Choosing your Battles…
It has been many days since my last post. I have been in strange places in my head, having made a committment to myself to go ALL RAW with my diet. It was challenging enough to eliminate coffee from my daily routine, then I added the removal of television viewing! It was too much. I did not stick to my RAW program. So, I avoided posting anything as I rambled around deciding just what is important to me!
My health is very important. I have rarely ever had any kind of health coverage except when I was married. I always felt that I was gambling with insurance, and betting that I would lose, and need it. I would rather take care of myself; eating healthy, organic food that is whole, not processed, taking supplements to fill in the nutritional gaps, and doing something for exercise. These I have been committed to for many years. I strongly believe that I would not be as healthy as I am if I had not become a vegan, eliminating all animal products from my lifestyle. And I have mentioned in previous posts that I currently do not possess a vehicle. I bicycle or walk everywhere I need to go and am grateful that I live in a small town where I can get most everything I need within bicycling distance. It appears that I am living the simple life, my footprint is light.
So, I had to ask myself why I felt possessed to be even more strict with my food choices. And the only answer I came up with was “I must have some kind of belief that only 100% raw folks qualify to speak about it.” Part of me does believe that I would be healthier if I was able to go 100%. Eating only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds gives one a multitude of choices as to what to eat. I eat the majority of my food RAW, and feel good about the foods I prepare. I love making Green Smoothies every morning.
Was I setting myself up for failure? Yes, I am good at that. Do I feel perhaps, that I do not have the experience or credentials to be able to suggest others go RAW? Yes, and no. Yes, I have had NO formal training in Raw Food preparation, no certificates to hang on the wall. My experience comes from doing. I was the proud owner of 2 sprout growing businesses, the last also selling organic produce. I had a raw food kitchen where we offered a diverse lunch menu and taught classes in Raw Food prep. My experience came by reading and following directions, and led to creating some of my own recipes for cookies, pies, smoothies, etc. I’ve been growing sprouts for almost 30 years, and have some growing in my kitchen every week.
No, I am not 100% RAW. But, I know that the more raw I eat, the better I feel. Perhaps, someday, I will be 100%. When I am living in a tropical region of the planet, with access to fresh tropical fruits. For now, I am accepting that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Doing the best I can. Sharing my experience, my beliefs.
I believe we should keep it simple. Eat close to the earth, and strive to cause no harm.
Be gentle, especially with yourself. For the time being, I am not going to set any unrealistic goals for myself. Baby steps…
Laugh more. Raise your vibration with good thoughts, clean food and warm friendships.
Related Posts
Share This Article
del.icio.us Digg Ask Google Netscape StumbleUpon Technorati Windows Live Yahoo! Help
Well would you look at that… we’ve both posted articles! Good for us.
While I’m far from someone who has ever even tried a raw food diet, I do know where you are coming from with the 100% idea… it stops me dead in my tracks more times than I can count (which you already know!).
Remember that saying about “Progress, not perfection?” I think it applies to just about everything we want to do in our lives.
I’m glad you’ve decided to be gentle with yourself.
I recently have been thinking about going raw. I have been a vegetarian for almost 10 years. That was a gradual process that I didn’t plan or think about before hand. I want to be healthier so I am looking into eating more raw meals. I don’t see myself ever going 100% raw. I like soups too much on a cold, and dreary winter day. I have enjoyed reading your articles over the past hour. I have experimented some with sprouts.
thanks for reading, Patricia. Sprouting is a wonderful addition to raw. The more raw you add in, you will naturally drop off some of the heavier food. But, I agree, soup belongs in a cold, winter evening. I just had some today!
Keep coming back. I will be adding some methods for sprouting, etc.in the future.