My favourite warm drink at the moment is almond milk.  I soak the almonds and pitted dates 24 hours, peel the almonds by pouring boiling water over them for 1-2 minutes.  the skins slip off easily like this. 

Whizz up the nuts with filtered water, dates and date liquid, add 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil and a teaspoon of maca powder.  You do not need to strain the milk, nice and thick as it is.  Put some milk in a glass jar/bottle and stand in hot water.  Do not use a drinking glass!  I found out the hard way when it cracked and I lost all my precious milk. 

Great to warm the tummy and a good substitute when those around me are drinking cappuccino's. 

joybell   

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves

Thank you both for your advice.  I tried 4 months with no thyroid medication at all until my hair started falling out................  hmmm.   Would love to know more about your raw vegan friend who has dispensed with medication 'God of Cacao'.

I have heard so much about the green smoothies, time to get on them!  And I have been consuming one green coconut per week to make a delicious banana, coconut and date smoothie so will keep that up too. 

joybell     

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when you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect
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   Hi Arwen, 

I think we met at the last potluck at Gay & Denis.  My raw diet is stress free, if I am hungry -  I eat!  No analysing, no debating, no time frame  -  since being raw my body tells me when it is hungry. 

I went raw to try and heal my thyroid, still a challenge but my metabolism has increased hugely and I have lost 15kg in one year of being raw.  This is good in some ways but like you I am always hungry.  I also eat lots of fruit in the morning and there is NO WAY I could last till 12 with nothing else.  Do not deprive yourself of energy intake by watching the clock, each person is unique, listen to your body. 

Suggestions for that mid-morning hungry attack:    green peas.  Not always easy to find but full of iron and starch.  I buy a bagful every Saturday from a Lebanese fruit and veggie shop, take them to work with me and leave them in the fridge.  Every work day I eat a big handful, shelling them at my desk as I work. 

almond milk  -   I make batches of milk blended with soaked dates for sweetness and pour into recycled glass orange juice bottles.  I do NOT strain my almond milk, the grainy bits do not bother me and it makes a nice filling drink.  blend nuts and dates with liquid all together.  This cold weather I stand the orange juice bottle in a jug of hot water and enjoy a warm nutty milky drink, yum!

truffles, raw cookies, soaked nuts and sultanas -  all these make a nice snack and there is nothing wrong with eating them mid-morning and then enjoying your salad lunch at 12. 

hope this helps  -     joybell

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it is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves
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Hoping to find someone else who is taking the natural thyroid hormone........

I have been on it since last September and very pleased that I no longer take the synthetic one prescribed by the majority of doctors.  But I am having a few issues.  The specialist has been increasing the dose gradually but I feel it should be decreasing and my throat becomes constricted sometimes.  Am wondering if it is a problem with absorbing the hormone. 

If anyone out there is on it and has suggestions please help!   thanks in anticipation.....

joybell   

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Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect
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Hi Sheryl  -   you asked what was the yummiest dish at our potluck.....       hmmmm it could have been Gay's awesome 'lasagna' or the turnip 'ravioli' or the tomato basil mushrooms or the mini 'pizza's' which I missed because by the time I came back to the plate they were all gone!!   Not happy Jan!     :angry:
And there were the rainbow coloured super fresh salads and my tomato roll ups with nut cheese and, and, and, followed by desserts (chocolate mousse.....).  Maybe one day you and Piers could join us for a Sydney potluck. 
thanks to all the Sydney folk who made it such an appetising night and to Gay and Denis for hosting it.                        ^_^joybell
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whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect.
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       Dear RawNatJen,   

Thank you so much for bringing this topic to the forum.  I have been raw only 6 months but my stomach sounds like yours!  As you say it can be embarassing at work, extreme urgency, racing to the loo.  It is frustrating when we are doing everything we possibly can for our health. 
After reading all the comments I feel that food combining must be my problem and way too many nuts!  I make nut smoothies, nut cheeses, nuts in salads, in burgers, spicy nut mix to nibble on....

I know 100% is the ideal but we are only human and I take my hat off to those who can be so disciplined.  After attending Hippocrates Health Centre, they mention having a 10% day where you eat what you like and I enjoy this `option`.  Saturdays are my day to 'enjoy' my cafe latte', lasagna for lunch, Vietnamese restaurant for dinner (that was last week) and yes sometimes my system is not happy but with the loose stools it is not happy either. 

I figure 90% raw most of the time is wonderful and refuse to beat myself up for having a      10% break now and then.  Give yourself some slack, put together everyone's ideas and suggestions, try them out and if you have something non-raw in between, don't worry about it!  Wake up tomorrow and start again. 

Good Luck,   Joybell

Yes, thank you so much Gay for our last three potlucks.  Your time and energy hosting the evenings and following up with recipes is wonderful.  The few hours we all spend together is never long enough to share, taste, compare and talk RAW FOOD!
Can't wait for our picnic on the 30th October.
joybell.

Hi Alegne!

What's wrong with 4kg ?  I think that's fantastic over 5 weeks.  I have lost 6kg over a period of almost 3 months and am happy with that.  

I know how nice it is to have someone to talk to - I always have dozens of questions in my head.  If you would like to 'chat', let me know and we can email directly or even a phone call.  I am in Sydney and our second raw food potluck is on the 27th August.

  joybell

Thank you Dmetri,

I am eating lots of bananas, avocadoes and nuts especially now it's winter.  But have been eating fruit on it's own as a breakfast so will now try to include something else to help the slower release of sugar.  Good point.  I do put raw eggs in my smoothies so maybe should have that for breakfast instead of a light supper.

joybell

:faint: I've been 80% raw for 3 months now and have heaps of energy, feel really good.  But my blood pressure has been dropping, even after exercise it is still low.  There is a lot of information on high blood pressure but not much on low.  
Has anyone else had the same problem and are there any suggestions as to what I can eat/drink to keep it normal?

joybell

I just wanted to thank Gay/Catmom for our first raw food potluck in Sydney!

The food was fabulous and Gay made us all very welcome.  I met a group of wonderful people and we hope to enjoy the pot lucks on a monthly basis.

Thanks too to Piers and Sheryl for the Macadamia Cream recipe.  I used this as my contribution with some slight flavour alterations and then froze it in ice cube trays to make bite sized pieces of ice cream.  

This is my first post on any forum so if I have done this in the wrong place, oops.  

joybell