Human beings can't eat every type of raw food. For instance, raw legumes are toxic to us. Regarding plants, we can't digest every type of plants. Animals like cows have stomaches with multiple compartments to digest their food a certain way. A good way to know if a certain type of plant is "edible", i.e. part of the human diet, is 1) if it is palatable, 2) if you can chew it (properly)
I've never tried grass, but I would guess that humans can't digest it. I don't think we could chew it up properly (to a liquid) either. Experiment I guess. As far as spinach goes, it might not taste good to you but I am sure there are other greens that do taste good to you. Taste is not the only indicator of a good food.
my bowel movements have been loose since i went raw in january!! i love not being constipated though so i'd prefer to have loose stool. i usually go once in the morning and then 3 times after that, all spread out depending on when i eat. usually when i eat more fat or cooked foods, my stool becomes hard again, but it seems like that in your diet already. it's interesting because your meals would totally constipate me! i guess that's more proof that every body is unique.
you know, my grandmother does. i used to think it was so weird that she would come in from the garden with flowers and grass and just it eat. i'm totally serious, too. we've always said she eats rabbit food. she's probably one of the healthiest people i know, too (and most youthful grandmas). people ask if she's my mother and she's 70 years old.
I've been 100% raw for 7 months and my bowel movements are consistently loose(ish). Are you having full-blown diarrhea or are you just experiencing a state of semi-solidness? And are you going more than once a day? Keep in mind that everything you're consuming is very high in fiber (yay!) and is just whooshing through instead of hanging out in your bowel, collecting dust :)
Cacao is pure laxative to me as is dried fruit on an empty stomach so if you're having full-blown diarrhea, you might have a single trigger. I personally think your diet looks good... a little heavy on the nuts maybe but it's all a personal choice!
Kombucha gives you lots of energy without the caffeine and it has lots of health benefits to it like Probiotics and other good Digestive Enzymes - at the very least try switching to green tea
yeah, what is up with moringa? i thought i had the scoop on all the superfoods but tonight was the first time i ever heard anything about moringa. my friend just discovered it and was singing its praises like it could save the world. is she just tripping or is it really that amazing?
Well...raw food isn't so calorie dense. I don't know what you're eating that is so little, but I have to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to become calorically satiated. Sometimes, when very hungry, I can manage 15 bananas. Most mornings I wake up and have about 4 pounds of grapes.... Grapes are my favorite morning food. But yeah, real men eat fruit. The raw diet is all about being able to eat a great volume and still stay trim and fit, and that's what I certainly do!
I used to drink unbelievable amounts of caffeine! Think 2 energy drinks in the morning (not Red Bull, I'm talking about those 16 oz cans of Monster) and then I would go to Starbucks and have a drink with 3 shots of espresso (sometimes 6, or 9, or 12 in one day!) I'm surprised I seem to have recovered pretty well, but the weeks after I stopped cold turkey were very tough. Unparalleled headaches, mood swings, all that. It was difficult to judge how it was affecting my perception at that point since I was on it constantly and experienced withdrawal afterwards.
Yesterday (9 months later) I drank a small amount of yerba mate tea as a treat since I thought I could handle a bit of caffeine again. It was not the treat I had hoped for. I noticed all of these weird quirks: repetitive thought loops, irritability, tension. I really prefer my baseline state of mind and body to the caffeine high I used to love so much after all this time. I say see how you do without it and revisit it in a couple/few weeks, and make your decision as to whether or not it's worth it- whenever you're ready of course : ) You're doing great things for your health. Take it as slowly as you need to.
Sounds like a tasty smoothie! I wouldn't recommend having it in the morning specifically- much better to eat a generous amount of fruit for breakfast. It digests much more easily and will provide you with lots of energy throughout the day. You will probably even wind up craving less food.
hey i drink coffee still, but i would suggest switching to organic coffee with agave nectar and hazelnut milk (for creamer) you will notice a difference switching from sugar. and the creamer you use. Look at the ingredients. do you know what all those things are in it? Someday i might give up coffee, but for now, these substitutions at least get me a little closer to raw with my coffee. Best Wishes!
