Hiya LooneyLychee....ah man ya gotta just love that name hahhaaa.

I can't answer your question(s)...but no doubt someone will.

Just wanted ta say "hi".

John

Welcome Looney Lychee!

Eat what gives YOU joy, and makes YOU feel optimal.

We must each find our own path.

Other than than, Jen's sentiments are very close to my own.

miss g

HI there Lurking LL!!

Good to have you on board.

Well, I have to agree with Jen and Miss G.  

Raw is definitely a personal journey.  

Gourment foods is there for people who can't imagine starting off with a mono diet.........and need that variety.  I know of people who used to cook up storms in their kitchen before raw, and when they started to incorporate more raw into their diet, they actually missed the preparation part of cooking food and still 'needed' to feel like they were 'cooking' and therefore the gourmet foods suited them to a T.

Just like the raw desserts, nuts, crackers, raw breads, they can be transitional foods for people coming from a SAD (standard American/Australian) diet to a raw lifestyle.  

Some people will stay with the gourmet foods.  Some people take what they consider is the next best step and eliminate certain foods from their raw food lifestyle.....eg: nuts, dehydrated foods.....whatever.  It's what suits them at the time.

As for food combining, yes, I have to agree that when I eat a variety of raw food together.....nuts, veggies, fruits, grains.....my body tells me that that is not the best thing for it. I feel bloated and eerrrkkk!  BUT if I organised a raw dinner party, I wouldn't certainly just lump a box of fruit on the table for my guests.........I'm Italian, I CAN'T imagine not catering for 100 people when you only invite 10!!!   So raw gourmet certainly does have its place.  I still like it occasionally.

As time goes on, you will find your own individual path.  All raw foodies are not the same in their way of eating.  I'm sure you can see that just from the forum........

Rawies may all be different in their eating, but you will certainly find, as I have, that this forum is definitely here for you....

Congrats on finding what makes your body feel better, and more importantly, you listening to your body! 

Luv

Rita

As another newbie, I certainly think raw gourmet is worth it.........but as special occasion meals, rather than everyday eating.

I find most raw gourmet meals taste beautiful but I have to eat them in very small doses, as they are just too concentrated, heavy and rich for me.

I have been to two raw gourmet presentations. The food looked and tasted fantastic but on both occasions I just found it too rich and it made me ill afterwards – stomach cramps, nausea & diarrhoea.

Certainly on the first occasion I crazily thought “oh this is raw, I can eat as much as I want” and I went a little bit over the top consuming wise. On the second occasion, remembering the first, I ate smaller amounts of the main dishes to make room for pudding but the pudding was my downfall and as a result, I still felt slightly nausea afterwards.

Like you, I thought (still think) that eating just raw fruit and mono-meals sounds very fanatical – although given my past experiences with raw gourmet, I am slowly coming around to the idea.

When eating cooked foods I tend to eat fairly healthy anyway (i.e.) baked organic chicken breast with a raw salad or steamed vegetables. I find it a struggle to eat concentrated, heavy and rich cooked foods, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by my reaction to raw gourmet meals.

Another thing about the raw gourmet presentations is how long it took to prepare everything (hours and hours in the dehydrator) and being a very unorganised person at mealtimes, I wondered how I would cope. So when eating raw, I mainly find myself preparing meals that only take a few minutes – salads, fruit salad, nori rolls.

I am currently in a bit of a predicament. To remain 100% raw focused I must increase my range of foods and have more variety in my meals, as I have the same old stuff over and over again, which leads to “oh my god, I can’t face another bloody salad” and then I lose focus and go back to cooked.

So to increase the variety, I will need to buy a dehydrator and make more of an effort with meals, which will probably boarder on more “gourmet” style meals in the long run.

Good post because this is certainly something I have been struggling with too.

Hi RGG – are there any particular titles that you would suggest?

As I am getting dazed and confused with the amount of raw books around - it is almost overwhelming.

Many thanks

KK

Many thanks for the book title; I will try to order it now.

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement but sadly I am not doing so well at the moment. I made a terrible, terrible mistake and boy am I paying the price now.

I haven’t eaten dairy since the end of August. Today it was cold and raining and we decided to have a home-made chicken burger for lunch. I have previously had a couple of burgers made with seeded wholemeal rolls, chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, onion, mushroom and avocado and it has been fine everytime. We are eating mainly raw but having the occasional cooked meal, especially when it is cold and wet.

Today we made the mistake of buying some cheese for the burger. I had some at lunchtime. It was literally a slither, about the same size as my little finger. I really thought such a small amount would be ok. I now have terrible burning sensation in my gut/bowels. It is really painful and I am also passing blood and mucus.

I can't believe that something so small is causing so many problems.

um...yer...so just like at work...Ive managed to once again muck up my password/email! The tech-support guys at work pretty much hate seeing my number pop up on their phones!!

So, til I get my personality transplant and become LooneyLychee again, this is me...

Anyhooo....


WOW!!! Imagine going up to a stranger in the groceries section, tapping them on the shoulder and asking them a question like...."excuse me, what do you think about digestion?  Do you have any probs with mixing lots of foods together?"  BET ya he/she looks at you like you're a total weirdo and slowly backs away from you, to safety.
 
NOT HERE! WOW! I say it again, thanks for pretty much making me feel like part of the family, woohoo! I'll be the painful little rascal sister that stirs the pot just cos things seem to be going too swimmingly I know there are some others that have the same "wascally wabbit" personality in this family as well! LOL, just jokes, all is said in a fun-hearted jolly way, I promise!
 
Anyway, with regards to all your replies, thanks very very much, I don't feel so incompetent now...I just thought that since cooking has never been my forte (I've been known to burn chocolate in the microwave on more than a few occasions), that maybe I stuffed up and made the raw-gourmet ...."raw-crap-ay"!
 
 Good to know it's just a matter of personal differences and body constitutions and lifestyles (i only have to prepare for one ....and a couple of four-leggeds, so no one will complain if i dont prepare up a storm for dinner).
 
 
RGG, yeah, i meant RAA. My boss at work keeps me updated on Grant's running adventures, as they run together. Boss thinks (typically like a SAD dude) that if Grant had a wee bit more fat on him, he'd run rings around everyone else. I kinda agree with you, nothing like raw low-fat quickly metablised energy to push the body further, but he's my boss, im not really going to start a food/exercise/lifestyle debate with him at his desk....so, I nod and say "hmmmm, maybe".... haha
 
 All you guys'  (and i use "guys"meaning both genders, btw)  "hi " right back to you!

As for my story, it's as boring as, you've all heard/read it before a gazillion times over, in one form or another, so i'll just leave it as this :  born to eccentric parents, brought up to explore and question and be unconventional if it means being true to myself, not so healthy diet=not the best health.....got sick of it (again and again and again) tried one more "fad" called "raw vegänism".....and the rest is history!
 
My "specialty" knowledge-wise is conventional nutrition and organic farming (we, my parents at their home/ farm and myself in my little townhouse) grow most of our own fruit and veg, even made-up varieties that we've just grafted or mixed in together to see what would result).
 
 So, if anyone has questions about any of those two topics, i may be able to help and will definitely try, otherwise, you are pretty much MY teachers re: rawbie-ism and I thank you immensely for helping me learn more everyday.
 
Thanks for reading, you can now awaken and open your eyes again! Plus, the snoring was getting to be intolerable!! hehe

Oh and just reading the word "PUS" makes me want to gag...ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh