Raw Vegans - How Do You Pay For It?

[jjer94]

Hey there raw vegans,

I recently joined the raw bandwagon a couple weeks ago and LOVE the results I'm getting. More energy, detox, skin clearing, more focus, more BM's, etc.

However, I've got a problem. Where I live, the organic fruits and vegetables are ridiculously expensive. Like, $8 for a pint of blueberries expensive. As a result, I've been rationing and losing too much weight as a result.

Here are some of the ways I've saved money so far on this diet:

• Discount produce bins. At my co-op, there are sometimes bags of slightly damaged produce for half the price. I pounce on those.
• Sales. I only buy whatever fruit/vegetables are on sale.
• Buy the necessities. Avoid buying out of desire.
• Bananas. Lots and lots of f*cking bananas.
• Sprouting. So far, I've done lentils. Easy and cheap.

Even using all these tactics, I'm spending more than $100 per week on food. And this is coming from an ultra-minimalist with a spartan lifestyle. I only have two monthly expenses at the moment: rent and food. 

My question is this: What are some other ways to cut your spending on this diet? 

And another question for kicks: Is Raw Till 4 a viable option for someone like me who's having a hard time breaking even every month?

Cheers,

JJ

Edited May 7, 2017 by jjer94

[Paleas]

I have no done enough research on this yet, but If you have space to grow your own vegetables, especially perennials for continued harvest, I would imagine cost would almost half, I am currently testing this out. Also sometimes farmers markets have cheap organic produce, depends whats in season.

[egoeimai]

Ive tried raw till 4. The portions were extremely sickening huge lool but I lost weight. Maybe try mcdoughalls starch solution.its not raw but its very cheap.

[Hsinav]

I pay for it with the money I earn from my job.

[pluto]

You don't need organic for everything, find your local DIRTY DOZEN & CLEAN FIFTEEN list which shows you what produce is mostly sprayed and has the most herbicides/pesticides(Dirty Dozen) and others like (clean fifteen) that are minimal those you don't necessarily need organic.

Start a fruit/veggie garden helps

Compared to how i feel when i eat more healthy it doesn't bother me i spend double even though i'm quite poor when in comparison to society's standards but taking care of my mind/body/spirit makes me become rich on the inside. I wouldn't care if i am homeless as long as i am happy.

There are always ways around things to make things last longer, buy in bulk and store in freezer, more nutrient dense foods = less you consume, less you consume = longer you live and better yo feel, just eat about 70% full and tea the rest

Eventually you will find your way just trust in the universe and keep your head up, do what you love to do and you will thrive regardless.

Hey and if you want a good affirmation: "All the money i spend comes back to me multiplied" Make this your Mantra and every time you feel something is expensive or worried about not having enough remember your mantra and it will help you quickly leave those negative thought patterns

True Wealth is Health!

 

[Ludwig]

@jjer94 Some things i do.

- Fruits with thicker skins i buy non-organic (mango, avocado...)

- intermittent fasting and/or not eating once a week

- have some space for grounding cooked dinners here and there (potatoes, carrots, cabbage...)

- increasing energy/"vibrational frequency"  with yoga, meditation etc. -> less food needed

- learn to really feel my hunger and satisfaction, practice body awareness especially in the back, spine, torso area -> reduces emotional eating, hightened sensitivity increases love and caring for your body

- invest the money with having the bigger picture in mind (a healthy body/mind system will need less and less food)

- gratitude before/after the meal (remember people, processes, my time and work investment etc. that all allowed me to have a nourishing meal)

- living very minimalistic

[Nahm]

[virven]

I've been a raw vegan for 3 years. I barely buy anything organic, I simply can't afford it. 
Winter is the hardest, that's when I'm sprouting buckwheat, legumes, seeds and trying to eat more vegetables (carrots, beets, cabbage).

I've had my ups and downs with this lifestyle and found out the more greens and nutrient dense food I eat, the less 'calories' I need. And I believe we don't need a lot of food to be strong, healthy and satisfied.

Many people tend to lean towards calorie dense foods but I myself (a very small woman) can eat 20 banans without noticing it, but give me 2 heads of lettuce and I will be satisfied for much longer period of time.

I've tried raw till 4 for a while, but I find it messing with my appetite. I feel unsatisfied all the time, no matter how many potatoes I eat and it causes weight gain very fast. 

Peace  

[egoeimai]

@virven for me rt4 was weight loss.

How can you do raw veganism ? Its pretty hardcore. How do u find the motivation?

[virven]

I tried it those 3 years ago in the summer, just to do a little cleanse, but it felt so amazing that I committed to it. I don't even eat cooked food now and then- I just don't miss them. But it took me a while to do it more properly. You can easily get yourself some deficiencies, because people tend to eat only few kinds of fruits (and too many of them) and vegetables. I don't find frutarianism the best option or hardly a good one, at least not in my region.

