I am a vegetarian – which generally makes me an unpopular (if not, intimidating) dinner guest. But that’s okay, Mom and Dad, I’ll be bringing my own food to Thanksgiving dinner this year. Not that you would ever begrudge any of your children or grandchildren anything, but I do understand how difficult my lifestyle choice has been on you and all the other dedicated carnivores in my life.
And now, I’ve gone and made things even worse… this weekend, after much research, reflection and fear of aging gracelessly, I have decided to go raw. That’s right, no more cooked or processed food for me. I’ve dusted off the juicer, my Excalibur dehydrator is on order and the fridge is stocked with enzyme-packed veggies, fruit and nut milk. I have read Sarma Melngailis’ book “Living Raw Food” from cover to cover and now, I am certain I’m ready to meet this challenge head on. (Wish me luck!)
Image - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gpeters/3462052136/
10 comments:
good luck!!! why does going raw involve so many electric thingies though, heee heee heeee
This situation is increasingly widespread. I am a quasi-vegetarian and was brought up in a very different eating environment. One develops a new vocabulary, from chick peas and legumes to tofu surprises. These "delicacies" do not appeal to everyone. Your initiative to bring your own food to Thanksgiving is an admirable thing. One learns one does not control how uncomfortable others feel in the presence of a vegetarian. One only controls how one thinks, feels and eats or not. Halleluia organic cashew butter & apricots.
Hi Felicitas,
As long as it make you feel your best, who can argue with you? Good luck on your new raw adventures.
Thanks for all the support, my friends. So far, so good!
Shadow, you're right about the electric thingies - and there are so many strange foods I'd never realized existed, but are (apparently) very good for you. I'm doing LOTS of experimenting.
Liara - I guess the saying, "You can't please everyone, so you may as well please yourself" applies here! And who knows, if I can stick to this and show the nay-sayers what a difference it can make in my overall health (it's supposed to give you noticeably more beautiful skin and clear eyes), I might even have a few converts.
Alexys - 4 days in and feeling good. Unbelievably, I have no sugar cravings! That has never happened before.
well, sooner or later, people will know of your food choice and will respect you for it.
i have heard of the benefits of enzymes and a whole lot of terms i can't remember by people i know who swear it works wonders for their health.
ok, so i am a little slow in conversion. But i am listening. ;)
~Silver
Thanks for your support, Silver. I'm one week in, and I have to say it's actually been a much easier transition than I expected.
Good luck! I am just making the move to vegetarian. We usually vegetarian at home, but the kids eat meat at school and I eat meat when I am out and about. That is slowly drifting more and more to complete vegetarianism. So, I am curious -- you are a vegetarian, right? Not a vegan -- you will still be able to have raw milk, but not cheese?
Hi Emerging, I've been a vegetarian who eats dairy and eggs on and off for the last 20 years. And now with the whole raw thing, I've gone vegan. So no dairy, eggs or sushi. However, the hardest thing I'm finding is staying away from grains, beans & rice (because they can't be consumed raw). BUT... as I am considering the first few weeks as an easing-in process on my way into the whole lifestyle, I am "cheating" here and there for now with certain cooked things, like chickpeas and tomato sauce (I am married to Italian!).
It's been about a week and a half now, and I'm managing to eat about 80% raw. And once I pick up my dehydrator this weekend, I should be able to create a better variety of foods which will make things MUCH easier. The amazing thing is that my body really is responding well to this. I haven't had any sugar cravings (a miracle!), I've dropped 5 lbs. (good, but not surprising) and my skin looks wonderful.
I've been contemplating going vegetarian or semi-vegetarian - any tips on how to keep my nutriton up? I know some vegatarians who catch every darn cold and/or gain weight and I would like to avoid that.
By the way, I love your posts - many so thought provoking!
Hi Noelle,
My biggest pitfall as a vegetarian was always around consuming too many dairy and grain products. You have to fill the void when you stop eating meat, and the key is to fill it with more things that are good for you - ie. fruit and vegetables, nuts and legumes. Fortunately, even when I'm not eating particularly well, I don't tend to get sick but not so fortunately, I do gain weight!
You also don't have to do it all at once - which I did the first time, and it was hard. But I did manage to stick with it for about 8 years. This last time, however, was a much more gradual reduction. I've never really enjoyed red meat, so giving that up hardly counts. So I guess I gave up pork first. Then a few months later I let chicken go (that was around December 2008) and I just gave up fish a two weeks ago.
My best advice when thinking about changing your diet is to read everything you can about it and to get a good cookbook. I like The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman.
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