Day 27- Satisfied with fruit for breakfast

I have been eating a big fruit salad every morning for the past 27 days or so, with about 3 whole fruits (pear, apple, banana, or orange) chopped up, and sometimes hemp seed, sometimes sunflower or pumpkin seeds, sometimes walnuts or almonds. My goal was to eat the fruit first, then eat any type of grain if I was still hungry (oatmeal, toast, cereal with almond milk, etc). At first this felt strange to eat fruit first- I was accustomed to eating cereal to fill me up, and then a little fruit afterwards. But after a big bowl of fruit & nuts, there is not much room for anything else. And since eating this way, I have started to feel amazingly satisfied with simply fruit & nuts for breakfast.

So, I think the key is to eat your fruits & vegetables first! That way you will make sure you get them, and they will fill you up so you won't have much room for the other processed, sugary, chemical-laden food you may be used to eating.

Another thing is that in order to get more nutrients from vegetables without consuming so many (which is hard to do), I plan on juicing. So I will have a cup of juice in the morning (I will include some fruits too, such as apples) and then have my breakfast. Can't wait to get a good juicer soon!


***Update 1/3/13:
Although I loved eating my fruit salad for breakfast, it took awhile to chew it all up. And since I have a toddler and an infant, I don't have the luxury of sitting down to eat for a long time, so I would usually take my bowl into the bathroom and have bites in between showering and getting ready for the day. Sometimes I even had to finish eating it in the car on the way to our playgroup or other errand. So when I read about Fruit Porridge in my my book "Raw Food" by Erica Palmcrantz, I realized I needed to try it out.

Porridge didn't exactly sound exciting and delicious when I first read about it. Sounds like that boring stuff the 3 bears ate in the woods. But it's anything but boring. Basically you take a fruit salad (plus nuts/seeds) and blend it up in the food processor to whatever consistency you like. I like to add ground flax seed & sunflower seeds to mine. The fruits can vary from day to day so you have a good variety for your taste buds. The very first one I made was this:

Winter breakfast porridge

1 orange

1 pear

1 banana

1-3 Tbsp ground flaxseeds

1-3 Tbsp sunflower seeds

a sprinkle of craisins

My latest favorite:

Goji Sunshine

(wow, you can almost feel the light and energy of the goji berries radiating from this picture!)

2 oranges

1 banana

1 apple

1/4 cup goji berries (soaked 20 minutes)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

To sum it up...

Fruit porridge- wow! It's so simple, yet so flavorful & satisfying! Way tastier than plain old oatmeal, and my body feels energized and ready for the day. 

I used to get this feeling in my head after breakfast- when I used to mostly eat cold cereal with milk. My head hurt, not like a headache, it was more of a dull ache and I felt tired and sluggish. I had tried eating different foods to see if it would go away, but I never found anything until I started eating just fruit & nuts/seeds for breakfast. Maybe it was the sugar in the cold cereal, or something in the milk. Whatever it was, it is gone now, and I'm so glad that I can finally start my day feeling great!

Day 21- The simplicity of eating on the go

As I prepared for a short trip over the holidays, I thought "Oh no, how am I going to continue to eat mostly raw & vegan while traveling?" Then I realized that eating this way is actually a lot easier than eating meat & dairy or other cooked foods while traveling! Easier to pack, that is. I guess it would be easy to stop at fast food restaurants, but that cost money, so if you're on a budget, it's easier to pack raw & vegan foods.

All you do is pack a bunch of whole fruits & vegetables! Apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocado, spinach, mini bell peppers, carrots, etc.

Then pack some hummus (to dip your veggies in), some trail mix (raw nuts & seeds & dried fruit), some organic granola or other organic dry cereals, some almond milk, sprouted bread and natural bagels, nut butter, and you're set!

Breakfast- a couple pieces of whole fruit and nuts/seeds
Snack- veggies/pita chips & hummus
Lunch- Sandwich with nut butter & jam, and fruit
Snack- almond milk with cereal & a banana
Dinner- big salad- spinach, avocado, bell peppers, carrots, sunflower seeds, crushed pita chips

Another plus is that most of this stuff doesn't go bad if left out, but a cooler with ice packs is good for the veggies, almond milk, and hummus.

Day 14- "How do vegans get enough protein?"

A very common question. Why is it so common? Because we have been taught that the only good sources of protein are meat & dairy. I have discovered that these sources do more harm than good, and our bodies don't actually need as much protein (especially from milk & dairy!) as many people are consuming these days. 

(Why are animal proteins not as good for our bodies as plant-based proteins? Here is just one among many reasons:
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/animal-protein.html)

If you want to see how much protein you need, you first must figure out your ideal weight.

For men, use this formula: 106 pounds for 60 inches of height (5 feet) and add 6 pounds for every inch over 60.

For women, use this formula: 100 pounds for 60 inches of height and add 5 pounds for every inch over 60. 

To find out how much protein is recommended, the RDA says to multiply your ideal weight by 0.37. (Taken from: http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/)
 
As a nursing mom, I need about 20 grams more. So, I need about   
66 grams of protein per day.

