Hi All,
Have been really busy and tired over the past week or two.

I have just a few minutes to post this a.m., it is early 5:51a.m. and i need to get on and do things as i have more that needs to be done early - cakes to bake and stuff to prepare to go away for a fortnight.  We leave Christmas day and will return on the 7th Jan 09.  2008 has just slipped away.............. . . .   .   .  .     .

The program has been really helpfull, I am very happy with the suggestions that i have received and since following them i have found that i am much more relaxed about eating raw foods.  I am more confident that i know what to do now to maintain my health on a nutritional basis.  I am much more comfortable about how to go about staying raw.  Yep comfortable is definately the word.  I am finding that my recovery is much better after sport - i no longer am really flat the next day.  Whilst i have been following the Coach's suggestions for only a short time i  have more stamina when exercising: being able to work harder and not tiring as much. 

Roughly/typicallymy day of eating is like this:
breakfast
juice OR a smoothie - green (1-2 piecse offruit and lots of greens with water)
Mid morning
either juice OR a nutmilk or nut/quinoa milk, or fruit or smoothie
Lunch
salad/ green salad with sprouted legumes/ nuts and 2 flax crackers
After noon snack either
fruit  Or A green smoothie  Or   A handful of nuts, or nutmilk, quinoa milk etc
Dinner/Tea – a protein (fish, nuts, legumes [sprouted]), salad/green salad, (baked potato not with the protein or something similar) or steamed vegetables, including greens.

If I am hungry after eating all of this I can have a snack 1 hour before bed.

I find that i am not having the eratic highs and lows, I am satisfied with the sweetness i am gettign and because i am always full i dont want to eat much else.  There is still more tweeking to do with 'how much' i am eating, i think that portion sizes will come  as i relax more into this style of eating and become more confident that i will not go hungry.  One of the things that i did identify whilst doing the month coaching was that i get very anxious about being hungry- so by feeding myslef all day with foods that my body needs, from all food groups, proteins carbs fats etc, that anxiety passes enabling me to relax and enjoy the foods that i have.  Yep, on special occasions i can eat the yummy treats and chocolate but i keep that to special occasions. 

When i exercise the above guide varies a bit depending on the time i exercise, but basically my body and head knows that i will not go hungry and i will get what i need.
I would strongly recommend anyone on a raw diet receive professional help with this diet - it is a worthwhile investment. 
((())) fang:)

Sheeps milk is better, as it is closer to human milk and you can get sheeps milk it is much like goats milk only sweeter.  It might be easier for you to digest this.  If you really are missing cheese and want to stay away from all dairy then Alissa Cohen's book has so many recipes for nut cheese.  Also on Karen Knowlers web site there is recipe for raw pizza cheese that i have used for my salad today - and man it was delicious.  I have also used it on the pizza she puts together - Yummo I could have eaten the whole lot not just a portion of it!
((())) fang:)

Heyy guys, dont get me wrong, i love fruit and believe that it has heaps of nutrition, but i also think that we need other stuff as well and it should not be the single foundation of our diet.  I would eat approx 5 pieces per day. 
Love it
i also agree that it will/can/may take years to balance out after starting raw foods it is not an overnight journey, and i also think we may never attain 'balanced true health" as our environment is not pure any more - pollution and stuff and this has a huge effect on us, we are simply doing the best we can do in our culture.
((())) fang:)

Thanks for clarifying this Melb.  Sorry for the misunderstanding.

There are a lot of points that we could all debate for hours really, but in reality we all have different needs for our bodies, however, I do think it is essential that we consider that all humans need some basics in thier diet to function and remain healthy, this is recognised world wide,  and part of this is that we should have a balanced diet for long term health, - yep it is all relative, and by long term i mean that if you eat properly when you are young and that can mean from birth, when we get older and this means 50+ the likelihood of having health issues less, because our bodies received all of the nutrition that it required.  
To me eating raw foods is not about longivity so much as a healthy aging, when at 80 i can still walk, function and look after myself and not be in a nursing home, not so much as living till i'm 100plus and being fed by a tube!

I think that it is essential that all aspects of raw living are presented for consideration not only the high fruit type diet.  This way all those who visit and read can see that there options that may suit them better and that eating raw foods is not only the high fruit option it can be more varied and offer a great variety of tastes and flavours that can be enjoyed by others as well
hope this makes sense
((())) fang:)
 

Sorry to butt in here guys but the information i have received of late is contrary to that being posted here!

