FertilehealthyAiming for success, not perfection…

As I mentioned on Monday, I’ve decided to go RAW for the rest of August – sort of an all-in-one seasonal tune-up and cleanse.  And I know by now you must be dying to know how it’s going (indulge me here, I had nothing else to blog about today), so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts so far.

I  honestly thought it would be harder than this.  I thought I would feel as if I’m sacrificing something, but I am extremely satisfied with my meals.

In fact, apart from the one bread roll he has at lunch (with lettuce, tomato and avocado), Craig is eating exactly what I’m eating.  And loving it.

I think the way we’d been eating before has helped to make this transition so easy. There may be some people who can take one massive leap from Point A to Point Z, but they are few and far between.  The rest of us have to hit the smaller stepping stones – Points B, C, D, E,…, X, Y.  I am definitely in the latter category, and in fact, I’ve had to go backward a few steps from time to time and I will no doubt do so again in future, although not more than one or two steps.

You’re probably wondering what we’ve been eating, so let me give you an idea.  This is from memory…

Monday:  Green smoothie, fruit salad with cashew custard, large dinner salad with a raw ranch dressing (I’ve been making this dressing for months – it’s awesome!).

Tuesday:  Salad and green smoothie (at a health food restaurant), raw green soup, raw pad thai.

Wednesday:  Green smoothie, avocado salad with cauliflower, zucchini linguine with pesto, a few dates.

The food is so good!  Honestly, the tastes are amazing!

When we eat processed foods our taste buds get assaulted by the additives that tell us the food is tastier than it really is.  We become addicted to those tastes and crave them because they were designed for that effect, so that we will eat more and more.  When you stop eating that rubbish, fresh normal food may taste a bit bland for a while, until your taste buds heal.  And then a whole new world of taste opens up for us.  That process is repeated when you go raw.  I wouldn’t have believed it if you’d told me this before, but I am truly blown away by the difference in flavors and tastes when you take cooked food out of the equation.

Interestingly enough, after three days I am starting to eat less in one sitting.  It’s as if my body is recognizing that it’s being nourished well and it doesn’t need me to keep eating and eating.  I’ve had no cravings or other symptoms, although I suspect that TOM will show up today.

I’m not going near the scale until 1 September, but I feel lighter.   Not to be indelicate, but there’s quite a bit happening at the other end. No diarrhea, but copious eliminations at least three times a day. But I’m not getting up as often (usually about 3-4 times) during the night to empty my bladder, which is huge blessing.

Some things I learned:

-  Balsamic vinegar is not raw, but apple cider vinegar is (it’s better to stick to lemon juice).

-  Only the really expensive vanilla essence is raw!  It’s better to use the pods, but you won’t find that anywhere within a 30 km range from me.

-  Avocado is incredibly versatile.

- Tahini IS raw!

- I only need six hours sleep on raw food.

-  I should make my own sprouts.

-  I am besotted with Basil.  The herb, not the grocer down the road.

-  I need a more mechanized slicer and peeler thingie… Making a bowl full of zucchini ribbons with this is time-consuming.

That's not me!

So, we are really enjoying our raw adventures. I have lots of recipes I still want to try, including banana ice cream.

And yes, I am thinking about where I’m going with this… At the moment I’m not quite ready to 100% raw permanently (after the cleanse), but I’m definitely going to start limiting cooked food to maybe two days per week (and those days will still be high raw). I did the same thing with animal products, and just knowing that I can have it if I really want it has prevented me from rebelling.  And it sort of helps with socializing.

I’m guest posting over at The Hungry Little Caterpillar.  Please pop in!