Today's breakfast--a mouthwatering tart mango with sea salt and paprika, along with juicy strawberries.

So I’d been feeling great for the last few days, and actually woke up feeling better than I have in a long time this morning.  (Not that I’ve felt poorly, but on this journey to health, it seems I’v lost my usual “zip”!  With kids, work, and competing responsibilities tugging at your every minute, I’m sure many of you can relate….) By afternoon however, I was a bit sluggish and headachy.  Ruh Ro…  Was my experiment going awry?

I quickly realized that I haven’t been drinking as much water as I usually do (about a gallon a day) and DEFINITELY not as much as necessary when starting a raw eating plan.  The reason for that is that raw foods–those heated to less than about 118 degrees temperature–retain the enzymes and nutrients as nature intended.  Packing a powerful punch, eating like this “detoxes” or “cleanses” the systems, releasing from our  bodies all the — excuse my language — CRAP we expose ourselves to every day.

From chemicals in our body products to pollution in the air and preservatives in our food, our bodies constantly are bombarded by everyday “toxins” that derail our health, beauty, energy and — dare I say it?  Weight.  Though we’re divinely created to take on all of these invaders, modern life has provided an overabundance of these not-so-friendly visitors, which eventually taxes our systems.  I’m just giving a brief overview today, but in a future post, I’ll go more in depth with how this works.

A raw, mostly raw or whole food lifestyle allows the body’s organs to release many of the toxins that may be hanging out inside of us, and those “invaders” shall we call them, must go somewhere. That somewhere is our bloodstream and they must be eliminated.  Water helps with this process, and diminishes or eliminates symptoms of “detoxing,” which includes headaches, sluggishness, irritation and a general overall feeling of malaise.  By flushing the system, and helping clear the blood, water is a detoxer’s best friend! I quickly downed a glass of water every 20 minutes, and soon my dreary feelings were gone.

Today's lunch: spaghetti squash and asparagus with a hint of goat cheese and pepper.

After getting over my feeling a little listless afternoon blahs, I was up and at-’em, ready for lunch! Which I must say was quite tasty…I scarfed it pretty quickly.  Remember I’m doing about 90% raw, so in a day with 3 meals and 2 snacks, I’m going for two or fewer cooked items. Today, that meant I baked the spaghetti Squash–very easy–just pop it in the oven at about 300 degrees for an hour, then cut it open, scoop out the seeds and the flesh when scooped out looks just like pasta.  I baked it last night and put it in the fridge for easy lovin’ whenever I felt the urge. I’ve enjoyed this with olive oil, seasonings and cheese instead of pasta because I try not to eat gluten.  Today however, I kept it simple.  It was a perfect fall sweet – savory combination with the asparagus. In the raw food program I’ve been following, raw goat cheese is allowed, and this one is so flavorful and pungent…I couldn’t miss the opportunity to use it for an amazing array of mouth tantalizing flavors.

My arsenal in this Raw food journey: Easy foods for good livin'!

Though I’m enjoying the simple combinations I’ve been making for the last few days, I’m also devouring books and recipes about new raw food techniques, tools and tastes, which I will introduce to you soon. Since I’m a newbie, however, I’m being as creative as I can–as to not get bored and to make sure I don’t feel deprived. This exploration is so exciting, and though I’m a good cook, I never really cooked that much–only when the feeling struck me… I all of a sudden have a newfound interest and vigor for all things culinary (and raw of course)! I can’t wait to share them with you.

Becoming Simply Alive!,