How's that for a random, disjointed title? I need to learn more about "case and point".
Anywhoo, Anne-Marie and I finished our 25 day RAW challenge and had SO much fun. Now that we're done...I'm excited about eating more raw food in addition to what other food I eat. I'm not a 100% raw girl or an extreme-ist, but I certainly do love the beauty of raw and living foods.
The day that we finished our 25th day I got so, so sick...I barely ever, ever get sick and here I had been eating mostly all raw. I figure it was just a very tired me that was susceptible to germs...that day we were up almost 22 hours because we were doing a concert over 6 hours away. We drove up and back in one day, not to mention the actual concert, set up, and tear down. I think not getting much sleep lately, singing in the freezing cold (it was a tented concert for a children's home), and whatnot that made me feel so bad. Although Annie didn't have a problem...
I absolutely adore raw, but to be blunt, I often feel a lot better when I balance a lots and lotsa raw diet with other non-raw, healthy food such as brown rice, our organic wheat bread we grow on our property and then make ourselves, steamed veggies, eggs and tomatoes on sprouted toast, or yogurt with fruit. These 25 days have been so good for me...I loved them, but I've come to the conclusion that I could never be a raw fanatic (like so many amazing blogger friends who I love). It's just not me...I can do it a while...but in the long run, it's not my character. I love to make gourmet food, I love preparing healthy food for my family, I love helping out with menu planning, I love arranging things to make it look truly beautiful, and I love the smell of garlic gently simmering on the stove. And there's something great about awareness and balance that I really love...eating raw food and balancing it with other things you love too. I think it's all about where you feel your best at, where you love where you are and what you're doing.
These last few days I've been glad that I was done raw, because when I get sick...I love my herbal teas and my toast. That makes me feel good. I've also been downing water by buckets and fruit by the bushel (well, not quite). Young coconuts are amazing for you when you feel under the weather, as well as coconut oil. I ate one the other day and as well as drinking the water I ate the succulent, pudding-like meat. Oops...my family loves raw chocolate pudding and Mom was hoping we can make it with the meat. Today she's going to pick up another. I only have a few days left till our next concert, so I have to hurry and get better. My Daddy is such an angel...He went shopping for us and picked up heaps and heaps of fruit, so we could all keep healthy.
Here's Anne-Marie (my raw partner) with her closing thoughts for the time being:
"Well, I finished my 25 days of raw, and I'm sooo very glad I did it, even though at times, I was just dying for a piece of bread or a big bite of real chocolate. The discipline of it all was very beneficial for me and now that I'm off raw I kind of miss that structured style of eating. Nonetheless, I'll still be eating lots of raw (I love the light feeling it gives!) with my sister!!"
...Oh, and as for the face mask...well, you'll just have to wait till my next post. I'm serious though...I've tried LOTS of homemade face masks and have never seen such instant results as this one. It's amazing and I'm using it all the time now. It's the most surprising ingredient I have ever heard of as a mask and it's not very popular. Till then...
