I started becoming more conscious of my health and how food relates to it in 2002. But just like everything in life, the process of healing truly is a journey. It never happens overnight, yet there are moments along the way that can completely change the course of your life forever.
Last year I did a physical and emotional detox that I shared a bit about here. During the healing process my body was all out of sorts, and it was responding very poorly to almost everything I ate. The only thing that my body responded well to was simple foods such as raw fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, and some grains. That was when I started incorporating large amounts of raw fruits and vegetables into my diet.
Last week I decided to eat fully raw for seven days to see how I felt and what improvements may come from it. I truly enjoyed the experience, and I chose to eat simple meals so that I wouldn’t be spending massive amounts of time preparing food all day. Both breakfast and lunch were fruit meals, and for dinner a HUGE salad. If I wanted a snack, I’d munch on dried or fresh fruit.
Below is an example of what a day of eating 100% raw looks like for me. Everything listed is organic as I avoid GMO’s and pesticides. I’ve also included the nutritional breakdown of the day from CRON-O-Meter which I first mentioned in this article.
Breakfast
One of my fruit meals is usually a mono-meal of one type of fruit. For breakfast I ate 15 large tangerines. I honestly can’t wait for cherries, figs, and peaches to come in season. Right now tangerines, pink lady apples, Asian pears, and grapes have been the main fruits that I’ve been purchasing at the farmer’s market each week. I purchase a 20 lb box of organic fruit each week at a discounted price.
Lunch
For my second meal I’ll make a smoothie. This smoothie pictured has 4 large bananas, 10 deglet dates, 1 cup of dandelion greens, 2 tbsp of chia seeds, 1/2 of a mango, and 2 tsp of Hawaiian spirulina. I added 2 1/2 cups of water before blending. (Some days I make a smoothie for breakfast, and mono-meal one fruit for lunch).
Dinner
Dinner takes a bit more time to prepare and even longer to eat. It takes me 45 minutes to an hour to eat my salad at night. That’s how big it is. My salad contains a head of romaine, 2 1/2 cups of chopped red cabbage, 1/3 cup of dandelion greens, 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds, 1/3 cup of raisins, 1 cup of celery, 2 chopped carrots, and a dash of Himalayan sea salt. I also add a seasoning blend I made with black pepper, cardamom, and fennel.
If I have ripe avocados at home, I finely chop one avocado for my salad in place of sunflower seeds. I also include various other veggies. I’ve noticed that my taste buds have changed immensely since I enjoy my salads now without dressing where before I had to have something.
Snack + Water Intake
For a snack I love munching on dried mulberries, and I may eat around 1/2 of a cup. I also may have fresh pressed vegetable juice as a snack, but I have not gotten into the habit of juicing daily although I LOVE my juicer. I usually drink 16 ounces of water 3-4 times a day. I probably could be drinking more, but I feel that this is fine especially since I am eating so much water rich foods.
Overall Thoughts
I find eating fully raw to be very refreshing and healing to my body. The biggest difference that I’ve noticed is that I am never tired after eating. I have more mental clarity and even saw a tremendous improvement in my digestion. I’ve also noticed subtle improvements in my skin, and I am sleeping better at night. Since I’ve been eating fruit meals during the day, I’m no longer low on energy in my dance classes. I used to get a bit shaky and super hungry after class when I wasn’t eating fruit meals.
I don’t think that I will eat 100% raw all the time because I still enjoy some cooked foods such as sweet potatoes, veggie soups, etc. Eating fully raw makes me feel so amazing though, so I will definitely continue to eat a high raw diet of organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I am in awe that eating this way debunks the myth of not getting enough protein or vital nutrients from raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds alone. Everything that I ate and entered into CRON-O-Meter covered all of my nutritional bases outside of vitamin D which I can receive from small amounts of daily sun exposure or try to supplement.
Eating raw foods is eating living nutrients and pure love from our planet. It feels so good!
(Images by Dawn Michelle)
Anonymous says
Hi Dawn!
