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Need Help Helping!

angie207angie207 Raw Master

My dad suddenly is willing to try to eat at least some raw, because he just got a job working through the night (he got hired yesterday and starts today!), and he usually never stays awake very late. He is willing to listen to me and eat the food I make him, but I want to be sure I give him plenty to eat without freaking him out too much. He lives on soda, chips, cookies, meat, cheese & bread. Once in a while he will eat a piece of fruit or some avocado or fresh salsa, and he eats vegetables if they help flavor his meat. He also DUMPS blue cheese dressing and balsamic vinegar on everything he eats. He will eat the whole grain waffles my mom makes, but he drowns them in sugary syrups, and he also loves her whole grain molasses muffins…with a quarter-inch of butter on each half! He has tried some of the things I have made and thinks they are okay, and he is now willing to eat whatever is going to help keep him awake at night. He bought a Vita-Mix and gave it to my mom for her birthday early so I could make him something. I made a raw soup last night, which he said was too spicy and he cut up some cheese in it, but at least he ate it and had another bowl. He asked what I was going to make him for breakfast. I asked him what he wanted (I was thinking smoothie or salad), and he said, “Sausage, bacon and eggs.” He didn’t mean that I should make those, but he let me know what he is used to. I need ideas for foods, and also ideas for how to handle doing this for him. It is overwhelming for both of us!

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Comments

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    ardesmond2 – Thanks for the ideas. Do you have a recipe for raw brownies? The ones I have tried to make on my own aren’t very good. I told him for now to quit eating chips and drinking soda, and my goal is to fill him up with the good stuff so he won’t have as much room or desire for meat & other junk foods. I was thinking pine nuts for a creamy dressing, thanks! Yeah, pine nuts are more expensive, but I agree with you – good health is totally worth every penny! That’s awesome about your Mother-IN-Raw! :)

  • The raw walnut brownie on the favorites section of the home page is pretty darn good. I have walnuts at home waiting to take a ride in me food processor. Considering I only got one last time <sure my wife is going to read this post, but its true. The only thing I didn’t like was that it uses so many darn DATEs which I believe in your case is not good with the hypoglycemic rate on dates. But I bet your could substitute it with Raisins if your eat those or maybe half and half.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Thanks! I don’t eat raisins, but I am not going to eat these brownies anyhow., Because of the plan I am on, I will not be eating any fruit for at least 3 months. So even though other people around me are starting to eat raw, I am still separate from them because I changed to a new plan. At least I made up a lot of good recipes before I switched, so I can make food for my family knowing what they are going to be tasting without having to taste-test everything! :) I have a problem with all the dates in things, too.

  • Angie this is so cool your family is on board. This is going to be such a ground breaking experience for you. Just think of all the great conversation you guys will have once everyone’s health is up and energy is thriving. I bet once your father starts maybe even super man will feel the need to make a difference in the things he eats, this is considering they have a close relationship.My mother in Raw was really inspired by my nine year old who went raw cold turkey and now is educating her friends at school all the time. you should hear the stories.

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    You could replace sodas with lightly sweetened iced tea/lemonade/fresh orange juice. Those will keep for days. My SAD boyfriend is willing to eat very fresh fruit salads and ants on a log, IF i prepare them and put them in front of him. :) And I know it’s not raw, but try replacing his dressings with Annie’s brand or some nice healthy dressing, so he can get used to the taste of lighter, healthier dressings. It may be best if he transitions gently – perhaps he’d be willing to eat vegan sausages once a week? Or eat sliced strawberries on whole grain waffles on weekends? So that way, he’s eating raw fruits with his normal foods. Serving raw veggies and vegan dip with some of his crackers or raw crackers is a good idea too. I’m thinking – maybe his first step is just including 10-20% whole fruits/veg while aiming for 50% vegan/vegetarian. Perhaps that’s a good first step? I say this, because that’s how I eventually became raw – vegetarian to vegan to raw, slowly but surely.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Yeah, my mom is funny – she complains about my dad and my son not eating healthy, and then she turns up her nose at the raw soup I made for dinner. I made some little apple pies that my dad could take with him, and my son asked if he could have one (even though he didn’t really love the apple pie we made before;). It’s ironic; I was just yesterday looking around at all my dad’s chips, soda, hot dogs, etc. and feeling sad about it. Then he comes home and says he got a new job and can I tell him how to be able to stay awake through the night, and tells me yes, go buy whatever foods I need! I am so grateful :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Winona – your comment just showed up. Lemonade is a great idea! I have made some good fruit syrups with just berries and agave in the blender – great idea on the waffles. I haven’t told him to stop eating meat, but he knows because I talk to my son about it all the time. I appreciate your insight. I want him to be happy with food, and not resent me or raw food because it goes too fast or doesn’t taste good to him.

