* What’s New?: New E-Book Update

* Feature Article: Go Green, The Raw Food Way!

New E-Book Update

As was mentioned in a recent email, I have been busily working on my very first e-book, titled:

“21 Days to Conquer Your Cooked Food Cravings”

A Guide for Ending Cravings on a Raw Food Diet

The writing phase is finally done and I’m now working with the wonderful web designer Amy De Wolfe (designer of this site, btw) to make everything pretty and professional.

I’ll be sending another email update out to all of my subscribers later this week.  It will include more details on the book itself, as well as bonuses that will be offered, pricing, and the launch sale.

Feel free to send in any questions that you would like answered to swayze@fitonraw.com.

Swayze

P.S. If you would like to receive updates about my new book on cravings, as well as get your own copy of my free 24-page report The 4 Principles of a Raw Diet, I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter Peachy Keen Ezine.  To sign-up, simply enter in your name and email address in the box at the top right.

Go Green, The Raw Food Way!

I’ve received a handful of emails lately concerned with the amount of sweetness on a low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet.  As expected, several of you aren’t quite used to the sweetness of so much fruit

To solve the problem, many beginner raw foodists substitute savory greens and/or nuts, seeds and avocado for sweet fruit.

Big Mistake

There are 2 problems with this approach:

1. Greens and vegetables have few calories
2. Nuts, seeds, and avocado are high-fat foods

In terms of greens, these foods are simply too low in calories.  Even a large salad of 8 ounces of romaine, one large cucumber, a whole bell pepper, and two medium tomatoes is under 200 calories!  The only way to increase the calories in this meal would be to add in fruit or fat.

Which brings me to the second problem: fatty nuts, seeds, and avocado.  Contrary to what people (raw and cooked foodists alike) like to believe, nuts are NOT a high protein food.  Take an ounce of walnuts (14 halves), for instance.  With only 9% of calories from protein and whopping 83% from fat, it becomes clear that nuts and seeds are really a high FAT food.

Avocados are in the same boat, with 4% protein and 77% fat.

SIDE NOTE: I’m referring to the Hass avocado here.  There are avocados with lower percentages of fat, such as some Florida varieties, but these are not as readily available.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this fact, it becomes a problem when these foods are substituted for fruit and eaten in mass quantities.  While it is perfectibly acceptable to eat a pound (or two) of fruit in one sitting, this is a recipe for disaster in terms of fat.

Too much fat has been linked to obesity, heart disease, atherosclerosis, and even depression.

To learn more about the problems associated with eating a high fat raw food diet, check out this article.

This is why I side with the numerous doctors and health institutes – including Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Douglas Graham, Dr. Dean Ornish, and The Pritikin Longevity Center – in recommending a low fat diet for optimal health.  This works out to about 1-2 ounces of nuts or ½ – 1/3 of an avocado per day (depending upon your caloric needs).

This means that if you decide to substitute sweet fruit for fat you will need to keep the quantities low.  Say you add 1 tbsp of nuts to the salad example above.  This still only gives you about 350 calories!

And that’s assuming that you can actually consume such a mountainous salad in one sitting.  I’m pretty proud of my eating prowess when it comes to fruit.  But 8 ounces of lettuce and a slew of veggies?

No way, Jose!

With the low amount of calories in this dish, you’ll be back in the kitchen looking for more fuel (probably in the form of simple carbohydrates) within the hour.

What to Do?

The easy way out is just to eat more sweet fruit.  But you’re sick of sweet!

It seems we’re back at square one, right?

Not quite.

There is a tasty solution.

Go Green!

Green smoothies, that is!

A green smoothie – renowned amongst gourmet and low fat raw foodists alike – is a fruit smoothie with greens added to it.  Sure, you’ve probably heard of them.  But have you actually tried one?

Here’s a tasty raw recipe:

• 3 bananas
• 1 pint of strawberries
• Handful or two of romaine lettuce

Blend everything together.  Add water to achieve the texture you desire.  I like my smoothies thin so I tend to add a few cups to the mix.

