PART 1:
Hi, I am the OP and will answer the couple of questions on my menu in this thread. I also received several PMs and will answer those here too, if you all don’t mind. Please let me know if you need me to elaborate and I gladly will. I previously answered this post with some recipes and my menu for the previous two weeks, but it got lost over the Atlantic Ocean apparently as I answered it on a plane!
I am again on a plane, so excuse the randomness of my answers and the expected grammar issues, as I am on a tiny keyboard:
*I was asked my reasoning behind clean/raw (lose weight, lower BP, allergies, etc.). Honestly, I stumbled across eating clean accidentally. I didn’t even know what “clean” or “processed” meant. I posted a question on here a few years back asking what processed even meant. I honestly didn’t know. I am tall and skinny and started exercising to get some shape to my boy-body. I never put any thought into my diet. I was aware of, but never counted, calories. I assumed I was eating healthy. A typical menu was cereal with cow milk, frozen meal for lunch, boxed pasta or canned soups for dinner. I had snacks throughout the day but they were the 100 calorie snacks or a serving of crackers, cheese, chips. I thought that was healthy because it was a serving size, a ‘healthy’ frozen meal, etc. I started buying produce baskets at a weekly co-op. This increased my produce intake and I started noticing I felt a little better (mind you, I still ate my typical processed menu). Then my S.O. started travelling a lot so I had to eat the produce basket all by myself. One week all I ate was fresh produce (raw and cooked). At the end of the week, I was cut! I still didn’t put 2 and 2 together and assumed it was my exercises. S.O. came back and I went back to sharing the produce basket and my processed meals. I immediately put my light fat layer back on. (again, I am skinny, so you probably couldn’t see it, but I could). A few weeks later, the same thing happened where I had to eat the produce basket myself and I got immediately cut. My brilliant self finally started thinking the food had something to do with it (seriously, folks….I have never ever thought of what goes into my body since portion control is hounded into the public as all that really matters – and I was skinny, so never gave food a second thought). What I noticed this second time was I did not crave snacks. I was known as a sugarholic and people always bought me snacks. My S.O. brought me back chocolate souvenirs as usual and it took me probably 6 months to eat- When normally I would have eaten it all within a couple days. He also made a comment about how tight and cut was and how my body was “rockin’”. I assumed it was because he hadn’t seen me in a week and was…well, a man. LOL. I then would introduce a perceived “healthy” item – boca burger, canned soup and then really noticed that I would bloat and be tired and my skin was dull and broken out. I started doing research and would rent videos and books from the library. I couldn’t believe what all I learned and how ignorant I was about the non-food items I was eating.
*During my research, I realized that the majority of Doctors do not have nutritional knowledge. Not a knock on them – they are great at acute ailments and know how to cover up chronic ailments, but they don’t get nutrition training in school. I am in the medical field, my family is all in it except for one person, my friends are in the medical field, etc. The majority do not get proper nutrition courses. I remember when I was pregnant, I had asked if I needed to change my diet, eat for two, take supplements, etc. My doc told me I needed to eat “empty calories”. I didn’t know what that meant and she said to eat pasta, sauces, ice cream – give into the cravings. I said I didn’t have cravings and really didn’t like those things anyway. She said to eat them since I needed the calories. I gained a whopping 60 lbs and felt bloated, nauseated, tired and broken out the entire time. Several years ago while in school, I did my own research in my single nutrition class and was wondering if dairy was making me have IBS and be broken out. My doc said no, food has nothing to do with skin ailments – it was an old wives tale. I just knew it did, though. I cut dairy and told her my bloated feeling and skin was better. She actually told me it was because I happened to have less stress during that timeframe (how would she know?) I was talking with a doc friend a few months ago and we were all talking about being tired. I told her I could now get by on 6 hours of sleep and woke up energized (as opposed to 10 hours and being tired) and swore it was when I cut out gluten and dairy. She said that was hogwash and asked “what is a gluten anyway?” My mother, a brilliant doctor who could save a life with one arm tied behind her back, recently asked me why I bother to exercise since I am skinny. When I explained it made me feel better, sleep better, etc. and told her she should try, she said she gets plenty of exercise. She does not own one pair of sneakers and I asked her what she does. She says she walks from her car to the building and has stairs at home. I have exercised for 20 years and consistently get asked why I bother from my medical family and friends. So, my point is do your own research to speak with a nutritionist or doc who has nutrition training.
