The budget post

Another reason that some people decide to do Raw til 4 is also based on their financial situation.  I get a lot of comments on my IG and that of others, that sometimes, buying large quantities of fresh fruit and vegetables, is not always feasible   
That's fine, and I totally understand where you're coming from if that is your situation, so here are a few dishes that won't break the bank.  

Vegetable Stir Fry with Sweet Potato Noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large carrot, sliced 
1 large zucchini, sliced
handful of green beans, chopped into about 2 cm pieces
1/3 of a medium capsicum, cut into strips
1 cup of broccoli florets
1/3 cup soy beans (I used frozen)
300 g of marinated tempeh or tofu (optional)
1/4 cup of water
1 low sodium vegan stock cube
2 TBS of coconut aminos or low sodium tamari
1 TBS of coconut nectar
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 clove of garlic, minced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp of chilli flakes (optional)
250g of sweet potato noodles*


Method

Place a large pot of water on high heat to boil.  Once boiling, add the sweet potato noodles and stir.  Leave for 5 minutes.  Check that they are done, drain and rinse a few times.
Leave in colander to drain whilst you make the stir fry.

In a small bowl, combine the coconut aminos, nectar, garlic and ginger.  Taste and adjust according to taste (more aminos, more nectar, e.t.c).  Set aside.
In a medium sized frying pan or wok, add the water and dissolve the stock cube over medium heat.  Once the stock cube is dissolved, add the vegetables and place lid on top so that the veggies can steam, stirring occasionally.
Once the veggies become vibrant in colour, add the prepared sauce and tempeh/tofu. Stir, and place lid on again.  Lower to low heat until veggies are done.

Transfer the noodles back into the big pot and add in the contents of the frying pan.
Stir to combine vegetables, sauce and noodles.  Add cracked pepper to taste and season if needed.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of the chilli flakes if using.
*I bought my noodles from the Asian supermarket.
P.S, feel free to use any veggies you have :)

Another great dish to make that is budget friendly (and raw) is nori rolls.  I've always loved sushi and going to sushi bars but if you can't get there or your wallet won't currently allow for it, try making them at home.
They are super easy, all you need is some nori sheets and a mat and you are good to go.
What I love the most about making them is that you can do just about any flavour combination that you want, like or desire.
I just love, love, LOVE them!
Here's one platter I had for lunch today, it was divine!  They are also good to make ahead of time for those of you who need to plan and prep your meals.  They keep well as long as they are refrigerated.

The platter above has 3 types of nori, here are the combinations:

• carrot, coriander and hempseed rice (process 1 carrot, 1 TBS of hemp seeds and a small handful of coriander with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cumin powder, 1/8 tsp of onion powder), apple, avocado, cucumber & capsicum.
• baby spinach, capsicum, cucumber, mango, & avocado.
• beetroot, cucumber, capsicum, apple, coriander and avocado.

If you need to learn how to roll, please youtube it, it's pretty simple though.

These little parcels of goodness taste so good, no sauce required!

Time for some sweet, sweet, deliciousness!

This here was an epic breakfast parfait.  I don't have a name for it so I'll just tell you the layers and you can make it yourself if you wish.

But before I do that, I'll just tell you that I used local hand picked and vine ripened peaches to make one of the layers.  Ok, so I've always thought I had eaten my fair share of good tasting peaches, but let me tell you, THESE peaches were out of this world!  They were so juicy and sweet, it's like nothing I've ever tasted before.  It made me a little sad too because once upon a time all our fruit and veggies tasted like this.  Now we get a watered down version of everything because things have to be picked green and artificially ripened so that they can transport well.  But, let's not dwell on the negative, the good thing is that these peaches were well, peachy!

The thing on top is not a cherry but a cherry plum.  Have never seen those before and they were also delicious!

Ok, but now for the layers:

• banana beet ice cream: 2 frozen bananas, 1/4 of a small beetroot.  Process until smooth and ice cream like.
• peach banana ice cream: 2 frozen bananas, 2 peaches.  Process until smooth and ice cream like.
• Blueberry pear sauce: 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 pitted medjool date, 1 large ripe pear, water as required.  Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth, add a little bit of water at a time until you get the desired consistency.

Fruit I used to layer: kiwi fruit, cherry plums, monkey bananas.

So there you have it lovely people, some recipes to get your tummies smiling and your bodies moving.

Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb

Banana Island

Remember that time I tried to give up fruit temporarily?  Yeah, it wasn't too long ago and if you remember, I lasted 6 weeks out of the 8.

I don't deem it a failure, not at all, if anything, it taught me a lot about myself.  Maybe it was plainly obvious but hey, sometimes you just have to learn the hard way.

The plain truth is that I love fruit.  And perhaps like most things, it took given it up, if only momentarily, to bring me to the realisation that my body thrives on eating fruit.

How do I know this?  Well, throughout the 6 weeks that I wasn't eating it, I was eating other things, and although they were by most accounts, clean plant based foods, I wasn't feeling as good as I do when my main diet is made up of fruits and vegetables.

