Transitioning to High Raw

I am on about day 4 of a bit of transitioning to High Raw again.

This time I am not putting any pressure on myself for any percentage but I am really wanting to eat LOTS of raw.  I think it was the months and months of very low carb that has my body so dehydrated and craving fruits and lots of veggies.

The last few days I have eaten bunches of fruit and I've made great salads.  I am eating pretty close to 80% (estimate) without really having to try too hard.

I also realize I have been depressed.  I have read that lack of enough carbs can cause low serotonin.  I think being depressed I just didn't realize it and now that I am starting to come out of it.. it's sort of like not knowing how bad your vision is until you put on glasses.

I am feeling good.. I went for months without really wanting to leave my house.. and slowly I am feeling I am coming out of this.

I have family coming to town so I am sure I will have days I will eat more cooked than other but again no pressure on myself right now.  I plan on contributing huge, beautiful salads to meals and to keep lots of fruit and fruit salads in the house.  I am also planning on making Summer rolls.  OMG I totally LOVE Summer rolls and what a wonderful way to get lots of raw veggies.

I need to lose about 100 pounds.. Right now though I am really trying to not focus so much on weight and more on health.  I just feel horrid.. my whole body aches.. my back and hips ache.. the weight really has taken it's toll. 

Tonight I am making a huge salad.. one of my favorites from my last venture into raw.  It's grated carrot, broccoli and raisins.. with soaked raw pumpkin seeds and a dressing with honey and lots of fresh lime juice.. I also this time added some fresh dulse (nice for saltiness!) that I put thru the food processor with the veggies.  This salad is beyond amazing and my husband (who supports me but is not eating as high raw as I am) loves it. 

Feelin' Juicy~

Why Do I Have to be so Extreme?

I want to go back to High Raw.

Why do I have to be so damn extreme though?  Every time I go back to raw I put huge, high expectations on myself and always let myself down.  I lose out on the wonders of continued Raw Food eating because I am so all or nothing in my thinking.   I have to try my best to be easy on myself when I have a day I have to eat cooked food.. Lately I've seen lots of the long time raw foodists admit not to eating cooked occasionally.. and to not being totally Vegan.

I want to just stop putting labels on myself.  I know a high raw lifestyle would help me so much.  My health is not great and I am a good 80pounds overweight.

I just have to give myself permission to NOT BE PERFECT. 

I've just ordered a few supplies (mostly nuts and seeds that are truly raw.. hard to find at a normal grocery store)..

I will transition slowly.. we have lots of food in the house and I am not throwing anything away this time (another example of my extremest tenancies is constantly throwing away food I don't consider "worthy".)

Looking forward to making my Ginger Almond nori rolls soon!

HIGH RAW GINGER ALMOND NORI ROLLS:

 

1 knob fresh ginger

½ clove garlic

1 T nama shoyu

1 C sprouted Almonds (soak overnight, rince well, drain an hour)

juice of 1 lemon

water if needed

I added this gold hot sauce my sister turned me on to from the Oriental market (about ¼ C) and doubled this above recipe to have extra pate for raw, dehydrated crackers!

It's basically a yellow hot sauce with a touch of sweetness - could use whatever hot sauce you like.

Blend all above into a paste.

For veggies:

Green leaves (arugula, spinach, whatever green you have (not optional)

Mung bean sprouts, shredded carrot, thin sliced red bell, green onion, celery or zuchinni.. whatever else you have.

To assemble:

Lay nori down and lay greens on bottom half of the nori. (make sure the greens are dry) this acts as a moisture barrier. Add rest of veggies ( I use a veggie peeler and make ribbons of zucchini and carrot and cut anything else up in very thin strands.

and roll up as tight as possible.. (I needed and used a bamboo rolling Mat)

Use a VERY sharp knife to cut.

Can also make these as hand rolls

THIS STUFF IS THE BOMB!

I'll be back.

I'm Back..

And this time I am going to be much less demanding of myself to be incredibly high raw.

The strive for perfection became the enemy of my good.  This time around I will just start out doing what I can and not be so damn hard on myself.

I am coming off a very low carb diet (again) and this time I was so extreme (seeing a pattern here) in my low carb idealism I was eating close to no carbs.. and ended up having an "extremely abnormal" EKG.. several times.. and had to come immediately out of ketosis. 

Right now I am waiting on blood tests and a referral to a cardiologist but I am pretty sure it's electrolyte imbalance and (extremely low potassium, calcium and magnesium) as I was next to never eating dairy and hardly a green veggie in site..

I wanted to lose weight so bad that now I have screwed up my health.

I am starting out with just an occasional salad and maybe a nice low glycemic green juice every once in a while. 

I will talk here about allot more that just Raw foods and health too.. I have so much going on and I know I need a place to let it all hang out.

Today I remembered how much I love veggie wraps made the Summer roll style.. and I will be making some soon with a few shrimp in them (not going Vegan or even Vegetarian).  No extreme anything for me... ever again.

I may count a few calories here and there.  Not sure.  I feel if I can eat high volume water foods (fruits and veggies) I may not have to worry about calories.. but on the other hand I may be kidding myself.

I made a huge pot of Red Swiss Chard and added a bunch of roasted garlic and some white beans.  Since being low carb for so long I am first starting off with just adding some damn veggies!!!