*When I consciously started eating real food, I was 99% raw. For the first month, I felt and looked great. But after that month, something was “off”. I didn’t feel bad or feel deprived – I am lucky that I love love love fruit and veggies anyway. But something was just “off”. I put some cooked clean foods, healthy fats and flesh into my diet and it just clicked for me. I have never been a big meat eater, but now have eggs, shrimp, crab, lobster and sometimes chicken. I will steam/roast/grill some produce for the cooked portion and I add fats such as nuts, oils, avocados. I probably have what most would consider a high (healthy) fat diet, but that really gave me a glow to my skin. Without the fats, I think my skin looked sallow. I also lost way too much weight when I ate 99% raw. I never weighed myself, but I looked too thin. I was very strong underneath, thanks to Cathe, but I was skin and muscle. The fats, flesh and cooked produce added a nice softness to my body.
*I was asked to elaborate on side effects of eating clean/raw. Biggest was the cut physique. I always had the muscle, but this really showed it off. I even have a girl 6 pack. Next was my sleeping - I used to get 10 hrs of sleep and still nap and be tired. Now I can get by on 6 hours, no nap and am energized. No dark circles under eyes, my eyes are bright and clear, skin is baby soft and clear. I get comments on my eyelashes and skin from strangers (I am going to post some compliments I received on my current vacation…). I am also not cranky. Well, not as cranky.
*I was asked if I eat a lot of salads. I currently do not buy from the weekly co-op, but do have Natures Garden Delivered delivered to my house weekly. If you can find a local equivalent, I would recommend it. I get to pick what I want and it is fresher and lasts longer than the co-op basket and is all organic and somewhat local. Therefore, I eat what I have delivered. I get it delivered on Monday night and know the Friday before what I will receive. That means I have a few days to plan a menu. I try new and different things all the time. When I first started raw, I bought the standard – lettuce, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and cucumbers and got so freaking bored so fast and had a sore jaw from crunching. I rarely have the same thing twice in a week now. I think of it more as a veggie medley. I also will try to combing my raw/non-raw items in ONE dish. For instance, a salad with a cooked boiled egg or cooked shrimp. Also, changing one ingredient or just the dressing makes a world of a difference in variety.
*I have the opposite problem as one of the questions – I live in a hot climate and want cool items. However, I am known to eat hot soup in 120 degree weather. My gazpachos and salads and veggie medleys are usually room temperature, so they really are neither cold nor hot.
Hi, I am the OP and will answer the couple of questions on my menu in this thread. I also received several PMs and will answer those here too, if you all don’t mind. Please let me know if you need me to elaborate and I gladly will. I previously answered this post with some recipes and my menu for the previous two weeks, but it got lost over the Atlantic Ocean apparently as I answered it on a plane!
I am again on a plane, so excuse the randomness of my answers and the expected grammar issues, as I am on a tiny keyboard:
*I was asked my reasoning behind clean/raw (lose weight, lower BP, allergies, etc.). Honestly, I stumbled across eating clean accidentally. I didn’t even know what “clean” or “processed” meant. I posted a question on here a few years back asking what processed even meant. I honestly didn’t know. I am tall and skinny and started exercising to get some shape to my boy-body. I never put any thought into my diet. I was aware of, but never counted, calories. I assumed I was eating healthy. A typical menu was cereal with cow milk, frozen meal for lunch, boxed pasta or canned soups for dinner. I had snacks throughout the day but they were the 100 calorie snacks or a serving of crackers, cheese, chips. I thought that was healthy because it was a serving size, a ‘healthy’ frozen meal, etc. I started buying produce baskets at a weekly co-op. This increased my produce intake and I started noticing I felt a little better (mind you, I still ate my typical processed menu). Then my S.O. started travelling a lot so I had to eat the produce basket all by myself. One week all I ate was fresh produce (raw and cooked). At the end of the week, I was cut! I still didn’t put 2 and 2 together and assumed it was my exercises. S.O. came back and I went back to sharing the produce basket and my processed meals. I immediately put my light fat layer back on. (again, I am skinny, so you probably couldn’t see it, but I could). A few weeks later, the same thing happened where I had to eat the produce basket myself and I got immediately cut. My brilliant self finally started thinking the food had something to do with it (seriously, folks….I have never ever thought of what goes into my body since portion control is hounded into the public as all that really matters – and I was skinny, so never gave food a second thought). What I noticed this second time was I did not crave snacks. I was known as a sugarholic and people always bought me snacks. My S.O. brought me back chocolate souvenirs as usual and it took me probably 6 months to eat- When normally I would have eaten it all within a couple days. He also made a comment about how tight and cut was and how my body was “rockin’”. I assumed it was because he hadn’t seen me in a week and was…well, a man. LOL. I then would introduce a perceived “healthy” item – boca burger, canned soup and then really noticed that I would bloat and be tired and my skin was dull and broken out. I started doing research and would rent videos and books from the library. I couldn’t believe what all I learned and how ignorant I was about the non-food items I was eating.