Why It Works

The green smoothie concept works for (you guessed it) 2 reasons:

1. It’s still fruit-based, providing quality fuel and satiation to your body.
2. The greens help to cut the sweetness.

Even though green (and contrary to the lovely picture in this post, often times pretty gross looking), green smoothies are very much a fruity meal.

As you can see from the recipe above, the smoothie is still mostly fruit.  The green comes from only a handful or two of romaine.

It is this small amount of “green-ness” that really adds a nice crisp, clean taste to the meal.  The drink will still be sweet, but not sickly so.

And you can easily add more fruit or make more than one smoothie to meet your caloric needs.

For instance, whenever I make smoothies (green or not), I have to make two separate batches because I like them so thin.

*sigh* If only they made 64 ounce blenders…

Long-Term Sweet Sickness?

Almost every beginner raw foodist has a problem eating so much sweet fruit at first.

Even I, the Fruit Queen Goddess that I am, had some troubles.  Bananas were especially sickening to me.  They were just so thick and sweet.  Yuck!

And to think, now I eat multiple bananas EVERYDAY!

If you stick with a high fruit, low fat diet, you will not experience this aversion to sweetness forever.  And the transformation generally does not take that long.  We’re talkin’ just a few weeks or so, on average.

And eventually, you’ll stop thinking of fruit as sweet altogether.  At some point, it just becomes delicious, mouth-watering, satiating food.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. If you thought this post was going to be about environmental responsibility, I’m sorry for “tricking” you!  I promise to write a truly green article in the coming days.

Forgive me?

* What’s New: Busy, Busy, Busy!

* Feature Article: Low Fat Raw Vegan: What Does One Eat?

Busy, Busy, Busy!

As I mentioned in week’s article on grazing, I’ve been pretty busy over the past few weeks.  To be honest, my schedule has actually been full since the middle of summer.

If you are subscribed to my mailing list, you may remember a short email that I sent out back in July.  I simply wanted to know your biggest problem with going and staying raw.  This was for a “new project” I was working on.

That “new project” is what has helped to keep me so very busy.  After 3 months of solid hard work, it is now rapidly nearing completion and I’m pretty darn excited!  Not to mention a bit relieved.

Well, that’s all the info I have for you today (I know, not much).

Stay tuned because I’ll be releasing some more details in the next few days!

Swayze

Low Fat Raw Vegan: What Does One Eat?

“What do you eat?”

Every time I answer this question,  my response changes.

That’s because the best quality fruit is that which is grown in season.  So, I tend to eat seasonally, meaning my diet changes pretty frequently.

Just last week I was finishing off my last watermelon and now I’m diggin’ on some Valencia oranges!  Grapes should be in season soon so I’ll soon be gobbling up those as well.

With that said, I know how helpful seeing a low fat raw vegan diet “in action” can be if you are new to the diet.  And even if you’re not, it can help give you some perspective on this lifestyle or even just help to reassure you that you aren’t alone!

Or maybe I’ve got it wrong.  Maybe you guys are just a bunch of Curious Kitties and Nosy Nancys who like to get all up in my biz.

It’s cool.  It means I get to talk about my favorite subject…food!

What I Eat

Here’s a rundown of what I’m currently eating:

*Breakfast/Lunch*

The one component of my diet that has been pretty consistent for the past year or so is bananas.  The first 1-2 meals of my day generally consist of 12-15 bananas, depending on the size of each fruit.

There are several reasons for this:

• bananas are filling,
• bananas are cheap,
• bananas are readily available, and
• I like bananas!

*Dinner*

My dinner meal relies upon what is in season.  As I said above, I’ve been eating (actually juicing) Valencia oranges for the past week or so.  It’s hard to give an amount, as the sweet fruit for this meal changes so often.  As far as orange juice, it’s about one mason jar full (32 ounces).

In addition to sweet fruit, I also eat non-sweet fruits and/or greens during this meal.  Since tomato season isn’t quite over here in Tennessee (despite all the cold, wet weather), I’m making sure to get my fill.  I’m guessing it comes out to about 1-2 pounds of tomatoes, give or take.

If I eat cucumbers or greens during this meal, I won’t eat as many tomatoes.  I tend to eat tomatoes at almost every dinner meal, even in the off seasons.  I love them so much!

