It's September 1st and I decided to switch things up again. For the last month or so I've wanted to do a fast but time really got in the way of that plan. I was looking at some food porn on a fruitarian website and really began salivating over the luscious fruit. So then I got to thinking about adding fruit to my diet.
I used to eat a lot of fruit in the early days of going raw and I got out of eating a lot of fruit because I began reading so many viewpoints. I remember a woman sounding shocked and shameful when I declared that I put 2 bananas in my green smoothies (serving 2 people.) She said 1/2 a banana per person was more than adequate. I allowed the shame of fruit being bad enter my mindset and I ate more and more greens with less and less fruit. I don't think there's anything wrong with eating more greens and less fruit, however, for me, I noticed that I felt badly if I ate fruit, particularly delicious fruits like mangos and bananas (the more high glycemic fruits.)
So, for some undetermined time, I'm going to eat fruit along with my vegetables. I said that I would start this on September 1st but I've been doing this for a week now and you know what I've already noticed? I feel very grateful for fruit. I feel happy to let some sweetness back into my life. The colors and the flavors are amazing and from eating all the greens, I don't need to add any sweetener to the fruits like I did when I first began a raw food diet.
I've also noticed that when I'm in doubt as to what to eat, eating fruit is very easy, quick and satisfying. I used to do a green juice in the morning and loved it. I added green apples and oranges sometimes to the green juice to make it sweeter and I didn't add much in the way of carrots or beets. 1 or 2 if I had them but the green juice was a green juice with some apple to sweeten. Then I'd have a big green smoothie for lunch and I felt very satisfied. Dinner was a big green salad with no dressing but maybe some cooked veggies and a small bit of brown rice and/or beans of some sort. Dinner was always delicious. I found that over time, I started increasing the amount of rice and I was craving desserts. As life got busier, the mornings were spent exercising vs. making a green juice so sometimes I wouldn't have breakfast because life got in the way. I've noticed that eating fruit in the morning is a nice way to start the day. And it's easy to pick it up and just eat it. I don't have to do anything fancy with it.
This morning I cut up a small yellow watermelon (local and organic!) and shared it with Matt and the kids. The kids didn't have much so Matt and I basically ate 1/2 a small watermelon each. I also had some tea just because. I didn't really crave it but the kids wanted some so I made some for me as well.
I went to the cafe and somewhere around 1 or 1:30 I made a big green smoothie. It had 3 small bananas in it and some strawberries and local kale. I did add some of the protein powder and maqui powder because I really like the way it tastes. I had 32 oz of this smoothie and it filled me up and satisfied me for hours.
While at the cafe, I was experimenting with food and made up these bite-sized chocolate drizzled cheeze cake drops. I tasted a bit of the recipe but didn't have a desire to eat more. (Maybe the fruit really does satisfy a sweet tooth!) I also cut into some lemon cheeze cake that Colleen made so that smaller pieces are ready to order. I did lick a bit of that bowl because lemon cheeze cake is my new favorite. I drank 32 oz of water and went home.
For dinner, we all about about 1 lb of greens between us. Matt and I had the most. We had a local mesclun mix that I got at the food stand that happens on Saturdays in front of the cafe. I also cooked up some local corn that I got from the food stand, too because it's just too damn nice to eat local organic corn in the summer. Bonnie gave me some artichokes so I steamed them up too for Matt and the kids. I'm not a big artichoke fan. I ate the cooked corn with some umiboshi paste - a new favorite way to eat corn, thanks to Colleen for that tip! I ate the HUGE green salad with homemade salsa and guacamole on top. The salsa was wicked hot and the guacomole was amazing.
A coupla/few hours later, Matt made some raw ice cream with frozen bananas and bing cherries. Very simple and very delicious. I drank another 32 oz in between the time I got home and the time I decided to be done with eating/drinking for the night.
So Day 1 was a success. We'll see what transpires for me for Day 2. Good night.
xoxo,
Linda