So today is the day!  D-day… or should I call it, R-day?

I started a mostly raw food experiment today–so I’ll be eating 90-95% raw foods only for the next 40 days.  Woo hoo!  So exctited.

Snacks for today: sweet cherry tomatoes, crunchy wasabi peas, sweet mini carrots and fresh celery!

I received comments about it on Facebook today, one person thought I’d be really hungry and really skinny, another wondered about the holidays and if I’d eat raw on Christmas.  Great observations and questions!  I didn’t really think too much about it and I’m not too worried, for I’ve been thinking about this for years and spent the whole last week planning.  I even found about 8 books in my personal library devoted to raw foods (very pristine looking books, so obviously I didn’t use them all that much in the past!) but they certainly will be used now!

Breakfast--grapefruit and apple, post-workout aple and Vuka all natural energy drink (my fave), and Ghirardelli 72% dark chocholate for desserts

How I got here

Well, most of you know the last few years have been rough for me.  Last year Thanksgiving I almost died and ended up in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, the Christmas before that, I had major surgery and took almost a year to heal (I got better right before the embolism, dangit!). This year, just again as I felt better, I was back in the emergency room on Thanksgiving.  What the???….  And I lost my mind!  Tears flowing, incredulously and like a crazy person asking myself out  loud “Am I never going to get better? — I can’t POSSIBLY be sick!!!”  And that’s all it took.  I guess waht I didn’t realize is the fear and apprehension of not knowing when I’d be better, when I’d be able to work regularly, when I’d have energy again, IF I’d ever be “myself” again was taking a bigger toll than I realized.  A couple of times I’d broken down for a hot second (once to my doctor from my hospital bed during the embolism scare and the other just a month prior with my yoga cleanse/revolution group), but both times I quickly “got ahold” of myself (had to control and suppress those feelings y’know!).  And both times, instead of just feeling what I felt, I stuffed the feelings while the well meaning people around me tried to relax my fears.

Lunch/Dinner, Green salad: asparagus, green beans, celery, shallots & romaine lettuce with sweet garlic soy dressing!

I guess acting like a crazy person for a few minutes is REALLY what I needed, because it was like a shot in the arm.  After a battery of tests including a CT scan and EKG, the doctors (who were nervous themselves), released me with a couple of prescriptions and a diagnosis of inflamed lungs.  More drugs?  Ah, man!!   I just got those out of my system!  And I had to realize I just might have asthma going forward.  Cripes.  Though I was extremely grateful and things could’ve been MUCH worse, I was on a mission to get ME back.  Hence, committing to a lifestyle that would help my body keep itself in optimal health.  I already was releasing old pent up emotions with yoga (we’ll talk about that another day), and now, I was ready to optimize with food as it was meant to be eaten.

All my food for the day. Wow, it's a lot. Let's see if I can get through it. Took me about 40 minutes of prep--I'll try for better timing tomorrow!

What does this mean for you?

I’ll keep you abreast of the journey with daily blogposts, videos, expert interviews and more.  Who knows? Maybe you’ll be inspired to go on your own raw journey!  For now, I’ll leave you with photos of my scrump-dilly-icious food I’ll be eating all day today.  I really can’t believe how I’m getting into all of this!  With a Caribbean cooking gourmet mom and a down home cookin’ too much is never enough meat and potatoes food monger ex-husband, who knew, this is what it would take to get me to think about food?  Again, more on that another day.

For now, if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see, know, hear, let me know–I’ll be happy to oblige!

Don’t just live; become Simply Alive,