*Meal Plan*

So here’s what it all looks like (for now):

• Breakfast: 6-7 bananas

• Lunch: 6-7 bananas

• Dinner: 32 ounces OJ, 1-2 pounds of tomatoes

All Mono?

The majority of my fruit meals are mono-meals.  I prefer to eat one fruit on its own until I am full.

This shift to mono-mealing was a gradual, unconscious one for me.  I remember eating a bowl of grapes last year and realizing, “Hey, I’ve been eating lots of mono-meals lately.”

I didn’t force it.  It just kinda happened.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the occasional smoothie.  I had one yesterday for lunch, in fact!

I’ve found that smoothies are great for using up barely decent fruit (like a mealy but ripe nectarine) or overripe bananas…which is what happened yesterday!

No Fats?

I do not eat very many fatty foods.  I just forget about them, really.

When I do eat fatty foods, it’s usually 1/2 of an avocado during the evening (after I’ve eaten everything else).  I probably eat about one avocado every month or so.

As far as nuts go, I haven’t had any in quite some time.  I find that it’s much easier to over eat these foods.  Plus, I would have to order them online to actually get them raw.

It’s easier for me to just leave them out of my day-to-day diet.

But if you happen to have any extra pistachios lying around the house, feel free to send ‘em my way.

What Does This Mean for You?

Hopefully learning what I eat on a semi day-to-day basis helps to give you some idea of how a low fat raw vegan diet works in the real world.

But please, don’t take this post as a program to follow.  The specific fruits, the number of meals, and the amount of food I consume are all due to personal preference and my level of physical activity, among other things.

In other words, it’s idiosyncratic!

Whether you hate oranges or love pineapple totally does not matter.  It’s the basic “formula” that counts.

And by formula I mean:

Lots of Sweet Fruit + Some Greens + Limited Fats = Dietary Success!

So What Are You Eating?

Now it’s my turn to play the busy body!

Let me guess.  Bananas?  Figs?  Apples?  Cherries?  Oranges?  Grapes?  Pineapple?  Canteloupe?  Blueberries?

I wanna know!

Go raw, be fit, and enjoy your fruit!

Swayze

Man, have I been busy!  I just started my final year at college a few weeks ago and I cannot believe the amount of work I have.

This semester is seriously the largest workload I have ever had during my time at school.  It’s been pretty hard to keep up with everything.

In order to help myself adjust to all the extra work and my wonky school schedule, I was forced to change my eating pattern.  For the first week of school, I ate 4-6 meals a day instead of the usual 2-3.

Essentially, I became a grazer for a week.  And by the end of this week, I could not wait to get my schedule straightened out and start eating normally again!

Why Grazing Sucks

Do you wanna know what I hate more than anything?

Constant Hunger.

I will do anything and everything to avoid constant hunger.  I cannot stand it.  It is just so hard to focus on the tasks that I need to do and be productive when all I can think about is food.
Well, this is what I got when I became a grazer for a week.  I was constantly hungry.  I honestly could not focus on anything because I kept thinking about my next meal!

I would literally finish a meal at 9am and be wandering back into the kitchen by 11!

Maybe you’re used to that kind of timing, but for me it is so annoying!  When I am working or doing whatever, I want to be focused on that specific task.  I do not want to be thinking about food every two hours.

That was my life when I ate cooked food and I definitely do not want to go back down that road!

I much prefer 2-3 meals a day.  When I eat this way, the gap between meal times is between four and five hours instead of the measly two.

This way, I can be totally into my food when I am eating and then totally engrossed in other tasks when I am not.

Hooray productivity!

Tiny Portions

Grazing all day means smaller portions.  Sure, you get to eat more often, but as I said above, that is not a plus for me.

One of the reasons I am so fond of the low fat raw vegan diet is because I get to eat massive amounts of food in one meal.  There is truly nothing more satisfying than eating two pounds of grapes in one sitting without an ounce of guilt.

It is nourishment AND an ego boost, all in one!

You don’t get that when everything is split up into small meals.  Sure, you are still eating the same amount of food overtime, but it just isn’t the same.

