Nearly over

My raw food challenge is nearing its end. On Tuesday I can celebrate that I was disciplined enough to go without cooked food for one month and no fish and meat. And what a challenge it was at times. Standing in the kitchen cooking Pad Thai, Chicken Tacos, and other mouth watering dishes was not easy, but I made sure I had something to snack on while cooking.

So what have I been eating during this month? For breakfast I usually have a bowl of fruit, berries, seeds, nuts, and nut milk or granola. Some mornings when the weather is a bit colder I make porridge based on buckwheat or oat with fruit. And a glass of watermelon juice, which is my favorite drink during summer.

Since I am working, it has been easier to bring my own lunch to work. Usually salad with crackers.

For dinner I make an effort since I have the tools I need, such as my blender and dehydrator.

How about avocado soup with tomatoes.

Or zucchini noodles with marinara sauce and mushrooms.

And during the weekends when I have more time, I make pizza or wild rice and vegetable curry for instance.

So did I noticed any changes to my body? Not as much as I thought. Maybe you have to be on raw food for a longer period of time to notice significant changes. Also, I almost always eat raw food breakfast normally, no gluten, very little dairy and egg, and processed sugar and salt have been removed from our house. I guess the more unhealthy you are the greater the changes. I think the biggest change is the fact of knowing that I am feeding my body with really good and healthy produce and therefore I feel really happy. And for those of you who want to loose weight it is the best diet. You can eat as much as you want and the pounds just fall off. For me, I decided to eat food that contained more calories, such as nuts, olives, and avocados, so that I would not loose too much weight.

I do not think I will do a month of raw food again for the simple fact that I really love fish, shellfish, rice, noodles, and meat. Also, I do not have any health problems that require attention. However, I will try to change the amount of different foods that I put on my plate. How about 60 % salad and then add some rice/pasta/quinoa and meat/fish/chicken. I wish there were more progressive restaurants that took an interest in the health aspect rather than just pouring cream, butter, sugar, salt and other fatty and unhealthy ingredients into their dishes. I guess the best thing is to support the restaurants that do care about health.

For Seattle, these are some of the vegan and raw food restaurants to go to:

• Thrive
• Chaco Canyon
• Graces 5
• Jodee's desserts (I have not actually been here, but next time I go walking around Green Lake I will try it out.)