Raw Vegan 101: My Raw Feeding Routines and Tips for Sticking to Healthier Eating

I'm three years into living a vegan, "natural" lifestyle and I absolutely love it. It's simple, fast, clean, inexpensive and just feels so natural for me now- in more ways than one. Here are the routines that have evolved over the years, I'm always trying new things. If you have any tips or suggestions please send them, this is simply what works for me personally.

1) Wake Up: 4 Cups of Water / Tea or Coffee (Going to phase this out again. Don't want to become dependent.)  I take 1 prenatal vitamin for hair growth. Works!
2)  Smoothies: 2-4+ all day. 2 cups fruit, 2 cups water, stevia, 2 TBSP nuts or seeds, sometimes greens
3) Salad, Bitch: At least one giant salad a day. The bowl is a chip bowl nearly the size of my head. Chopped greens & whatever veggies I have on-hand with homemade dressing. See good ones I used to enjoy here. Kristina has some delicious ones in a video here. I love making honey mustard variations, mustard is my favorite dressing! Mmm...

Sometimes I have sweet potatoes (fries, mashed) or brown rice and veggies for dinner. Sometimes I make date rolls or raw cakes. I need to work on a consistent routine, but keeping to the 3 steps above keeps me feeling healthy. I have little cheats like vegan chips/dips and cooked sweets on rare occasion.

I'm going to experiment with more organic brands in time, but these are my current go-tos. 

1. Wash face and body with Dr. Bronners - Tea Tree Oil Soap at night. Shave with the same soap. I wash my face twice. Try it, skin looks better and it knocks out break-outs.

2. Shampoo and Condition with Griffin Remedy (shampoo / conditioner) once a week. My hair is curly, dry, and fragile so the less washing, the better. I use my roommate's flat iron once a week after I wash my hair.

3. Brush with my homemade mouthwash and toothpaste. Recipes here.

4. After shower I apply Ann Marie Gianni Herbal Facial Oil . (I love Theraneem oil, too.) I wake up with even-toned, balanced, blemish-free skin and can just wipe my eyes and go. No morning washing, no make-up. It's awesome.

Oil Note: I have very oily skin and like most afflicted with it, used to wash with lots of face wash and toner morning and night to "fight" it. This makes your skin produce more oil to make up for the drying alcohol-laden conventional soap and I always looked like an oil-slick. Washing twice, applying oils at night, and not washing in the AM stopped the cycle! Now my skin appears "dewey" and even. Sorry for putting you to sleep with skin care tips, zzzz...Photo above right after waking up and having my water. I just wake up and go.

5. Apply a little alba un-petroleum jelly to face and body as-needed. A little goes a long way.

6. Deodorant none! You smell less the cleaner you eat, I swears it. I apply this homemade one when needed.

Everything takes minutes and I feel much better about my skin/hair than I did when I was doing a lot more (toner/lotion/soap/eyeliner/concealer/zzzz/no more) as a teen and in my young twenties. Drinking lots of water and eating lots of veggies has made a big difference. Less is more! 

(Speaking of Simple & Clean it's the title of the prettiest video game song you'll ever hear. Listen before bed. You will dream of unicorns and rainbows. Any Kingdom Hearts fans here?)

1) Eat the "Good Stuff" First: Eat your salads and smoothies before your burger and fries, you'll find you'll have little room to eat as much "bad" food as you used to.

2) Keep The Kitchen Stocked: Keep your cabinet and fridge stuffed with dates, fruits, veggies, and the whole plant goodies you love to eat. When it's empty, you'll get oh so tempted to cheat.

3) Cook Ahead: Have homemade cookies, burgers, and more ready to go so the healthy snacks are at arm's reach.

4) Eat, Eat You Fool: Don't starve. Ever. Your body will try to compensate for the "famine" by leading you to the Burger King Drive Through. Extreme calorie restricting won't work long-term. Stuff yourself with fruits and veggies guilt-free 'til you're comfortably full.

5) Have Fun: Eat only what you love, there are so many delicious recipes. Play with it, do whatever it takes to make it enjoyable to you, personally.

6) Replace: Replace your favorites with healthy versions. While transitioning I replaced my burgers with morning star (Couldn't eat now! Ow!) frozen veggie burgers loaded with lettuce and tomatoes. Helped me switch-over.

Vitamix Recommendation: I highly recommend the vitamix blender, I use mine every day. If you buy through my affiliate link you not only help support me (I get a small commission), you also get free shipping! I used to use the Ninja blender and it's competent but you won't look back after the vitamix, it's improved my raw recipes 110%, it was impossible to get my soups and smoothies smooth before it.

More body care and recipe posts shall come into the future. Do feel free to share any recommendations and tips, I love learning from you!

The Raw Vegan 101 Series: 
Part 1) What is it and Why is it Good for You? + Another Raw Info Post
Part 2) My Raw Routines, FAQ, and Tips to Stick to It (You are here)
Part 3) Essential Raw Vegan Tools, Books, and Resources (April 8)
Part 4) Pantry Staples for Creating any Dish you Crave Rawfully (April 15)
Part 5) Adding More Raw Healthfulness to Your Diet On-The-Cheap (April 22)
Extra) Straightening Out Misconceptions and My True Mission

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