Finding Your Raw Groove
I have a pattern. It seems to happen to me every year, right about now. First, I start to get a little cabin fever. Then, to add insult to injury, I put on a pair of pants, or look in the mirror and all of the slack I have cut myself over the Christmas holidays has caught up 10 fold. My 80-90% raw diet has turned into 40-50%, and the food that I am eating that is not raw is not healthy.
I am not always 100% raw. Nor are most of the raw food leaders that you know. Sometimes I am, especially in the spring, summer and most of the fall. At that time of year I follow a 95-100% raw diet. But when the winter hits, living where I do, I start incorporating more cooked foods.
Finding high quality fresh produce that hasn’t been trucked for thousands of miles is next to impossible where I live in the winter. The prices go through the roof. Combined with that, I crave warm, dense foods. Root vegetables, and hearty beans and grains. If I stopped there, I would be ok. But then the holidays hit and I indulge. And little by little, the unhealthy temptations sneak in and before I know it, I need a reset. I need to find my Raw Food Groove.
What is a Raw Food Groove? The most important thing to know is that it is different for everyone. It is figuring out how raw food can fit into your life-style in an easily maintainable way. It isn’t about being 100%, unless that is your raw groove. It is about health. It is about figuring out how to make it work, so we don’t give up.
That is where finding your RAW FOOD GROOVE comes in. It is all about figuring out how to make incorporating more raw food into your diet can work for you. Over the next month, I am going to be working on my raw groove and I invite you follow along, take notes and work on finding your raw food groove.
Tomorrow, I am starting my reset. For a week, I will be detoxing. No grains, beans, or processed sugars. I don’t eat animals but if I did, they would be eliminated for this week, too. I will be eating fruit, veggies, some nuts and that’s about it. Hmmmm…sounds remarkably like my 100% raw diet! I am allowing for some cooked foods, soups, etc. Just cleaning out.
If you want to join me, would love to help you find your raw groove too!
A quick note: Voting for The Best of Raw ends tonight at midnight. You can vote for Rawmazing in the following categories: Best Raw Gourmet Chef (Susan Powers), Best Raw Website: Rawmazing (under media) and also Best Raw Book, Rawmazing Desserts (under media). Vote here: Best of Raw 2010.
Cheryl wrote on February 2, 2011
Hi Susan, I live in Mauritius (Island in the middle of Indian Ocean, just off Madagascar) and I have been trying to educate myself on going raw. I have bought quite a few raw books, but none of them give any sort of plan. I would really apreciate some help here and would love to do this with you. Happily, being a sub tropical island we have many fruits and I even have mangoes, bananas and lichies growing in my garden. Also I have been reading quite a bit of controversy about being 100% raw and I am a bit confused. Also, we can’t get most of the ‘superfoods’ such as macca powder etc. and need to make mostly everything from scratch. I can get Tamari, raw honey, agave nectar and now someone is importing raw cacao and coconut oil (stuff grows here but apart from fresh coconut, no other coconut products available), so I have been trying out some of your amazing recipes – just worried about so many nuts though, as I have been told that they cause weight gain. What do you think abaout this?
elizabeth wrote on February 1, 2011
Thank you Susan for the honesty. Refreshing in this day & time. I too slack at winter time, this is just the push I need to re-launch my 75-80% raw diet. Please know that you are making a difference in peoples lives with the healthy alternative of raw meals.
Ludia wrote on February 1, 2011
I am just going off a 3-week juice fast, so joining you in eating fruits, veggies and nuts is the perfect transition! Do you have a plan how you are going to do it? Would you, kindly share it with us, if you do? That would be soooo helpful to me! Thank you.
I am trying to develop new and better eating habits (I eat healthy, but I graze, then I am not hungry at dinner, but eat anyway; I am not 100% raw, and it’s the cooked food at dinner that is so easy to overeat on. Anyway, your example would be informative, to say the least).
Ludia
Susan wrote on February 1, 2011
First, thanks so much for all your votes. Second, I love raw. I have been 100% raw in the summer and in the winter. Interesting thing is that I feel amazing when 100% raw in the spring/summer/fall but not so much when I go 100% in the winter. But that is just me. I love that people are open-minded to finding out what works for them. If we don’t we will forever be on the roller coaster.
hstryk wrote on February 1, 2011
Thanks for this post! I’ve recently hit the reset button and I did well for a couple weeks. Now it seems like I have to keep hitting reset. I’ve found I just have to be ok with resetting my diet and not get discouraged every time. I’ve also found that calling my diet “raw vegan focused” I feel better than slapping a label on it, which comes with restrictions and baggage if I slip. I’ve never been 100% raw or vegan, but I just try to do my best (and I take comfort that I’m at least vegetarian). Thanks for your honesty and disclosure! That’s what I enjoy the most about your blog and Gena’s. No raw food guru perfectionism BS. 🙂
Barbcam wrote on February 1, 2011
Love the photo of your pooch in the snow! I’m so glad you wrote this post. I have also been struggling with finding my raw groove. When I first went raw, I went pretty much cold turkey and was very close to 100% raw. Being committed to it, I was rigid about it for the first 10 months. But I have had issues with digestion and low energy, and decided to ease up a bit. I eased up a bit too much over the holidays, like you perhaps! And now am settling into what really works for me. I’ve learned so much–and found out about some food sensitivities I have which I may not have discovered had I not gone raw. I’ve learned so much about healthy eating and how it does take a firm committment to eat healthy in the US, sadly. I’ve extended my palate and experimented with so many new foods. What’s funny, though, is that after easing up on raw and coming back to it, I’ve found that my tastes for certain raw ingredients have increased, which only helps be get back into a groove. I’m with you on this and will continue to read your posts faithfully!
Nadia wrote on February 1, 2011
I voted for you too 🙂 I hope you win in all 3 categories!
As for the raw food, I actually don’t think it’s healthy for anybody to stay on a raw food diet for years. Indulging yourself with some vegan treats from time to time might as well be a good thing 🙂
I also eat mostly raw in the summer & spring times, but in the winter I eat raw only until dinner. The dinner is usually something delicious, warm and cooked. And if you follow the proper food combining rules, you won’t gain weight. At least we don’t. I even managed to lose 2 pounds during the holiday season without doing anything special about it…
ivy wrote on January 31, 2011
Thanks for this excellent article. I voted for you. Good luck 🙂
Stephanie wrote on January 31, 2011
I just ended my 30 days raw (today is my LAST day!) and I’m almost sad to see it end. That said…I doubt my eats will go below 50-60% raw anymore because I just loved it so much! Like you though…winter=warm root veggies! My bf and I are planning on doing another month all raw later in the year once our garden starts yielding to avoid the added expenses!