I love your beauty tips and recipes, and I’m glad you feel good eating a mostly raw vegan diet. I hope that it continues to make you feel good! I did mostly raw vegan for several months, and while at the beginning I had many of the same benefits as you, over time my digestion just couldn’t keep up with the amount of food I was having to eat to stave off my hunger. My metabolism slowed tremendously, I developed neuropathy in my feet, and my energy levels dropped to nil. Also, I became an emotional wreck, I’m assuming because of the disruption in my hormonal production. I just wanted to post this because I had to learn the hard way that eating like this is not good for everyone; not that you necessarily implied this, but I know a lot of people look up to you, and are influenced by your lifestyle. I just think people need to listen to their own bodies first and foremost. This way of eating is a great way to detox short-term, at least for me. It works great for some on a long term basis as well, but isn’t sustainable for others.
I really admire the effort you put into your posts, and the mindfulness you apply to your lifestyle! On a side note, I tried an herbal cleanse for my hair and it’s amazing!! Hibiscus, fenugreek, and soap nut… oh yeah!
Thank you!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Anonymous,
Yes yes and yes! We have to listen to our bodies and trying to follow another’s journey does not work. I hope I was clear explaining that I began eating this way when my body started rejecting how I was eating prior during a healing crisis from a detox. Regardless of your current eating lifestyle, I do feel that it is necessary to eat whole organic foods as much as possible. I am in awe still that most grocery stores are predominately packaged processed foods and that is not how generations ate in the past. I also ate a raw diet years ago before starting to eat a lot of processed vegetarian foods (which did not supply my body with any real nutrients), and now I’m back to plant based foods again. It seriously is a journey.
In essence I am sharing this article to inspire others to eat as healthy as possible. Most are not aware that you can even get protein from plant based foods which is why if you are vegetarian people often ask you “where do you get your protein from?” No matter what you choose, it is important to do what is best for you and LISTEN to your body. We are all so unique, and there is no one size fits all. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share your experience. Food is such a delicate topic and we should treat our bodies delicately as well. So glad you are loving the herbal hair cleanser too!
Best wishes with everything!
Glenda says
Hi Dawn Michelle,
I am now absolutely convinced that you and I are participating in a series of zeitgeists 😀 ….. About six weeks ago I bought two raw foods cookbooks and started eating primarily raw–I quickly discovered that I personally do better with a little animal protein in my diet. I do eat some cooked vegetables, but very little. I eat sometimes 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a day, but not often. I do have some mono-fruit meals (I adore frozen grapes). Even though I have prepared a few “dishes” using my spiralizer and food processor or blender to create a raw sauce (like FullyRawKristina’s curry), I primarily keep it simple with simply eating raw vegetables & fruits with no processing other than slicing perhaps. I, too, have noticed improvements in internal and external health that I thought was already good to begin with. I’m guessing that I’m eating about 80% raw on a daily basis (unlimited vegetables & fruit, a very small amount of seeds & nuts, a couple of avocados a week–the other 20-ish% consists of baked russet potatoes & sweet potatoes, eggs, some fish & chicken & organs, an even smaller amount of beef & pork), and I’m enjoying the freedom of just throwing some fruit & vegetables in my lunch bag along with some sliced lemons in a jar that I fill with spring water throughout the day–throw and go, and use the extra-found-time from not cooking & preparing meals to relax a little more! Please keep us informed about how your raw food diet is going, and please pass along any recipes. Thanks, as always, for this post!
Glenda
Glenda says
P.S. For the first few weeks I was juicing almost daily as well, but this past week I stopped juicing, mainly because of being short on time. I’ll probably pick it back up intermittently in the next couple of weeks.
Glenda
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Glenda,
I love that you seem to have found a great balance with eating whole foods that works for you! Raw plant based foods add enzyme rich nutrients into any diet. How we eat doesn’t have to be one way or another, it just needs to work for you. It is all about feeling good so that we can do what we are here on this planet to do. I think the food lifestyle labeling adds a lot of stress to how we talk about food in general. It is so good that you are listening to your body and what it needs. I will definitely write more on this if I feel inspired to, and continue on my own healing path. I hope that you are having a beautiful day!
