Raw in India?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nirav Sheth on January 20, 2008 at 9:33am

Hi Jenny,

Raw food availability depends on the places you travel too. I spent 2 months in Mumbai last year and was able to find a good assortment of tropical fruits and fresh veggies (carrots, onions, broccoli, zucchini, etc.). But really tough to find good greens like Kale, Romaine, Mixed Greens, Collards, etc. And rarely will you find organic products ....

If you are traveling to Ashram, I would highly suggest you bringing some core ingredients. Things like superfoods (green powder, maca, gojis, cacao), tahini, flax oil, nut butters, sea salt, agave nectar, etc. Then whatever you buy from the local markets - you can use your ingredients to make a meal.

Also, drink lots of tea if you like it (I did that)! Also would be a good opportunity to fast as well (not from lack of food, but more from a sense of cleansing). Hope that helps :-)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 20, 2008 at 10:11am

Nirav. . .
thanks so much for your advice. . . I figured that tea (which is an important part of my life anyway) would be important! And I wondered if eating lighter would come naturally with all the inner work. . .
good to know about bringing superfoods, i had thought green powder and gojis for sure. . . do you think at ashrams it's possible to sort of piece together your own raw meals of veggies then?
When you were in Mumbai, did you manage to stay raw?
x

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anthony on January 20, 2008 at 10:09am

I totally second what Nirav wrote. Bring the essentials, especially green superfood WITH probiotics. It is my experience that someone with healthy bacteria in their digestive system becomes much less vulnerable to outside bacteria that they ingest while traveling.

Most foreign travlers, and humanity in general, are devoid of healthy bacteria. They take antibiotics, eat acid forming foods, and live overall lifestyles that promote no growth whatsoever of healthy organisms in the digestive system. So when they do ingest some bacteria overseas (its inevitable) they will become overrun with the foreign invader and will really pay the price.

I washed my fruits very rarely while in Cambodia and Borneo, and suffered no ills. And I wouldnt call these countries bastions of sanitation either. We brush our teeth with the water, we eat with our hands without remember to wash them...its really hard not be exposed. The best thing is to build up your defense system.

Then...enjoy the fruits, coconuts, and fresh greens...and ask yourself why you didnt go to India sooner...

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nirav Sheth on January 20, 2008 at 10:13am

You're absolutely right regarding probiotics. Getting healthy organisms in your digestive system is huge for overseas travel to tropical regions. Thanks Anthony for the backup!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 21, 2008 at 4:35am

it's funny, in my two years of being raw, i've never not been, even when traveling. . . but i think i always knew that eventually a place or experience would present itself that would shake up my routine (albeit a very healthy one!!) a little. . .
i did some research and you're right, Beloved, it does depend on the area. . . it's Amritapuri. . . and I'm going to dig deeper as I know the ashram is originally a small, rural village, but it's not very far from two airports and I"m thinking that places like this may bring in a bit more commerce just because of the flow of people and the ashram itself has become something akin to a city . . . so markets may be more available?!
thanks for the thoughts!!
x

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Anthony on January 21, 2008 at 3:07pm

It could be a good time to just do a very light fruit diet, with whatever else you can find along the way. There must be ashram-type retreats here in the states that cater to raw or fasting. Maybe we should make one?

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 21, 2008 at 3:53pm

funny, i've been moving into this sort of diet very deeply as of late. . . it feels cleansing and simple, with very little food prep except for cacao + avocado puddings to munch with bee pollen. . .

that type of retreat would be the most beautiful, and energizing project. . . finally an outlet for my creative raw food/sustainable building/fruit tree planting/etc. dreams. . . fingers seem itching to do this sort of work!

in the meanwhile, i'll stay open to where my instincts direct me. . .
x

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Francis on January 22, 2008 at 12:29am

The Art of Raw guy recently came back from India and posted about it.

http://www.artofraw.com/2008/01/india-round-two.html

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by miin chan on January 22, 2008 at 1:25am

hi jenny!
are you wyldegirl by any chance?
i've been to india several times, and the last trip i went, i was raw. honestly, most ashrams don't provide for rawies but you can certainly make your own food if you have to. i don't know which ashram you are planning to go to, but for me, the only one worth visiting is Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparthi (outside Bangalore). i've been every year since 1999 and it's a valuable experience, however you do have to be open minded. if you want to know more, just message me :)
at that particular ashram, they had sprouts!! a lot of the people there are raw minded. besides the occasional sprouts and salads though, not much variation. but you can go out and buy the abundant fruits and vegies, get a bit of apple cider vinegar and go to it yourself! it's not too hard i think.
india is a blast.. i really want to explore more of it and i WILL in time to come! i hope you get to go soon and have a beautiful experience. it is a country of juxtapositions though.. and you do have to be careful.
much love and peace
miin

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nimisha on January 22, 2008 at 1:32am

Hello Jenny,

I have lived in a vipasana ashram on/off for short periods for a couple of years (i started going to the ashram with my granny when i was 6yrs old, and then used to go annually). most of the times ashrams are very accommodating towards diet preferences. you could always talk to someone in the ashram, to make alternatives that suit your diet, Just let them know that you don't eat anything that's cooked, you may sometimes have to volunteer in the kitchen to make it, but that is dependent with the person that you talk to. The ashram that i lived in has lots of fruit trees around, so i can just go pluck and eat them. btw i wasn't raw then but still used to eat lots of fresh fruits right of the tree. i miss those days. You can also ask for simple salads most common in india is cucumber, tomato and other simple veggis. you can maybe take tahini with you, add some lemon and make a dressing for yourself. Most of the people still don't know much about raw, and wont be able to make them either, my best bet would be to ask for lots of fruits and salads. (you don't get much of a choice when it comes to greens). If the ashram has an organic garden, then you can pluck your own leaves. I would advice you to take your vitamix (if you have it). It will be very useful. hope this helps!!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jenny on January 22, 2008 at 5:23am

this advice is SO helpful. . . i couldn't help but message all of you individually as well but wanted to send a collective thanks. . . personal experiences are valuable beyond any guide book. . .
xx

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Colin on January 22, 2008 at 6:16am

Hi Jenny, I have travelled completely raw in Thailand and parts of Laos, and had no trouble at all. Even when I stayed in a temple for a meditation retreat I was able to arrange for fruits only. From what I've heard, India is also full of delicious fruits, and coconuts. I plan to go to Mysore later in the year for Ashtanga yoga pratice, and rely 100% on local produce: fruits and what ever I can get my hands on. Why don't you just go with fresh fruits, and let go of the comforts of the "super foods and comfort foods'. A good time to let go, a kind of fast for the body and mind.

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last