Journey to Raw

Sourdough bread and dark chocolate

2005-07-21T10:12:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was the first day that I ate cooked food after about 32 or 33 days of 100% raw. Matt has been accepted into a graduate program at CUNY, so he decided that he wanted sourdough bread to celebrate. I bought some sourdough bread the day before at Whole Foods, as well as Dagoba dark chocolate with raspberries and rose hips, which is organic and contains only trace amounts of dairy and soy. It was the only chocolate at Whole Foods that had the least amount of ingredients, and of course it was organic which I think is better.

When Matt got off work we ate several slices each of the sourdough bread, and I did enjoy it. We both ate about half of the chocolate bar, which I also enjoyed. I kept waiting for the infamous upset stomach, because so many people who eat cooked after so many days raw say that their stomach hurt badly or they were sick. Neither happened.

I did notice that my bowel movements were different this morning. With 100% raw you're pretty much guaranteed a good bowel movement in the morning. With cooked it isn't so guaranteed. Without trying to sound gross, I pretty much had to sit there and try and force myself to have a bowel movement.

Because of not being able to get rid of all the food in my body, I did weigh exactly one pound heavier than I weighed yesterday.

Part of the problem, I think, is the fact that we were eating after 8pm last night. As a general rule we plan on only eating cooked foods for lunch, but not dinner or breakfast. I think that that will make a difference in our weight and even our bowel movements. Last night was an exception because we wanted to celebrate Matt's success in getting into CUNY. I'd like to celebrate my new job by going out to eat somewhere - but I hope to do it on a weekend when we can go for lunch.

Anyway, I am in favor of a mostly raw diet, and I think we can accomplish that. I just thought I'd post my "findings" and thoughts on last night's little splurge.

Before and After

2005-07-18T22:47:00.000-04:00

Here the befores and afters with Day 1 on the left and Day 29 on the right:

Matt

Samantha

Matt - Day 31

2005-07-18T17:09:00.000-04:00

I too have finished my 30 days raw. Unlike Samantha I can indeed say that I have clearer skin, and generally I feel healthy. The biggest improvement is weight loss - and no negative side effects like extra hunger, increased tiredness or anything like that normally associated with other diets I've done. This diet works for me.

I'm still going to add a few cooked things back into my diet only for lunches. But not yet. It's so easy for me to stay raw that I'm in no hurry to get back to cooked food. I also tend to eat quite a bit more than Samantha so that could be why I don't feel tired like she does.

We both have pictures, maybe she will post mine up there tonight too. I weighed and I was still 211.5 today.

The morning after...

2005-07-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

Well, I have completed 30 days of nearly 100% raw (with the exception of Bragg's, 1 toasted nori sheet, sundried tomatoes that have chemical preservatives added, and probably a couple of miniscule things here and there). It is somewhat relieving to have the 30 days done, although I imagine that I will continue on for a few more days as long as Candice is staying with us as she is in the early days of raw.

I am amazingly hungry today, although I felt like I stuffed myself last night. Maybe this whole idea of being able to eat cooked foods today is making me more hungry. I was looking at our vegan cookbook, The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen, last night for ideas of what we can make for our lunches. It was interesting because some of these recipes didn't seem so daunting as they have in the past. A couple of recipes say that the dough has to sit for a few hours before use - after having to let things sit for hours at a time during raw, I think I can wait a measly four hours for dough to do its thing.

Anyway, I don't know if I will eat cooked today. So far my day has been raw. I just finished a mango a few minutes ago. I also am feeling a little under the weather still, so I may not want to eat any cooked foods today.

This morning I woke up and weighed myself and I was at 115.8 lbs. which is the lowest I have been yet. I was actually surprised that I was under 116 lbs., because I did eat a lot of food last night.

