they keep me from becoming a raw foodist.
Most raw foodists that I encounter are awesome, incredible people. They care about health. They care about people and they care about the planet. Most raw foodist could care less about how much raw food you have to eat to call yourself “raw” or a “raw foodist.” The general consensus seems to be that you need to eat at least 75% raw to call yourself a raw foodist. Hooray then! That would be me.
And then, there are the raw snobs. They are the folks who seem to take great pride in the label “raw” and berate anyone who doesn’t eat 100%. I hear lots of the following:
“Don’t say this diet doesn’t work for you if you don’t eat 100%”.
“If you’re not 100%, you’re not raw”
“OMG, raw cashews aren’t really raw! Raw agave isn’t really raw! You can’t eat those things!”
“Cooked food is not allowed in our house.”
That kind of stuff drives me crazy and I think it keeps me from going raw. Its silly, I know… but ANY amount of increase in raw foods is going to help you. It may not make you a “healing junkie”. It may not make you a supermodel. It may not lower your cholesterol to zero… but it will give you more energy. It will help you drop pounds depending on what you cut out. It will help the planet.
In other words, there are benefits to increasing your amount of raw foods without going 100%.
And lets face it- the 100% raw lifestyle is expensive! Raw products are expensive. Its a fact that raw agave is more expensive then regular agave. Raw nuts are more expensive then roasted nuts. Making raw nutmilk is more expensive then drinking the stuff in the box. Organic bananas are significantly more expensive then their conventional counterparts. I straight up can’t afford to be 100% raw, but I feel guilty even thinking about buying conventional agave or almond milk in a box (although I tried it today for the first time and it was goooood!).
Who knows? Maybe this frustration is more about me. Maybe I’m the one who is obsessed with labels. IMHO, cutting dairy and eggs out of my diet is just as important if not MORE important then what percentage of raw food it is that I’m consuming… but if I buy almond milk, then I’m not really raw!! (Just kidding). But who the frak cares?
In the end, I have to ask myself the all-important question: What is my intention? Is my intention to be 100% raw so I can say I’m a raw foodist? I sure hope not. What an empty pursuit. Is my intention to gain optimum health and to change the way my family eats so that we can decrease our risk of all kinds of disease? Absolutely! Is my intention to tread more lightly on the planet? Heck yeah!
Okay, that’s enough ranting and raving for now. I think I’ll stay away from snobby raw food sites and stick with the ones that are encouraging and cool.
4 Comments
April 16, 2008 at 5:18 pm
I completely understand where you’re coming from! But I try not to let those types of people sway me; they do frustrate me. I’m not 100% raw all the time. I range from 70 to 100%. I try to maintain healthy habits whether I’m eating all raw or not and don’t obsess with labels or the small things. I’m doing the best I can. I figure I’ve done a 180 turnaround and feel good where I am and what I’m doing and try to steer clear of the “snobs” because they’re not helping! lol! It seems like the definition of a “raw foodist” varies from person to person; your journey, your decisions should be based on what you feel is best for you and your family or however you want to define what it means to you.
Anyway, came by GITMR and enjoyed your blog. Have a good day!
April 21, 2008 at 12:32 am
I just found your blog, and I had to comment that I feel the same way. I go back and forth between RAW and just my regular eating because I get so tied up with staying 100%, but it becomes impossible sometimes–especially with family obligations. I also don’t have a dehydrator, so I can’t make the extravagant recipes. So I end up getting so frustrated that I say “To heck with it all!”.
Just letting you know you’re not alone.
June 13, 2008 at 5:05 am
word up.
do what feels good/right for you. whatever that is.
June 13, 2008 at 9:02 am
I look at people who do 75% and up at the same level. I mean we are all at where we are at and these same “snobs” would and probably are the same in other areas of their life. I could tote the 100 percent tagline right here but I think for some people it is vital, critical, and for others, ?