Hello from the "Tastiest Town in the South!

Yep, my area was recently named the tastiest town in the south. Food is God here, so I don't expect to find too many other raw, vegan, or even vegetarians in my area. So I'm glad I found this site! This is all extremely new for me. I went vegan about 12 days ago, and 4 days after that I went raw. I'm really excited about it. I originally did it for a few different health reasons, but now I'm in it for everything! This is actually much easier that I thought it would be. I don't have any cravings and I'm loving all the fruits, smoothies and salads I'm eating. Finding organic around here is really difficult though, and the farmer's markets barely carry any produce. Aside from that, things are going great so far. I have days where there is so much energy I'm bouncing off the walls, and other days I am so tired I end up having to take a 4 hour nap in the middle of the day. This has never happened to me before, am I doing something wrong? Is this just detox? I just want to make sure I'm doing everything ok. I haven't read 80/10/10 yet. I was hoping to read it on my ipad, but I didn't see it in ibooks.

Oh and one more thing about me, I happen to hate bananas! Anyone else? I wish I didn't, they seem to be the perfect staple food to rely on. Right now I'm relying on oranges. I drink 16oz of oj every morning. (Fresh squeezed of course.) I eat a crate of mandarins every day. I have a cherry smoothie in the afternoons (using just frozen cherries and a little bit of water) and in the evenings I eat a gigantic salad. My salads are pretty simple right now. Mostly just greens and onions and peppers. What do you guys use for dressing?

Ok well that's my introduction. I can't wait to get to know all of you and I can't wait to share my progress with everyone!

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Permalink Reply by Clarence on April 24, 2012 at 3:36pm

I had to laugh when I saw your post. Must be from Louisiana I thought to myself. I am a newbie too. I just started eating raw this week. So far so good but it has been a challenge getting all my calories in. Good luck with it and stay away from the boudin and crawfish!

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Nicole on April 24, 2012 at 11:23pm

Haha, yep! I'm from cajun country south louisiana! And my family is a bunch of cajuns so I haven't told them yet. My husband however is partially converted. He's now a vegetarian, and is juicing and eating tons of raw fruits. So how many calories are you aiming for?

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Permalink Reply by Clarence on April 25, 2012 at 1:46pm

My wife is from near that area, Jennings to be exact. We spend a lot of time down there in Jennings and New Orleans visiting family. I know it will be a huge discussion with them when they find out. I am aiming for 3000 per day. Today was easier since I picked up half a case of majool dates. I am just going to keep on working at getting the calories in and getting some exercise.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Csere on April 25, 2012 at 12:25am

Hey there. Make sure you read the "Welcome Wagon" section of the forum; it'll help you get started.

The 4 hour nap could be detox, could be undersleeping, or could be if you accidentally consume too much fat (oily salad dressing?) the day before. But fluctuating energy levels are typical at first; you will eventually level out.

On 30BAD we recommend 2500 cals minimum for female beginners.

A good substitute for bananas is mangos, but they're more expensive. Also you can get a lot of calories from melons, and I would imagine melon aren't too hard to find in the summer down there.

A lot of people "hate" bananas simply because they haven't eaten any ripe ones. They should be completely yellow, with black spots all over them. They should be soft and sweet and not starchy/tannin-y. If you don't like the taste, it probably isn't ripe. Sometimes they even look ripe, but because they were picked too early, they still have the starchy tannin tastes. I can't eat more than one or two of those. Get some nanners, let them ripen, and give them a chance. If you still can't stand them, stick to mangos and melons and citruses and other things.

A good suggestion is to make banana smoothies and maybe put in a mango or some blueberries to "enhance" the flavor. I recommend pulse blending rather than continuous blending since less air bubbles get into it and it is easier to digest. Also preserves more nutrients via less oxidization.

So glad you found 30Bad and good luck in your fruity journey!