As far as health issues go I know that I said that I wanted to have more energy, end my breast pain, improve my breathing issues (sometimes my breathing is a little weird - it's like there's stuff in my lungs or something - maybe I have mild asthma or something?), and have clearer skin. I honestly can't say if I have improved any of these things. If anything I seem to be more tired sometimes, I still had breast pain this month, my breathing is still weird sometimes, and I am still getting acne. Obviously 30 days isn't enough to improve everything or even one or two things, but I guess the main thing is that internally I don't feel bogged down by cooked food. Cooked food usually sits in my stomach for long periods of time, whereas raw food passed through my system nearly every day. For me eating a 100% raw diet hasn't been the miracle cure-all, although I suspect that it has the potential to be that if committed to long-term. Which - I am not exactly ready to do that long-term. I am, after all, eager to try out a few recipes from the vegan cookbook that I haven't tried yet. I'll continue to keep you posted on how that goes.

I am interested to know the difference in how I look from day 1 to day 30 (actually day 29). When I get home I'll try to post some pictures.

Day 30 - Samantha

2005-07-17T22:37:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.4 lbs.
30-day weightloss: 6.6 lbs. (started at 123 lbs.)

Today I have felt kind of sick. I think I may have caught something on the train or the subway. I have been feeling almost flu-like. I don't believe that it is detox. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

I have eaten a few things off and on today. I had some leftover pesto stuffed mushrooms and meatloaf. I ate half a mango, some celery, a peach, and some other things I can't remember. I also made Apple Cobbler:

Apple Cobbler from Vital Creations by Chad Sarno
4 apples, 3 sliced thin, 1 chopped
1/2 c raisins* soaked 2-4 hours
T cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp. instead)
1/2 T lemon juice
t nutmeg (I used 1/2 tsp. instead)
1/2 t Celtic sea salt*
2c pecans*
1c pitted dates* (I also soaked these)
In a high speed blender, blend 1chopped apple, soaked raisins, cinnamon, lemon juice, nutmeg and Celtic salt until smooth. Pour sauce over thinly slices apples and toss well. Continue by spreading an even layer of apple mixture in a medium sized lasagna pan, set aside. Next, in a food processor pulse the pecans until finely ground then add the dates and continue to grind until evenly mixed. Crumble an even layer of pecan mixture over apples. Dehydrate the whole pan at 110 degrees for 2-4 hours. Delicious served warm with Coconut Cream. Also try other variations with peaches or pears, omitting the apples. [Note: We've found that this recipe is also delicious without dehydrating. You can eat it right away, or let it sit and marinate for a few hours so the apples really absorb the flavors. Also, we like to add a few handfuls of whole raisins to the apple mixture before tossing.]

I have made this several times and today was the first time that I had put it into the dehydrator. It turned out pretty well that way. The flavors seem to mix better when warmed up like that for a few hours. They also mix together quite well after sitting in the fridge overnight.

Day 29 - Samantha

2005-07-16T22:33:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.8 lbs.

Today we had the raw food potluck. I made Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms, Meatloaf, and banana ice cream (frozen bananas homogenized with the blank plate in the Champion Juicer).

The potluck went pretty well. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it. I enjoyed most of the food there, although I have to admit that there were a couple of things that I didn't like that much. I also filled up pretty fast. I guess my stomach is shrinking!

We went to Connecticut for a few hours after the raw food potluck, and by the time we got back I was hungry again. I ate two or three sheets of raw nori with Braggs sprayed on it. If we had had some avocados on hand I would have had that wrapped in nori. Oh well... They are also very expensive right now. Everywhere I go to shop they are about $2/avocado.

Matt - Day 29

2005-07-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

Almost done with my 30 day challenge!

Weight: 211.5
Gain/Loss: -16 lbs

Today we took some pictures. Hopefully I can get them posted soon. I'm actually anxious to see how much of a difference there is.

We had a RAW food potluck today in our apartment. I should post the pictures from that as well. There were 7 of us altogether that came. The dishes that we had were as follows:

Ranch Dip with Veggies
Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms
Gazpacho
Pasta with Marinara Sauce
Nut Loaf (Meatloaf)
Banana Ice Cream

Everyone really enjoyed everything and I even took some down for Meesh to try. He really liked everything as well - I was suprised. I'm amazed at how people really like the ranch dressing too. It's good to know that I'm not the only one that thinks it's insanely good.

