I'm makin' nothing today, or for the next eight days! Think of all the time I'm saving myself by consuming only mono meals for nine days. What will I end up doing with that extra time? So far, today, I've spent a long time outside soaking up the sun's beautiful rays that I've missed far too much this Winter. I have no idea what the rest of this mono journey is going to be like, but I'm up for the adventure!
I've started a little journal on my desktop to track my nine days of mono meals, so I'll share what I've written from time-to-time. Here's what I have, so far...
Navratri, 9-Days of Mono Meals
April 6, 2008
This evening, around 8pm, Navratri officially started. Instead of doing the traditional nine-day fast for the holiday, I decided to consume mono meals (only one fruit or veggie every 24 hours). So, this evening I ate 16 oz. of strawberries! They were sweet and filled the air with their scent. I had 24 oz. washed and ready to eat, but when I neared the 16 oz., I was full and they didn t taste as great to me any longer. So, I didn't stuff myself.
April 7, 2008
I wasn t hungry for breakfast right away, so I didn t eat my morning strawberries until around 11am. Again, I washed 24 oz. and found that I didn t desire to eat any more than 16oz. I m curious if it will be approximately 16 oz.each time I eat. Does that mean my stomach only likes holding one pound of food? I m curious to find out! Surely when I eat all of those bananas in one sitting, they weigh more than one pound.
I ve haven t measured or weighed my portions since I ve been raw, I just eat whatever I feel like eating, in whatever quantities I desire. However, today I signed up to use NutriDiary, to track my nutrition. I always wanted to use the program, but eating complicated, multi-ingredient recipes just seemed like too much work. Starting with just mono meals will allow me to easily use the program and learn about all of its features. (Do any of you readers use that program, or the FitDay one? If so, what are your thoughts about it )
I can already tell that at this rate I am not going to get adequate calories from the amount of strawberries I m consuming. My morning meal was only 145 calories. We ll see how the day progresses. There s a chance that I ll want lunch and then a snack before dinner, since there are so few calories in the strawberries. I m not overly concerned about calories, however, since Navratri is a time to cleanse and allow the body to rest (and my mono meals will only be for nine days). On top of that, I m not at my ideal weight, yet, so if some pounds are left behind it won t be problematic. If I was doing mono meals for an extended period of time, I'd carefully monitor my calories and nutrient intake.Jim and KDcat had our usual gigantic family salads for lunch. The look and smell of them made me want my regular salad, as well. I m okay without it, and I m dedicated to the nine days of mono meals, but I can now see that this may not be as easy as I originally thought.
Original Comments
Below, we have included the original comments from this blog post. Additional comments may be made via Facebook, below.
On April 7, 2008, wrote:
That sounds cool! Mono meals! I was thinking about doing some sort of juice fast, but have yet to make that transition. Soon though. I haven't heard of mono meals per se, so what do they do for you?
On April 7, 2008, wrote:
Interesting! I'm so glad you are sharing how it's going for you!
I've used Fitday. Raw food usually gets so few calories...and a huge percentage of fat (even when eating seemingly small amounts of fat!) I guess the veggies have so few calories (even a huge amount) while a small handful of nuts and an avo have so much, it throws the percentage "pie" way over to fats. Shocking to see.
On April 8, 2008, wrote:
Hi Sweet Wendi!
You know, I was thinking that mono meals could be a really great transitional way of eating for me when the time comes to break my juice feast. I want to give extra attention not to sabotage any of the work that I am doing during this time and I really don't want to gain much weight back once I go off juice. You have given me a great idea and as always....you're a total inspiration in everyway!
Love to you, Friend!
Penni
On April 8, 2008, wrote:
Hi Sam,
Mono meals are supposed to be fantastic for your digestive system and are supposed to give the body unbelievable energy (since it's not being used to break down complex meals). There are a lot of raw foodists who consume mono meals for breakfast (one fruit, only). It's a gentle cleanse, in a way.
I would never recommend it long term, though, unless there is a lot of thought put into variety to make sure that the body can get all the nutrition it needs.
I've been toying with the idea of juice feasting in the future, but I'm not ready for that, yet. This, to me, is easier and gives somewhat similar benefits.
Thanks for the comment!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On April 8, 2008, wrote:
Hi there, Melissa!
Yes, it's amazing how much fat many of us raw foodists have been consuming. I finished reading 80/10/10 and it made a lot of sense. I'm going to give it a try this year (that's my goal--to cut back on fats), to see if it makes a huge difference in how I feel. Because, I have to admit, I love fats!! My body has responded remarkably well to the high-fat raw, vegan raw food diet, so far. I'm always willing to see if there's an even better way to eat/live, though, so I'll give it a try to see if it makes a big, positive difference in my life.
Thanks for the comment!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO
On April 8, 2008, wrote:
Aww...thanks, Penni!
You are so sweet! I think doing mono meals when you are breaking your juice feast is a great idea!!! Eating mono meals gives some of the benefits of juice feasting, so it should be an easy transition for you. You wouldn't even have to mono one food for 24 hours, if you didn't want that. Many people who consume mono meals eat one thing for breakfast, and different things for lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Personally, after looking at too many yummy raw food pics today, I think I'd like to mono meal on quiche (would that count as a mono meal ! LOL).
Thanks for the comment!
Lots of love to you,
Wendi
XOXOXO