I am feeling strongly that the Lord is prompting me to move toward an all-raw diet. (There, I said it!) Not in a short-term weight loss kind of way, but in a long-term, how I eat every day kind of a way. It's not something that I expected or would have anticipated but He spoke about it me at Lay Witness Mission, and He's been continuing to whisper to me about it, so that's the direction that I'm moving in. I really don't know how it's all going to work out and if it means 70% raw or 100% raw or what. I know that it is for my health and that it is really important that I make this switch. I'm not saying that the rest of you should do the same thing or that it's wrong to eat cooked foods! But this is rapidly becoming a big part of my daily journey of faith, and it's a pretty challenging new direction for me, so I need to be able to share these words here.
I am positive that this is from God because it lines up with inklings I've had throughout the years about my health, it's just like how He's led me so many times in the past, and I know it's not me because I would not have the willpower to do it if He were not guiding me. It also came through a time of deep prayer and focus on Him. It's not coming as a burden, but as a gentle guidance. (I love how gently the Lord leads us! Truly, His commands are not burdensome.)
So I'm working toward this slowly. I'd love to jump all in, but I don't really know what I'm doing, so it's going to take careful measures to be able to do this well, especially as Abraham is still dependent on me for nutrition. My goal right now is to have raw breakfast, half raw & half cooked lunch, a raw snack, and cooked dinner. But I am so used to having an egg and toast every morning, or cooking oatmeal for the kids, or eating pancakes (because Keith makes them a lot), that even just starting the day raw is a challenge.
It also seems challenging because our town is not exactly known for health food stores! The only raw foods here are produce, and the only produce that I can get organic here for a decent price are apples and carrots. The rest has to be bought in the city, sixty miles away, and so then I'm factoring in gas prices, not always hitting sales, and having to choose things that will last a few weeks. I've been trying to order more from Azure Standard, and that helps a bit.
And preparing raw foods is so new to me too. I have several raw "uncook" books on my shelves that I've checked out from the library, but then there is the challenge of finding time to prepare something new that I've never prepared before. And when I'm hungry, the last thing I want to do is figure out how to make something I've never made!
The amazing thing, though, is how FANTASTIC I feel when I am eating raw. When I have a raw breakfast and a raw lunch, I seriously feel like I could do anything. So I know it's worth it and I love seeing those results.
I don't have very many recipes yet and am only just learning how to do things like germinate nuts (who know you could even do that? not me!), but one of my staples right now is what I'm eating as I type this: raw walnuts, fresh ground flaxseed, raw local honey, diced organic apples, and chopped organic celery. It's super fast and easy, and SO delicious!
my lunch today
So I guess I'm sharing all of this because it is a new thing that God is doing in my life, and because I want those of you who feel so inclined to be able to ask me how I'm doing with it and to encourage me. It's not just a health thing, it's an obedience thing, and since I've already shared multiple times on here how lousy I am at self-discipline, I might need some accountability as I continue to go forward in this!
yay, I'm glad you posted this Jamie as I've been going to do a big food post soon too. I've been trying to add in a lot of raw food into my diet again. We eat a lot of stewed meat and bone broth though and I feel fantastic. I notice though if I don't balance out my acidifying meats and proteins with raw veggies I can feel it. And my nettle infusion still makes me feel awesome. What I've been noticing the most though is that I feel absolutely fantastic when I am grain free. Not gluten free but grain free. Like my foggy brain just clears up within a couple of days and I have energy. When I was a raw vegan I felt awful until I added raw egg yolk, cod liver oil into my diet. And I've cured my chronic cavities that got really bad while a vegan with bone broths and lot of vitamin K2 in butter eggs and liver.
ReplyDeleteand then I read this and I completely agree with her now. It's amazing what eliminating grains has done for my health.
http://wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/
Anyway, maybe I should just blog :) I'm glad you are feeling good and finding a diet that is making you feel good.
Lola I am curious about what you mean by grain free...does this include seeds/grasses commonly known as grain...such as Amaranth or Quinoa?
ReplyDeleteswitch that to read seeds that are known as grains/grasses but actually aren't. Or buckwheat. I think there are others but they aren't coming to mind right now.
ReplyDeleteLola, thank you for sharing that!! Lately I am noticing that as soon as I have anything with flour, it completely kills my energy level. I usually have sprouted grain breads and I haven't noticed them bothering me, but I am still trying to track down what it is that is bothering me, whether it is gluten or grains or what.
ReplyDeleteI think I am only beginning to find the diet that I need to be on. I've been only having raw dairy but even that seems to bother me a bit, so I'm not sure whether to step away from dairy altogether or attempt things like kefir. I'm also trying to figure out how to handle meats and eggs. I had no idea that you cured your cavities with bone broth - that is fantastic! I can't wait to read your food post soon.
Right now I am grain and seed free but I do have almonds and almond butter occasionally and chickpeas. I bake with coconut flour or almond flour but find that If I have too many nuts it effects me negatively. The rest of my family has local sprouted rye sourdough bread but I'm not right now. My main focus right now is a grain free and low lectin diet that's also low on the glycemic index and the results are amazing.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have raw dairy Jamie. I can handle ghee or butter but anything more and I feel awful!!! I'm definitely sensitive to it which means I should do the GAPS diet but I'm just not in a mental space right now to take it on. I don't tell many people but Gretta gets raw grated organic liver and raw egg yolk. we have raw egg yolks in our smoothies and we eat a lot of our local organic meats really rare or slow cooked. Woa, I need to stop this comment and just blog.
oh, another thing I was going to ask you was about veggie juicing. Do you do that? I've wanted to start but don't have any experience with it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is good that you are following what you know you should be doing! I am just wondering how you will handle it/what you will do when you are eating at other's houses, like going over for dinner. I have also wondering the same thing about others who are a non-traditional diet, so don't feel like i'm singling you out! I just know you better than I know them, so I feel comfortable asking :)
ReplyDeleteLola, I love hearing about your food journey. It has helped me so much through the years! I haven't really done veggie juicing, not that I'm not interested but I just haven't gotten there yet. I'm still all over the place trying to figure out what does and what doesn't work for me.
ReplyDeleteJosie, I expect everyone to adopt whatever my food preferences are at any given time! Just kidding. :) I guess so far I've found that I can usually eat a good-sized raw snack ahead of time and then focus on eating the raw food available. There are usually fruit options at women's brunch get-togethers, salads at dinnertime occasions, etc. And when those aren't available, then I will eat whatever is around! The real problem for me is not finding something good to eat, but refraining from what I know will make me feel awful later (dairy, white flour products, etc).