I have survived two days of my raw food diet, and seems like I would survive Day 3 (today) as well. (Fingers crossed).

Yesterday was a little difficult. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, it was my friend’s daughter’s birthday. And she was serving pizza and cake AND beer! And for those of you wondering if I survived, well yes I did! I did feel a little weak by the end of the day- I think the shock of having cake in front of me and not eating it just did not sit well with my body. Today morning though I was fine. And fresh. And did 45 minutes of yoga with V. He does a different yoga than the one I am used to. I do P-90X yoga, while he does a lot of breathing exercises and of course a few asanas as well. I need to expand my lungs, so the breathing exercises were a good change.

If yesterday was difficult, today was even more. The most difficult part is cooking for V. Even though he offered to join me in the raw diet, I didn’t let him because as one of my friends puts it, ‘if the man goes on a raw diet, he will blow away with the wind’. The guy just has good “thin” genes. Sigh! Plus, he loves taking care of his body and hates snacking and is not much of a foodie so doesn’t get tempted by food, unlike some other people aka me!

So V is not on any diet. That means I have to cook his meals. And that’s where it becomes difficult. The smell of the tadka hitting hot dal, my hands touching a warm chappati while making it on the skillet. It really isn’t easy. And the most annoying part- I have to cook blind. I don’t know if the salt is fine in the food, or if the spices are correct. And I almost go to taste the food, out of habit, and then realize I am not supposed to eat anything cooked and my hand stops mid air. I don’t know how my grandmother (a vegetarian) managed to cook such amazing chicken. I could have never been a vegetarian and cooked non-veg. I need to taste my cooking to know how I can improvise.

If cooking food for V wasn’t killing me enough, today I really tested my will power. I cooked samosas as well today. The thing is my friend had a baby two weeks back. And I haven’t met the baby since I have this lingering cold. Anyway, today we plan to go pay the baby girl a visit and since I know the new mother loves samosas, I thought I’ll take them along for her. It’s torture for me and actually nobody asked me to make them, but I guess I just like to make my life a little more difficult than it already is.

Of course I had to up the ante even more, and baked a cake as well for V’s office Thursday. And before you think what a good soul I am, I had to because of my SRC assignment which goes live this Monday and I had nothing prepared for it (more of it later on Monday). And the worst part of all this cooking for others is that I have to rely on V’s opinion on the final product. Even though I love that he loves everything I make, if I am making something to serve to others I really wish he would critique it a little less diplomatically, actually critique the food. Either way, it’s the thought that counts and I assume (based on V’s answers) that both the samosas and the cake are, at the least, good (if not great).

Coming to my diet. Yesterday and today I had a generous helping of raw buckwheat groats for breakfast. I had a pretty good salad yesterday with a dressing made from nutritional yeast, the recipe and pictures of which you see in today’s post. Today too I had salad for lunch and dinner. Today’s salad though was a different story. It started out fine- tasting good, but when I had it a little later it was quite an effort to finish the salad. I think my body is just fed up of salads and can’t relish them for both lunch and dinner for three consecutive days! Whatever the reason, I just could not eat the salad. Finally I had to blend it and drink it up just so that I meet my daily calorie intake requirements. And today is just day 3. Four more days to go!

Well, for now here is the recipe for the salad I had yesterday, which I actually liked.

Do note I am not claiming this dressing that I am sharing today is better than any of the creamier and non-raw versions- but it’s pretty good as being a raw dressing and it is also packed with a lot of vitamins. I do understand that not all olive oils are raw, but there are some cold pressed raw olive oils out there.

Nutritional yeast Dressing
 
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 green chilli
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • ¼ tsp mesquite powder
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Mix the above ingredients and use as a dressing in your salad.
  2. To my salad, I added baby spinach, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, hemp seeds, walnut, cucumber, red bell peppers, raw pumpkin seeds and pears. Pears added a welcome sweetness to the salad and with the crunch of the walnuts (or pecans) and the creamy dressing, I loved this salad.

Raw food revelation 2: I like raw cauliflower and I don’t think I could ever be a vegetarian and cook a chicken dish- I need to taste the food I am cooking.

