I am on day 5 of a raw juice fast. I've had nothing but fresh raw juices for all my meals....I did eat a couple of bananas, whole, as I wanted to poop. I also used a blender for the greens part, as my juicer is not that great. I feel amazing, and have lost 5 or so lbs. I wasn't trying to lose weight, but wanted to boost my immune system and cleanse. I think I am going to do a 3-5 day fast each time the season changes. I love this!

Thanks faylinameir!  I agree it most likely is the nuts and I will cut down on those a bit and see what happens. I am struggling a bit with satiety though.  I am used to eating a lot of whole grains and have only been getting one or two servings a day now (raw soaked buckwheat groats usually at breakfast with my green juice and a fresh fruit) so I wonder if the nuts have been a subconsious way of substituting for the lack of grains I am used to. I still cook beans and veggies at dinner and lunch may be all raw or mixed.  I have always been a huge vegetable and fruit eater although I cooked more of my vegetables than the amount I ate raw but have recently reversed that trend.  I do live in northeastern Minnesota right by Lake Superior so cold definitely is an issue here!  Like you we keep our heat down or off unless it gets way cold outside as we are financially strained.  I use a heating pad to curl up with when I am studying for long hours and not moving much. 
I just bought the book "Becoming Raw" by Brenda Davis and have been reading it. Very valuable nutrition info.  I also have "Raw Food for Real People" by Rob Rotondi that I checked out at the library.  I like his book because it is very basic and explains sprouting which I am new at and his recipes are very basic.  This is new for me so I have so much to learn in balancing my raw food.  it is a whole different world than my cooked vegan one.  And another challenge with the raw food lifestyle is PATIENCE!  So much food takes considerable planning and preparing to eat beyond simple raw vegetables and fruits.  Thankfully my blendtec helps with some of that.  :)  the dehyrdration thing I am not so sure about.  Seems like a lot of work to enjoy something that wont last long.  On the other hand dehydrated foods would help with the satiety factor...

Yesterday I ate 100% raw and all day long I was freezing cold, and I mean miserably cold.  I wore a jacket and walked around with a blanket on most of the day in the house.  In the morning I did a vigorous one hour workout but it made no difference.  I think my thyroid might be off (I have hypothyroidism) again but I also didint have my usual morning coffee so maybe some of that was withdrawal from coffee.  Today its back to 50/50 for a while. 

Oh, when I said almost completely raw I was so conveniently forgetting coffee (1/2 caff) and my tea. I have tried using less hot water on the teas, if that makes any difference (does it?).

Good advice on the Asian market. Are there any other names for Thai coconuts, in case they're labeled differently? Asian markets are the best. Unfortunately, I don't think I have one around here, but I'll keep looking.

If it doesn't say raw it likely isn't raw.  RawGuru sells raw coconut flakes for around $10.00 a pound.

I read a while back that there was some issue with salmonella in raw coconut coming from I don't remember where (out of the country).  They were saying that it isn't processed at high enough temperatures to destroy the pathogens so it's kind of "use at your own risk".  Not sure where I read that .

VR, have you checked for them in Asian markets?  The local Vietnamese market in my area has them for $2.99 as opposed to the $4.99 that the HFS wants for them.

:P

Down 3 more pounds in the past 2 days.  It's amazing how fast the weight drops off when you're on 100% raw.
:)

So I'm wondering....those of you who eat somewhat, mostly, or all raw how do you typically organize your daily meals? Do you usually eat a similiar breakfast, lunch and dinner or do you do alot of snacks etc?