We're going to stay 100% raw for a few extra days since our houseguest Candice is just starting RAW and we want to be sure that she has support her first week. After that we are going to incorporate some whole grain bread (homemade only), rice, and beans into our diet. We will only eat these for our lunch meal. We're going to continue being mostly raw, and remain vegan. We'll see how that goes.

I'm glad to see that I've lost quite a bit of weight. I do weigh myself every day, but I've noticed that I lose a couple pounds, then I gain back a pound or two and stay there for a few days before losing again. This week I was hanging around 213 for like 5 days before I finally broke through that level. On Sunday I'll probably be back to 212 for a day or two. I can't wait until I break the 208 level. That was how much I weighed my senior year in college in 2001. Then the next target is to break 200. Then the next major one will be 185 which is the lowest I ever weighed in college.

I had a community member in the cafe ask me if I was losing weight and tell me that I looked good! I was really happy about that because it's hard for me to tell sometimes that I'm losing weight. I do feel a little lighter, but it's hard to notice sometimes. Anyway - that made me feel good.

That's all for now. More later (and hopefully some pictures too!)

Day 28 - Samantha

2005-07-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.6 lbs.

Today I ate a banana, peach, a bunch of dates, a salad with arugula, tomato, onion, and some dressing that Matt had made. I also ate some carrots with the dressing.

I am considering staying 100% raw for a few more days for our guest's sake (the one who is trying to do the 30-day challenge). The reason is because I don't want to be making bread or tortillas and making her want to fall off the wagon, so to speak. They are going to probably leave sometime this next week, however I am not entirely sure. I think it would be best to support her, so we might just do it a few more days. I haven't told Matt this idea, but I am sure I will shortly.

Tomorrow we are having a raw food potluck at our apartment. One of our friends suggested it. We are going to provide meatloaf, pesto stuffed mushrooms, banana ice cream, dip and veggies, and I am thinking that if I feel like it I may make Alissa's Date Nut Torte. (Found on her site under recipes) I'll be interested to see what others bring to the potluck.

Day 27 - Samantha

2005-07-14T10:50:00.000-04:00

Weight: 117.4 lbs.

This morning I got up and made fruit salad with mango, apples, grapes, blueberries, peaches, and bananas. That's it so far.

One of my coworkers brought in some dark chocolate to share with everyone. I LOVE dark chocolate, so that is the one thing that I am having some temptation over here at work. It is a good quality chocolate, too. I won't have any, but it is tempting. Oh well.

Day 26 - Samantha

2005-07-13T10:44:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.6 lbs.

Ate a bunch of fruit, some raisins and dates, and meatloaf.

Matt was meeting a friend for lunch up close to where I work, so I went and had lunch with them. We ate at a nice italian restaurant, and I probably would have cheated and gotten some pasta if Matt hadn't volunteered to the waiter that we were rawfoodists. We both had very large salads. Mine was arugula based with pear, hearts of palm (which may not have been raw), and tomatoes. Matt brought along a raw vinegrette-type dressing which was good.

One of our guests staying with us right now has decided to try and be raw, but she doesn't know where to start, so she's asked us to make food for us while she's at our place. So when I got home I made Pesto-Stuffed Mushrooms (also stuffed 3 small tomatoes with the remainder of the pesto).

Matt also made his creamy dip and I had some of that with baby carrots.

Day 25 - Samantha

2005-07-12T10:43:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.8 lbs.

Ate the usual. Am posting this late, so I don't remember what all I ate. I am glad to stay under 117 lbs., though.

Day 24 - Samantha

2005-07-11T13:25:00.000-04:00

Weight: 116.8 lbs.

Today I have eaten some raw oatmeal with walnuts, apple, banana, raisins, and agave nectar to sweeten. I have also eaten some of the apple leather I made and it turned out really well. I think I am going to make more tonight if I have the time, energy, willpower, etc.