Hmm... I thought this was going to be about where to find raw single men ;-) Too bad, maybe a topic for another day?
Sorry, I don't have much advise for your situation. I think that but I agree with eecho. Your best bet is to be a source of support and inspiration, best of luck!
Yum! I just received my CSA basket and it contained a huge zip lock of pre-cut organic stir-fry veggies (carrot, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy and cauliflower). I wasn't quite sure what to with it. I made a raw soup base with butternut squash this morning and threw some of the veggies in after wards, that was really good. I then made this recipe for dinner and its awesome! I cut up the broccoli and cauliflower florets quite small and it came out wonderful. I LOVE the sauce. Thanks so much for sharing!
Today I didn't feel like eating all that much, but I knew that today was going to be busy and I needed the calories, so I compromised and drank juice, water, and kombocha! :)
I really think my digestive track just needed a rest, especially with all the stress I've been under lately. Right now I'm getting ready to go to bed and I just feel so light, calm, and comfortable (physically and mentally). I had a steady stream of energy all day with no mood swings. I woke up feeling good, went through the day feeling very happy, took karate and found out I was WAY more flexible than I thought I was, came home feeling REALLY happy, and I am going to bed feeling wonderful.
This is what happens when you listen to your body.
- 34 oz of water
- 4 oz. ginger kombocha
- fruit juice (promegranate, orange, & grape blended with ice and raw honey)
- 4 oz ginger kombocha
-17 oz water
- fruit juice (beet, carrot, pineapple blended with ice)
- 17 oz water
- a 1 oz shot of wheatgrass + green juice (apple, pear, celery, kale, and lemon blended with spirulina and ice)
glad you enjoyed it. any nut will work, but i'm partial to the brazils. if you get a chance, give 'em a try. you can also substitute orange or clementine juice for the lemon / lime. it gives a sweeter taste.
Yeah, I don't think that GT's is a bad company either. Their kombucaha is certainly a huge step up from Coka Cola or Pepsi. People should just understand that its not an ideal drink. GT's should be used as a transitional drink, and kombucha in general should be consumed in small quantities, like medicine.
Oh wow, I can't believe no one has responded yet. I hate to say it, but maybe having a 100% raw diet while in Sicily isn't a common thing, and you probably won't find too much variety there, because their diet isn't anywhere near as nasty as the SAD. I'm sure you could do raw for a majority of your stay, but I don't think that doing anything other than 100% will be bad. I think that once you arrive there, you'll find that their relationship with food is much better than most Americans. I've noticed that other countires tend to respect what goes into their bodies much more.
I am currently living in Okinawa, Japan. It is not easy to be 100% raw here, BUT I'm not beating myself up over it, because I know I'm eating healthy. I even allow myself a little bit of meat here and there, because they don't have these giant "factories" of cows and chickens. They really respect animals and the earth much better than Americans.
I do have to say though, that I WILL NOT PURCHASE AMERICAN VEGETABLES OR FRUITS OR MEATS FROM THE COMMISSARY. Over here, we have the option to purchase imported fruits and veggies OR local foods at the commissary. I always make sure to purchase anything under the Japanese flag, rather than under the American flag. A lot of the imported fruits and veggies look really good, but I'm sure they aren't organic, and they're probably a lot older than they look. When my husband and I were stationed here before, we used to buy a lot of imported items because it was our "comfort food" and it was all we knew. The potatoes were always black, and the meat was always tough, and brown before we even took it out of the package. Sometimes, the meat was red, but smelled rotten. We found out that they freeze the potatoes in order to ship them overseas. This turns the insides black, and just makes them not good to eat. The meat....well:
We had a friend from our church who was a veterinarian for the military (I'm not sure if it was Airforce or Navy) and HE was the one who would inspect the meat at the commissary. He was the one who would decide which meat was safe to "re-stamp" with a new expiration date. If it wasn't outright nasty, it could be sitting in the commissary for quite a while.
