I started my raw food diet journey back in 2009, together with Paul. It has benefited my body tremendously and I healed a lot of health issues I couldn’t heal on other diets. Cooked food was not something I had on my radar.
Why I Started Adding Some Cooked Food To My Raw Food Diet
When I got pregnant 4 years into my high-fruit and low-fat raw vegan diet, I began to have cravings for cooked starches and vegetables.
I craved simple bland steamed starches, like potatoes with nothing added to them. I even had dreams of eating cooked food!
When my pregnancy finally got confirmed (initially, tests kept showing negative), I decided to add some cooked food into my raw food diet and ate it, on average, 2 times per week.
After I gave birth and during the breastfeeding stage in my life, I still ate some cooked food here and there. And by the way, I’m still breastfeeding and will keep on feeding Elanie for as long as she wants to.
On most days, I was able to stay all raw and this is how I wanted things to be because raw makes me feel my best.
However, on some days, I would include steamed potatoes and vegetables and I found that it helped me to get the calories I needed to be present for our child as a parent.
In fact, my current goal is to be 100% healthy, satiated, and be able to maintain my focus as a parent, vs me holding on to being 100% raw, undereating, feeling angst and stressed.
At the same time, I cannot eat steamed food often. Raw is what makes me feel my best and this is why I eat an all raw plan on MOST days.
So in this video today, I am talking about my raw food journey and discuss some of the reasons why I now include some cooked food, on occasion.
What are your thoughts and experiences with raw and cooked foods? Please post your comments below!
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When i eat potatoes or rice, i get acne and dandruff. also slower digestion and elimination with cooked starches. i wish i could eat starches with no problems but it is not working for me as well as fruits. still recommend to eat starches and see how it works for yourself. no dogma just valid reasons..
I feel the effects of cooked food as well and this is why I eat raw in my day-to-day life, and only have something cooked (like steamed sweat potatoes) on occasion.
I definitely eat cooked food. I have an aversion to labeling myself. But I also believe that every person has to eat what is right for their body in the space they are at the moment. I don’t have major health issues except for being slightly overweight. I am also constantly under quite a bit of stress because of the lifestyle I have chosen for now. But this space will pass and then something else will be right. Why should you feel that you have to justify what you eat to the community? It’s your body and you know what’s right for it.
it is very simple without all the concepts…i eat fresh fruits and vegetables, locally grown (or grown by myself), in season, and, sometimes raw and sometimes steamed, but, i don’t add spices or herbs to alter the vegetables…if the fruit or vegetable is not something i would want by itself, then, no thank you…i have been doing this for over forty five years…p.s., i have my own orchard in the southern california desert and i grow many varieties of citrus, guavas, figs, mangoes, grapes, as well as tomatoes, squash, etc….again, it is simple by ‘trusting the trust….
Yum, your own orchid – that’s a dream to strive towards!
I believe that God put us originally in a paradise and that natural foods like fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts were the ideal food. So this is the way that I eat most on the time. If I’m at a wedding or a guest in somebody’s house, I no longer bring up food. I eat whatever, enjoy it and go back to vegan, the next meal. It is the what works best for me. However, I do think we needs some supplements, like B12 and D3 in northern climates where I live. (Canada). I would be interested in finding the best, healthiest, necessary supplements.
Hello. We eat some cooked foods. I am a marathon runner and my teen a competitive gymnast so i am quite mindful of our cooked or raw meals. I must say raw green leafy veggies or steamed is great but we must keep carbs in our lifestyle not only for energy but yum we like the taste of some. I think moderation is key. Everyone has their own needs and if it works for you and your family and you are at peace with it I say good for you. Keep up the great work!!
I am currently eating 2 fruit with greens meals thru the day then a little fruit again followed by steamed vegetables mostly without sweet or white potatoes now every evening with small amounts of avo / seed dressing. This is working better for me then including any grains because I simply can’t take the mucous anymore!!!! If I eat rice at night I am sneezing and blowing my nose for half the next day!!! I have never yet made the jump to all raw dinners as I am often looking for the comfort of a warm meal of an evening but I’m already feeling a lot clearer in my head. There are always times I’m going to have to eat rice, sushi etc if I’m out and starving – I’m a busy mum too and at least we have some cleaner starch options if fruitless – thanks for your wonderful videos guys x
I so agree about grains, they don’t work for me at all either. In saying that, avocado also produces mucus for me, if I eat a whole thing.
It easier when you live in warm place but when my winter is -25 I need
Warm food … And the fruit are import so no nutrient in them . My summer is only
3 month ect . For this reason it’s very difficult to stay all raw and I’m not
a salad crazy eater . Plus I’m afraid to much fruit is too much glucose or
sugar in me.
Thanks
I thank you for your comments. I find that at times cooked foods help me retain presence and focussed. I find if I focus too much on being 100% raw it is not good for my mental health, although like you I always feel best on raw foods. Lack of produce here in Tasmania makes it difficult at certain parts of the year. Steamed food in my opinion with no condiments or exitotoxins should be considered as healthful and beneficial in maintaining a healthy body and mind.
Thanks for sharing!
Aaron Schultz
Though I had been eating raw for awhile, I have recently added cooked food. Fortunately I feel satisfied on it, but unfortunately I am addicted to it…I eat more and more of it – for that same satisfaction! I am going to have to wean myself back off of it for that reason.
I am a health coach started eating raw foods about one year ago with 80/10/10 to improve my health. While I improved my digestion and skin quality, I didn’t experience the an overall increase in energy and I gained some weight. By winter time, things just got worse. I found myself angry whenever I was hungry and eating fruits and greens because of the cold (I have Raynauds symptoms). I don’t think it is worth it to be angry over food! I added teas and warm drinks but it was not satisfying. I don’t think there is anything wrong with 80/10/10 when managed correctly but I find in my case that much tweaking is necessary. I will continue to stay mostly raw and vegan but I’ve found that incorporating more cooked foods (about 3 meals a week) helps me to stay satiated and I tend not to over eat for my activity level especially during the colder months. I am out and about, on my feet most days, workout 30 to 60 minutes 5 to 7 days a week. Due to thyroid irregularities, I’m finding that a higher protein amounts works better for me as well. Welcome back rice and beans! 🙂
Hi Yulia!
I decided quite awhile ago that I would never eat an exclusively raw diet… I love to eat and think of what my next meal will be all the time and I don’t like to stress about it. The easiest part of raw for me is breakfast as I am not hungry until 9 or 10 and I find juicy fruit very appealing at that time. Right now I’m experimenting with fruit in the mid morning and a large afternoon meal of greens, veggies and cooked potatoes. I eat nothing after 4 or 5. I find a regular rhythm like that helps my bowels and I feel lighter. On any given day, especially in the summer I will eat all raw because it is so appealing. For me it’s all about not struggling with myself and the decisions I make!
Love to you, Paul and Elanie!
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