I am feeling okay today, just a little tired. Of course, I always feel more tired on a Monday. I did lose a little extra weight, so that's good. I think I am back to losing again after that plateau.

Day 23 - Samantha

2005-07-10T20:20:00.000-04:00

Weight: 117.4 lbs.

Today I have a little bit of a sore throat. I ate some dates late in the evening, and I think that the sugars might have gotten me. I don't know, though. Maybe it is something else...

I have eaten some fruit today, and I made the UnMeatloaf again, and I also did some stuffed mushrooms with some of the meatloaf mix. The mushrooms dried out a little bit, though, so I think that it would be better to do them at a lower temperature and dehydrate for longer.

I have also had some cherries, dates, and raisins.

I also made some apple leather which will not be ready until tomorrow morning. I blended up a few apples in the VitaMix (peeled and cored) with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice (sorry - used concentrated, I was lazy). I also used three different kinds of apples - 1 granny smith, a couple of red delicious, and 1 gala apple (if I remember correctly).

Day 22 - Samantha

2005-07-09T15:46:00.000-04:00

Weight: 117 lbs.!!

I finally have lost another pound! I haven't been this low in years! This is truly an accomplishment for me.

Today so far I have eaten half a pineapple and a banana. I have also made some "burger" mix which I just tasted from the "12 Steps to Raw" book by Victoria Boutenko. We'll probably some later.

I am still missing cooked foods, but I am making it through okay. We have some people coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks and I feel kind of bad because we won't be able to eat much more than salads with them. They love to cook, just like us, and I am sure that they'll be wanting to make a bunch of food when they get here...or at least order some good chinese takeout or something. Oh well...

On another note - we have a "Vegestorians" group that has met periodically here at the cafe. We are planning a raw potluck for next Saturday or Sunday. Should be interesting!

Matt - Day 22

2005-07-09T12:23:00.000-04:00

Here it is:

Weight: 213 lbs
Gain/Loss: -14.5 lbs

Still feeling great. I do miss bread though. Samantha are thinking that after the 30 days we might start making our own bread and add that to our diet for lunch only. We'll eat raw for breakfast and our evening meal.

That's all for now.

Day 21 - Samantha

2005-07-08T20:43:00.001-04:00

Weight: 118.4 lbs.

Today I ate a lot of fruit, and when I got home I ate some celery. I honestly didn't eat that much because we had to do a lot of cleaning of our apartment. We have guests coming tomorrow, and we needed to do a thorough cleaning anyway. Our apartment is finally back to normal after the chaos of the wedding!!

Matt - Day 21

2005-07-08T17:30:00.000-04:00

Hello again,

I'm just one day away from my third week raw so I think I'm going to hold off on giving my stats until tomorrow.

I've been continuing to stay raw during this whole time. The only things I've eaten that are not raw has been a little hot sauce on some mexican style raw food.

I've noticed that as I do this diet longer that I'm less and less "addicted to food". I mean, I find that I'm eating a lot less lately, and I'm not really feeling hungry all the time. I also don't seem to feel tired for whatever reason more than normal.

About a year ago I went to the doctor and was told that I have high blood pressure. Although I don't know what the numbers were exactly, but I took it the other night and my blood pressure is totally within normal ranges again.

Other than this, and the fact that I've lost weight, I can't say that I've noticed any other improvements health wise. I'm sure that my cells are much happier, and that I'm healthier over all (besides losing the weight,) but other than that I can't say that I've had any miracle cures or anything. Of course I'm still fairly young, and I think other than being obese when I started, and having high blood pressure, I think I started out in relatively good health.

Tomorrow I'll weigh in and see where I'm at. I think I've lost a few pounds since the last time I weighed in for sure.

Day 20 - Samantha

2005-07-07T23:03:00.000-04:00

Weight: 118.8 lbs.

Today I ate assorted fruits for breakfast, some raisins and dates throughout the day, and avocado wrapped in nori with Braggs. Matt also made banana ice cream and made the proclamation that he could easily give up real ice cream for this.