After being raw vegan for 8 months, i found that my nails were flaking, ridged and weaker than they were some time ago when i was on more of a SAD diet.  With this in mind, a lot has happened to have caused this so i did not 'blame' it on raw veganism entirely, however in an effort to rectify the problem i decided to seek professional advice.  It was suggested on this forum that nails were dead and did not necessarily reflect the health of ones system.  Every place that i researched on the net and in medical books suggested that that was not necessarily the case.  Whilst there are many causes, the nails can be an indicator of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  With this in mind i was concerned, as i was feeling very good on a raw vegan diet but it seemed that eating with no real plan was not necessarily supporting my lifestyle nor my mineral needs.  I, therefore sought to find a raw food dietition who could assist me with the answers to the questions i had in the back of my mind.  
After reading Karen Knowlers story i saw myself going down that track as well, I also had a lot of questions about long term health as instinctively i knew that the high fruit, hap hazzard, way of eating was not necessarily right (for me). Through Karens web site, i contacted A dietitian in the UK and after an extensive questionaire and some assignments etc I now have an eating program that will give me a nutritionally balance diet to enable me to stay healty and Raw long term.  
The Diet recomendations are tailored for me and are extensive (14 A4 pages!).  So to share all of them here would bore all of you to tears but in summary she recommends:
"structured regulare eating - breakfast, mid morning, lunch , mid afternoon and dinner and if necessary 1 hour before bed, small sized meals that are balanced with protein.  The diet needs to be high alkaline."
Her suggestions to me were:
"Imagine your plate, when making your meals – have half the plate covered with salad or veg, a quarter with a complex carbohydrate (starchy veg, quinoa, corn or potato) and a quarter with a protein source (nuts, seeds, tahini dressing, sprouted beans, or fish or lean meat e.t.c) or half your plate with veg/salad and half your plate with quinoa or a bean/ sprouted bean dish (which are both carb & protein rich foods)".
Another of her comments are:
"Weight gain on a raw food diet – the biggest causes of weight gain on a raw food diet I have seen (and I also know of because of Karen’s experience of weight gain on a raw food diet) are eating too much fruit (and nuts) – surprisingly and people not exercising enough given the increasing number of carbohydrates and sugars they are feeding the body!  This is all tied into not stabilising blood sugar levels by overeating fruits and dried fruits, which triggers an increased insulin response, and any insulin which isn’t used immediately by the body gets laid down and stored as fat."

However she does also state that people have different metabolic rates and some thrive on 811 others do not.

She (Janet Butler) also states
"Thorough use of pulses/ sprouted pulses must be ensured in the case of vegetarian/vegan diets."

As i said before these recomendations are for me personally, so they will vary for different people with different health considerations and different activity levels.  
In my opinion If you have concern for your long term health and well being then a balanced diet is essential.  Consult a dietitian or nutritionist with your particular situation and get the proper suggestions.  Since putting into place many of her suggestions i have felt even better, and after my hard workout at swimming last night came up much less tired than i have before.
I have been doing this for about 1 week now, and not all of her suggestions have been implemented.  I can understand what she is saying and it makes loads of sense to me.  
((())) Fang:)


 

What lovely pics, love your dress, the style and the colour suits you.  Congratulations on the awards Well done, an acknowlegement of you hard work and dedication!

Glad you are checking out the eye,                  yep eyes you cant mess with, we have only two and need both of them to see with!
Always pays to be on the safe side. 
((()))fang:)

Love the sound of the coconut ice and crackles.
it is so great how there is nearly a substitute for everything if we look.
Russel James has a recipe for mince pies.  It sounds divine.  Funny I am not a fan of shop bought mince pies and i never even liked them till i made my own one year and they changed my mind.  Delicious.  And the Raw type is ok i recon to serve on the Chrissy Table for all the reles to enjoy!
((()))
fang

Thanks for that Jen, I will have read to try them again.  I did see a recipe for curried lentil sprouts which i will try as well, perhaps what i should do is just add a few each day till i get used to them, that way the flavour and texture will be a gradual thing. 
Do you make or buy your sprouts?  If you sprout them do the lentils in the packets sprout ok, or should i buy special sprouting varieties?
The crackers sound good.
Thanks
((())) fang:)

Hi Neet,
glad to hear about your eye getting better and that there was no serious damage done by the bug, I have not posted for a few days as i have been away, so missed the incident as it happened.  Take it easy and get it checked if necessary.
love to see a pic of the 'glama girl' its always fun to get dressed up.

 I feel like that when i buy myself a new pair of bathers - dressed up and glamorous to swim, then on go the cap, nose peg and goggles  then i feel like a beetle and probably look like one too as I swim  LOL. 
Yayyyy holidays soon - i just cant wait. 2 weeks in the sun and sea.
((())) fang:)

feels like i have not been here for ages!
Hi Neet, (RGG) Thanks 

We have been away this past four days, I have had very limited internet connection and visitors so  have not posted any thing, but have been thinking of you guys.