Let's take a look at how much I got today eating no meat or dairy:

Breakfast- 

Fruit salad (1 orange, 1 banana, 1 pear) (1+1+0.6=2.6g)
1/4 cup raw almonds (6g)
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds (7g)

Total= 15.6g

Snack-

A slice sprouted bread  with jam (5g)
Small apple (0.3)
Rest of seeds/nuts from breakfast

Total= 5.3g

Lunch- (usually I have a green smoothie but today I was running low on ingredients so I had leftovers)

Vegan enchilada- whole wheat tortilla (5g) + rice (3g) + beans (4g) + tomatoes, spinach, bell peppers (0.3) 

Total = 12.3g

Snack-

A slice bread with 1 Tbsp raw cashew butter and a drizzle of raw honey (5+3.5)

Total=8.5g

Dinner-

Quinoa lettuce tacos- 1 1/2 cups quinoa (14g)+ 3 romaine leaves (0.9)+ tomatoes, carrots, apples (0.3)

Total= 14.2g

Dessert-

4 dates (0.8)
1/4 cup almonds (6g)  

Total  =6.8g

Late night snack-

1 cup dry cereal- 5g 
(I was out of almond milk)


Grand Total= 67.7g

Not bad! 

(Note: I am hoping to increase my fruit & vegetable intake to get more protein from those sources, as well as start my day with a glass of fresh green juice, in addition to my breakfast) 

(Also, for anyone concerned about whether I'm getting enough of other nutrients while nursing, I am taking a prenatal vitamin and an additional calcium supplement just to be safe.)

With a little googling you can find out the protein value in almost any food. This website is particularly useful for that: http://calorielab.com/index.html

This website has a good article about protein sources for those on a raw vegan diet: 
http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/raw-food-diet/raw-nutrition/protein-sources-on-a-vegan-raw-food-diet/ 

Here are some examples, which I got off some other websites:

Fruits
I have found that most fruits contain about 0.3-1g of protein per cup (or per whole fruit), with the exceptions of:
• 1 Avocado- 4g
• 1/4 cup Goji berries- 4g
Here's a list of all the fruits imaginable with their protein content (and you can see what other nutrients, fiber, and calories they have as well):
http://www.health-alternatives.com/fruit-nutrition-chart.html

Beans
Most beans are 7-10 grams per half cup!

Vegetables
• 1 cup broccoli- 5 grams
• 1 cup spinach- 5 grams
• 1 cup peas- 9 grams
• 1 medium artichoke- 4 grams
• 1 cup asparagus- 5 grams
• 1 cup beet greens- 3 grams
(From: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vegetarian-protein-sources.html#ixzz2F4bVEQ85)

Grains
• 1 cup Quinoa - 9 grams.
• Oatmeal - 1 cup = 6 grams.
• Sprouted grain bread products - buns, tortillas, bread- 5 g
• Pasta- 6g
• Amaranth, bulgur, brown rice, wheat germ, oat bran are other grains with a high protein content.

Nuts/seeds
• 1/4 cup cashews - 5 grams
• 1/4 cup walnuts - 5 grams
• 1/4 cup pistachios - 6 grams
• 1/4 cup almonds - 6 grams
• Nut butters - peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter - 2 tablespoons has about 8 grams of protein
• 1 oz. sesame seeds 6.5 grams, 3 tablespoons of tahini - 8 grams
• 1/4 cup Sunflower seeds- 7 g
• 1/4 cup Pumpkin seeds- 7 g
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds- 3g
(From http://www.naturalnews.com/036270_vegan_protein_legumes.html#ixzz2F4cTbrsq)


But aren't plant sources of protein not as good as meat because they are not "complete proteins"?

This is a good answer to this (from http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/vegan-protein.html )

"A complete protein is a protein source that has a good proportion of those 9 essential amino acids. Simple enough?
In case you're wondering, the human essential amino acids include isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, valine, and histidine.

"Typically, any protein that comes from animals, including meat, dairy, eggs, and fish, is a complete protein. This might seem like a great case against the vegan diet, but the problem is that animal protein is highly acidic and causes illnesses within your body.

"There are also many good plant-based sources of complete vegan proteins, including soybeans, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, hempseed, salvia, and spirulina. Some plant proteins have smaller amounts of one or two of the essential amino acids, and that's why they aren't promoted as often as the animal proteins." 

...That and the fact that there exists a huge business called the Meat Industry....

If you haven't already, go watch "Forks Over Knives"! (Documentary on Netflix) 

Day 13- Vegan Enchiladas

Today I felt like eating enchiladas. Then I realized I could! Enchiladas don't need meat and cheese- you can put in rice & beans and whatever veggies you want!

Vegan Enchiladas

Mix together: 3/4 of a 15 oz can enchilada sauce (or your own), 4 cups rice, 1-2 cans black beans, 1 cup chopped spinach, 2 chopped tomatoes, 1 cup chopped bell peppers, anything else you want.

Spread half of the remaining sauce on the bottom of a glass baking dish. Fill whole wheat tortillas with mixture, roll up and put into pan (with the seam face down). Pour remaining sauce and leftover rice & bean mixture on top.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Top with avocado cream (avocado mixed with cilantro, splash of lime, and seasoning salt).

Delicious!

Day 12- "But I can't afford to eat organic"

It's pretty simple actually. You don't have to spend more than you do right now. Use the money that you normally would spend on meat & dairy on organic produce. And find the good deals. You will be able to buy a lot with that money because meat & dairy are expensive. 

Really it's about buying nutrient dense foods instead of foods that are contributing to heart disease & other illnesses. When we fill our house with healthy options, we will have no choice but to eat them. :) 

 I know that it takes effort to change the way we eat because it's easier to do what we've always done instead of change. We're all busy & it may just seem too hard. But we have two choices: we can eat our way to disease & suffering, or we can eat our way to energy & a full life. Some people will get sick anyway, but wouldn't you want to avoid what you can?