At the beginning of March, I was celebrating Spring Break and had decided to become a raw food vegan . Well, it’s thirty days later, and I’ve decided to give up being a raw food vegan, but it was a great worthwhile experience.
Anyone who is a vegan/vegetarian knows that the no-meat lifestyle has its benefits and pitfalls. Raw veganism is no different. There was good and bad.
The Good: For starters, more energy. Waking up with a cup of coffee is nothing compared to waking up with a fresh smoothie.
Typically, for breakfast, I’d have a quick bowl of oatmeal, toast, and a glass of orange juice. But as a raw food vegan, my breakfast consisted of only a smoothie, a plate of celery, and raw peanut-butter.
And I’m not saying that my typical breakfast of oatmeal, toast and orange juice weighed me down, but it’s nothing compared to the kick with my new raw breakfast. I had energy throughout the day and could easily skip lunch if I had to. (I think it was the food that made the difference, though, and not whether or not it was cooked. But, I guess, to test that theory, I should eat my usual cooked peanut-butter instead and see if that makes a difference.)
Also, one of the best things about being a raw vegan was that I saved myself plenty of time by not having to prepare any of my food. Nothing to cook, no oven timers to check, no beeps from the microwave, just wash and eat. This also meant that I had less dishes to wash which also saved me time. (I would estimate that raw food veganism saved me, at least, an hour a day)
The Bad: Well, for starters, I didn’t realize that bread wasn’t considered raw. When I thought about going raw vegan, I just figured that meant that I wouldn’t cook anything up, including vegetables, but halfway through, when my girlfriend saw me eating a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, she reminded me that bread had been cook and thus I wasn’t being a raw food vegan. Damn it!
But besides that, nothing bad really jumps out. The worst thing, and the most obvious, was that the food just doesn’t taste as good. Don’t get me wrong, I love fruits and vegetables, but celery and peanut-butter is nothing compared to a grilled veggie burger and some fried onions, they’re just two different levels. So the food wasn’t bad, but I did miss cooked foods.
I’d recommend it to anyone who’s thinking about giving it a go.
Read Part One Of This Post: Here.
See it wasn’t that bad now was it? I see that you drank your smoothies every morning which is good. What about the rest of the day? Did you have smoothies for morning and lunch too or just for breakfast? If not I would recommened that you do it again and have a smoothie for all three meals, I guarantee you that you’ll have a great day and feel even more energenic than you already described.
I only had smoothies for breakfast. I like the idea of having one for every meal, but I also think it would be a hassel to have to clean my blender three times a day. One of the things I loved about being a raw food vegan was that it required very little work and that includes not having to clean dishes.
I do like the idea of doing it, though. I think it would definitely make me feel great, especially if I had three a day and had good mixes, but it’s always something to think about for the future. Thanks for the idea.
I know your post is short but it does make me want to give it a try, especially the part about having more energy and saving you time the two of them go hand in hand. I would love to have to not worry about this dishes and I could only imagine if I could get my husband and three boys to become raw food vegans with me. You saved yourself a lot of time by becoming a raw food vegan? Imagine how much time a mother of three boys would save? No more dishes or meals to cook just a handful of apples and string beans, it’s a great dream.