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Wow Angie, I find this amazing on so many levels. That your Dad is opening himself up to this and is allowing you to help him, that you’re taking this on, and that I wish my Dad would do the same! What a challenge! I know that it’s possible though because my Dad is light years away from where he used to be. I guess I would say, go for taste first and then tweak it for health, so he’s not resentful like you said, or feel like he’s suffering in any way. I’m wracking my brains and so far all I can say is my entire extended family adores guacamole, and they’re far from raw. I watched them all fight over a bowl of it. It may not be a take-to-work kind of thing if he can’t refrigerate it, but for when he’s home. Would he like a milkshake made from frozen bananas, berries and almond milk, kind of thing? My non-raw husband likes to drink a smoothie on the way to work to save time and they’re sweet and filling. Keep us posted!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    amysue – funny you should ask about the shake – I made him one this morning for breakfast! It wasn’t sweet enough because I am not eating fruit and so couldn’t taste-test it, but he drank it anyway. Another amazing thing about my dad’s decisions right now is that he has always put up with hard/low-paying/not treated well jobs, and he has put up with a lot from his last job for a long time. He had something happen at work, and he also hadn’t gotten a raise he was supposed to get, so he said he was going to look for another job and give himself a raise! He is now willing to change his health so he can do the job that is giving him what he wants! My dad is amazing. Also, it is a truck-driving job, and he can take a cooler with him, so refrigerated stuff is fine. He does love guacamole, and I’m thinking I’ll find ways for him to eat it more often. Thanks for the support! The thing that will be the most challenging for me now is I already make meals for myself and separate meals for my son, and now a third! But having a Vita-Mix is already making things easier, and it is worth the time for our health.

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    angie~ I don’t remember if you have a dehydrator or not… you can make some “finger” foods for your dad like chips of all sorts (kale, sweet potatoe, string bean, etc.). Also there are some “bacon” and “eggs” recipes on this site. Search on keyword “bacon” on the recipe tab. The broccolli recipe is great also.

    This is all awesome for your family.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Try Chris’s grilled meat chunk recipe, it is really excellent with cheeze and raw onion bread, a hearty meal for any meat loving bloke! It’s here: http://goneraw.com/recipes/407-Grilled-Meat-for… And everyone loves our cheese recipe, he probably would too, it’s here: http://goneraw.com/recipes/1619-Cheese-with-Spr…

    Your dad needs to have plenty of raw fat, raw salt and sweetner (dates, dried mulberries, figs) to make the transition. If you think about it, everything he loves has salt, fat and sweet in abundance so make sure that the stuff you give him does too. Me and Chris both ate plenty of fat salt and sweets whilst transitioning, I lived on puddings for about 3 months at one stage, and it hasn’t done us any harm. We both transitioned into greens loving juice freaks after some time gorging ourselves on gourmet raw fatty, salty sweet foods.

    My family are also taking baby steps into raw food. My brother made us all a raw feast last time we visited, I was so, so touched, he did an amazing job too! He loves game, and all kinds of meat, his wife is a sheep farmer (lamb killer!!) so you know, it is incredible when people you think will always be meat and two veg start to get into raw. It is brilliant to read your post about it.

  • Angie don’t forget about Almond Butter, this was life saver for me while I was looking for something snacky at work. In my cooked days I used to just eat peanut butter by the spoon fulls. Exit cooked enter raw and now I eat Almond butter not the whole jar but with a little agave nectar and some cinnamon, its great me and my daughter enjoy it like our old cereal days on the porch.

    Also the don’t forget about BLT’s for his work lunch some sun dried tomatoes and brazil nuts in your food processor wrapped in a little lettuce and tomato

  • angie this new energy is so exciting… gotta love you all. everyone is so right about fat/sweet/salt for transition. if you’re dad loves guacamole then howabout this:

    avocado, sprouts, spring onions, tahini and tomatoes all mashed up in a bowl. sometimes i add seaweed flakes, and grate in celery or carrot. season with salt/pepper and if you like add spice, like curry flavours maybe? then wrap it in lettuce or collard leaves etc.

    i never really liked avocado until this, the MONARCH MEAL (so called because matt monarch blogged about eating this exact mixture. so, all credit and much gratitude to matt)

    delight!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Bluedolphin – Yes! We now have “all the equipment” – juicer, dehydrator, Vita-mix, sprouting trays, nutmilk/sprout bags, running water…:D Thanks for the ideas – I have been scouting out cracker recipes.

