This past winter break, I did a raw vegan challenge – basically challenging myself to eat as many whole and unprocessed and uncooked foods as possible. Now that the month is over, I have felt so great that I have decided to stick with the challenge for a little bit longer. So far, I’ve been having one cooked meal a week while eating raw for as much as I can the rest of the week. That being said, the raw diet is not for everyone; you should first and foremost listen to your body! It will tell you what you need. If you want to find out why I decided to become a raw vegan (it’s mainly because I hate to cook, tbh) and how my month went, check out my article for the national branch coming out soon!
Although I fully believe that being a vegetarian or eating any plant based diet is a wonderful lifestyle choice, I found that being vegan further supported my ideas. In my opinion, the way that we treat animals that we are going to eat in this country is disgusting and I want to protest that, in my own very small way, by not participating in the industry at all; aka eating a fully plant based diet.
According to Wikipedia (I know…the most reliable of websites) “Raw veganism is a diet that excludes all food and products of animal origin, as well as food cooked at a temperature above 48 °C (118 °F). A raw vegan diet includes raw vegetables and fruits, nuts and nut pastes, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, plant oils, sea vegetables, herbs, mushrooms, and fresh juices”. I decided to eat as much raw, whole foods as much as possible over this past winter break because I was home with enough time to try new foods and make new recipes and because my parents were paying for my food (YAS!).
For me, eating raw vegan should be about having fun and trying new and exciting recipes but being the busy college student that I am (I know #same), that doesn’t always happen. So today, I’m going to share with you what I realistically eat in an average day.
Breakfast:
1 container of edamame (blanched not cooked!)
1 mug of hot coffee (I KNOW, I KNOW this is not raw but without coffee I can’t function. See my other article for more!)
*I usually have a smoothies for breakfast and I will soon be putting out an article about my fave, go to smoothie recipes!
Snack #1:
2 bananas
1 apple
1 thermos of water
Snack #2:
MULLBERRIES (the best superfruit ever)
1 thermos of water
Snack #3
4 clementines
Dinner:
Raw vegan dinners on campus can be really tough. I usually just eat a giant salad from the pit with dressing I bring myself (my fave is a tahini dressing) or with hummus. Sometimes I cheat and get sushi.
Giant salad
Veggie sushi
Banana
So, as you can see, being raw is kinda realistic, kinda not. Since I live off campus, it is much easier for me to make breakfast and dinner at home and then bring lunch to campus. However, being a vegan and eating mostly raw throughout the day is totally do-able. If your New Year’s Resolution is to get more fit but going to the gym is tbh too much work (I feel you…as my friend and fellow Her Campus writer said, I haven’t worked out since P.E. in freshman year of high school), try being vegan out!
Also super helpful: some raw vegan eats around Rochester:
*Red Fern on Park Ave (THE ABSOLUTE BEST! This restaurant is ALL VEGAN….yes ALL VEGAN DESSERTS!)
*The Gatehouse (This is a great place to take a non-raw date because they have some great burgers….or so I’m told….Get one of their great salads here without the dressing or with just olive oil! I like the Manhattan Square…hold the bacon, please!)
*Just Juice (This place is so expensive but SO WORTH IT FOR THE SMOOTHIES!)
Either way, lots of love this cold, dry February! Love yourself and love your body. You are special, you are loved! #self-love
HCXO