This got me to thinking about 801010 again, so I revisited the book by Dr. D. Graham and again, just like the first time, it made complete sense to me.  

So, since giving up on giving up fruit, I started to slowly cut out some of the things that the 801010 diet suggests.  First to go was salt, guess what, I lost two kilos, all of it retained fluid I'm sure.

Second to go was caffeine, guess what? I don't feel tired, I'm more alert and although I love the smell, I don't crave it.

I also went a step further.  Having failed my first attempt at 801010, I revisited the blogs and youtube channels of some of the individuals who are thriving on this lifestyle and took their advice and tips that they gave.  Guess what? It got easier.

So here is what I did:

After giving up salt and caffeine (including tea & raw cacao), I went on banana island.

Banana WHAT?! Is that like some tropical place somewhere off the coast of somewhere amazing?  Umm, well yes, it could be, it could also be somewhere rich Nigerians live (this is true, I googled it).  

But no, banana island as I'm referring to here is a common practice undertaken by low fat raw vegans (or 801010), where you eat mono meals for a chosen length of time.  In this case bananas.  It doesn't necessarily need to be bananas, it could be mangos (mango island), persimmons, melons, e.t.c.

You also consume tender greens like baby spinach and cos lettuce, and are allowed celery and cucumber as well as cinnamon and vanilla.

Wow, but isn't this type of restrictive eating bad for you?  

The short answer is yes, it totally could be bad for you if you chose to do it for the rest of your life but this isn't a rest of your life thing.  The point of a mono island is as a short term cleanse, where you allow your digestive system to take a break and allow your body to concentrate on other important things, like healing and recovery.

But all those bananas?  Won't you die from potassium poisoning?  

Apparently if you eat 487 bananas you could die, however, I only got to max 22 bananas a day.

But bananas are so full of sugar, that'll make you fat?

Yes, bananas are full of natural sugars and guess what, you need it.  Our bodies are meant to and thrive on carbs, they are after all, the primary source of energy that every cell in our bodies need to function.  Enough said.  What makes us fat is eating refined carbs like sugar, refined grains and flours and refined fats.

I've looked at a lot of individuals on this lifestyle and guess what? They are not fat, nor do they have issues with diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, e.t.c.

But hey, I'm not here to preach to you, you can believe what you want, and I encourage everyone not to take my word for it, go and research for yourself if you are wondering about it. 

I'm just here to tell you about my experience and how it made me feel.  

I know this may be a controversial topic for some people, and that is fine, I know that some people hold strong views about fruit eating, but all I am saying is to have an open mind :)

So, what benefits did I feel on banana island?

- alertness

- increase in energy levels

- improved digestion

- improved elimination (and may I add odourless, for real!)

- good sleep

- not hungry

- didn't feel restricted at all

Will I do it again?  Hell yeah!

I should mention, I also drank on average about 3 litres of water a day, and kept track of my calories on cronometer to make sure I was getting enough.  I aimed for at least 2000 calories a day.

It wasn't tedious  specially since all I was adding up was bananas, cucumbers, cos lettuce, carob, vanilla and celery!

So what the hell did you eat?

Well that's the beauty of having bananas, they are so versatile.

As you know, I always keep frozen bananas in my freezer so lots of smoothies and ice cream were always on the menu.

A typical day would go something like this:

Breakfast- 5 frozen bananas with cinnamon and water, about a litre.  

Lunch - 1 head of baby cos, 3 stalks of celery, 1 cucumber all chopped up + 5 bananas

Dinner - 4 or 5 banana ice cream with a large green salad like the one I had for lunch.

I still had lots of green smoothies and if I felt lazy, i'd just sit down with about 8 bananas, a head of cos lettuce, and wrap up my bananas in cos and eat that.  Easy and no time wasted preparing stuff.

 

Here's a few things that I had:

Banana & cinnamon 'rice' pudding

Carob & cinnamon banana split

Green salad with vanilla banana ice cream layered with carob coated bananas

So there you have it, my experience on Banana Island in a nut shell, or a banana peel!

If you are interested in doing banana island, I recommend that you first read 801010 by Dr. D. Graham, and also check out the YouTube videos of Freelee the banana girl and Fully Raw Kristina.  These girls have been living a fully raw high carb low fat vegan lifestyle for over 7 years and their stories are really inspiring.

Like with any new or old information, make up your own mind.  If it doesn't sound like something good to you, then leave it, and if it does, than explore it.  There are so many different views out there, it's just about getting information and choosing what works for you.

I also want to stress that this is NOT a weight loss diet, it is just meant to be used as a short term cleanse.  

Long term weight loss if that is what you are looking for, is a combination of things: a clean diet, exercise, plenty of sleep, and a positive mindset.  Everyone does it in their own time, the point is to find time and just do it.
Peas, love and mungbeans

xxb