E says
Wow! That’s alot of food, I’m amazed how much you can eat. (Not trying to sound rude, it’s a compliment! I admire that you are incorporating so much health foods and even posted health facts!)
I’ve been wanting to try a week or two of raw foods, but decided not to because I thought it would be too time consuming and i’d be too hungry. I like the simplicity that you’ve shown. I think I’m going to try and get hubby on board and go a week totally raw!
Thanks for inspiring me!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi E,
Ha ha thanks! Yes I am an abundant eater and always have been. I honestly couldn’t eat this way if it was an extremely complicated process to prepare though. I do enjoy cooking, but then again I love the simplicity of eating raw even more especially since I am eating from home versus eating out often.
If you do give it a try let us know how things work out for you. What helps me is buying a box of fruit from the farmer’s market along with veggies each week and stocking up on the other items from the bulk section in the grocery store. I save money on organic produce buying a box at a discounted price. Also if you go to the farmer’s market during the last hour the vendors are usually offering a discount to sell more before they leave. Lastly because fruit needs to be ripe prior to eating, having an abundance really helps as not everything is always ripe at the same time.
Best wishes!
Jess | Rose & Fig says
These recipes are fantastic – and the nutrient scorecard speaks volumes to how healthy that kind of diet is.
I personally love homemade smoothies as well and have found avocado to provide a delicious creamy texture and ginger to provide a nice, fresh kick.
My husband recently started focusing on eating 2 meals per day fully raw (mainly smoothies, salads, fruits, raw almond/raisin combo for trail mix). He’s found that the cloudiness of mind he experienced after eating carbohydrate-laden meals in the past is, well, a thing of the past!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Jess,
Thank you! I never really understood how good broke down nutrition wise until I started using Cronometer. It’s been extremely helpful. It’s so good to hear that your husband has been incorporating more live plant based foods into his meals and benefiting greatly from it. Have a beautiful day and thanks for your comment!
Jennifer says
Hi Dawn! I’ve been following your blog for a few weeks. I am very thankful you share your experience and tips with us! I’m afraid I have possibly even more sensitive skin than you. It seemed like for a few years I was able to stay clear with just toning with witch hazel, then moisturising with some type of oil. Then within the past year my skin went haywire. Possibly hormones, stress, getting older and skin sensitivity changing, and using the wrong type of oil for me. Witch hazel with alcohol started feeling too drying. Even though coconut oil seemed fine years agi, now it seemed like I was breaking out. Even tried hemp seed and sunflower oil and breakouts continued. Ordered some pumpkin seed oil from MRH. At first I tried cleaning with that and a microfiber. But seemed like it was still making me breakout. Perhaps I’m sensitive to sink tap water. Ive heard that minerals in tap water can cause breakouts. I use a homemade laundry dtetgent consisting only of Dr bonner baby mild and washing soda. But perhaps residue of even that in the microfiber was irrating my skin. So I switched to this routine: after my shower when my face is soft with steam, I apply pumpkin oil, massage it in, and then take an organic cotton round and wet it with room temp distilled water, and gently wipe oil off my face, repeating once more with another wet cotton round. As much as I would love to use warm water, I don’t feel like heating up distilled water every time I clean my face. It’s only been a few days but my face looks a little better. I really don’t have cystic acne (maybe a couple every now and then), I just have lots of little bumps everywhere and some white heads and black heads. So depressing sometimes wishing I had clear skin. But I’m hopeful with your advice and encouragement as I use the proper oil type.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Jennifer,
After the major detox I did last spring, my skin went crazy and I could not even apply any oils to my body as it would feel like it was burning and itching all at the same time. These moments are indicators that our body is out of balance on the inside. It was also an example of one of my symptoms from the detox healing crisis. I temporarily changed my skin care to a completely oil-free regimen which I shared here, and did not apply anything to the skin on the rest of my body outside of my DIY body cleanser or favorite soap. I continued to do my own healing work focusing on a healthy diet consisting of high raw and organic foods. My skin finally calmed down and I was able to use oils again freely.
