(Used with permission from Source )
One of my readers recently asked, what is “transition food”?
Transition food, as I define it, is what people eat when they are making the transition from standard eating to healthy raw food eating. Transition food tends to be familiar — it tastes like standard food. It’s very filling. It often uses “less than desirable” food combining to achieve some of the textures to which we are accustomed. For example, strawberry parfait with cashew cream. Or fresh orange juice, salad and raw pizza, followed by a fruit dessert.
Or it can merely be tons and tons of fat — which is one challenge many raw foodies face. Yeah, that avocado chocolate pudding hits the spot — especially when one is stressed out — but a whole bowl, especially three days in a week, is TOO MUCH!
I meet some people who’ve been raw for years. They report struggling with weight and some health issues. When I ask what they eat, they tell me about fancy gourmet recipes or proudly making fruit smoothies with nut milk or eating fruit for breakfast and “a handful of nuts, ya know, for protein” as their breakfast.
Experienced raw foodies, who are often noted to have “the raw glow,” generally go through a period of transition food and then find it affects them adversely. They let go of the fancy foods, often consume mostly green smoothies or a mostly fruit diet depending upon whose philosophy they follow, and then feel better. I’ve recently gone through this myself. I am still tempted, and occasionally I can have a little gourmet food, but not a whole meal. If I do, I end up sick, gassy and with a very unhappy colon.
It’s a journey. Along the way is cheezecake, fruit pies with nut crusts, pizza on a dehydrated crust. Further along the way are healthier recipes. Do you really need dates in your marinara sauce? What if you left them out? Do you really need a crust on that pie? What if you just ate the filling or maybe added some dehydrated fruit for texture or crunch?
Enjoy some fancy food. Notice how it affects your body. Begin to make some small adjustments and notice how you feel. Follow your body. If you really listen, it will lead you to the right solution and highest degree of health.
About Sharon
Thank you for this lovely article. Over the years I have convinced my husband of the poisonous effects of processed/flavoured/fast food, and of the importance of a healthy diet. Now he acknowledges that when he is tempted by fancy or too fatty food his whole body is affected and he needs a detoxing workout. It’s not easy to keep fighting bad habits
love, Coco
Thanks for the comment, Coco. I agree it’s hard and unpleasant to fight bad habits. I encourage people to focus on embracing good habits and not judge bad habits. Alternatively, you might ask yourself, what would happen or what would it look/feel like if you didn’t fight the bad habits?