I need that ego boost!

Grapes…Again?

I finally get it.  I finally understand why so many people complain about the raw food diet being boring.  I completely get why people end up returning to cooked food for lack of “variety.”

When I was eating lots of small meals throughout the day, fruit seemed totally boring and even bland at times.

I can’t believe I’m actually saying writing this, but it’s true!  I honestly did not enjoy eating bananas for three meals in a row.  I wanted other fruit, particularly fruit that had gone out of season (like mangoes and peaches).

And even after eating all those bananas, I still had an appetite.  I just wanted something different.

Maybe even, dare I say, something stimulating?  Something…cooked?!

That is why I much prefer fewer, larger meals throughout the day.  This way, all of my bananas (or whatever the fruit is)  for the day are in one or two meals.  My food never seems boring and so I feel totally satisfied with what I’m eating.

Serenity Now!

So I’ve finally returned to my old eating ways and it feels great.  I am no longer constantly hunger, I feel totally accomplished after polishing off a meal, and I am completely satisfied after all of my fun mono-fruit meals.

Peace at last.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

* Feature Article: Raw Food Definitions

Raw Food Definitions

I made a discovery the other day while watching TV.

I know, pretty astounding.

Anyway, I came across one of those hour-long presentations on space exploration.  Those shows are always so fascinating to me and I like to watch them from time to time.

However, each time I try to watch one of these documentaries, I always end up changing the channel in just a few minutes time.

In this way, I’m much like a little puppy.

At first, I’m really eager and alert, soaking up every bit of information I can.  After about 5 minutes, I’m off searching for something else a little bit easier for my wee puppy brain to handle.

Why does this happen every time?  Am I really like a pea-brained little puppy dog?

It’s not because I’m stupid or a slow learner.

Quite simply, the technical jargon used is just too much for me.  I’m not an expert in the field of space exploration, astronomy, or even physics so I have to make a huge effort to understand even a tiny bit of the information presented in these shows.

What is the point of tuning in if I can’t understand a word of what anyone says?

Well, besides staring at the pretty space pictures.

Then it dawned on me…

While I try to be super clear and concise in my writings, I realize that sometimes I might go into more detail than I mean to.  The topic of health is dear to my heart and it can be hard at times not to just go off on a crazy  “eat more fruit” tangent!

So I said to myself, “Self, wouldn’t it be nice to provide your readers with a list of all the common raw food terms you use, along with a short definition of each?”

So here you go!  A rather long, but not quite exhaustive list of the raw terms that you will undoubtedly see me use around here.

And you can even thank the boob tube for this one.

Low-Fat Raw Vegan

A low-fat raw vegan is someone who, *surprise*, eats a low-fat raw vegan diet!  But what is “low-fat” exactly?

Typically, a low-fat diet is generally 20% or less of one’s daily calories from fat.  In the raw food movement, this usually means 10% of fat at most.  This is also the definition that I stick to.

High-Fruit Raw Vegan

A high-fruit raw vegan is someone who eats a diet predominated by sweet fruit.  Generally, this is no less than 80% of daily calories from fruit.

Like many people, I use low-fat and high-fruit interchangeably.  Most people who follow a low fat raw diet eat lots of fruit and vice versa.

This makes sense because if you are not getting your calories from fatty foods, your only alternative (on a raw diet) is fruit.  Vegetable foods simply do no contain enough calories to satiate you.

And if you are eating a high-fruit diet, you simply will not have enough room for large amounts of fat!

High-Carb Diet

See high-fruit raw vegan

80/10/10

80/10/10, also 811rv or 811, refers to The 80/10/10 Diet written by Dr. Douglas Graham.  It stands for a minimum of 80% carbohydrates, a maximum of 10% protein, and a maximum of 10% fat.  The diet is 100% raw and consists of 80-90% sweet fruit, 1-2 pounds of greens, and no more than 10% of overt fats (avocados, nuts and seeds).

The use of salts, spices, and other condiments, as well as superfoods, supplements, and colonics are discouraged on this diet.