I usually eat an all raw diet mainly in the warm weather (I get dangerously cold, I have issues with body temp in winter)  and I would go to the farmers market and just buy whatever was fresh looking and I would go home and plan my meals from their. I also eat things like raw oats and sprouted grains n such though and I know a lot of raw foodists don't eat them. My meals were never the same, with the exception of I get on my fruit binges and I'll eat like 12 bananas for breakfast. I'm partial to an 80-10-10 diet BUT not that much. '

I tend to eat all day long.  I'm up at 5am and my daughter is still asleep so I can't make juice due to the noise, which would be my preference, so I start my day with fruit....lots of fruit, which I continue to eat up until around noonish.  Then I generally have some salad or just cut up veggies.  I juice around 2ish, (when I get home) and then it's time for TurboFire and Perfect Abs.  Around dinner time I have some gazpacho or more salad or if I've raw-prepped for the week; raw tacos or raw chili or raw stuffed peppers or raw veggie burgers. 

So I'm wondering....those of you who eat somewhat, mostly, or all raw how do you typically organize your daily meals? Do you usually eat a similiar breakfast, lunch and dinner or do you do alot of snacks etc?

I have been eating about 50% raw but don't always get that far even.  I think when it gets warmer up here and maybe over the summer I will attempt to eat a greater percentage of raw. 

I am extremely anal about eating and food still as part of a long battle with an eating disorder and spontaniety is still a battle so I actually have weekly menus I follow that I make for myself well ahead of time (you don't want to know just how many weeks out I have planned).  I try to get in so many macronutrients a day and since moving more towards raw have adjusted for that.

Most of my breakfasts and lunchs are on the raw side, as are snacks, but dinner is still cooked with a little raw in there and sometimes I include homemade soups or something with lunchs or tea or (uhhum coffee) with breakfast.  I am still trying to break my coffee addiction.

A raw breakfast might be a bowl of fruit (my favorite is mango with skin on and banana) with a few nuts sprinkled on and a green juice (this morning was 2 cups kale, fresh cranberries, orange, 1 cup chicory, water).  Sometimes I might have raw soaked and sprouted buckwheat groats with fruit.  I guess technically buckwheat groats and oat groats are not raw even when just soaked and sprouted as whole seed kernals  because they are pressure treated before being sold. I just read that in a raw food book somewhere.  I knew flaked oats were steamed but I was surprised to learn that oat groats are also treated with heat).  Ditto with some types of nuts like almonds that are by law required to be pasteurized if grown in the U.S.  You can order this stuff raw and unprocessed from certain places (nuts from overseas or private growers) but it is expensive and inconvenient and involves shipping from far away and I am just not that rigid about it and my income is limited with college right now. I do not have a dehydrator or other fancy equipment except my blendtec so my raw meals are limited to fresh fruits and vegetables and some sprouting of beans and grains and a few nuts/seeds.  But I like the idea that if it looks like something you'd find in nature and doesnt get too complicated to "process" by having to grind and dehydrate bla bla than it is more natura and readily available for the body.  Yesterday I had sprouted raw white beans with a 1/2 of an avocado mixed in and a squirt of lemon; and also raw cabbage, carrot, apple, and union with a tad of cider vinegar (no idea if this is raw).  I had an orange for an afternoon snack.  I cooked dinner (sweet potato, kale, black bean curry).  I have been experimenting with raw milks and made coconut milk from real coconut meat a few days ago.  I have also made my own almond milk and both are very good (but as I said the almonds arent technically raw even though I bought them organic because they are still pasteurized by law). I have a pure calcium powder I add to raw milks as I have a low bone density (clinically diagnosed with osteoporosis). Otherwise I incorporate at least three to four cups a day of a leafy "bone building" green.  I am still very new at this also and reading and learning and slowly experimenting but I want to do it right and make it a long term lifestyle.  I do not need to lose weight so I also need to be sure I am eating a balanced and filling diet that will sustain me with lots of activity and a busy schedule.  I therefore probably do eat a little more fat than others might, although I had to cut back on the nuts as my digestion has been going crazy.  That is starting to settle down now.

Because I keep a menu I am able to plan ahead for soaking, sprouting and when to buy and how long to keep fresh fruits and veggies etc but with college and working and exercise in the mornings my time is extremely limited.  I foresaw this on school break and planned for four months out.  I am such a freak...