Thanks Simon - how can I find his e-mail addy?

Thanks again! you're great. 

Niqi

Thanks everyone for your replies! I will be following up raw foodies in Melbourne thanks to your lovely repsonses.

You're terrific! 

Best cheers, Niqi
 

Very interesting what this does to the skin! I rub in on, massage it in and take it off with a warm, damp washcloth. No soap - my skin and soap do not get along - my skin is serving soap divorce papers ... LOLOLOL!!!

Afterwards my skin feels soft but not oily, so I think the washcloth works as a GENTLE exfoliator. I slop on jojoba oil afterwards as moisturizer. Coconut oil as mosturizer doesn't work for me, it dries my skin out, but the jojoba is a little goldmine - it's better than anything I've ever used before. I use it on both my daughters as well, who both have very sensitive, reactive skin.

I also have begun using the coconut oil instead of soap on my body, with the washcloth. I find this has dried all the cracks on my heels and elbows.

I found it really surprising how much dirt this cleanser takes off. It's actually better than the Clinique scruffing lotion (number 2??), and a lot less harsh on the skin in the long term.

Hope this helps!

all the best cheers, Niqi

My last post for today - don't worry, not taking over!!! 

A week ago or so I decided to try the coconut oil as a cleanser inspired by this thread/discussion and see what happened. I use jojoba oil as a moisturiser at night and don't even want to look back. It's amazing. But I never thought of using cocnut oil as a cleanser.

Well, I've got to report that my skin has NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER been so soft, clean and above all, FINE. The texture has gone from ok, to incredibly soft and lustrous. I massage the oil into my face, wash it off with a warm cloth, put some more on in the shower and let the steam do its magic then wash off again, followed by jojoba oil as moisturizer.

My goodness it's incredible! Not even my old $60 'deep moisturizing mask' made my skin feel like this. Am doing the same with all over body cleansing, using coconut oil as 'soap' and brushing off with a body mitt. I've NEVER had results this consistent. 

Thank you Melb for this advice. I'm off to throw away the last of my old mass produced junk!

best cheers, Niqi

This is SOOO interesting!
I've never taken mushrooms as a 'drug' although I read and adored Terence McKenna a long long time ago.

But I WAS a BIG eater of food grade mushrooms - I still thought it was a way to tap into McKenna's vibe!!!

Ever since deciding to go raw and working my way into it still, I can't and don't want to eat mushrooms at all. My body just looks at them and goes 'naah', whereas it used to be eat eat eat the mushie!

Very, very interesting. Food for thought ...!

Niqi

No response at all - I COULDN'T possibly be the only raw foodie in Melbourne, even if I'm relatively new to this all!!! LOLOL!

Does anyone want to come out of the pantry with me and meet and share some raw goodies?

Cheers, Niqi

I took a GS to work and had some left in my thermos the next day. When I opened it up it had fermented (due to papaya and pineapple I suspect) and so wasn't edible at all.

Anyone else had a similar experience? 

Cheers, Niqi

Hi kittyK - nothing like the guilty pleasure of a good glass or two! 

Myself, I find if I am dehydrated or headachey or queasy (not often!!!) something acidy settles me - ginger, lemon, orange, pineapple, blended and usually quite cool. I throw in an iceblock or two.

Bananas are soothing, as is avocado, but I like to eat the avocado plain, just spoon it from the skin into my gob.

If all else fails, then I go for raw chocolate.

I find veggies don't help much, my tummy fights them too hard after a night out. Dehydrated foods and nuts just make me feel worse.

I hope this helps!

cheers, (pun intended)
Niqi

Hiya all - are there any raw foodists gathering as a community in Melbourne? I would love to get in touch - I went to my favourite veggie restaurant in Brunswick last night only to find NO raw food and everything on the menu trying hard to be 'standard' - tarted up as veggie. 

Strange experience for me -

Let me know what you all think!

Best cheers, Niqi
 

I took MSM in conjunction with chondroitin for hard core arthritis years ago - my cartilege was wearing off my joints and everyone (naturopath AND conventional doctor) told me to give it a go.

Didn't do a thing. Neither did the shark's cartilege, which I only took for one bottle because I felt so guilty about ingesting such a creature.

I would hope that there's other ways to deal with what you've got - it didn't work for me, but I can't speak for you! 

best cheers,
Niqi

It's amazing how our bodies are so reflective of how different each one of us is - a predominantly raw diet (still transitioning) has made my digestive 'stuckness' shift after almost all my life being a hellish struggle with food intolerances. I don't have the 'irritable bowel' problems anymore.