So NOW that the hubs and I know better, we try and eat only local, organic foods. If we are eating off base, at a restaurant, we don't beat ourselves up about eating meals with meat in them because we know it's not the same as a giant, overprocessed burger or steak. It's usually just small amounts of meat.
Sorry if I'm not very encouraging as far as the possibility of a 100% raw vegan diet. The situation may be different for you.
I think you should see what's available at your local commissary. Check and see if there are flags above the produce to tell you where your fruits and veggies are originating. I've heard many good things about Italy and the health of the locals. I think you'll have a great time shopping for your produce out in town. They treat groceries WAY different than most of us do, in America.
Good luck! Hope it turns out well for you. We are slowly, but surely, learning what is good and not good here on this beautiful island.
Over the last couple years it's been a roller coaster for me and coffee. I LOVE coffee, but it doesn't love me. It makes me spacy and shaky and super lightheaded. It hasn't always done that, but as I've become more aware of my body, I've become more sensitive as well. I wouldn't punish yourself if you want the coffee. Let your body tell you what you want. I drink black chai tea now with some almond milk and agave and that wakes me up, but doesn't give me the negative affects that coffee does. =)
I used to eat many meals a day. If I were to guess how many calories I consumed per day in high school, I would guess about 4000 or 5000. At lunch I would eat two school lunches in addition to junk-food snacks from the vending machine. I would eat another meal after dinner and another right before going to bed. But I was an athletic track athlete, weighing 155 pounds. So yeah, my metabolism was really high too. Now I still eat a lot by some peoples standards, but its a lot less than I used too. I was measuring at one point, about 2000 calories per day and I still work out almost every day. My metabolism runs much slower now than it used to.
When I started out I ate a lot of nuts and dried fruit. I guess that helped. I think big smoothies with a lot of greens are good too. Since you are drinking it, you can get more if you have too. The fruit in the smoothie gives you the calories you need and if you put a lot of greens in there too, that will help "fill you up". Blended salads are also very filling, delicious, and easier to consume than a regular salad.
However, I hate to tell you there are no tricks in the food that will "win him over". Obstacles are impossible to avoid, so if your boyfriend will succeed long-term he will have to want it for himself. He will have to want the benefits of raw food over the benefits of cooked food. So, I recommend that you help him out by making him cool raw dishes, but more importantly empower him by showing your support and giving him plenty of encouragement.
Yes, everything is a personal choice. Can someone be healthy and drink coffee? Sure. However, if you take an extremely healthy person and add coffee to their diet, will they become more healthy? Probably not. Actually it will probably take away from their health. I used to consume a lot of coffee, about a pot per day. Then I stopped drinking it one day. Then I became raw, and a while after being raw I drank a cup of coffee and became very sick.
I would say, give it up for a while. Maybe one or two months. Then, try it out again. If you don't feel that it takes away from how good you feel, then I suppose there's no reason to stop. But I think there is enough evidence out there to want to be sure.
Should you stop drinking coffee- depends who you ask:-) Seriously. I see stuff on the news about how bad it is, and then see studies how it may keep away alztimers? It gets confusing! Sounds to me like you have made a lot of changes in a short period of time. Don't make yourself miserable over it. If you really want that cup in the am, have it for now. Trying to change too many things at once can be overwhelming to some people.
The wholistic practicioner I'm going to for knee pains hates the idea of coffee. But, it's not the caffeine. He told me to drink tea with caffeine when I switched off of coffee if I feared caffeine withdrawl problems.
Go figure.
Anyways, he insists there is a link to it and bladder cancer? Since bladder cancer seems to pop up quite a bit where I work, I decided to hang up the coffee cup for a while and see how I felt.
