Our Raw Vegan Detox

by Rachel

Paul and I decided to start the year off with a detox - to get some holiday treats out of our system, get away from gluten for a few days, and hopefully clear our systems out a bit.

The best way we figured to do this without completely starving ourselves (we have fasted before, so not unfamiliar with that) was to go raw vegan. Basically eating only fruits, veggies, nuts... and all of it raw - so no cooked food.



I did quite a bit of research online to figure out what I wanted to do, read some articles, put together a list of foods that I thought we'd be able to get by on, and went shopping! I spent a lot of money on food... (grains and beans are so substantial and cheap that they usually really offset the cost of buying almost all organic)

Things that weren't completely raw vegan (or I'm not 100% sure on) - we had coffee and tea, some frozen veggies/fruits, a can of diced tomatoes, EVOO, cocoa powder, and the last night I caved and put a little Tapatio on our salad (sorry Paul!)... Oh, and the nutrition that we ate/drank during our long runs.

I won't go into everything that we ate, but I did try to take a picture of the prepared meals - here they are!

 (green smoothie - banana, apple, dates, spinach, water)

 (avocado-massaged kale salad)

 (jicama mexican "rice")

 (banana, carrot, papaya, chia, water)

 (veggie plate)

 (pesto zucchini spinach salad)

  (pesto zucchini spinach salad)

 (cold veggie soup)

 (banana, strawberry, spinach, dates, water)

 (beautiful colors - making guacamole)

 ("tacos" - nut meat, guacamole, rice, on lettuce)

(cauliflower mexican "rice")

January 1st we woke up and began eating raw vegan - we have already been plant-strong for months, so this wasn't a complete stretch, but we found that we really were craving grains... and pretty much anything to fill our stomachs that wouldn't immediately pass right through! Don't get me wrong - we enjoyed pretty much everything we ate - but we felt like we couldn't eat enough to feel satisfied sometimes.

Saving graces for me included avocados, bananas, and almonds!!! I used almonds a lot like I was using chips or crackers - grab a little handful before I leave, or when I get home from work, just a little something to snack on. Bananas were a necessity for breakfast time and before our long runs.

Sites that I thought had interesting raw vegan information:
http://aniphyo.com/
http://www.exploringinfinity.com/2010/05/30-days-on-the-raw-food-diet-my-final-report/
http://www.thefruitarian.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/runningraw
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/05/raw-vegan-taco-nut-meat-raw-vegan-taco.html

We both enjoyed everything that we ate - but were glad to get back to cooked food, and to grains/legumes. It really reinforced for us how much we like being "plant-strong" - and that we are totally comfortable eating vegan now!