But I always tell people that I don't recommend it, because once you step on this path, there's hardly any way back (at least for most of the people). You just never feel that good on any other 'diet'. 

The only thing that I find hard eating this way is the people. In my country it's considered beyond hardcore and it's hard to talk to people  without being rejected most of the time. 

But I don't consider it the healthiest option possible, it depends on what part of the globe you live in. 

If you're intersted about any details, feel free to ask.  

[pluto]

Found this awesome video

 

[nexusoflife]

I have been vegan for three years and raw vegan for two years. My motivation is very simple. I want the highest level of health that a human can experience in life just as I want the highest level of truth that a human can experience in life. I only spend 60 to 80 dollars each week on my food. For the first month after I went vegan it was a bit difficult as I was not used to it but after a month it became very easy as I became used to it. About one year later I decided to switch to raw vegan and I failed twice. However after lots of patience and experimenting after two months I was eating raw vegan. I actually eat a much wider variety of foods now as a raw vegan than I ever did before. Tips from experience that I can give are as follows. Shop at Farmers Markets and Asian stores they typically have good quality fruits and vegetables and have very good prices. Make smoothies a part of your life. They are an easy way to get in calories and keep your day moving. Additionally there are literally thousands of plant foods that can be eaten raw. Durian, jackfruit, rambutan, chard kale, chempadak, papaya I could keep going. Variety is key. If you are looking to go raw vegan then make sure that you are consuming vitamin B12 for the health of your nervous system. I usually eat nutritional yeast in my avocado salads every day. Hope this helps. 

Edited June 17, 2017 by nexusoflife

[pluto]

14 hours ago, Morrtiz said:

There is no scientific basis supporting raw veganism. 

 

I did it myself for a while and found that it was very difficult to maintain. 

 

I think the subjective elements are nothing more than a placebo.  I too experienced the mental clarity and lightness and ease.  But I suspect that this was due to the large amounts of fructose I was absorbing.  Fructose is more bioavailable, is quickly converted to glucose therefore has a stimulating effect.

The enzyme theory has been debunked for the best part of the 20th century - enzymes in raw food are destroyed by stomach acids.

 

The theory is an early 20th century quack idea many uninformed naturopaths cling to.  Herbert Shelton's food combining theory has long since been debunked. Yet is is still being pushed by naturopaths world wide.

 

There is also a lot of data now to point to raw veganism as a dangerous diet as we are finding some nutrient deficiencies in long term raw vegans. 

 

Tread with caution and save your hard earned $.  It's another belief system that has no basis in reality.

 

Hope this helps.

Its because raw cures all known diseases the drug companies would go bankrupt and medical systems would be empty. Big pharma is so rich and powerful they control most of scientific studies and mainstream media about these sort things. Its all a business scam, cancer alone makes the system 200b+ a year and that alone should give you an idea of how rich and powerful they have become and can easily manipulate anything they wish to their disguise.

[pluto]

You must un-learn everything you have learned and learn again

That's the best possible advice i can give you, the choice is yours.

 

[eskwire]

@jjer94 Where do you live? It's berry season! They should be cheap. 

[Peace and Love]

On 5/6/2017 at 7:34 PM, jjer94 said:

Hey there raw vegans,

I recently joined the raw bandwagon a couple weeks ago and LOVE the results I'm getting. More energy, detox, skin clearing, more focus, more BM's, etc.

However, I've got a problem. Where I live, the organic fruits and vegetables are ridiculously expensive. Like, $8 for a pint of blueberries expensive. As a result, I've been rationing and losing too much weight as a result.

Here are some of the ways I've saved money so far on this diet:

• Discount produce bins. At my co-op, there are sometimes bags of slightly damaged produce for half the price. I pounce on those.
• Sales. I only buy whatever fruit/vegetables are on sale.
• Buy the necessities. Avoid buying out of desire.
• Bananas. Lots and lots of f*cking bananas.
• Sprouting. So far, I've done lentils. Easy and cheap.

Even using all these tactics, I'm spending more than $100 per week on food. And this is coming from an ultra-minimalist with a spartan lifestyle. I only have two monthly expenses at the moment: rent and food. 

My question is this: What are some other ways to cut your spending on this diet? 

And another question for kicks: Is Raw Till 4 a viable option for someone like me who's having a hard time breaking even every month?

Cheers,

JJ

I'm having the same issue!  I'm so glad you posted this!  It sounds like you are on the right track!

