This delicious salad was a welcome respite from a richer lunch that included chicken breast!

Yesterday I tweeted my joy at being stopped and being asked out by a “random cute guy” at least half my age.  Though I didn’t take the request seriously (after all, he was just a baby –CougarTown be damned!) Still I was flattered, and floated on air to a Christmas party that evening, where the elation continued.  Two more gentlemen — the first, though older than the one that afternoon, still was in his twenties; and another in his thirties — inflated my head by passing on their phone numbers.  I thought to myself “I don’t know what I did today, but I better figure it out quickly–and bottle it for future use!” Then it struck me: Could my raw food diet have made a difference?  I won’t ever know, but just in case…I’m gonna keep it goin’!

Notice we’ve discussed only three of the four gentlemen mentioned in the title…You’ll find out about the other at the end!

YOU’LL BE SURPRISED to hear about the non-raw foods I’ve been eating. But going wholeheartedly into something like this is nothing to be taken lightly.  I probably ate around 70 percent raw going into this challenge, but to actually make a COMMITTMENT to do something like this is more of a psychological challenge.  The instant you choose to NOT have certain foods, all of a sudden of course–now you want them.  But I’ve found that giving myself that 5-10 percent leeway by going MOSTLY RAW has taken the pressure off.  For this first week, I’ve been about 97 percent raw, with the other three percent being comprised of — wait for it — a McDonald’s hamburger and small fries, a SLEEVE of Oreos (over the course of the week, but a sleeve none-the-less), and today a small baked organic chicken thigh.  I did bake a spaghetti squash that was DELISH.  But being able to have the forbidden foods was the best strategy in the world.  I realized that the day I didn’t drink enough water was also the day I ate McDonalds.  A low grade headache, overall malaise and general grogginess were my prizes for that one.

DECADENT THINGS I CAN–and did–have include dark chocolate to my heart’s desire, unlimited fruits, raw goat cheese (there’s a local farm in Colorado that I want to see if I can visit and take my niece to–that would be awesome to share with you).  Being a hot chocolate fanatic, I was happy to find there are a number of ways to include hot chocolate on my plan.  Ironically though, I’ve found that as the days go on, I’ll think “Hot chocolate sounds wonderful right now,” and opt for tea with low glycemic agave nectar.  Crave dessert, passing the kitchen with full intention to have something gooey (just because I can), and end up with a tangerine or mango with sea salt (yummmmm-o!).  Yes, I know I sound like a dork, but it’s completely transformative.  If it wasn’t happening to me, I don’t know that I’d believe it. I’ve eaten healthfully since I can remember, but I’ve always loved my pastries as well.  Hmmm…it seems, that’s no longer.

QUICK AND EASY RECIPE

Last night, I made an amazing guacamole by squeezing the juice a fresh hothouse tomato into an avacado and added sea salt (my new favorite ingredient), garlic, black pepper and … and…  That’s it.  Smash it together and in just minutes–creamy, healthy, tummy filling joy.

I was shocked at how great it was. But even more shocking was that as I looked for something crunchy to pair with it….  no chips…. hmmm, Triscuits have gluten (which I rarely eat) but a few of my fave cracked paper and olive oil Triscuits.  Outstanding. But can I tell you what was even better?  I ended up downing mini sweet carrots with my avacado mash and practically licked the bowl with fantasy-like frevor.  I still can’t believe how good it was–the crunch of the carrot was exactly what I needed–no deprivation here!

Today was the day I ate the baked chicken with my asparagus and squash.  I ended up feeling a bit nauseous into the afternoon and all I could think about was a green salad.  Yes, a boring green salad! That’s the photo at the top.  Usually I make the BEST SALADS EVER, but some of the research I’ve been doing discusses food combining which makes the raw thing a bit tougher…definitely not for newbies or people like me that hate to think about food all that much.  In the next post we’ll talk about why food combining is controvesial, and why experts think it’s why people who diet don’t loose weight.

By the way, my green salad pictured above had cucumbers, green onion, celery, romaine lettuce, and of course my avacado/tomato mash (guacamole) recipe as mentioned above.  I ate it with a side of sweet baby carrots.  Delish!

I HAVE MORE PROOF–IT IS THE RAW FOODS

While writing this post, I received an email from a new business colleague I met at the party yesterday.  And I quote “Great meeting you last night Doni! You have a vivaciousness about you that was truly inspiring! What is your secret?” Wow. What a compliment! Maybe this thing is working after all…

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!,

Pommegranate with sea salt - full of sweet, tangy, tart and lively goodness!

Soooooo… it’s day four, and I’m feelin’ pretty darn good.

The beautiful pommegranate above was my breakfast on Day two.  Can you say YUMMY?????????????  I was in heaven.  The fruit was sweet and tangy at the same time and adding the granulated sea salt gave tart and grounding zip that was out of this world!

I was going to video tape me making breakfast and giving tips for easy planning and clean up to make sure you stay on track, and then dishing while I enjoyed this fabulous breakfast–HOWEVER, the forocity with which I consumed this fruity, salty, tangy savory concoction was just embarassing!

Pommegranate seeds falling out of my mouth, as I made all kinds of “mmmm” sounds as if I’d never seen food before.  This was one amazing way to begin the day.  I probably should have shared the video, it was pretty funny…  There’ll  be another, I’m sure.  When that day comes, I’ll make sure you can share the joy!

I expected day 3 to be a challenge as my five year old niece spent the weekend with me.  I’ve been prepping for this Raw food thing for quite a while–not on purpose, mind you, because I never thought I’d be one to go Raw–but it just kind of evolved. So she’s used to spending time with me and eating vegetarian meals at my place.  I remember one of the first times–I gave her quite a beautiful looking meal, if I must say so myself (can’t remember what it was though, because her response is all that permeated my brain):

“NO MEAT?!!” she inquired incredulously in all of her aged five splendor.

“You don’t need to eat meat at every meal,” I responded — too much meat isn’t good for you.  She looked at me, and looked at the meal, as I brought the remainder of the course from the kitchen, which was a salad.

“Salad?” she questioned, with a look of ashtonishment “gross!”

“You don’t have to eat it,” I said.  ”But you love vegetables,” I retorted, as she twisted her face in to indescribeable contortions.

I didn’t make her eat it.  I did find, however, a curious little imp attached to my side as I ate the meal — with fingers attempting to abscond with flavorful veggie morsels from my plate, and looking at me forlorgnly through puppy dog eyes.

I finally asked, “Do you want some of my salad?,” which was answered with an eager and unyielding head bob, along with a wanting smile.  We enjoyed the rest of the meal, including my salad, sharing all the veggies together.

My five year old niece enjoying a raw food day

I was a little concerned about having most of her meals be not only meat free, but uncooked, but my fears were unfounded. Just from watching my habits, I found her asking for nuts, strawberries, apples, a banana and boysenberries–I didn’t even plan to give them to her. After seeing me eat asparagus, she wanted to try it too, though I think asparagus is probably a little much for a five year old.  She ate two stalks before declaring that she would not continue.  LOL!  She gave it a good go!!

Auntie Doni, Can I have a banana?

She did however love all the other fruits and veggies we had today.  And I did give her some chicken during dinner–but she was 90% raw for the rest of the day.  And mostly by her own desire.

Don’t underestimate kids and how they’ll respond to eating healthfully.  They often take cues from us–and television, and outside forces–but usually the adults they look up to will win out.  If we eat healthfully, they’re sure to respond.

Tomorrow, we’ll have a look at more scrumptous raw foods and the effects of cleansing the body with the power of raw foods.

Why just live, when you can be Simply Alive!,