Garden Harvest & Grocery Hauls (Raw Vegan budget)

**The photos are produce hauls from my garden harvests including fruit from the grocery store**

The Snicker's tag line You're not you when you're hungry speaks volumes to those who tend to be short-tempered or irritable. Another saying I often use an angry man is a hungry man suggests that a starved individual is a starving brain (i.e. irrational thinker, temperamental, binges on junk food).

peaches, peppers, and tomatoes from my garden;
plus mangoes, bananas, watermelon, and Asian pears

Inevitably, the lack of glucose to the brain creates thoughts of unhappiness and uneasiness, which triggers episodes of anger and frustration. Subsequently, glucose will give you the energy needed to function and perform properly.



butternut & yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers &
tomatoes from garden plus 40 lb box of bananas, mangoes, peaches, apples, and avocado

Carbohydrates are the most abundant of all biological molecules on the planet; and foods rich in carbohydrates should be considered above all foods (simple sugars i.e. fruit). Lipids (fat sources i.e. avocado, coconut, nuts and seeds) are the next best option; Protein should be considered your last resort (nuts, seeds, grains and beans).



zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, yellow & butternut squash from the garden

This blog post is to ensure you're eating enough: I have lost more weight in the last couple of months eating more calories/carbs than I ever have. Every morning I ensure that I eat between 700-1000 calories or more! As for lunch and dinner, I also aim to eat 500-1000 calories for my meal.



peppers for two weeks for two vegans

Of course, 3000 calories of fruit is not the same as 3000 calories of donuts. Remember this: When you eat enough, you won't be craving things that you would prefer not to be eating -- so eat as much as you want. Consequently, the best calorie sources come from fruit, and the next best calories sources come from vegetables and greens.

Notice in the pictures shown the quantity and variety of food my partner and I eat per week. It is important to eat foods with life and color!




5-10 cucumbers for two vegans for one week

For example, every week my partner and I purchase a 40 lb box of bananas (no matter the season). In the spring and summer, I tend to buy 10 lb of mangoes along with a additional 10 lb of other assortment of fruit: berries, grapes, and peaches. Also, I get 2-4 avocados with 2-5 heads of lettuce. In the fall and winter, I will have 10 lb of oranges along with a additional 10 lb of other fruit: apples, pears, Clementine's and kiwi, and dates. Purchase foods in season, for example, citrus and apples are in season during the winter, buy those foods in bulk.

A salad of 3 cucumbers & 5 tomatoes on a bed of greens with
 herbs & avocado is a great dinner or snack

To an outsider, or to the calorie-restricting diet programs, the abundance of fruit I eat seems extreme; but this is not extreme to wild animals. For instance, if fruit and greens are available, elephants will eat 300-500 lb of food a day while rhinos, hippos, giraffes, and gorillas as well as other large vegetarian animals eat 100 lb of food in a day. It is typical for cows to spend six to eight hours a day eating, while many other vegetarian animals spend much longer.



pepper & tomato harvest with avocado, mango, & bananas

 For breakfast, it takes me thirty minutes to eat seven, whole, bananas. For lunch, it takes me fifteen minutes to eat five, whole, mangoes or seven peaches. And for dinner it takes me one hour to eat a salad of one and a half heads of lettuce with tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado, etc. I spend almost two hours eating, while I consume up to 25 lb of food everyday. That means, I am eating 0.2% of my body weight in fruit, greens, and the occasional cooked vegetables and rice. This percentage is similar to cows, which also eat 0.2% of their body weight in greens!

 

garden harvest and grocery haul

Another point I want to make: most of you may assume this quantity of food would cost too much money. If you go to a grocery store, you'll notice meat and processed foods cost triple the amount per pound of fruit. My weekly 40 lb box of bananas cost $22 and will last me and my partner for eight days. Typically, between my partner and I, we spend $60 (rice, beans, veggies, fruit, bread, gourmet vegan food).







Lastly, remember it is best to eat seasonal foods, therefore, growing your own food will allow you to eat seasonal foods, save you money and allow you to eat healthy.