We tend to drink a LOT of coffee where I work, so it did make me wonder? But, I also wonder if it might have more to do with excessive coffee drinking. (not just one or two cups a day)
I LOVE chickpeas and don't usually have a problem with them. But, I know lots of people do. If you are hitting the chickpeas really heavy, maybe that's the problem. Are you soaking them first for several hours (like overnight), draining, and then cooking in fresh water. That gets rid of the gas (or at least some). You could try sprouting them, and making humus from that (they'd be raw then). Lots of people seem to like sprouted chickpeas.
I support peoples' choice to eat ALL raw (this is a raw vegan site). But, imho, totally raw diet doesn't seem to work for everyone. There are a lot of people who have cooked brown rice, quinoa, and steamed veggies, etc, but incorporate lots of raw fruits and vegetables with it. High raw may suit you better than all raw? Just a thought.
You could also look into different "types" of raw diets:
There is the high fruit/ low fat/ and leafy green diet (80/10/10). There are people that don't do so well on so much fruit and eat more vegetables.
Maybe it is the "crunchy vegetables" you are eating most days. If I eat a lot of raw carrots, celery, and brocolli each day in large amounts, I get an upset stomach. I can eat them in a salad, with some olive or canola oil and vinegar and they don't bother me. But large amounts, yet.
Something that MAY help for the ickiness. I know with my daughter, I HAD to have saltine crackers (or some cracker type thing) to get out of bed in the morning, or I could barely walk from the nausea. A healthier substitute (in my opnion) may be rye crisp bread. It isn't raw, but it's made of only rye flour. You can find them in the cracker isle. They are more like a cracker than bread. I think that would be much healthier than the standard white flour saltine.
Might help you to think of the "chicken" you are eating as "chickenS," formerly living beings that are killed based on the demand of people who buy the flesh products.
sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice
Human beings can't eat every type of raw food. For instance, raw legumes are toxic to us. Regarding plants, we can't digest every type of plants. Animals like cows have stomaches with multiple compartments to digest their food a certain way. A good way to know if a certain type of plant is "edible", i.e. part of the human diet, is 1) if it is palatable, 2) if you can chew it (properly)
I've never tried grass, but I would guess that humans can't digest it. I don't think we could chew it up properly (to a liquid) either. Experiment I guess. As far as spinach goes, it might not taste good to you but I am sure there are other greens that do taste good to you. Taste is not the only indicator of a good food.
my bowel movements have been loose since i went raw in january!! i love not being constipated though so i'd prefer to have loose stool. i usually go once in the morning and then 3 times after that, all spread out depending on when i eat. usually when i eat more fat or cooked foods, my stool becomes hard again, but it seems like that in your diet already. it's interesting because your meals would totally constipate me! i guess that's more proof that every body is unique.
you know, my grandmother does. i used to think it was so weird that she would come in from the garden with flowers and grass and just it eat. i'm totally serious, too. we've always said she eats rabbit food. she's probably one of the healthiest people i know, too (and most youthful grandmas). people ask if she's my mother and she's 70 years old.
I've been 100% raw for 7 months and my bowel movements are consistently loose(ish). Are you having full-blown diarrhea or are you just experiencing a state of semi-solidness? And are you going more than once a day? Keep in mind that everything you're consuming is very high in fiber (yay!) and is just whooshing through instead of hanging out in your bowel, collecting dust :)
Cacao is pure laxative to me as is dried fruit on an empty stomach so if you're having full-blown diarrhea, you might have a single trigger. I personally think your diet looks good... a little heavy on the nuts maybe but it's all a personal choice!
Kombucha gives you lots of energy without the caffeine and it has lots of health benefits to it like Probiotics and other good Digestive Enzymes - at the very least try switching to green tea
I'd use honey or better yet stevia.
Maybe soaked chia to consistancy if you are going to avoid the agave and honey for the stevia, like me.