A side note from raw - I just got hired to work at the American Lung Association! I start in two weeks! :)

Day 19 - Samantha

2005-07-06T11:18:00.000-04:00

Weight: 119.4 lbs.

So far today I have eaten raw oatmeal with bananas, walnuts, raisins, and agave nectar to sweeten.

My weight seems to be stuck in the same place. Matt is trying to tell me that I should exercise more, and we do have the treadmill for that. My only gripe(s) about that is that I work full time so I either don't want to get up early or when I get home I am too tired to do anything other than just veg. AND exercising is boring. So we might put a TV in there. We'll see...

I remember jogging at PUC and enjoying it. It's a lot easier for me to enjoy jogging and exercise when I am in nature. I know that I am making excuses, but it's true - I have tried exercising here a little bit and it just isn't the same. When we first got our treadmill it wasn't too bad because it was set up in the living room where our TV was. It was easy to keep at it, but then we moved and now it's stuck in our tiny office facing an ugly blue wall. Oh well...maybe we should get a TV in there after all.

Day 18 - Samantha

2005-07-05T16:50:00.000-04:00

Weight: 118.6 lbs.

Today I have eaten a couple of bananas, some raisins, an apple, a peach, and some meatloaf. One of my coworkers smelled my meatloaf today and said it smelled good, and was surprised that it was raw, even though they all know that I am doing raw for 30 days. It doesn't really taste raw, and it does look like meatloaf. I think that this will be a good thing to have once every couple of weeks or so.

Well, we're not sure if we're going to be 100% raw after the 30 days is up or not. It is really tough on us because we miss things like bread and pasta so much. We are toying with the idea of maybe doing something like 75% raw with breakfast and supper being raw and lunch cooked. We think that we will try to stay away from processed foods and make everything ourselves - homemade bread, pasta, tortillas, cookies, cakes, etc., and try to stay vegan. We're not promising anything at this point, but we both love cooked food a lot, and we think we can stick to a 1 cooked meal a day plan. If we can do 100% raw for 30 days, then I think we can handle eating raw twice a day!

This evening I ate some more meatloaf, and I ate some sliced avocado in wrapped up nori with Braggs sprayed on the avocado. That is one thing for sure that I can eat almost every day. It tastes a lot like sushi - just without rice and without wasabi (but I think that I could probably incorporate that as well in the raw food diet, though). I LOVE sushi, so this is a great thing for me to eat.

Day 17 - Samantha

2005-07-04T22:53:00.000-04:00

Weight: 119.4 lbs.

Just grazed throughout the day. Ate about 1/4 of a honeydew melon, some tomatoes, some meatloaf, raw ice cream (made in our new Champion Juicer), and dates.

All the ice cream was was frozen bananas. The juicer homogenizes whatever you put into it if you have the blank plate installed, and it is amazing - it is so creamy and has the texture of soft serve ice cream. I'm very impressed with it.

Have been experiencing swollen lymph nodes (or breast tissue - not sure which) under my right armpit for the last few days. This is normal for me anyway, but I had assumed that it would be less since going raw. I guess it isn't too bad - I don't feel a need to take any medication for it, but it definitely is annoying.

Day 16 - Samantha

2005-07-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

Late again...

Weight: 119.8 lbs. (I think)

I ate fruit, some gazpacho that Matt had made (although it wasn't like the gazpacho that he usually makes - this was more of a scrounging-around-for-whatever-we-have gazpacho), and not too much else that I can think of. I was also really thirsty, so I drank a lot of water.

I made some more meatloaf, and we'll eat that on Monday probably with a little mushroom gravy.

We also went to Top Tomato and stocked up on fruits and veggies. Hopefully they'll last us for a few days.

Matt - Day 15

2005-07-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

Greetings again everyone. Today is my 15th day raw.

I'm going to post some pictures a little later but wanted to give you an update as to my progress.

Weight: 218.0 lbs
Gain/Loss: -9.5 lbs

I am feeling pretty good. Last night we made a raw crab recipe and both Samantha and I ate a LOT of it. Afterwards I felt really sick to my stomach. I thinkt it's because we didn't soak the almonds and so we were eating a lot of raw nuts - which are harder to digest. I woke up this morning feeling normal.