    Zoe – Thank you so much for reminding me about the transition period. Just because I am learning to eat less sweet, etc. doesn’t mean he is ready for that. I ate a ton of sweet, salty and fat foods, too, and now I love greens and juices, too. Either way, it’s a lot better than the other stuff he’s been eating. I did give him a greens supplement to start taking, and I’m looking forward to feeding his face with gourmet wraps, salads, smoothies, whatever!

    ardesmond2 – You are my hero! Whether HE likes it or not, the BLT wrap is AWESOME and simple, and I will eat it all the time! I just went and made some for my lunch. It is a great help to have something easy and delicious that still fits into my new way of eating. Yay!!!!!

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    alisonwonderful – thank you for the idea! He does love avocados :) I’m interested to try it myself – I may wrap it in nori, or put it on top of greens…

    You guys, this is so wonderful! I have been on the verge of tears all day, because I’m so grateful. My dad said for me to go ahead and buy the foods he needs and figure out how much they owe me for them! Today he started his job. He had to go for training/orientation this morning, and now back to work tonight after only two and a half hours of sleep! Anyway, I made him a shake for breakfast with nuts, berries, bananas and a little agave nectar. He drank that and left for his training. He was planning to maybe just stay there and sleep in the car, so I had packed a couple of other things. I was wishing I had been able to have more notice because I wasn’t able to make enough food for that long. He ended up coming home this afternoon. He had eaten lunch out at KFC, but when he came in he was interested to try the BLT wraps I had made, and he went to take a nap but asked me to make him something for dinner! I was glad I could give him more good food. :) Now he left for work for the night, and he has the corn salad, celery sticks and apple pie I had sent with him already. Thank you to those who have reminded me of the need to go slow. I feel good about the day because he has eaten so much good food! I bought onions tonight so I can try making onion rings in the dehydrator. Talk about overwhelming, though! My son, me, my parents, and also a friend of my mom’s said a while ago that she wants to pay me to make raw food for her. I’m definitely getting familiar and happy with easy, simple, quick recipes!

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    angie, im so touched and excited for you and your family, send me your address and ill send you some crackers,chips and tortillas for your pop, on the house! 

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    Angie! That’s all so great! It seems like a puzzle and the pieces are all falling into place. Just two things – as far as making multiple meals, I felt this way when I was going through Phase 1, 3 different meals, 3 times a day for the humans, and then there’s the pets! But you know what? Eventually you get used to it and you get good at it and it becomes your new routine. Luckily there’s endless food inspiration here. The other thing is, don’t forget to help yourself. You’re being such a great caretaker, don’t deplete your own energy stores, you need care as much as everyone else. You seem to be doing great food-wise, just make sure you’re taking care of the rest of you. Thanks for sharing all the success so far!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    angie~ hmmmm…. sounds like the start of a new income stream… :)

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    I saw a great recipe for “fried” zucchini on:

    http://www.thedailyrawcafe.com/search/label/app…

    These might replace the chips and you could make a raw ranch dressing to dip them in. I haven’t made these yet, but I’m going to asap (without the nama shoyu).

    Everything on this site looks good.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    omshanti – Wow – thanks! I just sent the email :)

    123 – thanks for the link. Anything that would replace fried foods would be wonderful!

    amysue and Bluedolphin – Yeah, I can’t believe it! I have wanted to be a raw chef (for other people besides just me) for a while now. Things are a little crazy right now, but school will be out at the end of April and I am not planning to go during the summer, just garden, swim, play, make jewelry (my other hobby-job), and of course make food for everyone I know ;) The new Vita-Mix and some simple recipes are making this much more doable. I didn’t think I would be able to do it for my mom’s friend, even before my dad asked me to help him, but now I am feeling like I can probably do both now and still get my schoolwork done! I AM going to go take a bath tonight before bed, though. Wow! What a day:)

  • lzhptlzhpt Raw Newbie

    This is a huge undertaking, Angie. With all you are doing for yourself and your son, i’m amazed. If he wants to start, I say great as that is more than half the battle. If he’s not willing, you may be wasting some very expensive food if you cannot eat it. I still consider myself too new to help you with this one, but know I applaud this Supergirl effort. I hope you will keep us posted.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    lzhpt – You’re right; it is huge! I remember when I transitioned to raw – it was a lot of trial and error. I was thinking today that maybe my dad wouldn’t want the food after he tasted it a few times or went without his sausage and eggs for breakfast. I guess that’s because that has been his reaction before, or how I thought it to be. But he has just been eating one of whatever I give him and telling me his opinion when I ask. When he left for work, he thanked me for my help, so I know it is HIS motivation.

