As some of you may have heard on twitter, I'm going 100% raw this week and a few of my tweeps have joined me! You can call it a cleanse or detox if you'd like but those are not necessarily my motivations for doing this.
Around December I started feeling like I wanted to do a raw cleanse or a raw week. I'd been under so much stress and pressure with the cookbook that I was eating more cooked foods than normal -- my diet consisted mainly of whole wheat bread with jam, bean burritos, bagels -- they were all so much easier and quicker during my busy days. I missed my daily smoothies, juices and gorilla salads and my body did too. I started having digestive issues that were previously just a bad memory and I didn't feel as energetic as I once did.
So, I thought about doing a raw cleanse for the New Year -- that I'd "start the year off right," but of course it wasn't practical. I was going to be on a snowboarding trip in Vermont and still smack in the middle of my cookbook. So, I forgot about it... until now.
What changed? Lately I haven't wanted to eat anything. Have you ever been hungry -- really really hungry -- and NOTHING sounded good to you? That's all I've been feeling.
I've also found myself craving salads in a way I can't describe. For example, Scott made me one of my favorite meals last week and I didn't want it -- I was more interested in the wilting salad in my fridge. Such severe cravings are not normal for me so I knew if there was ever a good time to try this 100% raw thing for a week, it was now. I also have five raw cookbooks that need review, so it just seemed to all come together for me.
Then, of course, I hit a road block. As I sat down to pick out a few raw recipes for this week, I circled back to the problem I've always had with raw food: it's like Atkins for vegans. Everything is so fat-heavy. Tons of nuts, seeds and oil. And while I do enjoy nuts, seeds and avocado from time to time, I have always stayed true to my no oil rule... and I'm not willing to bend on that. What was I going to do? How was I going to be raw like I want and still stay true to my no added fat, low fat diet?
I decided instead of giving up, to look at this as an opportunity to grown and explore raw foods. I decided I would eat a raw diet that is still very low in fat. I'd create my own low fat raw recipes if I needed to. I'd eat more fruit to get the daily calories I needed (instead of eating fat) and I'd just eat more greens and veggies. Of course I'm still working with the cookbooks I need to review, but I'm selecting recipes that are low in fat: green juices, smoothies, vegetable rolls. I'm really excited -- and I hope you enjoy my progress each day.
SO, to make a very long story end... I'm raw this week... and every day I'll be posting what I've eaten -- so I hope you come back and check it out... and weigh in -- I'd love to hear your thoughts~!
