Raw Food Diet – Days 2 & 3

This will be a combined entry as yesterday almost did us in. Alyssa had a new variety of migraine (for her) and we spent ½ the day in the emergency room. They called it a “combination migraine”.  She had numbness on her right side, and trouble talking and answering questions. She was also sick to her stomach a lot. At the ER, they ultimately gave her an IV, anti-nausea medicine, and finally a shot of Tordol to make her sleep. I brought her home and she slept for 5 hours straight. I’m really hoping this raw food diet will help with migraines as well as everything else. That said; we’ve now survived three days.

Bad choices: We tried raw food protein powder. Neither of us much liked the texture it gave to our smoothies. Neither did we like the raw food granola much in either the cocoa (we added bananas and it helped a bit) or apple cinnamon (we added sliced apples) flavors, both eaten with coconut milk. Strange texture and taste. Won’t be buying those again, but will still try to figure out how to make things myself. This weekend will be all about experimentation! Any and all recommendations welcome!

Good choices: Alyssa loves dried apricots and pistachio nuts. She also likes dried cherries (me too!). I put them with pecans which she didn’t like as well. She munched on them throughout the day. Made another yummy smoothie with apple juice, strawberries and bananas this evening – Alyssa says this smoothie and the nut milk (recipe below) are her favorites so far. I also juiced a small watermelon – a TOTAL waste. I should have just put it in the blender. That said; watermelon juice is very flavorful, sweet and refreshing. Alyssa really liked it.

Day 3 for breakfast, I made an absolutely delicious nut milk, again modified from the Kenney et al cookbook. Combined in a blender with ice, I included:

2 tbsp almond butter

1 tbsp coconut butter

2 cups of filtered water

1 tbsp honey

A pinch of sea salt

Both of us would agree that this was the best thing I’d made so far.

My friend Kim recommended that we try more savory dips, so tonight I took her advice and mixed in the blender:

½ a bunch of parsley

I tbsp of garlic

1 tbsp of lemon juice

I also wanted more variety in textures of veggies, so I tried it with: carrots, green peppers, jicama and turnips

Jicama was not good with this – too sweet.  I really liked the other veggies though. Alyssa didn’t like it at all, and Steven, who was hanging out with Alyssa, thought it too flavorful, so I added some carrots and dill. This variant was great with carrots and jicama and Steven liked it.  Alyssa was still not impressed.  I’ll keep trying! She likes fruits and nuts, will eat some veggies, but hasn’t liked any dips I’ve tried to this point.

Alyssa’s observations: I got the munchies a lot today (Day 3). I really wanted rice crispies, but I kept telling myself no. I munched on apples, mandarin oranges, dried cherries, apricots and pistachio nuts throughout the day. So far this isn’t much fun. I haven’t found much I like yet. I’ll keep working at it, though.

Deborah’s observations: I’m already starting to look at the grocery in a different way. I buy food for a couple days (ok, it’s only been a couple days) and try to mix it up and find new foods each time. When I’m teaching and at work, I’ve done a pretty good job of planning ahead. I make sure Alyssa has protein (nuts, nut butters, nut milks and seeds), fruits and veggies and I’m monitoring her weight. I don’t want her to lose weight, so regular snacking is important as well as planned eating opportunities with more substantial fare. I’m disappointed Alyssa doesn’t like any of the veggie dips I’ve come up with, but I’ll keep trying and figure out what she likes over the next several days (I hope). Mandarin oranges are a life saver. We both love them and eat several throughout the day. I really liked cashews soaked in water for several hours – (the number of hours you need to soak them depends on the nut) – I plan to try more. I’m soaking almonds now for a smoothie tomorrow morning). Soaked nuts is a staple of all the raw food cookbooks we looked at. I’ve always loved nuts, but soaking them in water makes them more easily digestible. It also changes the texture – so far in interesting ways. I’m a major texture freak, so this is a make or break issue for me.

I still feel we’re at the beginning stages of getting a handle on eating raw, so any suggestions (or recipes) are appreciated. More tomorrow!