  • lzhptlzhpt Raw Newbie

    These are the precious moments… the little windows we see we can make a difference. A touch, a thank-you. Tuck them into your heart.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Thanks so much! Knowing I have so much support makes all the difference. :)

    amysue – thanks again for reminding me about taking care of myself – I got up and spent some time meditating and stretching (my own version of yoga I started before I knew what yoga was:) this morning. It really helped me clear my mind and I was more relaxed and focused today. I spent a good part of the day shopping for food for my dad and talking to him to get his opinions of the things I have made so far. He couldn’t chew the corn salad, but is wondering if we could put it in the new Vita-Mix (hooray!) and I am excited that he is still trying to find a way to eat it :) I am realizing that my parents don’t like very many of the same things, so this is getting interesting, but we’ll see. My mom already likes salad, so I am focusing more on my dad as far as adjusting recipes, but of course taking her opinions into comsideration, too. Tonight I made a big fruit “ice cream” (water and frozen fruit in the Vita-Mix) and my dad ate some of that. He bought a bunch of energy drinks last night, but I didn’t ask him if he had to use them to stay awake. I’m just glad he didn’t fall asleep at the wheel, and I am glad he is off until Monday night and we will have a chance to try out more foods while we are both home and can talk about what he thinks of them. This is fun:)

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    angie~ Your dad seems really receptive and willing (so many people long for that, may it spread to others…) to what you are making for him. If he has time and interest, would he be open to working with you in the kitchen to make some of the food? I guess the kitchen might be pretty full with Dad, Superman, and you. (Is Mom in the kitchen also?) It would be a great opportunity for him to learn more (and be even more receptive, you can also test out stuff there rather then when he takes it to work) and for some quality family time… I chuckle to think of Gramps and Superman in the kitchen together. I can picture Superman instructing Gramps. :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Yeah, that is funny :D Superman is pretty good at instructing people how to do things – he wants us to “put ourselves on TV, and the name of it is going to be ‘The RawFood Chefs’” I love it. Superman ate 6 cups of fruit sorbet yesterday, and about 3 more today! He still eats cooked food, too, but I am noticing him not being satisfied with the cooked foods as much, even when I give him several choices that he used to love! My dad will transition, too. I just see him being willing to do things differently. I also think it will help him to see that I am willing to help him without criticizing him or being a “food police”. I am just hopeful that he will start to feel enough of a difference soon enough that he will be willing to continue. I read something yesterday that made me laugh. It was about Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad, but it made me laugh/cry because I am passionate about helping people who want to make a shift and eat more raw foods (although I wouldn’t use this method!): Harriet Tubman, after escaping to the North, worked and then used the money she earned to help other slaves escape. Whenever she had someone get scared and want to go back, she would point a gun at the person’s head and say “Go on or die.” Talk about motivation!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Yeah, that is some motivation… as well as time/life saver. I bet those folks didn’t think twice after that…

    That would be so awesome for you to tape Superman and you in the kitchen and then put it up on youtube. It would be a great resouce for parents and kids alike. Can you imagine what would open up for Superman if you could show him other kids enjoying raw? What the kids like and don’t like? What a difference y’all would make!

    PS. It would also be awesome to see the Grans in the kichen… so much for not being able to teach old dogs new tricks and making healthier choices… personally, I love the multigenerational stuff.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Bluedolphin – Yeah, that would be cool. Maybe someday when I have money for a video cam and know-how to be able to do the youtube thing – He would go nuts over an opportunity like that! “The Grans in the kitchen” – that makes me smile :) okay laugh :D :D :D!

    cherie03 – The cinnamon rolls DID sound good when I looked at them once – good idea. I know everyone needs lots of vegetables and greens, but I figure that even if he eats a little of those and fills up on raw desseerts, it’s a whole lot better than whatever else he would be eating instead!

    My mom doesn’t like to think of ideas of what to make, but this whole change has inspired her to do some of the things she DOES know how to do – she made whole grain waffles for their dinner tonight, and I showed her how to make a raw strawberry syrup with agave in her new Vita-Mix (she usually made a cooked one with sugar added to the strawberries). My dad still loaded his waffles with Jif peanut butter and made a sugary syrup, but little by little. I bought ingredients today to make a couple of things that I know my dad liked when I made them before, and then we’ll see what happens from there. I may start making some cooked veggie dishes once in a while, too, just to get him to eat better than what he has been without it being so sudden and weird. Or just have my mom focus on the healthy cooked stuff and I’ll stick to my specialty?! Whatever, this is just cool! I appreciate all the feedback and support you are all giving me!

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    angie~ Checkout www.freecycle.org for your area and see if someone has a digital vid cam they are willing to give to you for free… it couldn’t hurt.. might not be the latest cam, but ya never know… just takes an email… or, if you are involved with a group (religious, school, etc., or even someone on this site…) someone there might have one to give or lend you.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    Bluedolphin – Thanks for the link and the idea! I just signed up on freecycle; I need to see what I have to give away! I just realized I am kind of slow – I bought a digital camera a couple of months ago, and if I buy the right memory card it will do video, too! :D Still, free is better than the price of a memory card. Hmmm…either way, it looks like I have options. Thanks again!

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