RawFu Challenge - Day 13

Saturday, 22 August 2009

Thankfully, I got eight hours of sleep last night, and commenced today with much more enthusiasm than yesterday. This evening was our MeetUp.com vegetarian group’s monthly vegan potluck, so once awake and dressed, I set my attention to putting together a dish for that. I usually try to look at what I have already in the house and see what I can come up with. This month it was raw gazpacho soup. It turned out really yummy.

Considering the potluck is vegan, and I wasn’t sure how many raw food options there would be, I brought along a maca banana smoothie for me and Darren, and a container of kelp noodles with hemp oil, salt & pepper. I figured we could at least have that. We ended up just having a little salad and watermelon, along with our own stuff, but we had a really nice time socializing, and I didn’t feel deprived at all. In fact, several people were quite interested in our raw food challenge, and had their own experiences to share.

I think Flo had a hard time resisting all the cakes and breads. Since finding out Joe is allergic to wheat, we’ve decided to do a little wheat-free trial with her, too. Most of the time there’s plenty of options, but sometimes, I can tell the temptation is great. However, when I asked her later if she didn’t enjoy herself because she couldn’t have some of the good-looking food there, she said no, because she knew she could have something else she liked later. I thought that was a good sign of maturity and the concept of delayed gratification.

I’m not sure whether it was food or environment related, but Joe ended up with hives all down his neck, shoulders and back on the way home. Thankfully, after a shower when we got home, they subsided, so it wasn’t too lengthy of an episode.

On the way home, Darren and I talked about how interesting this raw food experience is turning out to be. The types of foods we eat are so totally engrained in the fabric of our lives, from our self-perception to our social encounters. Along with the changes in diet comes the inevitable shift in perception, and it’s fun going through this process together. People have been asking me if I plan to “stay raw” indefinitely, and I really don’t know. We plan to follow through with this challenge, and then reassess our goals. I would say I would probably not commit to a lifetime of a hundred percent raw diet, but that my dietary preference with remain high raw. I feel like over the past five years or so, I have done incremental “upgrades,” and markedly noticed the improvements in how I feel at each juncture. Also, the gradual realization that food is only one component of a well balance life, reminds me that change is inherent in living, and there is no need to be absolute or certain about anything. I’m thoroughly enjoying this journey (life), with all its possibilities and challenges.

Anyway, we got home around 8:30 from the potluck, and I headed out for a walk with Flo and the dog. After checking exercise off my list for the day, I just did some boring tidying up and tried to get everyone to wind down for the night. Zofia is now asleep in my lap and Flo and Joe are watching Little House on the Prairie, Season 6, which just arrived in the mail today from Netflix. Finally… I can compose my thoughts a bit and check “update blog” off my list of the day!