York City is such a freaking awesome adventure.

Oh. I forgot to mention that after eating the salad I had a tiny bit of raw vanilla ice cream from One Lucky Duck. Just a tiny bit – so rich that a few bites was enough!

I had some pizza cravings yesterday but that’s over with today. One day at a time people!!