Went fishing yesterday on the high seas 60km off shore caught lots of lovely fresh flathead, they were so fresh and tender when they went on the plate they were really delicious. Served with a fabulous mango, walnut and lettuce salad.

Spent time with my beautiful granddaughter and daughterinlaw had a picnic and just rleaxed.

Sunday:
Breaky
fresh juices
Mid morning
greensmoothie with pear and spinach
lunch
waldorf salad: apple, carrot, celery sultanas and dressing
afternoon snack
cherries about 1 cup full
dinner
stuffed mushrooms with pumpkin seed pesto and a big green salad

Yesterday - sailing on the rolling seas
Breaky
carrot, apple and celery juice
Mid morning
Green Smoothie - banana and mango
Lunch:
Alissa's bread: with avo and salad
And non raw home made biscuits - I was so hungry on the rolling sea, i did not take enough to eat so the temptation was too great
Dinner
after eating all that sugar i was hypo so only had some fish. I did not feel real well at all!

I am starting to  follow the suggestions that my Raw Food coach has supplied for me after completing an extensive questionaire and diet diary; the biscuits are not part of her suggestions
I am to eat 5 times per day to keep my blood sugar levels balanced.  I was unable to implement some other suggestions because i was away and lacked the equipment and foods to do so, now that i am home i will go for it in earnest.  I have decided to include some cooked legumes as i just cannot as yet cope with the sprouted varieties, I have to check that i am sprouting them correctly and have another try at them, and gradually introduce them till i get the taste for them.  I think it is more the texture the chick peas sprouted remind me of marbles    and lentils of gravel     so i have a long way to go, but it is recommended that i include legumes (preferably sprouted) in my diet.

Breaky today
juice - carrot, apple and celery
mid moring
apple juice, orange juice and a few strawberries and loads of spinach - green smoothie whilst travelling
Lunch
chick pea curry and big salad- whilst travelling home
afternoon snack
apple
dinner
have not got that far yet but it will possibly be a big salad with pinenut dressing.

((())) to all
fang:)

Hi Jen,
What better lighting than a fabulous lightning display.  I love lightning it is fabulous to watch!   
Have seen some LED Chrissy lights they are really good as there are not the traditional light problems.  The best time to buy Chrissy stuff is after Chrissy in the sales, you can get them for a fraction of the price.  Worth considering! 

Hi RGG, yep the combos are something that i need to watch a bit more of, however yesterday it was a matter of what came out of the fridge first - as i need to shop badly but as i am going away am trying to leave it till tomorrow. 

Have the response from My Raw Coach email, I have scanned it but need to digest it - there are 14 A4 pages for me to read and digest.  It is a very practical guide and her suggestions are most useful in planning meals and raw nutrition.  She looks at raw nutrition, combining, lifestyle, health issues and menu planning; I am finding it a very helpful exercise and i am certainly glad that i have done it.  I think it may take a little while for me to 'gear up' for it in an organizational way, as i get the hang of what she is suggesting i will post my thoughts.
((())) fang:-) 

Yep! at first it is a discipline then it becomes a necessity! A must have.  I drink bout 1.5 liters before breaky, rehydrating me after sleep.  Pure water is the best.  When i started i used to gag and feel as if i was going to vomit each time, that was 36 years ago.  Now i cannot go without it.  I actually feel sick if i dont have a drink of water now. 
Keep on working on it
((())) fang:-)

Is pee good for spinach?  Have to get grandie on the job.  He drinks heaps and peees heaps. 
RGG, how do you get the time to read so much, I fall asleep at the drop of a hat, used to read a lot and miss it heaps.
((())) fang:-)

Breaky
Greensmoothie, lots of fresh greens that did not pulverise all that well, made me gag at the end of it   
mango, bananax2 water and a few cashews
Lunch
watermelon
rockmelon
bananas

Swimming 2300m 7:00 pm
Yayyy have made the 8 min x 400meters
Am so tired now:
dinner
banana
pear
rockmelon
celery with maca nut paste and raisins

Did not have to go to work today, had the day off to complete my assignment and do some other stuff i have needed to do.  Do hope that i do not have to go again Friday.
Must start Chrissy shopping - love it - i will start when i get back from the weekend away.
((())) fang:-)

I have never eaten KFC, but was unaware that they did not kill the birds first - how cruel is that!
thanks for that BB
((())) fang:-)