What would make a good sub for agave?
yeah, what is up with moringa? i thought i had the scoop on all the superfoods but tonight was the first time i ever heard anything about moringa. my friend just discovered it and was singing its praises like it could save the world. is she just tripping or is it really that amazing?
anyone?
Well...raw food isn't so calorie dense. I don't know what you're eating that is so little, but I have to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to become calorically satiated. Sometimes, when very hungry, I can manage 15 bananas. Most mornings I wake up and have about 4 pounds of grapes.... Grapes are my favorite morning food. But yeah, real men eat fruit. The raw diet is all about being able to eat a great volume and still stay trim and fit, and that's what I certainly do!
I used to drink unbelievable amounts of caffeine! Think 2 energy drinks in the morning (not Red Bull, I'm talking about those 16 oz cans of Monster) and then I would go to Starbucks and have a drink with 3 shots of espresso (sometimes 6, or 9, or 12 in one day!) I'm surprised I seem to have recovered pretty well, but the weeks after I stopped cold turkey were very tough. Unparalleled headaches, mood swings, all that. It was difficult to judge how it was affecting my perception at that point since I was on it constantly and experienced withdrawal afterwards.
Yesterday (9 months later) I drank a small amount of yerba mate tea as a treat since I thought I could handle a bit of caffeine again. It was not the treat I had hoped for. I noticed all of these weird quirks: repetitive thought loops, irritability, tension. I really prefer my baseline state of mind and body to the caffeine high I used to love so much after all this time. I say see how you do without it and revisit it in a couple/few weeks, and make your decision as to whether or not it's worth it- whenever you're ready of course : ) You're doing great things for your health. Take it as slowly as you need to.
Sounds like a tasty smoothie! I wouldn't recommend having it in the morning specifically- much better to eat a generous amount of fruit for breakfast. It digests much more easily and will provide you with lots of energy throughout the day. You will probably even wind up craving less food.
hey i drink coffee still, but i would suggest switching to organic coffee with agave nectar and hazelnut milk (for creamer) you will notice a difference switching from sugar. and the creamer you use. Look at the ingredients. do you know what all those things are in it? Someday i might give up coffee, but for now, these substitutions at least get me a little closer to raw with my coffee. Best Wishes!
Hmm... I thought this was going to be about where to find raw single men ;-) Too bad, maybe a topic for another day?
Sorry, I don't have much advise for your situation. I think that but I agree with eecho. Your best bet is to be a source of support and inspiration, best of luck!
Yum! I just received my CSA basket and it contained a huge zip lock of pre-cut organic stir-fry veggies (carrot, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy and cauliflower). I wasn't quite sure what to with it. I made a raw soup base with butternut squash this morning and threw some of the veggies in after wards, that was really good. I then made this recipe for dinner and its awesome! I cut up the broccoli and cauliflower florets quite small and it came out wonderful. I LOVE the sauce. Thanks so much for sharing!
Today I didn't feel like eating all that much, but I knew that today was going to be busy and I needed the calories, so I compromised and drank juice, water, and kombocha! :)
I really think my digestive track just needed a rest, especially with all the stress I've been under lately. Right now I'm getting ready to go to bed and I just feel so light, calm, and comfortable (physically and mentally). I had a steady stream of energy all day with no mood swings. I woke up feeling good, went through the day feeling very happy, took karate and found out I was WAY more flexible than I thought I was, came home feeling REALLY happy, and I am going to bed feeling wonderful.
This is what happens when you listen to your body.
- 34 oz of water
- 4 oz. ginger kombocha
- fruit juice (promegranate, orange, & grape blended with ice and raw honey)
- 4 oz ginger kombocha
-17 oz water
- fruit juice (beet, carrot, pineapple blended with ice)
- 17 oz water
- a 1 oz shot of wheatgrass + green juice (apple, pear, celery, kale, and lemon blended with spirulina and ice)
- more water until I go to bed
http://iamrawaholic.blogspot.com/
glad you enjoyed it. any nut will work, but i'm partial to the brazils. if you get a chance, give 'em a try. you can also substitute orange or clementine juice for the lemon / lime. it gives a sweeter taste.
be well.
