The Accidental Rawist

I can officially say that I think I have finally broken my caffeine addiction. I honestly can't even remember the last time I had a cup of coffee. I've been able to function completely fine in the morning and throughout the day without coffee and am no longer experiencing any side-effects. Hallelujah! It felt like a long battle, but it's seems to be over...finally! Eating Raw really isn't the main reason for wanting to cut out most (if not all) substances with addictive properties. I truly believe that a person should never feel owned by a substance. Take cigarettes for example. Imagine yourself holding up a cigarette and looking at it closely...it's just paper and tobacco. Now imagine this inanimate object being the sole factor for determining how happy you are. The day something as mundane as paper and tobacco or a caffeine laden drink determines the joy of my life is a sorry and sad day. No thanks!

I am starting to lose track of when I first changed my diet and began to go Raw. I see this as a positive thing. I spend a good deal of time sifting through online forums designated for those interested in the Raw Food lifestyle and have read many stories of people really struggling with the transition from S.A.D. to Raw. I guess I am lucky to have had such an easy transition. Don't get me wrong, it was a challenge, but I am so happy to have stuck with it. Changing ones eating habits is a journey. At some point it feels like you have reached a locked door and your trying to push through it to no avail. It seems pointless trying to continue to work at opening a passageway that seems locked, but if you keep trying you will push through and, in my case, the grass was definitely greener on the other side of that door. ..both figuratively and literally. Today I was thinking about cravings. The first two weeks I changed my diet were not easy. I wanted bread products more than...

Lately I have been having such an easy time getting up in the mornings. I also find that since I have changed my diet I have been sleeping less (about 6 hours, as opposed to 8-10 when I was pre -raw food) and waking up feeling more refreshed and energized. Obviously I credit this change to my diet, giving up caffeine and drinking a lot more water in general. This morning, however I woke up with a bit of a headache, no doubt a result of the couple glasses of wine I had last night (yes, many raw foodists consider some wines to be raw) and not enough water. I was just going to ride it out, but I thought I should probably try to eat something. I didn't have time to make my green smoothie this morning and was really craving vegetables. The only veg. in my lunch that sounded any good was the seaweed salad. I know, it probably sounds really weird having seaweed for breakfast, but it almost completely took my headache away. I am curious to know if it was merely that I had eaten some...

Yesterday after a meeting, my co-worker, Stephen and I decided to grab some lunch. I had heard of a decent Vegan place nearby called Sacred Chow and Stephen (S.A.D. eater) was more than happy to join me! Yay ! I didn't have to try to convince him or anything! I knew I definitely wanted a fresh juice. I don't own a juicer yet (sad) and have been relying on my blender for a variety of fresh green and fruit smoothies. Fresh juice is a luxury! That, right there, is a picture of Beet-Apple-Lemon juice. It was outstanding. I had no idea I liked beets so much. Here's a little tip; you can always tell when the juice is truly fresh squeezed because it's never as cold as refrigerated juice. Most people who don't have fresh juice very often are always very surprised by it's temperature. For my main dish I had this amazing salad with carrot-ginger dressing. One of the things I love about eating Raw is the remarkable flavor these foods take on. Since I have been ea...

Whoa! I just realized that yesterday officially marked my 30 th day of eating Raw! Woo hoo ! Hmmm , to be honest, I don't feel overwhelmingly accomplished. Being Raw for 30 days really was not hard at all. In fact, it was a really enjoyable experience. Initially, I was going to try 48 hours, but wanted to challenge myself to try a full 30 days eating 75% Raw. I actually ended my 30 days eating around 90% Raw ( I'm taking some points off for beer ). So now what? Am I going to keep doing this? Am I going to change anything? What's the plan!? Well, as it stands right now, I am going to stay Raw. Why not? I feel great, I feel strong and look really healthy. I have not been sick once, which is so awesome, considering that one of the main reasons I started eating this way was because I had a really weak immune system and was catching colds once or twice a month. My blood sugar levels have completely evened out. Granted, I don't have the blood-work to support my...

I actually ran out of fruit this morning. Fortunately for me there is a fruit and nut stand just outside the front doors of where I work. If I am lucky, "Fruit Guy" (as I like to call him), will have something organic on hand, if not I usually aim for one of the lower level pesticide laden foods, like bananas or avocados. You can get a shopping guide to pesticides here . I actually keep a little card with a list of all the dirtiest produce tucked away in my wallet (because that's what cool people do). Today I picked up a couple bananas and some blackberries and headed to the ladies room to wash my fruit. The ladies room isn't my most ideal location to wash my food, but so be it. When I walked in I was surprised to see a young, female physician washing her fruit too! I looked at her and said, "you're here to do the same thing I am." So we stood there, washing our fruit in the sink, talking "produce shop," if you will, and laughing about ...

Okay, so let's see...I've been eating Raw (about 90%) for 28 days now. Here's what has been going on physically... First of all, I have had zero problems with craving sweets or managing weight. I've been a steady 127 lbs (5' 9" height) since I began eating Raw and I eat twice as much as I did when I started. Every once in great while, I've had cravings for S.A.D. foods and I have tasted them occasionally, but they never tasted as good as I thought they would (more reason for me to believe that food is connected with emotions and memory more than anything else). The thickness and health of my hair has been completely unexpected. Strangers have actually approached me to ask if they could touch my hair (weird). It's been more manageable that ever and that is saying a lot for a girl with naturally curly hair. My skin has been looking really good. Someone told me the other day that I looked like "summer." I have a great deal of energy and fee...