I'm loving it! 

Cheers, Niqi

I made some raw choc yesterday and it looks like a dried clay footpath.

A bit like the earth at confest - Not such a bad thing after all, and anyway it tastes better than anything that comes out of a factory!!! LOLOLOL!!! (The choccy, not the footpath at confest)

Never mind - it doesn't have to be pretty to taste good.

Hmm! Like a lot of things, really!

Thanks for your response. I think your POV is very important - I don't want to denigrate anyone for eating what they want, but when I see that what someone eats affects them to the point of destruction, I wish wish wish something could make them make the connection between their behaviour and the ill effect!

(Just me trying to save the world again!!!)

best cheers,
Niqi

To be honest, I find the acronym SAD a huge irony. It's SAD that so many people (including me) put this stuff into their bodies without realizing what it is. I struggled with years and years of undiagnosed food allergies and eating disorders because of the hidden garbage in processed foods, especially 'health' foods.

I find it SAD that the marketing for this food is aggressive, especially in and around the weight loss industry.

I find it SAD that so many people don't connect food and psyche - apart from the organic and chemical effects of allergies and intolerances, it's actually so important to nourish your body and your soul; not starve it or use a substance (including food additives) that will stop you from feeling or thinking about it. I find it SAD that out attitude to food is of starvation and self-limit rather than feeding your self, soul & body.

I find it SAD that we apparently have an obesity problem. My personal belief is that there are a lot more people with wheat/dairy intolerances than conventional blood tests can pick up. If these people (like me) are feeding on food with derivatives that add to their intolerances, we can end up obese. This nearly happened to my oldest daughter. When we realized that she was wheat and gluten intolerance (Non coeliac gluten intolerance) her whole body and personality changed. For the better BTW!! LOL!

I find it SAD that conventional 'science' is barking up the wrong tree, being shanghied into revenue raising by pharmaceutical companies. Do you really think all those 'scientific studies' are completely transparent?

Most of all I find it horribly SAD that my mum was right! EAT YOUR FRUIT AND VEGGIES!!! 
 
Between work and a seminar the other day I was eating a veggie dinner in a restaurant. A woman at the next table was hoeing into a brilliant red tomato and for the first time in my life I found myself desiring the tomato more than what I was eating! There's a personal first!
But I think it's testimony that even on a transition to raw, I can trust my body - it has its own inherent wisdom.

thanks to all for your wonderful responses, I hope we can keep going!

 

Niqi

Maybe SAD means different things to different people? For example, your description above of the delicious sweet potato meal DOES NOT in any way shape or form resemble a 'standard Aussie diet' to me. Nor a standard European diet (don't even go there with American food...!). As far as I know I've never eaten this as a 'standard' in anyone's home or in a typical restaurant. What you decribe here is whole food and wholesome. Most 'standard' food is a mixed amalgam of all sorts of stuff. Have you ever looked at the ingredients of Vegemite? or a pie? That's a stereotypical standard, but 'we' [as in the 'average consumer'] do tend to eat a lot of this stuff! And unless the rice crackers are organic, the 'standard' rice cracker has an unbelievable amount of additives.

And the SADdest thing is, when I'm out and about, I see many, many people stuffing their faces with Coke, KFC, Krispy Kreme (urgh - even the spelling is weird!) I am beginning to SEE that this IS the 'standard' way of eating.

Maybe it's SAD because it can't be itself and is constantly being blended, baked, and added to? LOL!!! 
 
I'm not trying to offend you or be narky - I think your POV is very interesting, and I also think it's a great discussion on what constitutes 'standard' for different people. As far as I can tell, 'standard' is a hoax that we are all trying to get our heads around so that we can be happy doing our own thing!

best cheers, Niqi

Thanks very much - I actually quite like the acronym SAD - I am a big believer that food and feelings are intertwined! LOL

My big problem began when my mother fed my gluten intolerant daughter package ham, thinking it was ok for her to eat. But looking at the label I noticed that it had TWO additives in it that derived from wheat! Since then I've been looking at labels obsessively. It's amazing what goes in foods that are aggressively marketed as 'healthy'.

This is my problem - I'm now convinced that salad I ate at my workplace two days ago had something in it that had a wheat derived food additive. I just don't know what! My mistake - I should have packed something to take.

Thanks also for advice about body changes.

Excellent!
Big cheers,
Niqi