I've been vegan for 4 years. And Raw vegan on an off for a long time.  And recently going back hard core on a Raw Vegan lifestyle and I love it.  The health benefits I have as a RAW Vegan compared to being vegan are just too big for me to ignore with my body.  Although I do understand where you are coming from with the cost.   I don't buy everything organic, so that cuts down on a lot of the spending.  It also depends on where you buy stuff from too, and I'm always looking for good prices.  I'm guilty of buying stuff from Walmart, since they do have decent prices on the organic stuff and produce in general.  And my bf loves trader joes for their prices.  If you can find a good farmers market with fresh produce and can buy in bulk you're in luck.  My bf and I do a ton of sprouting as well and it's great.  But we don't just sprout lentils, we also sprout chick peas and other things.  We usually buy it by the pound (since it's usually cheaper) and sprout things in a bunch of LARGE jars and rotate the types of sprouts we are eating.   The sprouts usually take up a huge portion of the salads that we eat for dinner. We also eat nuts as well which help to fill us up between meals and we also soak them before we eat them.  Avocados help to fill me up too.   I usually eat an avocado with my large salad for dinner.  I like to buy the large bags/portions of romaine salad (not the pre-cut up kind).  I've seen packages of the 6 stalks of romaine lettuce and I'll buy those and they seem to last for a longer span of time.  If I get tomatoes I usually buy the plum tomatoes because they are the cheapest.  For bell peppers and packaged foods I will compare things in weight and see what I'm getting for the best deals.  Like for example if I want cauliflower for my salad I actually will take the cauliflower and weigh a few of them and purchase the one that is the heaviest. lol.  I'm a raw vegan trying to survive too!

As a Raw vegan your metabolism speeds up from the cleansing and eating better, but eating less heavy foods causes you to get hungrier faster.  I have a routine on the foods that I eat.  I usually have fruit smoothies in the morning- with bananas and orange juice (with no other ingredients) and instead of spending a ton of money on fresh fruit I buy frozen.  The best prices I've seen for frozen fruit have been at walmart.  Sometimes they have frozen fruit at Dollar Tree and I'll buy a bunch of those! lol  I'll buy a three pound bag of  blueberries, or mixed fruit and that usually lasts me for a week.   They usually range from $8 - $10 per bag from the prices I've seen at Walmart.    And YES  I buy a ton of bananas too! lol

If you can grow your own food it would be ideal and be the most cost effective in the long run.  My bf and I had a bunch of various spice plants that we were using to flavor our salads, but the way I eat cilantro....the poor plant doesn't stand a chance! lol

I'm probably more hardcore than most people that are raw vegan. Usually after eating raw vegan for a while and being weaned off the cooked vegetables and eating less fat and protein dense foods my stomach starts to shrink....so I end up eating less.  But I remember where you were when I first started out, you will eat a lot!  And that's normal!  I'm interested in fasting part of the day as well.  My body seems to do well on it.  I've also noticed for me personally that I often mistake dehydration for hunger, so I try to drink plenty of water or smoothies as well.

I would suggest doing what makes your body the most healthy and feeling at it's best.  If raw till 4 works for you go for it!  Cooked vegetables, especially sweet potatoes always fill me up!  Whatever makes you feel at it's BEST!  Although I find a slow transition to being completely raw vegan to have worked the best for me and my success. I consider my health to be one of the most important things in my life. Actually it's my number one priority!  I've saved so much on medical, prescription and expenses in that area because of it and reversed a series of health problems.  Last year I only found myself at the doctor once, and it was only because I went off the raw vegan diet because I ate something I'm allergic to.  I've had to cut back on going out, but I almost never eat at restaurants anymore because they don't have much options for raw vegans. Restaurants will charge you an arm and a leg for a decent sized portion of salad that would have cost you less than half of what you spent at the store and can make at home. I also enjoy being outside and as a form of entertainment, so I'm not caught up in going out and watching tons of movies and going to bars like most typical people do, so I save money there as well. I also love thrift store shopping so I'm always finding ways to save money without spending the normal prices. Cutting spending in other areas always helps too!

If income is tough right now...and you qualify for it...whose to say you can't get food stamps?  I'm not judging, and if I could I would totally get away with it!!!

Good luck!  I'm so happy you are going through this awesome transition right now! Cheers to good health!

 

@jjer94

[jjer94]

@eskwire Yes! Thanks for reminding me. My friend's farm also has a ton of strawberries ripe for the picking 

@Peace and Love Whoa! Thank you for the very detailed response. You reminded me of something I learned recently: buy in bulk! I plan to ask my local co-op if I can do that...once I finish this juice fast...but that's another story for another day... Amazing what a diet change can do to your health, right? Fasting too! Fasting feels almost as effective as psychedelics when it comes to emotional healing.