13 Thoughts on “Going Raw: Day 2 & Day 3

  1. i know this will be discouraging but i dont think i will have the will power to pull this off..i mean c’mmon so much temptation ya 🙂
    but glad you are sticking to it Shumaila ..this will end up in a more beautiful and healthy you !
    sulagna recently posted..I decide to loose itMy Profile

    • You know that’s what I thought that I wont be able to pull this off (though it’s still premature to think that I can). I have never been able to stick to any diet. I tried the GM diet once and gave up on the 3rd day with a big bowl of Maggi. But, this time I made sure that I really eat a lot and make sure I get all my nutrients. It is expensive thought to go Raw. Fresh Produce here in the US is more expensive than canned stuff and other processed food. So I am glad its only a week.:)

  2. gee gal how do you do it- samosas,cake, daily cooking and still managing to hold on to your diet ! wowee, kudos really. But if eating healthy is that glamorous like your pics, then yup more power to it !
    Priya Sreeram recently posted..Melting Moments – The Buttery, Crumbly DelightsMy Profile

    • It’s difficult but somehow not impossible. The smell of samosas though lingered for such a long time in the house. It killed me! Can’t wait to try your melting moments. Another 3 weeks till I can though!

  3. The salad looks amazing. Are you having fruits? If you mix it up, sometimes fruits and sometimes vegetables, it may be a bit easier. I have heard watermelon is extremely good for cleansing and keeping weight gain at bay.

    Frying samosas would be such a pain in your current situation. 🙁

    The salad pic is amazing.
    indugetscooking recently posted..Samosa Packets with Tuna FillingMy Profile

    • Yes, yes I am having fruits. The thing with a raw diet is that if you only eat veggies there is no way you can meet your daily calorie requirement. For that you need to add fruits and fat in the form of nuts to your diet (though it’s recommended not to go overboard with the nuts). I add pears or apples or grapes or some other fruit to the salad, but yesterday I just kept it a salad thinking I would it eat fruit as a snack. I am having a lot of watermelon- you are right it is good for cleansing. My dad also told me that if you boil some mint in water, and then strain it and have it throughout the day it is a great detoxifying tool. Technically I am not supposed to heat anything, but since the whole aim is to detoxify and cleanse the body, I will start that from today. It’s just water anyway! I already squeeze a lemon or orange in my water to flavor things up:)

  4. As you say, one’s body can get tired of salads in the raw but that dressing looks great! I guess its because of the diet that normal everyday things like cooking fresh food and baking something – things we dont consciously think of otherwise – become more of a torture during this time. I’m sure you will pass the challenge with flying colours and a great new perspective on raw food, can feel the determination in your words and the genuine interest behind taking this up.
    Vinita recently posted..Tis the season of Ganapati!My Profile

    • Thanks Vinita for the support. Honestly it’s not been as difficult as I thought it would be though evening I do get a little tempted by something hot and cooked. I am glad I had a week of gluten free sugar free diet before I started the raw diet, because I don’t have the craving for sugar or bread as such. Just would like to saute the veggies a little and I do miss cheese!

  5. What’s the first thing you’re going to have when you finish this raw regimen? Have you thought about that a lot? Like, more than 2 million times?

    • haha! You bet I have! Well, I am still going to be on my gluten free and sugar free diet till the end of this month once this week is over- so I can’t go over board with the hogging. I have decided on my breakfast for Monday though- planning to make dhoklas. They are gluten free and warm and I love them. Lunch is still being thought of!

  6. You are totally inspiring me to go on a RAW diet as well! I am horrible and controlling food crave but I still wanna give this a try! The dressing sounds pretty original. Never used yeast in dressing before.
    Kankana recently posted..Quinoa Salad with Ricotta and Garam Masala DressingMy Profile

    • Oh you should. Now that I am on Day 4, I have gotten used to the food, and it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be; but then it’s how I have feel in the morning when I am fresh and not that hungry- evenings are tough and you would probably heard a different reply if I replied to your comment in the evening! Honestly, though, all these greens and veggies and fruits does make me feel good. And I have started appreciating raw food more. By the way, the yeast is nutritional yeast, not the regular kind of yeast. it is not raw, but lots of raw enthusiasts and vegans use it because it provides Vit B-12 something that you can only get from animal products.

  7. I feel healthier just reading your posts and looking at all of those colorful veggies, have to be super healthy for you. Keep on target. Take care, BAM
    Bam’s Kitchen recently posted..Anja’s Amazing One Pan Steinbeisser DishMy Profile

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