Nine Days Raw

Well, I thought I would write about this experience I am having with my New Year's Resolve. I decided (after overhearing a friend talk about this idea) that I was going to try "raw" eating. She had been planning and looking into this a bit. I had just seen enough movies in 2010 about the ills of our food industry that I wanted to go more pure in my eating. Raw seemed right when I heard it. I looked it up online and there weren't really any red flags about health concerns as a result of eating this way. Basically it is what it sounds like: eating raw. I don't cook most of my foods. My friend isn't cooking any of her foods -- unless you count dehydrating, which doesn't deplete foods of their nutrients like heating them does. Anyway, I do cook a few things, but what I do cook has to be "whole" (such as a whole egg or smoked salmon or a corn tortilla consisting of organic corn, sea salt and oil). Simple. I eat foods that contain ingredients known to man - no chemistry experiments here. I just eat foods that contain ingredients the common kindergartener could identify. Whole foods. Raw foods for the most part.

Here's how it has been going so far. Day one was at my mother-in-law's home. Really, that's not how I'd suggest kicking off a new, radical diet. I was out of town in another person's home and we were celebrating Christmas (belated) so she had hearty meals and desserts. She cooked some good, healthy food too, but it was cooked. I brought my big cooler bag full of all kinds of veggies and fruits and made a lettuce wrap sandwich with broccoli slaw and avacado and then had some sun dried tomatoes and marinated mushrooms on the side. The amazing thing was that I didn't even feel deprived a bit. I didn't want the dessert. I felt satisfied.

Day two and on I have been at home (up until yesterday). That has been easier. One thing my friend did was to get a dehydrator (or she owned one already) and that helps a lot. She also got this rad cookbook (should we call it a "raw book"?) and it has all these fun recipes. I haven't tried any of them yet. I did make some really yummy hummus. One day I eat, say, mashed beans and guacamole and salsa on a corn tortilla. I do eat some oatmeal (whole oats, no sweetener) at times. I have frozen fruit if I crave a sweet. We make great smoothies (no sugar, no dairy, but really yummy). I'm amazed at how great this is. I will definitely need to branch out in diversity or I'll burn out on the limited menu I've gotten used to ... but it is really, really healthy and I feel good. Some tummy stuff at times, but I'm not that kind of blogger :) ... that's all part of detox from what I was eating (not too bad, but DEFINITELY not this pure).

Yesterday we went to a memorial service out of town. They had a pot-luck buffet after. I was able to eat a plate full of salad with all kinds of veggies on it (no dressing, but I really don't need that afterall) and some nuts I had brought, and again, I felt satisfied.

People have this way of hiding their sweets when you say "I'm not eating sugar right now." They'll say, "Oh, then I won't show you this!" and will tuck it to their other side. Seriously. It happened at my mother-in-law's: they all sat for dessert and she asked me what I wanted and then said, "Oh, I am so sorry, I forgot, I didn't mean to tempt you." But, what is really cool is that I am not tempted at all. I don't even want sweets. The idea of sugar isn't appealing. I hope that lasts!! I do miss cheese. Tonight I made my family quiche and it looked and smelled great. But, by the time we all sat down to eat, I enjoyed my supper and didn't miss not having the quiche.

Bonus: I lost five pounds last week. I wasn't really in this for the weight loss. I really want to be healthy. But, hey, what girl doesn't love losing a bit of extra weight? It's a good thing. I don't know if I'll go past January this radical. If I try some of the recipes and expand my repetoire, I just might. Otherwise, I'll just add in some other healthy options when I get to February. I'm loving this lifestyle.