*During my research, I realized that the majority of Doctors do not have nutritional knowledge. Not a knock on them – they are great at acute ailments and know how to cover up chronic ailments, but they don’t get nutrition training in school. I am in the medical field, my family is all in it except for one person, my friends are in the medical field, etc. The majority do not get proper nutrition courses. I remember when I was pregnant, I had asked if I needed to change my diet, eat for two, take supplements, etc. My doc told me I needed to eat “empty calories”. I didn’t know what that meant and she said to eat pasta, sauces, ice cream – give into the cravings. I said I didn’t have cravings and really didn’t like those things anyway. She said to eat them since I needed the calories. I gained a whopping 60 lbs and felt bloated, nauseated, tired and broken out the entire time. Several years ago while in school, I did my own research in my single nutrition class and was wondering if dairy was making me have IBS and be broken out. My doc said no, food has nothing to do with skin ailments – it was an old wives tale. I just knew it did, though. I cut dairy and told her my bloated feeling and skin was better. She actually told me it was because I happened to have less stress during that timeframe (how would she know?) I was talking with a doc friend a few months ago and we were all talking about being tired. I told her I could now get by on 6 hours of sleep and woke up energized (as opposed to 10 hours and being tired) and swore it was when I cut out gluten and dairy. She said that was hogwash and asked “what is a gluten anyway?” My mother, a brilliant doctor who could save a life with one arm tied behind her back, recently asked me why I bother to exercise since I am skinny. When I explained it made me feel better, sleep better, etc. and told her she should try, she said she gets plenty of exercise. She does not own one pair of sneakers and I asked her what she does. She says she walks from her car to the building and has stairs at home. I have exercised for 20 years and consistently get asked why I bother from my medical family and friends. So, my point is do your own research to speak with a nutritionist or doc who has nutrition training.
*When I consciously started eating real food, I was 99% raw. For the first month, I felt and looked great. But after that month, something was “off”. I didn’t feel bad or feel deprived – I am lucky that I love love love fruit and veggies anyway. But something was just “off”. I put some cooked clean foods, healthy fats and flesh into my diet and it just clicked for me. I have never been a big meat eater, but now have eggs, shrimp, crab, lobster and sometimes chicken. I will steam/roast/grill some produce for the cooked portion and I add fats such as nuts, oils, avocados. I probably have what most would consider a high (healthy) fat diet, but that really gave me a glow to my skin. Without the fats, I think my skin looked sallow. I also lost way too much weight when I ate 99% raw. I never weighed myself, but I looked too thin. I was very strong underneath, thanks to Cathe, but I was skin and muscle. The fats, flesh and cooked produce added a nice softness to my body.
*I was asked to elaborate on side effects of eating clean/raw. Biggest was the cut physique. I always had the muscle, but this really showed it off. I even have a girl 6 pack. Next was my sleeping - I used to get 10 hrs of sleep and still nap and be tired. Now I can get by on 6 hours, no nap and am energized. No dark circles under eyes, my eyes are bright and clear, skin is baby soft and clear. I get comments on my eyelashes and skin from strangers (I am going to post some compliments I received on my current vacation…). I am also not cranky. Well, not as cranky.
*I was asked if I eat a lot of salads. I currently do not buy from the weekly co-op, but do have Natures Garden Delivered delivered to my house weekly. If you can find a local equivalent, I would recommend it. I get to pick what I want and it is fresher and lasts longer than the co-op basket and is all organic and somewhat local. Therefore, I eat what I have delivered. I get it delivered on Monday night and know the Friday before what I will receive. That means I have a few days to plan a menu. I try new and different things all the time. When I first started raw, I bought the standard – lettuce, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and cucumbers and got so freaking bored so fast and had a sore jaw from crunching. I rarely have the same thing twice in a week now. I think of it more as a veggie medley. I also will try to combing my raw/non-raw items in ONE dish. For instance, a salad with a cooked boiled egg or cooked shrimp. Also, changing one ingredient or just the dressing makes a world of a difference in variety.
*I have the opposite problem as one of the questions – I live in a hot climate and want cool items. However, I am known to eat hot soup in 120 degree weather. My gazpachos and salads and veggie medleys are usually room temperature, so they really are neither cold nor hot.