Eating Raw(ish)- Day 5 of 5

YEAH! I did it!!!

Five days, no cheats- pure raw vegan diet.

If you have been following along (catch up here, here, here and here),  I began a 5 day experiment with eating raw vegan in an effort to get back control over my eating habits (which were horrendous) and, even more, just to see if I could do it:)

Well, I did.

There were moments it wasn't easy. Not because I had big cravings (I didn't) but I didn't always have time to go into the kitchen and make a huge salad or chop up a honeydew melon. It sounds silly, but it's true.

So what did I learn?

1) I don't love meat and not eating it isn't a big deal;
2) I didn't miss starchy carbs;
3) I found time to make food when it really mattered. I am busy, yes, but I'm not so busy that I need to put everything else in my life above my health;
4) I miss working out (ya, that's out of left field but I do miss working out);
5) It wasn't that costly - in total I spent $60 in food over the five days…so $12 a day.

I'll be maintaining my raw vegan diet for another day (I have a lot of fruit and veg that has to be eaten before it goes bad) and then I'll be mindfully maintaining a vegan diet (not necessarily raw, however).

My eats…

Breakfast
One sliced pear
A handful of grapes

Snack
Handful of raw walnuts
Pineapple chunks

Lunch
Huge salad- half head of romaine lettuce, chopped carrots, one avocado, lemon juice, a sprinkle of sea
salt
A few more pineapple chunks

Snack
Handful of raw cashews
A few baby carrots

Dinner
Homemade Larabar (yes, not the BEST choice but it was tasty!)

Snack
Vegan peanut butter balls (raw peanuts & almonds buzzed together with dates)- THESE ARE GREAT!

AND HERE'S A VIDEO WRAP-UP:

Eating Raw(ish): Day 4 of 5

Woke up another pound down! Whoop:) I have been feeling really good on this diet today. Maybe I'm hitting a bit of a groove? I think it's important to note that meat and I have never been best friends. I was a vegetarian for a year. I generally eat fish or chicken if I do eat meat. The occasional steak or rack of ribs is a treat to me, but not a norm. So the idea of cutting meat is not a big deal. What I am missing is warmth. Maybe it's because I live in Canada and I began eating raw exactly as the cold weather hit my part of the country. I find myself just wanting something to warm me up. Obviously, raw food is not going to do that. Thus, herbal teas and coffee are still part of my diet- part habit but more out of the desire to feel warm from the inside out. My kids are having pasta tonight, with a side of salad. I, of course, am abstaining. And honestly I don't feel too bad about it this time. Here are my eats for Day 4.

 Breakfast
One banana, sliced
Two handfuls of red grapes
Sprinkle of cinnamon (this felt a bit like a treat, oddly)

Snack
One pear, sliced
1/4 pomegranate (seeds only, of course)

Lunch




Homemade Larabar (cashews and dates) with a few shavings of coconut - I didn't even try to make this into bar this time- I just piled it in a bowl and gobbled it up. I sprinkled a few leftover pomegranate seeds in there for good measure:)







Snack
Handful of walnuts

Dinner
Huge salad:) - one head green leaf lettuce, one whole avocado, a few chopped baby carrots, one baby cucumber, two stalks of celery, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds.

I had originally planned to have HALF a pomegranate in my salad HOWEVER someone thought those juicy seeds were delicious and, well, ate them all.

Eating Raw(ish)- Day 3 of 5

I woke up feeling good again. A little more hungry this morning, but not starving and certainly not craving anything:)

Down another 2 pounds (that totals 3 pounds in 2 days).

Today was a busy day though. I was on TV to discuss a daycare in Canada that had fined a mother $10 and fed her child some Ritz crackers as she did not provide a "grain" her child's lunch. Ridiculous.

Of course, between working and mothering, food was not a priority.

BUT I didn't stray from my raw/vegan lifestyle one bit!

Check out Day 1 and Day 2 of my raw/vegan experiment!!!

Breakfast

One banana, sliced
Half package raspberries
Coffee (not raw, not organic, but necessary and yummy)

Snack
One pear, sliced
Handful raw almonds
One homemade Larabar (sadly, my family ate most of them so I'm going to have to whip up another batch)
Half a honeydew

Lunch
Apple
Handful of walnuts
* I should have done better here but I was on the go and this is what I ate*

Snack
One homemade Larabar
Coffee
Blueberries

Dinner

BIG salad full of avocado, cucumber, carrots, red pepper, raw pumpkin seeds and red leaf & romaine lettuce. Squirted some lemon juice on top.

Water to drink

Night Snack

I am hungry and grumpy:(  I know I under ate a bit today, due to some last minute running around. 

Half pomegranate

Peppermint tea

RECAP!