RainEdayWoman's Page

Over the years I have bounced back a fourth between SAD, vegetarian, preparing clean foods, now I am very happy at 85-95% raw vegan. I am by no means a radical vegan, I am in the process of changing my diet to achieve overall better health and I like how eating this way makes me feel. And, it is a heck of a lot easier to clean up after "cooking" as well. It is easier to rinse a few utensils than scrub a sink full of greasy mess. Haha!!Though at this point I can't see myself going 100% raw just yet with a family of 4 and one having food texture sensitivity due to sensory processing issues that take a bit more creativity in preparing healthy meals the he can swallow.

I started my raw journey at the beginning of 2008. But before I get too much into that let me fill you in on what brought me here. As I stated before I have always tried to eat somewhat healthy. Though I do have a bit of a sweet tooth that I have to try to control the best I can. I tend to be a stress eater. Anyway, I gained quite a bit of weight after having my daughter in '05. Pregnancy wise I managed to gain only 20lbs within the last 2 months which stayed pretty much under control while I breastfed her for the first 5 months. She self-weened at 6 months after contracting a very bad case of strep throat. After she stopped breast feeding I started to gain a bit, which I hear is common for some women after ceasing BF. For the next few months I did pretty well eating healthy, exercising regularly, etc etc. I had managed to actually lose approximately 50 pounds in 6 months and was still losing.

This leads me up to March '07 when I found out I was pregnant again. With this pregnancy I started gaining weight very rapidly, extreme morning sickness and fatigue. I eventually starting having problems with the pregnancy (which I will not get completely into since it is still very difficult for me to talk about) and coupled with added anxiety from dealing with extended family issues I eventually went into premature labor and lost her after an abruption on July 23. We were blessed to have her with us for 3 hours before she left us to be with the lord but losing my sweet little angel, Paislea Skye, has left a mark on me forever.

About a month after losing her I was put on prescription medications for PPD, Anxiety, Depression and severe insomnia resulting from my loss. One of the medications I was put on has a bad side effect of weight gain which has since been reported to cause permanant changes in metabolism in some people. It was during this time that I discovered Raw and began my journey.

I really like the way my body feels eating raw and I can defiantly tell a difference when it comes to digestion. Unfortunately, even with eating primarily raw, I am still battling the side effects of the medication. So, in mid January I began to wean myself off of the medication and am working towards getting back my health and diving deeper into the raw lifestyle. (As of February 1st, I am completely off said medication so I hope to start seeing a change for the better as it fully leaves my system.)

At times it is difficult trying to come up with creative meal ideas for a family of 4. My husband and 2 yr old daughter enjoy eating raw as well but our 5yr old with autism has sensory issues that make it difficult to find foods he can actually swallow. So I find myself making multiple meals to satisfy everyone though green smoothies and raw spaghetti seem to be an overall family favorite.