Nia's Question: Your diet plan seems to be right on, but I am not clear on foods like mushrooms, edamame, and eggplant. How do you make eggplant taste good in the raw?
Should portabello, baby bella, or shiitakes be eaten at all?
I was a meat and potatoes person and became a vegan. I lived on soy and seitan to continue the meat high. What vegetable(s) can I eat that will give me that meaty high without compromising your raw diet plan?
I would like vegetables that have that a meat-like texture or that leaves me feeling substantial. Vegetables and fruits are organic water that goes right through. I would like to find very healthy comfort foods.
You rule out beans and grains (not necessarily jumping at those 2 items). I don't want to cook at all and eggplant needs to be cooked. I can't imagine trying to eat eggplant uncooked. What else is there?
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Please answer I really need the help!
Andrew's Answer: Hi Nia. Thanks for your question.
This is actually a complicated subject, and because I know few details about you, I can't be more specific.
First off, edible mushrooms would be fine. I eat them on occasion.
I find eggplant doesn't taste good raw, and so I don't eat it. Edamame beans are a legume and have all the problems associated with that type of food. I don't eat them.
So what does work?
If your problem is hunger, then the only answer is to eat more calories from fruits and vegetables. Seeking harder-to-digest meat substitutes may keep your stomach active longer, but it is ultimately the same dead end most dieters face.
It's true that raw fruits and leafy greens digest from the stomach relatively quickly, but if you eat enough calories they will satisfy you. When most people start off on this diet they fail to eat enough calories. They often go looking unhealthy food to satisfy them as a result.
I don't know if this applies to you, but many who complain to me of of not being filled up, in addition to not eating enough calories, are trying to recapture the feeling of mild dullness that follows a meal heavy meal on the SAD Diet.
These people are used to using food as a mild sedative to shield them from their fears, anxieties, and other emotions.
People adopting a low fat, fruit-based raw diet for the first time sometimes find themselves with a tremendous amount of energy they can't invest into digestion. Suddenly their emotions are front and center, and they try to hide from them with more food.
Many raw foodists will seek out fatty oils, nuts and seeds, which are hard to digest, as a way to stay raw while continuing to hide from their emotions.