Yeah, I don't think that GT's is a bad company either. Their kombucaha is certainly a huge step up from Coka Cola or Pepsi. People should just understand that its not an ideal drink. GT's should be used as a transitional drink, and kombucha in general should be consumed in small quantities, like medicine.
Oh wow, I can't believe no one has responded yet. I hate to say it, but maybe having a 100% raw diet while in Sicily isn't a common thing, and you probably won't find too much variety there, because their diet isn't anywhere near as nasty as the SAD. I'm sure you could do raw for a majority of your stay, but I don't think that doing anything other than 100% will be bad. I think that once you arrive there, you'll find that their relationship with food is much better than most Americans. I've noticed that other countires tend to respect what goes into their bodies much more.
I am currently living in Okinawa, Japan. It is not easy to be 100% raw here, BUT I'm not beating myself up over it, because I know I'm eating healthy. I even allow myself a little bit of meat here and there, because they don't have these giant "factories" of cows and chickens. They really respect animals and the earth much better than Americans.
I do have to say though, that I WILL NOT PURCHASE AMERICAN VEGETABLES OR FRUITS OR MEATS FROM THE COMMISSARY. Over here, we have the option to purchase imported fruits and veggies OR local foods at the commissary. I always make sure to purchase anything under the Japanese flag, rather than under the American flag. A lot of the imported fruits and veggies look really good, but I'm sure they aren't organic, and they're probably a lot older than they look. When my husband and I were stationed here before, we used to buy a lot of imported items because it was our "comfort food" and it was all we knew. The potatoes were always black, and the meat was always tough, and brown before we even took it out of the package. Sometimes, the meat was red, but smelled rotten. We found out that they freeze the potatoes in order to ship them overseas. This turns the insides black, and just makes them not good to eat. The meat....well:
We had a friend from our church who was a veterinarian for the military (I'm not sure if it was Airforce or Navy) and HE was the one who would inspect the meat at the commissary. He was the one who would decide which meat was safe to "re-stamp" with a new expiration date. If it wasn't outright nasty, it could be sitting in the commissary for quite a while.
So NOW that the hubs and I know better, we try and eat only local, organic foods. If we are eating off base, at a restaurant, we don't beat ourselves up about eating meals with meat in them because we know it's not the same as a giant, overprocessed burger or steak. It's usually just small amounts of meat.
Sorry if I'm not very encouraging as far as the possibility of a 100% raw vegan diet. The situation may be different for you.
I think you should see what's available at your local commissary. Check and see if there are flags above the produce to tell you where your fruits and veggies are originating. I've heard many good things about Italy and the health of the locals. I think you'll have a great time shopping for your produce out in town. They treat groceries WAY different than most of us do, in America.
Good luck! Hope it turns out well for you. We are slowly, but surely, learning what is good and not good here on this beautiful island.
Grace
Over the last couple years it's been a roller coaster for me and coffee. I LOVE coffee, but it doesn't love me. It makes me spacy and shaky and super lightheaded. It hasn't always done that, but as I've become more aware of my body, I've become more sensitive as well. I wouldn't punish yourself if you want the coffee. Let your body tell you what you want. I drink black chai tea now with some almond milk and agave and that wakes me up, but doesn't give me the negative affects that coffee does. =)
vegankid, you rock! I admire your story and efforts.
alexa, ITA!
Grace
I used to eat many meals a day. If I were to guess how many calories I consumed per day in high school, I would guess about 4000 or 5000. At lunch I would eat two school lunches in addition to junk-food snacks from the vending machine. I would eat another meal after dinner and another right before going to bed. But I was an athletic track athlete, weighing 155 pounds. So yeah, my metabolism was really high too. Now I still eat a lot by some peoples standards, but its a lot less than I used too. I was measuring at one point, about 2000 calories per day and I still work out almost every day. My metabolism runs much slower now than it used to.
