Hi ArmyWife. It must be terribly frustrating to be in that situation. Obviously you have your priorities right now. Perhaps maybe one day a week you can offer to cook a vegetarian meal, like on Saturday night, or something like that. Or buy some veggie burgers to pack lunches.
Vegan raw foodists are a growing movement and the lastest bandwagon. Some vegans feel it takes them to the next level in responsible eating. I think it might be a good way to detox, but personally I could never stick to it.
Their main arguement that cooking destroys important plant enzymes is rather weak to me, because no convincing evidence that we need them. Humans are good at making their own enzymes.
However, it is well documented that cooking leaches out nutrition, so I do tend to eat a lot of raw fruits and veggies (in the form of salads) or lightly steamed to the point they still remain crunchy, or lightly stir fried. I do eat grains and beans fully cooked and don't have the energy to slow cook grains.
Also, some nutrients are released when cooked, notably lycopene, an antioxidant shown to help with certain types of cancer, in particurlarly prostate cancer in men. This is best found in cooked tomato products and raw food vegans have been found to have low levels of this nutrient. They also have been found to have abnormally high levels of vitimin A, which can be toxic.
Anyway, I would continue to do research and decide on a diet that's best for you. Hopefully it will be a vegetarian one.
Good luck in school!
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