All 811ers are low fat raw vegans, but not all low fat raw vegans are 811ers.  Some low fat raw vegans eat only fruit (fruitarians), while others eat less greens and non-sweet fruits.

Frugivore

A frugivore is any animal that eats/prefers a diet predominated by fruit.  This includes many primates, such as bonobos, orangutans, and spider monkeys, toucans, fruit bats, and even this adorable canine!

When the term “frugivore” is used in reference to humans, it generally means a raw food diet of 80-90% fruit, accompanied by greens and minimal avocaods, nuts and seeds.

Fruitarian

A fruitarian is different from a frugivore in that a fruitarian only consumes fruit.  This generally includes sweet fruit, non-sweet fruit, and fatty fruit, but does not include greens or nuts and seeds.

High-Fat Raw Vegan

A high-fat raw vegan is someone who eats a diet predominated by fat.  The foods commonly consumed are avocados, nuts, seeds, and oils.

Gourmet Raw Vegan

See high-fat raw vegan

Average Raw Foodist

An average or mainstream raw foodist is someone who follows a high-fat raw vegan diet of primarily avocado, nuts, seeds and oils.  Other foods that are commonly consumed are sprouts, vegetables, vinegars, liquid amino (i.e. Braggs), and even sprouted grains and legumes.

Typically, these foods are not eaten whole but in dehydrated mixtures such as “mock” meatloaf and “raw” pizza.

Because there is so little emphasis on sweet fruit, the average raw foodist has to turn to fatty foods to satiate himself/herself.

Did you know that around 60% of the average raw foodist’s calories come from fat?

Mainstream Raw Foodist

See average raw foodist

Traditional Raw Foodist

See average raw foodist

Sweet Fruit

This one seems pretty obvious, right?  But it is important to note that sub-acidic fruits like strawberries and even acidic fruits such as oranges are also included in this list.

So whenever you see me harping on about how the majority of people do not eat enough sweet fruit, you know exactly what I’m talking about!

Mono-Fruit Meal

A mono-fruit meal consists of only one fruit, eaten in its whole state until the person is full.  This generally refers to a sweet fruit, not a vegetable fruit (see below).

Greens

By greens, I mean tender leafy lettuces.  This includes, but is not limited to, romaine lettuce, boston lettuce, beet greens, mesculin, and iceberg lettuce.

This does not include hard-to-digest vegetable matter such as kale, broccoli, and cauliflower.  However, these foods are fine on occasion and in moderation.

Greens have a higher mineral content than sweet fruits do and are generally eaten in a fairly large quantity.  Think 1-2 pounds a day on average.

Non-Sweet Fruits

This includes tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, etc.  These foods contain a high mineral content like greens do and are included as part of the 1-2 pound daily green requirement.

I also refer to them as “vegetable fruits” because they are savory in taste like vegetables.

Vegetable Fruits

See non-sweet fruits

Fatty Foods

Fatty foods refer to foods that have the majority of their calories from fat.  When I use the term “fatty foods”, I am typically talking about raw avocados, nuts and seeds.  However, there are also other raw fatty foods, such as breadfruit.  Even durian and mature coconut meat are pretty fatty.

You will also see me refer to these foods as overt fats.  The high-fat content of these foods makes it obvious (overt) that they are, indeed, fatty foods.

Oil is also a fatty food, and you may see me refer to it when I discuss the diets of mainstream raw foodists.  However, oil is a refined product and is clearly *not* a raw food.  It is not a food that I recommend on a healthy raw food diet.

Overt Fats

See fatty foods

Covert Fats

The term “covert fats” refers to the fats present in non-fatty foods, such as fruit and greens.  These are the fats that are seemingly hidden (covert).

Many people think that fruits contain no fat at all.  They are mistaken.  For instance, did you know that bananas contain 3% fat?

Many people are often very surprised when they find out just how much fat they are actually eating.  That’s why it is always important to monitor your overt fat intake, especially when you first go raw.

Mild Herbs

Mild herbs include parsley, mint, basil, cilantro, etc.  These are herbs that do not result in a negative effect when eaten (i.e. production of mucus, tearing, sweating, burning, etc.)