When I started out I ate a lot of nuts and dried fruit. I guess that helped. I think big smoothies with a lot of greens are good too. Since you are drinking it, you can get more if you have too. The fruit in the smoothie gives you the calories you need and if you put a lot of greens in there too, that will help "fill you up". Blended salads are also very filling, delicious, and easier to consume than a regular salad.
However, I hate to tell you there are no tricks in the food that will "win him over". Obstacles are impossible to avoid, so if your boyfriend will succeed long-term he will have to want it for himself. He will have to want the benefits of raw food over the benefits of cooked food. So, I recommend that you help him out by making him cool raw dishes, but more importantly empower him by showing your support and giving him plenty of encouragement.
Yes, everything is a personal choice. Can someone be healthy and drink coffee? Sure. However, if you take an extremely healthy person and add coffee to their diet, will they become more healthy? Probably not. Actually it will probably take away from their health. I used to consume a lot of coffee, about a pot per day. Then I stopped drinking it one day. Then I became raw, and a while after being raw I drank a cup of coffee and became very sick.
I would say, give it up for a while. Maybe one or two months. Then, try it out again. If you don't feel that it takes away from how good you feel, then I suppose there's no reason to stop. But I think there is enough evidence out there to want to be sure.
Should you stop drinking coffee- depends who you ask:-) Seriously. I see stuff on the news about how bad it is, and then see studies how it may keep away alztimers? It gets confusing! Sounds to me like you have made a lot of changes in a short period of time. Don't make yourself miserable over it. If you really want that cup in the am, have it for now. Trying to change too many things at once can be overwhelming to some people.
The wholistic practicioner I'm going to for knee pains hates the idea of coffee. But, it's not the caffeine. He told me to drink tea with caffeine when I switched off of coffee if I feared caffeine withdrawl problems.
Go figure.
Anyways, he insists there is a link to it and bladder cancer? Since bladder cancer seems to pop up quite a bit where I work, I decided to hang up the coffee cup for a while and see how I felt.
We tend to drink a LOT of coffee where I work, so it did make me wonder? But, I also wonder if it might have more to do with excessive coffee drinking. (not just one or two cups a day)
I LOVE chickpeas and don't usually have a problem with them. But, I know lots of people do. If you are hitting the chickpeas really heavy, maybe that's the problem. Are you soaking them first for several hours (like overnight), draining, and then cooking in fresh water. That gets rid of the gas (or at least some). You could try sprouting them, and making humus from that (they'd be raw then). Lots of people seem to like sprouted chickpeas.
I support peoples' choice to eat ALL raw (this is a raw vegan site). But, imho, totally raw diet doesn't seem to work for everyone. There are a lot of people who have cooked brown rice, quinoa, and steamed veggies, etc, but incorporate lots of raw fruits and vegetables with it. High raw may suit you better than all raw? Just a thought.
You could also look into different "types" of raw diets:
There is the high fruit/ low fat/ and leafy green diet (80/10/10). There are people that don't do so well on so much fruit and eat more vegetables.
Maybe it is the "crunchy vegetables" you are eating most days. If I eat a lot of raw carrots, celery, and brocolli each day in large amounts, I get an upset stomach. I can eat them in a salad, with some olive or canola oil and vinegar and they don't bother me. But large amounts, yet.
Just some things to think about....
Something that MAY help for the ickiness. I know with my daughter, I HAD to have saltine crackers (or some cracker type thing) to get out of bed in the morning, or I could barely walk from the nausea. A healthier substitute (in my opnion) may be rye crisp bread. It isn't raw, but it's made of only rye flour. You can find them in the cracker isle. They are more like a cracker than bread. I think that would be much healthier than the standard white flour saltine.
Good job.
Might help you to think of the "chicken" you are eating as "chickenS," formerly living beings that are killed based on the demand of people who buy the flesh products.