I have learned a lot this past week. Raw veganism is a strange new path I think I want to embark on. The potential for optimal health is endless. The only things I worry about is getting enough nutrients I need to maintain a moderately vigorous athletic schedule. I love challenges and I think I just found my next one!
Below are a few things I learned throughout the week:
1. Raw doesn’t mean salads and smoothies. I visited a raw food and juice bar here in DC last Thursday evening and had some of the most amazingly flavorful and filling food I have tasted in awhile. Khephra’s Food and Juice Bar on the up and coming H Street neighborhood is a small business serving only pure raw foods and juice. Khephra, the owner, chef, and speaker, is dedicated to educating the public on healthy foods without going about it in an overpowering, preacher- like way. Thursday I tried a sampler and a dessert from his bar.
This is (from left to right) what I ate:
- Walnut loaf: oniony, creamy, and had amazing seasoning
- Creamy kale: raw kale glazed with a garlic and cashew sauce
- Ginger kale: self explanatory :-P
- Banana or plantain dish: sweet and savory
- Creamy slaw: made with corn, some type of rice and probably more cashews
To say the least I WAS BLOWN AWAY. Nothing was cooked, at most dehydrated, and everything had its own personality and flavor.
Because I hadn’t had dessert in awhile, I also got a cinnamon raisin cake/loaf.
The loaf was so sweet and I can almost bet that it didn’t have an ounce of sugar in it however, I did taste dates and coconut. It was so moist that is was hard to believe it wasn’t cooked.
2. DRINK WATER! The key here is to flush the system so water becomes an integral piece of the puzzle. I found that when I drank too little water throughout the day, my bowels (I know I know… GROSSS!) wouldn’t move as easily, I felt sluggish and I wasn’t optimizing these clean foods to their fullest potential. I also felt abnormally dry. Like the back of my hands were scaly all day long kind of dry. I thought 100oz a day would be enough and honestly, that wasn’t nearly enough.
3. Planning is key. I usually bring my food to work and all of my snacks but preparing the amount of food for the next day was difficult. I think because my raw diet was naturally less dense than my normal diet, I needed to bring extra fruit and veggies to get me through the day. If I didn’t eat enough, I would come home and binge on bananas, dates or anything sweet.
During social outings, researching their menu before attending always helps me. If you aren’t able to research prior to the outing, find a salad and request additional ingredients to add to it. But be courteous and non-judgmental so not to tip off any serving staff. The kinder you are, the more lenient they may be with additions, substitutions, and alterations to the menu.
4. Make adjustments depending on the season. Since it is wintertime, I definitely felt colder than usual during this experiment. Initially there were days (ok maybe like 1 or 2) that I would never feel warm. My finger tips and toes always seemed to be cold. Later on, I learned to keep my food out of the fridge before consuming to let it reach room temperature first. While walking outside, I bundled up more, and used more blankets on my bed. I also heard that raising the internal temperature of your body by adding cayenne pepper, jalapenos, and other spicy additions will help. This would be 80,000 times easier in the spring/ summertime.
5. Recruit support. I think I should have gained more encouragement if I solicited support from my Twitter crew (you ladies know who you are!) early on instead of asking for their help towards the end. Talking with people with similar ideals always makes a new experience feel more achievable.
6. Don’t take things too seriously. True for this experience and true for life… This was a learning experience for me. I am a Type A perfectionist who strives to do things correct the FIRST time. When I would come to a road block or a situation when I was hungry and I didn’t have anything raw to eat, I panicked and then felt badly about my non-raw choice afterward. No matter how much I researched what was and what wasn’t considered raw, I was still lost on a few items. I ate healthily prior, but different; the change really threw me for a loop.
Some of the non-raw items I consumed were:
- peanut butter: I guess I needed that fatty taste an avocados weren’t doing it for me anymore
- hummus: I needed a late night snack and I was away from home
- almond milk: honestly it was the last 4oz and I wanted to finish it so I could recycle the container :-P
- vegetable sushi (the cooked rice): a social outing…
Summing up the situations when I resorted to non-raw items, they all point to not being prepared. If I properly planned my day and ate enough fat, or brought extra snacks, or snacked on fruit during the day, or just plain listened to my body, I probably wouldn’t have eaten those things. I definitely felt heavier and more sluggish after eating the non-raw items. This was a minimal difference but enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
SoOoOoOoo Sunday I went to a lecture at the same raw food bar on Becoming and Staying Raw in 2012. I definitely walked away with a new found inspiration to continue this journey. I want to do this right and use food as a source of energy, not a vice or a craving induced binge session. I want to make this a part of my lifestyle and become at least 75-80% raw at all times. Khephra’s lecture really moved me. I am excited to keep learning and growing as a person.
Stay tuned for some of the key features of the lecture!
Would you ever consider eating raw? What are some of the challenges or obstacles that you foresee that will hinder you from maintaining it?
Great blog! Keep up the good work.
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