All of this foraging talk has me really excited, especially since I spend a huge chunk of my paycheck each week on organic fruits and veggies.  Can you recommend any good websites/books/guides that have pictures of these edible "weeds" so that I can identify them?  Also where is a good place to go foraging around Adelaide?  I live in the CBD (no garden, so sad) but I have a bike so I can get around the nearby suburbs.

Hi Monkey Monkey,

I too have struggled with eating disorders for years.  I've found that eating raw helps me to keep my addictive eating impulses under control (to a point, that is).  The 2 types of recipes meals that have been most useful for me so far are:

1) green smoothies.  I have a huge one for breakfast every day.  Lots of beautiful fruit, whatever I have on hand but I especially like bananas, and lots of greens, as much as I can handle in terms of taste.  I add chia seeds, as they are very soothing to the digestive system, full of nutrients, and keep me full for hours.  I also had maca powder, which helps regulate hormones.  Also I've found that adding fresh herbs, like mint, parsley or coriander gives me an extra happy energetic feeling.

2) mono-fruit meals.  This is the best for lunch - I want until I'm reeeeaaaalllly hungry, then slowly eat as much of one fruit as I want until I feel satisfied.  This makes me feel so good and energized. 

I still love to be a creative non-cook, so for dinner I usually make a fun raw recipe with lots of veggies, or a big salad.  I've actually found that reducing my intake of nuts and other high fat ingredients helps reduce the urge to binge. 

Oh, and also, I eat raw cacao every day!  Because my soul craves it, and I think an important part of healing is letting ourselves know that we deserve beautiful, healthy, soul-satisfying treats.  I like to mix the powder with some coconut oil and honey, but there are lots of great raw chocolate recipes on this site and others.

I'm so glad to see a thread about persimmons because they are my favorite thing at the moment.  I buy the vanilla variety, which you can eat even when they're still relatively hard - not as crunchy as an apple, but not all pudding-soft like the astringent types.  Lately I've been having lots of mono-fruit lunches of persimmons.  They are exactly what I want when I'm reeeeaaallly hungry, for some reason.  BUT a few weeks ago I made the mistake of taking persimmons from 2 different baskets at my local organic.  I got them home and realized that some were vanilla and some were astringent - yes, I discovered this the hard way, by taking a big bite of one and experiencing painful, choking dryness throughout my whole mouth!  I had to cut tiny slices off of each one and test them before eating.  The astringent ones are still sitting in a paper bag, out of sight, ripening until they are mushy so I can make a nice smoothie with them.

And despite that horrible experience, I still love persimmons!

Hello everyone!  I'm a relatively new raw foodie in Adelaide, and I'm excited to get to know you all!

I'll confess, I've been reading this forum for a while, but I've decided it's time to jump in and introduce myself.   The inspiration for this step was attending Anand and Runi's inspirational raw foods workshop in Adelaide last weekend.  I decided that I'm ready to dive headfirst into the raw lifestyle, and as such I'd really love to be part of the raw community, to gain from and contribute to all the knowledge and support that exist here.

I've been eating partially raw for 4-5 months now - nearly 100% at home, but still eating cooked foods when I was out, and still having coffee and alcohol.  A few weeks ago I became aware of what a rollercoaster I was on.  I felt like my emotions were all over the place, and that I needed to make a change.  So I decided to challenge myself for 30 days: 100% raw foods, no coffee, no alcohol.  I was pretty irritable for the first few days, but by the end of the first week I felt amazing!  Right now I'm on day 18 and I'm feeling pretty great.  I have noticed that I am so much more in touch with my body and my emotions, so much more able to slow down and listen to what my body actually wants rather than just filling it with the food my head thinks is right.  I've started to want simpler foods, like fruits and vegetables in their natural state, though I still have emotional cravings for chocolate (raw, of course) at least once a day.  Oh, and I had a glass of wine when I went out with my partner's family for his birthday the other night (I had a greek salad with no feta, I was surprised how much it actually satisfied me), and I didn't really enjoy it at all - crazy, because I used to drink so much wine.

Anyway, I think I'll probably want to stick with these changes for longer than 30 days, but I'll reassess at that point and see where I'm at.  In general, I'm able to think about this change in terms of what I've gained, but sometimes I feel sad about all the things I can't try - because I love food, I love flavors, and I love how food is part of culture and how eating a culture's foods teaches you a bit about their way of life.  I also worry about the social aspect, although so far my friends have been really supportive if not exactly accomodating.  Then again, I'm interested in getting to know lots of raw people - I've met a few in Adelaide already and you're lovely people!

Thanks for all the inspirational stories you've all already posted, and your open sharing.  I will keep you updated on the progress of my raw journey!