Transitioning To Raw (My Story + Suggestions)

My kitchen countertop - oranges, mangoes, pineapple, canteloupe, kumquats, grapefruit and more.

When I started Erin’s UnBakery in 2021, I decided to take a very moderate approach to diet.  What this meant for me was - to eat as much fruit and veg as I could, and mostly cooked meals.  I did not exclude any foods.  But I loved how raw desserts can bring delight while elevating the experience of food with fresh, raw ingredients.  This became my motivation for creating and sharing information on how to do this.

I’d been nurturing a love of raw food, in particular desserts, since 2007 or so.  For some time, I followed the “fruits and roots” approach, involving Freelee Frugivore’s philosophy of “stuff yourself to the max” with raw food, adding steamed potatoes and root veg for the last meal of the day.  That style did not work; I gained 10 lbs, burned my mouth with fruit acids from over-stuffing myself, and my blood sugars began to lean chaotic.

As a result of this, I stopped eating fully raw or even raw till 4.  I needed a break.  I eventually returned to raw desserts but I was not committed to any lifestyle in particular except “what feels balanced and good to me.” 
 
I remember back when I was stuffing myself, eventually, I encountered moments when my body needed dry, cooked foods.  After observing this happen many times, and noticing a feeling of dizziness, I chose eventually to eat like everyone else again.  I did not want to develop blood sugar problems.

I have always leaned into spirituality and body wisdom, for as long as I knew about these things.  I’ve always had a curious mind.  And recently my intuition has been leading me back to raw food. This time, though, is different.

And I have to add here, that I am doing what feels best to me, and I only encourage others to do what is best for them.  This journey is our own.  We are all a work in progress, and can release any feeling of “should haves” racing through our minds.

So I choose to listen to my body and I am not following a plan.  I have zero rules. I am eating raw again. But I’m not going to call myself a vegan.  I can’t promise myself or anybody I’ll never consume a latte with cream ever again. And I don’t intend to promise myself that.  

The raw food community has grown a lot since 2007.  It's not only grown in size, but the whole collective has grown in wisdom.  By which I mean, everyone is understanding the link between heart, soul, mind and body, and how eating raw foods is far more than just a dietary decision - it involves a shift in priorities, values, emotions and spirituality.  Those who are sharing and teaching have begun talking about the balance between emotion and body, between fruits and veg so as not to eat too much or too little, the importance of including plenty of watery fruits and veg for digestion and hydration but being sure to balance this, only eating when you’re hungry, and eating enough but not maxing out till you’re nearly sick.

I like this.  And when you watch and listen to raw vegans online, they have certain things in common - they are at peace, and have gloriously beautiful skin!

There is a delicate balance here - shifting to raw eating can both bring up a purge of physical or emotional issues, and also heal them. So this is an emotional journey.   I believe in avoiding extremes, and so I am not ever going to make myself  do anything - raw food should be a treat, and enjoyable, and not unpleasant.  So I believe in making the changes that you want to make, while becoming more educated on how to do it in a smart way (more to come on that).

So for starters, I began by including raw fruit juices.  Then, I started including more fruit.  But I still ate cooked food.  I figured out some recipe ideas that worked well as raw foods, such as raw sweet and sour stir fry, or raw crumbles similar to ground beef made from mushrooms, or raw lasagne.  

I’ve been going with what I want the most.  The diet industry wants us to use our self control, but I don’t want to be on the struggle bus anymore.  And when you’re eating a balanced diet of fresh foods, it’s far more difficult to go wrong.  As a result, your cravings can be satisfied without fear of harming your health.

In order to do this, it’s important to trust that the body knows what feels good and what does not.  Food should be a source of nourishment. You can make it simple by  purchasing lots of fruit and veg that you like.   Make juicing or smoothies easy as possible.  Some people just use frozen fruit in smoothies for simplicity.  I bought a miniature juicer that doesn’t take up a ton of space, and can be cleaned in 2 minutes, for spontaneous juicing. Or I’ll use a large, masticating cold-press juicer for batch juicing.
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Get a juicer, hit the sales and keep lots of produce on hand, if you want to start eating more whole foods!  No need to fit a perfect lifestyle image or achieve certain goals of “only this” or “none of that.”  Just start adding more fruits and veg that you like.  Then as your body adjusts, it will crave more.  Our bodies want the good stuff.

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