I can't say I've noticed many other benefits of being raw. I am sure that my blood pressure and cholesterol are much lower since going raw, but I haven't had either of those checked since I started. Other than that the main benefit for me seems to be the weight loss. I hope this continues into the next few weeks.

Samantha and I have been talking about how or if we will continue this kind of diet for the rest of our lives. Both of us are convinced that it's a very healthy way to eat, but it is more difficult than going to the grocery store and buying pre-prepared and processed foods.

We've decided that we are not going to modify our diet at all until at the earliest 30 days of being raw. At that point we're going to reevaluate and see if we want to add any cooked foods back into our diet. One thing that we miss currently is having bread - we haven't yet found any replacements that we like. No matter what we do we are going to remain Vegans, and keep the majority of our diet raw. As a matter of fact, it's easier and faster to eat raw - just grab something and go. Even easier than going to the grocery store because you don't have to even microwave anything. However, there are times that we miss having a warm soup, or veggies on a slice of bread. I think the key (if we were to not remain 100%) would be to integrate small ammounts of these things into our diet again, but remain over 90% raw. We'll see what happens after the 30 days. I might continue doing 100% raw until I get to a more healthy weight.

We just got our juicer today so we'll be trying out juices, nut butters, and things like that in the upcoming week. I am looking forward to trying some things out.

Day 15 - Samantha

2005-07-02T10:43:00.000-04:00

Weight: 119.6 lbs.

Breakfast: Fruit salad containing bananas, pear, apple, peach, nectarine, grapes, and blueberries.

I am still a little hungry, but I'll figure something out I am sure.

So we're two weeks into being 100% raw give or take small little non-raw things like vanilla extract and packaged lemon juice. I am really having a hard time mentally right now. Before I started this thing I thought that this would be it for me and that I would do 100% for the rest of my life with hardly any looking back, but I am finding that it is tough to get past all the enjoyable cooked meals I have had. I was thinking yesterday how it is so nice to be able to go to a nice italian restaurant and get beautiful and delicious foods. I remember one evening a few months ago when Matt met me in Manhattan and we went to a great italian place on the Upper East Side. I just feel like there is something to be said about being able to go to a good restaurant with friends, family, and/or husband and having a nice dinner.

Granted, there are several raw food restaurants in NYC. But they are so expensive. Once you have splurged and gotten appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts, and drinks you've spent up to $40 (or more) for each person...not including tip.

I guess I am starting to be that person that I always talked about - the person who is trying to do the raw food lifestyle but is always coming up with excuses to not do it. That person doesn't really want to do it. What is weird is that before I did this I WANTED to do it, and I was really looking forward to all the benefits of raw, but now that I am two weeks into it and craving things like garlic bread and simple italian pasta, I am wondering if I really do want to do it.

Anyway, I am going to complete the 30-day challenge no matter what. If I have made it this far, I can certainly make it to the end. And I think that there is no doubt about it - even if I don't continue 100% raw, I will definitely make an effort to be more healthy. There is something to be said about not eating processed foods, and making sure that you eat your fruits and veggies.

Day 14 - Samantha

2005-07-02T10:38:00.000-04:00

Again - a day late.

Weight: 120 lbs.

Since I got off work early today I didn't take in as much food. I had the usual fruit - a couple of bananas and a mango, and some raisins which I actually didn't eat until I got home.

When I got home I was pretty hungry so I ate a couple of tomatoes, and I made the Crab Delight again, but it made both Matt and I feel sick to our stomachs, but Matt even more so. I think it might be the amount of nuts or maybe it is wrong food combining. It does taste pretty good, though. Oh well...

I also tried making potato chips in the dehydrator but I didn't like how they turned out. I think I may grind them up and save them as filler for soups to make them thicker and more substantial. Otherwise I don't think that I'll be doing raw or dehydrated potatoes very often.