Sunday 20 July 2014

Eating fresh


There's a beautiful world out there.
A lot of people seem to have the idea that eating healthy means nothing but shelling out tons of cash at the grocery stores and eating nothing but expensive salads.
There is an entire world out there of healthy foods and places to get them.
Sure if you compare a pack of Mr.Noodles to a four star vegan meal you'll find a price difference suggesting the junk food wins. However the reality is that yes you CAN eat entirely healthy for the same, if not less amount of money. Let me give you an example :

I was living the life of an overgrown college student. I would munch on bread and cheese whenever I was hungry, loved my nights consisting of pizzas, burritos and diet coke with a bottle of whiskey to wash it all down. The party girl life left with me quite a few things I never knew I had....

I ate FAR more than I needed or even realized ( get drunk, eat horrible shit, get hungover, eat horrible shit repeat.)
Yet I was still starving nutritionally.

I spent more money then I could Imagine. ( the drunken splurges, nights at the bar that always added up to a lot more than planned, the morning " I just need tons of food covered in grease and bread and coffees and I don't care how much it costs" " spending.

Changing that alone saved me a ridiculous amount of money. Way more than I even thought was possible. 

This is the part where people may be wondering "Is she completely against drinking?!? Does this mean I can't drink if I want to be healthy?!"
Here's what it means.

The facts suck sometimes. The BEST way to get results, happiness, health and an ideal weight and life is to not drink at all. That just is a fact. However it's also a fact that much of our society is based around socially drinking. So if living a completely sober life isn't ideal for you and you feel like you can casually drink, it isn't controlling you or your life and it's at a safe and controlled level then that's fine. Just realize that every time you're doing it ( especially overdoing it ) it will effect your results. It's a fact. It's not a fun fact, but it is a fact that alcohol just messes with your weight, your hydration levels and the way your body functions. I think that's both fair and safe to say.
Do not eat 10 bananas, chug a bottle of whiskey, eat a pizza and then say that rawtill4 doesn't work because things don't work that way!
You're smarter than that.

So how does one live Raw till 4? And how is this affordable? Simple.

Eating raw till 4 consists of eating nothing but a raw vegan diet every morning until 4pm. Ideally fruit. I'm not talking about eating and apple and being hangry (hungry+angry = hangry) until 4pm. I'm talking stuffing your gullet with all of the delicious sweet tropical goodness you like. Want 20 bananas? Go for it. Want to eat a case of figs? Count me in. Here's where everyone says " BUT WAIT BIANCA!?!?! THE CARBS, THE SUGAR, THE HORROR!!" Here's the truth. It's not the carbs, it's not the sugar, its the fat that makes you... well fat!  There are many many many rawtill4 vegans (look at those who have lived this way for 1+ years) and they are all healthy, fit, and tiny. Carbs do not make you fat. The fructose from the fruit makes you happy, that combined with sufficient carbs from fruit make you satiated, full and happy.
After 4pm you can have a delicious cooked vegan dinner. The idea is to keep low on sodium, very low on fat ( a.k.a go easy on the oils and salt!!)
You still want to smash in the carbs and NO RESTRICTING. What this means is you can make a beautiful vegan soup ( I'll post some soup recipes soon for you darlings ) and you can steam or bake as many potato wedgies as you care to chow down on and that's okay! I know in your mind eating a ton of potatoes isn't considered healthy. Trust me, it is, just again no oil, no salt. Open your mind to a world of flavouring food with herbs and spices. They'll never fail you. Also lets not forget about our dear friends garlic and pepper.

Now. That would be a typical day of being Rawtill 4. I'll also make a step by step post of that but in the morning a banana smoothie with 10-15 bananas is totally normal, and and entire tray of baked potatoes with soup in the evening? That's a perfect day. Which brings us to our non perfect days. If you are vegan, or you become vegan you will soon learn that it isn't torturous and super restricting as it seems and that there are plenty of vegan baked goods, veggie meat, even vegan macaroni and "cheese". Here's the thing. These things should really be saved for a night out with friends or for treats as they are. try to stick to healthier options, but every know and then these things are okay.
Are you with me so far? Unlimited calories, energy like crazy, and eventually a rocking body?
Remember not to be weighing yourself like crazy in the beginning. You may even gain a few pounds initially. Give it a chance. If you're coming from having a drinking problem and you suddenly are hydrating like crazy, sure you may get some water weight. Just give it time.

Anyways, Back to my original point of money. Bananas = cheap. (organic bananas are still under a dollar a pound.) Potatoes = cheap.


These fruits and veggies I purchased yesterday from the market. Finding a local market near you makes such a difference. I paid no tax on any of these items and that case of bananas was less than 15 dollars. That enormous quantity of kale costed 4 dollars flat. All of those peppers were 2 dollars flat. See what I'm getting at here? If that's expensive try pricing one of your food court meals. It's probably the price of  most of these veggies! 



And once you get started, you never want to stop.


This juice was like drinking liquid sunshine and I felt like I could fly out the door and the world was my oyster. Much different then how I used to feel when I would wake up hungover and crying.


Okay maybe there was a little Vegan muffin from the market... as I said.. treats in moderation. Sweet potato, orange and date!

Anyways folks I'll leave it at that for now. Any questions about living affordably on this lifestyle please leave me a comment, but the basic staples are very cheap ( bananas, potatoes) and finding  a local market will save you a TON of money. 

Keep happy, Keep healthy, be Kind.

xoxo

Raw Mermaid


p.s. Need some long term raw vegan advice from people who have been at it for years? Check out these you tube channels to start : 

https://www.youtube.com/user/Freelea/videos

https://www.youtube.com/user/TANNYRAW/videos









2 comments:

  1. Hello lovely!
    Where do you shop for your veggies and fruits? That much kale for $4 is amazing. Please tell me your [Toronto-based] secrets.

    Love you!
    Alysse

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    1. My best advice is st Lawrence market Saturday mornings. Across from the main building (it's the one where they do the antique market on sundays) if you got Saturday mornings they have all fresh local produce tax free. They're usually packed up by 2 and near the end they do great deals. There's tons of kale and zucchini right now

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