We are constantly changing, and so is our body based on our health, stress levels, diet, emotions, hormones etc. I do my best to share with others the importance of healing our body from the inside out as no topical skin care can do it all. I shared some of the other factors that creat acne here. I also shared a bit about the emotional decluttering and ways to gently detox as well. There is nothing wrong with only washing your face with water for a day or so just to give it a break and you a break trying to figure out your skin care regimen.
I think when the body is acting out, it is asking for us to take a moment for self care and healing. There is no better time than now to take responsibility for our health on all levels. When we are healthy we can then focus on what we are here to do. Our health is the most valuable thing in life.
Jennifer says
ps
So I guess I was wondering iF just using room temp water and not warm water would still cleanse my pores.
Also, about MRH, I’ve heard that they are a great CompaNY. But I was disappointed with their shea butter. I normally get Molivera Organics from Amazon which smells ok and works good on my baby’s eczema. When I started using the MRH shea butter my baby got a rash from it and it also smells pretty bad. I wonder why this is.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Jennifer,
I’m sorry that you didn’t like the shea butter from MRH and that your little one got a rash. I feel like it is the best shea butter that I have had in a long time and I love the smooth buttery consistency of it. I’m wondering if you got a bad batch. Have you contacted MRH customer service? They are pretty awesome if you haven’t.
maryann gonzalez says
Hi Dawn Michelle
this is wonderful information
Dawn Michelle says
Thank you Maryann!
Dawn Michelle says
Thank you so much Maryann!
Jennifer says
Thank you so much Dawn for your speedy and insightful answer! You. Are. AWESOME. Really you are. I just washed my face last night with YS Organic Raw Honey and it looked way better this morning! I used to do Manuka honey masks all the time but I just used the honey I already had, esp since Manuka is so expensive. Does the honey actually clean your pores? I did try only washing with water all last week. Perhaps water only for that long was too long… it seemed to help at first then i started breaking out bad towards the end of the week. I have cut out sugar since last week so I’m sure that’s helping too. Thanks again for all the tips and articles to read. SO thankful you give of your time to share your experience with us!!! God bless you!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Jennifer,
You are so welcome and thanks for the update! Abundant blessing to you!
Jennifer says
Thanks Dawn, you’re a blessing from the Lord 🙂
Dawn Michelle says
OMG thank you Jennifer!
E says
Hi Dawn Michelle,
Thanks for the great tips, I was able to score some great buys in bulk to keep the prices down.
My thoughts on the week of raw:
I loved the simplicity, I thought I needed a lot more planning but this was so simple.
The first few days, I’m not going to lie. I felt really hungry, I tried to eat extra of the healthy stuff, but I still felt like I was missing something. I think at one point I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because I dreamt about lasagna.
My husband said he had some headaches and I had a bit of a back ache (Detox effects maybe?)
But, by about the 4th day I started to get used to it. I couldn’t eat the large amounts of fruits like you, but I attribute that to the fact that you are a busy dancer and I pretty much just walk to the car to get to my office job for the next 8 hours. Not my favorite job, but it does keep the lights on at my house. 🙂
By the end of it I was used to it and actually craved the salad, I love salads but I craved them now! I also made a lot of smoothies. That was a great way to incorporate fruits and veggies that I was afraid would go bad before I could eat them.
We lost a few pounds which was an added plus. Although I know we wont stay completely raw, we are going to try to incorporate more raw veggies and fruits. I would love to be at a ration of 50/50 or so of raw and cooked.
Anyways, it was actually pretty fun. I appreciate the information and suggestions! Just a tip to anyone who wants to try it – get to day 4. Its the hardest but if you make it to this point it gets easier and its smooth sailing to the end!
Dawn Michelle says
Hi E,
What an awesome update! You definitely had some detox symptoms which is completely normal. I also have read that it takes time to strengthen your stomach muscle to actually each larger quantities of raw foods. You do have to eat more because the food digests much quicker and easier than cooked foods and animal based foods.
I’ve also noticed that it can be the most challenging to change your eating lifestyle or do a fast the first three days. Just like you said, by day four you will notice a major shift. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this. I’m also glad to hear you are interested in incorporating more raw foods into your life. It really is life changing in the most positive way. Have a great weekend!