What do you typically eat in a day?I've been asked this question quite a bit lately from people that are genuinely interested in a raw foods lifestyle. I began transitioning from SAD (Standard American Diet) to Raw almost six months ago, and a "typical" day has changed along the way. I thought I'd give you a snapshot of how the transition has progressed.
Six Months Ago8:00 am
cup of coffee (no sugar, lots of half & half); banana
9:30 am
cup of coffee; onion bagel with tomato, red onion and salmon cream cheese
12:30 pm
bacon cheeseburger (beef, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mayo, ketchup); curly fries; coleslaw; Coke®
4:00 pm
Venti® iced coffee (no sugar, lots of half & half); chocolate chip cookie
6:30 pm
3 slices pizza (onion, black olives); small dinner salad w/ Italian dressing; AriZona® Green Tea w/ Honey
10:00 pm
Microwave buttered popcorn
Exercise: huh?
As you can see, pretty standard American fare. You'll note that I would never think of consuming "diet" drinks because, you know, aspartame causes cancer. Yup, that's where I was at, concerned about aspartame. You do see the irony in this, don't you?
Of course, if I was on a "diet," my typical day would change dependent upon the chosen diet of the moment – I might be counting carbs or points, flushing fat with cranberry juice, or consuming half my weight in protein.
Four Months Ago8:00 am
16 ounce fresh green juice (kale, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger)
9:00 am
2 bananas
10:00 am
1/2 cantaloupe
11:00 am
1/4 watermelon
12:30 pm
large salad w/ raw Caesar dressing (mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, cherry tomato, red onion, cucumber, avocado, dried cranberries, spicy sprouts); two bowls of Savory Pumpkin Harvest Soup
3:30 pm
16 ounce fresh green juice (kale, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger)
4:30 pm
bag of organic baby carrots
6:30 pm
salad w/ balsamic dressing (baby spinach, tomato, onion); 2 ears raw corn on the cob; steamed asparagus; grilled wild Alaskan salmon
Exercise: walk one hour in morning and evening
At this point, I began the pattern of fruit till noon, raw till dinner. I stopped eating refined and processed foods. I also eliminated dairy and soy. I had to "unlearn" everything I had been taught about fresh fruits and carrots being bad because they contain sugar and will make me fat.
I ate when I was hungry. As you can see, I was eating often and consuming a lot of food. I believe that despite being obese, my body was extremely malnourished. If I got hungry in the evening or wanted something sweet, I'd reach for fruit. No longer sedentary, I was starting to move my body on a daily basis.
Two Months Ago8:30 am
32 ounce fresh green juice (collards, cucumber, celery, parsley, apple)
10:30 am
3 bananas
1:00 pm
chopped salad (green beans, corn, yellow bell pepper, carrot, grape tomato, zucchini, chive); romaine wraps w/ portobello mushroom, avocado, sprouts
4:00 pm
32 ounce fresh juice (Beetific Elixir)
6:00 pm
Asian salad w/ ginger dressing (baby romaine, baby bok choy, pear, sugar snap peas, mung bean sprouts, fresh basil and cilantro); Pad Thai w/ raw “peanut” sauce (purple cabbage, carrot, zucchini, young coconut, raw cashews)
7:00 pm
Orange sherbet (coconut, dates, stevia, fresh orange juice)
Exercise: walking an average of 5 miles a day; 30 minutes yoga daily
Still following the same formula of fruit till noon, but I was eating far less and not as often. Increased my morning green juice to a quart. Occasionally, I'd have some cooked food, but only at dinner. By this time, however, the only cooked foods I could stomach were lightly steamed veggies, baked sweet potato, or grilled fish. Of course, my head would often try to tell me otherwise and I would attempt to eat a heavier cooked meal. But, my body would say "nope" and within a half hour I was in the bathroom.
Yesterday10:00 am
32 ounce fresh green juice (kale, cucumber, celery, lemon, ginger)
11:30 am
2 pink grapefruit, 3 navel oranges
1:00 pm
salad (mixed greens, yellow bell pepper, tomato, red onion, crunchy sprouts) w/ golden elixir (lemon juice, raw honey, garlic, ginger, olive oil); spicy tomato soup (tomato, garlic, red bell pepper, cayenne pepper, avocado, lemon)
4:00 pm
32 ounce green smoothie (spinach, banana, pineapple)
6:30 pm
arame salad (arame seaweed, red bell pepper, pineapple, basil, tamari, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil); Mermaid Pasta with Veggies
Exercise: walk 6 miles; 90 minute yoga class
Same drill – start my day with fresh green juice and fruit until noon. The difference being, I typically don't want my juice until later in the morning now. Instead, I'll usually reach for a quart of water to start my day.
My meals are quick and simple to prepare. No fuss. Maybe twice a week, I'll have something cooked at dinner like a baked sweet potato. Haven't had my beloved wild Alaskan salmon in quite a while. Just no desire, really. Eee gads! Am I becoming a vegan?
What do you typically eat in a day? Has it changed at all over the last year?