To vegans and raw foodists: how can I get over my bread love?

Question

I am transitioning to a raw vegan lifestyle. This hasn't been too tough. I lived off raw foods and random grazing food. I haven't eaten meals for a while. I snack all day.

Shortly before deciding to become a vegan, I discovered the joy of bread. Not Wonder bread or the sliced stuff. I am ADDICTED to the mini baguettes from au bon pain. I love the kinda tough, chewy texture.

I feel a lot better when I'm eating raw which may signal a gluten or other food allergy. Every thing just runs better, but I have tried to give up this baguette thing, and like a crack addict, I go way out of my way to get a fix.

How do I deal with this? My stomach gets off its smooth sailing rhythm once I have it. Even that isn't punishment enough for me to keep away for more than 4 days. That's the longest I've gone without it. Is there some substitute? I think I might just need something salty, but other things haven't resolved it. Help! What do you suggest. I want to stop eating it.

I'm curious as to why SOME vegans, raw foodists, etc., are so close-minded and militant. It's incredibly naive and it definitely isolates the vast majority of people. Do as you will, but spewing "advice" that clashes with the realities of people's lives does no good whatsoever. It actually does a great deal of harm. In making the decision to go almost entirely raw & vegan, I've reached out to a lot of people who are there to get their input. It irritates me to no end when SOME of these people talk out of their butts. For those who have given real advice (i.e. try sprouted grain, cut it out slowly, etc.), I really appreciate it. For everyone on their high horse with their nose in the air, you are likely the reason why so many people who are looking to transition into this lifestyle get fed up. This lifestyle is a means to an end (health) and I will treat it as such. If it's your end, fine.

Answer 1

don't buy it and be discplined about it.

Answer 2

I'm a Raw vegan chef and I know how addicting bread, and cooked food in general, can be. I want to congratulate you on doing this great so far....it's more than most can do.

The good news is that it actually gets easier as time goes by. Of course, you have to avoid the bread, like don't walk down the aisle in the store where they sell it, or don't go to the bakery where it is. It might sound harsh, but that's what many people have to do to succeed at giving up bread and cooked food in the beginning. After a while, you're able to be around it and just view it as something that was in your past, a distant memory and not a part of who you are anymore, because you're all about ultimate health.

I, myself, am a fan of making dehydrated bread and flax crackers...things like that. There is a way to make a chewier bread that is still raw, made from veggies and flax meal. Super easy and really tasty!

Everytime you eat the bread, it does become addictive again. However, here is something that might help. Get it down on paper. Write a plan for how you will give up the bread. For example, take baby steps and make a deal with yourself that you'll only allow the bread 3 times a week for the next 3 weeks (this is just an example, you could start out just doing it 1 time or 4 times, you decide).

Then, on your calendar, write down the days you'll do it and make it very "technical" almost...if you get my drift. A real plan for how to get it out of your life. So, after those initial weeks, now you decrease it and then you do that again until you're not eating it anymore. Have this all written out on your calendar so you know when you can and when you can't eat it. You'll feel stronger and stronger with each passing week.

If you fall off the bandwagon, don't worry about it. Just get right back on and start again. It gets easier every time and you eventually get sick of eating the bread because of how it makes you feel.

Hope that helps!
Chef Kristen Suzanne
www.KristensRaw.com

Answer 3

Addiction to wheat is actually quite common - or at least white bread.

when wheat is processed into white flour it is stripped from the outer shell of the grain. for wheat to be successfully digested it needs the outer shell and so your body tells you to eat more bread (so you can get the shell of the grain).

Then you eat even more white bread and your body wants bread even more cause it still didn't get the nutrients it needs from the shell. and so on, and so on.

The only way to stop this is to switch to wholemeal or wholegrain bread. there are some baguettes available in wholegrain - and yes i know they're not as tasty....

Once you give your body what's it's actually asking for - whole wheat - it should reduce the craving for it....

Also - wholegrain is usually better for digestion problems anyway. You can also try breads that are made from other flours (wheat-free) but i'm not sure that will eliminate your craving since it's only answering the taste craving rather that the physical one.

Hope this helps.
Elizabeth - a vegan and a former bread addict (though not as bad.....:-)

Answer 4

I eat everything organic and I know how hard it is to give up bread. Perhaps if you tried organic bread it would set better with you. The mini bagettes at Au Bon are not organic. The perservative in them could be what is bothering you.There are some great tasting organic breads if you must have it . I applaud you for going "raw vegan" I was just reading about it . Sounds good to me.

Answer 5

I wish I could help you. I'm addicted to bread myself but fortunately I don't have any sensitivities to it. Maybe you could try a bread that isn't made with wheat gluten? I think there is a flat bread made with rice or something. I usually make my own bread since a lot of the stuff in the store isn't vegan.

Answer 6

I do not eat fully raw. But I eat a lot of raw foods. You might want to try bread that is made from sprouted grains. That is what we buy. Ezekiel foods makes sprouted bread but we like Alvarado Street Bakery Barley. It is very digestible.

You may be able to find it in your store locally but if not it can be ordered direct via mail order six loaves at a time. It freezes very well. The link is shown below.

Answer 7

I've been a vegetarian for about five years now, I was an on again off again vegetarian when I was younger though. I try to go vegan at least once or twice a week as well.

Answer 8

120 Raw Diet Food Recipes - http://Go.StayEatingRaw.com/?dbpU

Answer 9

Like any other addiction, you just have to do it. I know that's not much help but if you really want to, you will.

Answer 10

You want to stop eating BREAD?

OMG, that's why you vegans freak me out.