I generally separate these foods from other greens because they are not typically eaten in large quantities or on their own.  However, I did recently hear of a parsley and cilantro salad, which sounds pretty tasty…

Supplements

Supplements are taken in order to make up for supposed deficiencies in a person’s diet.  A Vitamin D pill is an example of a supplement.  Vitamin B12 is another supplement popular within the raw food movement.

Dehydrating a food and grinding it into a powder does not make it any more useful for the body.  In fact, this process only succeeds in *removing* the most important nutrient of all…water.

In most cases, supplements are completely unnecessary.  The best, and often times the only way to truly nourish your body is to eat healthy raw foods in their whole states.

Superfoods

These are “super” foods because of their supposedly high levels of certain nutrients.  For instance, the pomegranate is now touted as a superfood because of its antioxidant properties.

Some popular superfoods within the raw food movement are goji berries, acai berries, and raw cacao.

The promotion of superfoods by the mainstream raw food movement stems from the “more equals better” fallacy.  Just because a food has more of a certain quality does not mean that it better meets our own nutritional requirements.

Whew!

Hopefully that helped to clear things up.  If I forgot something, which I’m sure I did, or if you have anymore questions about a healthy raw food diet in general, leave a comment!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

Here is a comment that was recently left on a former post about mono-fruit meals.

I am lazy and started doing fruit meals from the beginning! I have never been into cooking recipes. So I got into raw foods and eating mostly fruit instinctively. ~ Annalise

I can certainly relate to this.  When I ate a cooked vegan diet, I always HATED spending hours in the kitchen preparing meals.  Or making a second trip to the supermarket because I forgot some essential ingredient for a dish the first time around.  Or having to plan my “healthy” meals days in advance.  Or…the list goes on and on.

That’s why I was so excited about the raw food diet. “Eating foods in their raw states,” I thought. “What could be more simple than that?”

Little did I know that the world of “gourmet raw” wasn’t any better than cooked vegan!  I still spent hours in the kitchen, only now I was just chopping vegetables.  I still had to make numerous trips to various health food stores in the hopes of finding “necessary” special ingredients.  And I still had to plan everything well in advance, so as not to waste anything or end up without enough food.

And at least my cooked meals actually tasted good!  Raw meatloaf and “sun” burgers…no thanks.

A Diet for the Lazy Man

Luckily, I quickly came across a raw food diet that truly satisfies the couch potato inside of me.  And as crazy as it sounds, this is the absolute *healthiest* and most *nutritious* diet you can find!

And which diet is this?  Why, the low fat raw vegan diet, of course!  That means all the sweet fruit you can eat, moderate greens and non-sweet fruits, and limited fats.  That’s it!

When I found out that I could literally grab a bunch of bananas and chow down, I couldn’t believe it.  And what if I wanted something a little more fancy?  No problem!  A simple yet satisfying fruit salad, green smoothie, savory salsa or raw pasta could be prepared in just minutes!

This meant no more extra time in the kitchen and no more desperate searches at the supermarket!  While I still plan my meals, and recommend that you do the same, it’s extremely simple.  Since I know how much food I need in a given day and the ripening times of the various foods that I eat, all that is required is to make sure that I buy enough when I go shopping.  That’s all there is to it!

And best of all?  I have more energy on this super simple lazy man’s raw diet than on any other program I’ve ever tried!  And because I’m not slaving away in front of a hot stove (or tepid dehydrator, for that matter), I can use that new-found energy for things that I truly enjoy.

What’s That, You Say?

A raw diet of mostly fruit is just *too* simple, right?  There is just *no way* a person can survive long term on such a diet, huh?

WRONG!  Not only are people surviving on a high fruit, low fat raw vegan diet, they are thriving (myself included)!  If you don’t believe me, take a gander at 30 Bananas a Day.  It’s a forum specifically for low fat raw vegans and boasts over 1000 members!

If you are *still* skeptical, try it out for yourself!  You have nothing to lose from giving a healthy raw vegan diet a go.  Cooked foods will still be there if you wish to return to them.

So what’s stopping you?  Grab some bananas and give the low fat fruity raw way a try!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze