gr8pyrmom

Hi! Are you fully healed and no longer eating on doctors instructions? You may want to just let your doc know what you are doing - just to be safe. My first suggestion is to find someone in your area who is a raw foodist and teaches classes. You can spend a million bucks on equipment and cookbooks but make sure this is something you want to work into your diet first. A good blender is essential, a juicer if you want to make juices and a dehydrator is a fantastic tool. A vitamix blender is the mac daddy but comes with a mac daddy price tag. Just look for one in your price range with the best motor. For a juicer I use the Jack Lalanne Elite which is only available on the website. It's basically the same as the pro which you can buy at kohls or target but can make nut milks. I do have the mac daddy of dehydrators. I bought it used on ebay and if you want to do raw the Exacalibur is the only way to go. I have the biggest one but they make them as small as 4 or 5 racks. A spiralizer is an awesome tool for making "spaghetti" out of zuchinni. They go for about 35 bucks. There are lots and lots and lots of raw foods you can make without all this equipment though. This is one reason I suggest taking some classes or going to demos. How close are you to NYC? One of the best raw food restaurants is in the city. Pure. I have one of their books. It says every day raw but who are they kidding? It's special food - not every day! I have yet to make one recipe though they do look really great. My instructor is Beth Wilke. She has a couple books of her own and I love the simplicity of her recipies. You can buy them or down load on line at Sensational Raw Diet ? Discover The Benefits of Eating Live Food. There is a lot of healing with raw foods. A LOT. Where veggies are concerned the darker the green, the better, Kale, spinach, romaine and parsley are the best. If juicing them you can sweeten it up with a couple carrots or apple. I like a glass of just romaine and tomato every now and again though I tend to throw a little salt and pepper in it. My fave yummy treat is 3 apples and 1 stick of celery. Tastes like a waldorff salad.

Well, I'm going to make the best choice for myself. That could be a mix of both the hospital and my raw friends info, one or the other or some other things entirely. We are all intelligent adults and capable of compiling and computing information from many sources. I have never been a "one road" person. I am an individual who has unique needs, as are all of us. No one doctor, dietician, nutritionist or anyone for that matter knows exactly what we need. I'm open to just about anything though I am not much for animal products. I do admit I LOVE cheese though. I went 100% vegan for 30 days - just to see how it made me feel. The only things I missed were cheese and butter... can you guess how I got heavy? :tongue_smilie: The juice I will drink today has maybe 300-350 calories. This is based on the whole food, not the juice which I assume would make it lower. This is all I will have until dinner which will probably be a carrot or celery Soup (raw). I will have a couple spoons of my "pudding" here and there as well. To me, the nutrients I am getting from drinking live juices and the toxins that are being flushed out far outweigh the small amount of calories I am taking in. That's just me at this point and time. My opinion could change tomorrow - who knows! Life is a process!!! I value your suggestions and opinions so please keep them coming :biggrin0:

Ok - so I bring my juice to work in a big stainless thermos every day. Today I added the sample pack of nutiva. I tasted it first and it was kinda nutty so I thought the taste would combine well. I just had my first glass (I shook up the thermos before pouring). The taste is fine - barely noticeable. It did seem a bit... how do I put it.... chalky? Not in taste but texture - kind of like soy milk. It left my mouth feeling a bit dry. I can deal with that though. What I don't know if I can deal with is the fact that it did not actually mix/dissolve into my juice. It was all at the bottom. I still might want to want to use this product on days I am not juicing much though. So, I called Nutiva hoping to get some pointers. They are out of the office until 3/15. argh. I am not a nutritionist but can relay what I was told. The body can only absorb about 30% of animal Protein (meat, eggs, cheese, daily in general). The rest is toxic waste. Therefore saying we need 60-80 grams of protein a day would really be only around 20-30 grams at most of raw plant protein. Also, studies have shown that our bodies really do not need 60-100g per day. The article in the link below is really good. Ignore the fact that is a religious site. I am most certainly, definitely, 100% NOT pushing anyone's religious agenda. It has really good, scientific info though. The truth about protein. My typical daily drink consists of the following: 1 head of romaine 1/2 bunch of of kale (stems cut off for the most part) 3-4 carrots 3-4 sticks of celery 1-2 apples My fave snack is a raw "pudding" which consists of the following 1/2 bunch of parsley (stems cut off for the most part) 1 mango 1 banana 1/4 cup of Water Blend the hell out of it and store in a short mason jar (you can get them at target). Let sit over night for best results. Your toes will curl when you eat this - I promise!!!!

HAHA Tracy! You crack me up! I usually say "oh look... something sparkly"! Hemp is a very good source of Protein which is easily digestible, unlike whey... it's and tasty too! Why I had to pay to have someone tell me that when I already know it makes me laugh. My head is not in the right place these days! Anywho I was just given a packet of Nutiva hemp protein. Haven't tried it yet but it says "sweet tasting and easy mixing". Huh - that kind of sounds like a personal add, doesn't it? ANYWAY - I will give it a try tomorrow when I make my green juice for the day. I'll let you know what I think! I am such a non-planner it's insane. The only thing I like to plan is a party!! Having said that I think this is another area in life that this surgery will help me with. When you take the time to plan you make more creative and often better choices. I'm going to try to make it fun!

I had a private consult with my raw food instructor last night. She made me feel sooo much better. By keeping up with my green drinks I should be able to get in all the protein I need. She also explained why the whey isolate drinks made me sick. I will now get some hemp and use that for an added boost - it would be great in a smoothie with cacao!!!!

My pleasure!

I didn't think of that! Great idea!

Yum!! That gave me a thought - does anyone add raw natural cacao to their drinks?

BELLY DANCE! 'nuff said

Hi! I use light agave nectar a lot. You aren't wrong but there is a little more to it. Agave does have a lower glycemic index than honey and is much better for you than refined sugar. Another factoid is that it's not truly raw as it has to be heated, though there ares some brands that do not heat above a certain temp for that reason (not that you care, probably!). While Agave is better for you than a lot of sweetners, Stevia is better for you than agave nectar. WAY better. It is also a lot sweeter so less goes further. This I learned from my raw food instructor....

Hi! I actually just posted about this topic on this forum (hair loss... here to help). Take a look and pm me if you need anything!!!!!

Oh crap... I already think I have PMDD so this should be reeeeeal fun! My boyfriend (we live together) mostly travels M-F but does have a lot of local accounts. I better tell him to to try and get out of area calls set up and push out the local ones for a while after my surgery!!!

Hi All! Not sure if this is the correct forum for this but I wanted to discuss hair loss. Now, this is not a concern for me as I have Alopecia so have been wearing wigs most of my life. 25 years, to be exact. I am not sure how much hair loss is typical but if it gets bad for any of you and you plan to purchase a wig, a fall, or anything you can feel free to contact me and ask any questions you like. I know ALL the manufactures and how their wigs are made and I also know a really great company where you can get the best selection at the lowest price. -Michelle

Coco - I have a few Vitamin shoppes around me and will go there for sure! A cheapo shaker is a good idea - I don't want to use and of my good booze shakers!!! I didn't know slimfast made powders too. I'll keep that in mind for an added bit of taste! Nikki - I haven't heard of Click and will check it out, thanks! I would totally go for the rtd but the cost is what is getting me! I may get some though just for when I am on the run.