DAY SEVEN

This has been an interesting week, to say the least. With temperatures hovering mid-90's and the heat index close to 104°, I couldn't have picked a better time to choose to eat only raw food. The experience has opened up a whole new range of possibilities for those inevitable power outages that accompany tropical storms and hurricanes. Living in Florida guarantees that sooner or later another big storm will render us near helpless when the power is out for days at a time. While the neighbors may be outside grilling up some dead animal, I'll be well versed in preparing some tasty raw vegetable dishes.


Aside from having a great hankering for a glass of wine one evening, and the dull headache from caffeine withdrawal early in the week, I've had a wonderful time participating in the 7-Day Raw Food Detox program sponsored by The Raw Divas.


I've wiped down the stove a couple of times, but just to keep off the dust! I'm removing the microwave from the kitchen counter. How nice to have more space. It will be a perfect place to grow my sprouts! And, yes, organic produce is more expensive, but my grocery bill this past week was considerably lower, as I purchased fewer items.


Now that the detox program comes to a close, I'm eager to make a new batch of almond milk and turn it into some dreamy, creamy raw ice cream. The almond milk and frozen bananas make a super base for a variety of flavors. Adding fresh fruit: peaches, strawberries or mango for example, provides some fabulous taste treats, eliminating any feeling of deprivation yet avoiding all those synthetic chemicals, fat and sugar in commercially prepared ice cream. And I'm looking forward to both the novelty and challenge of preparing some of Nomi Shannon's extremely appealing suggestions and instructions for eating well while eating raw. Presentation plays a big part in our food satisfaction profile. Instructions with beautiful colored images abound in Nomi's book, The Raw Gourmet. My mouth waters as I pore over it looking, learning and lusting.

There are many books available and plenty of websites on hand, to help with learning to make a transition from eating condensed, cooked foods to increasing the portions of live, raw food in our daily diets. For those interested in becoming a raw foodist there are many programs and coaches available to lend inspiration, education and support. The Raw Divas have just introduced their new 30-day program, The Body Enlightenment System (BES) which promises to be an excellent way to move toward vibrant health with daily coaching and support.

During this adventure, I've discovered a bevy of raw food websites. Raw Food Right Now has been a regular read for me for quite some time. Following along with Justin and Heidi as they continue on their journey as raw foodist, baring their souls, unapologetically, about their happy experiences and real life dilemmas. Their honest, down to earth approach will do much to encourage novices. Karen Knowler's upbeat eZine, Successfully Raw, gives you some in-depth direction from across the pond by an enthusiastic raw foodist with a good deal of experience.

A big advantage to replacing cooked food is the time savings and ease of clean-up. But the ultimate reason to eat live, fresh, clean (chemical free) food is the amount of energy you free up, the boost you give your immune system and the immediate changes you can see in the way you feel, the way your hair and skin look and feel and the changes in inches you quickly notice. In all fairness, I planned to wait until tomorrow morning to get on the scale, but as I sat here writing, my curiosity got the best of me.

The bathroom scale registers 8 lbs lighter than it did a week ago.

What an easy way to shed fat. I ate tasty, easy to prepare foods and exercised. I've been walking between 4 and 5 miles each day, and had super support, wonderful suggestions, and on-going encouragement from Amy and Tera, The Raw Divas, and from many of the other women doing the seven day detox with me.

I encourage you to look into the amazing health benefits of including more raw food in your daily diet, it's the surest way to get on the road to being healthy and staying healthy. Synthetic drugs, whether prescription or over the counter, are not going to prevent nor cure any ailment. They only mask the symptoms and add side effects with dangers of their own. Taking care of our bodies is our responsibility. Why wait to get sick? Take a few easy steps to prevent the most common ailments so prevalent in our society: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and cancer.

Put a little green in your life daily!