Light Bulb?

For the last few days I have been tossing around the idea of, at least, trialing a raw food diet.

("raw" meaning: unprocessed, fresh, organic, vegan, and never cooked above the temperature of 116 degrees)

It was brought to my attention a month or more ago by my Mama. She thought Loren & I should give it a whirl, or at least incorporate more raw foods into our diet, in an effort to help alleviate some of Loren's stomach problems -- as raw foods are supposed to be incredible for digestion. At the time, I basically laughed in my Mom's face (or ear, since we were on the phone). I had no interest in this "hippy fad" because I love my burgers and fries. I literally pictured myself eating seaweed and heads of lettuce for dinner. The only experience I had with the term "raw food diet" came from a Sex & the City episode I had seen where the girls mocked the raw food movement, talking of how gross it tasted...

Anyway, I didn't think another thing of it until Monday night. Loren and I went to the movies to see "Taken" (fabulous movie, by the way). We had a gift card, so we decided to go ahead and get that huge bucket of popcorn the theater passes off as a normal portion. Sadly, Loren missed the last 20-25 minutes of the movie because he was sick in the bathroom, probably from the popcorn and pop. After leaving the theater, we stopped by Barnes & Noble just to browse around while his stomach settled. I noticed a section by the comfy chairs of all "raw" cookbooks. I mentioned what my mom had said to him, and very very surprisingly, he was not completely against the idea of trying it. Now, if you know Loren, you know that vegetables, nuts, and most fruits are not his favorite foods... in fact, they are his least favorite foods. He openly admits he could live off of pizza, Dr. Pepper, & Cheezits -- happily -- for the rest of his life. He is a processed foods guy (I am not saying I am not a processed food gal... but I do like most vegetables, I enjoy raw nuts (by themselves, not mixed in baked goods), and have not met a fruit I do not enjoy)...

Long story short, I sat there in the comfy chair and read the introduction of a couple "raw" books. I was intrigued. And I have been back to Barnes & Noble everyday since, literally, and have read through all of those cookbooks. I am mesmerized. The whole concept just makes sense. Optimal foods lead to optimal wellness. Could you be any more in tune with nature & God than eating only that which is naturaly created on His land?

The pictures of the dishes and the recipes literally make my mouth water. And ever since Monday, I actually find myself feeling guilty when I am eating something that isn't raw. Is that even possible for someone who has never once gone a day of eating 100% raw? It sounds crazy, even to me.

I am a person that, many know, has teetered on the edge of vegetarianism many times. I do not like eating meat, I mean taste-wise, yes I enjoy meat... but I do not like the thought of eating meat. When I actually think about what I am eating, it makes me nauseous. And I know for a fact, any and all of my stomach problems are associated with eating meat and animal products. The 3 months I trialed vegetarianism, health wise, I felt better than I ever had. My first meat-meal back made me violently ill.

So I broke down and bought my first raw cookbook this afternoon. I thought it might save some gas money, since I will no longer need to drive to Barnes & Noble everyday. Whether this book will get use, we'll see. I want it to. But it could end up just being another one of my short-lived obsessions. And I cannot do this without Loren, it is far too expensive to buy all organic foods and his processed foods, too. Plus, the idea came about because of his health. But now he seems less on board, now that his stomach pain has seceded...

If nothing else, I think it cannot hurt to try. From all I've read (pro and against), after the initial detox period, everyone begins to feel absolutely amazing on a raw food diet. Ecstasy amazing. Who wouldn't want that, even if just for a while?