I’ve been mostly raw since Sunday/Monday—almost a week—and though my detox seems to fluctuate with my raw levels (100% results in super dry skin on my hands, ow), I’m gradually getting more and more manic about food. This is not the addictive response I’ve had in the past. Over the last ten years boxes of cookies have given way to pizzas and milkshakes and much healthier “junk”, like peanut butter cups with no wheat, sugar or dairy in them. I know what that feels like, and this is something different.

This is like what I experienced when I discovered coconut water and carrot juice. It’s a teeny bit like a “sugar!!” reaction but it’s different. It’s like my body is shrieking “NUTRIENTS!” and doing anything it can think of to get more of them.

And so today I’ve had double green juice (two kinds!), two zucchini boats (or stuffed zucchini, if you want to sound serious and professional, but I think BOATS are FUN) with a ton of nut filling & tomato and a little bit of garlic, and now a huge gorgeous smoothie: kumquats, mangos, cherries, hemp, apple juice and avocado. It is insanely delicious.

It’s like I just can’t get enough food. But I don’t feel deprived… I don’t feel like this is a reaction to me having starved myself, or waited too long to eat. It’s like I’m just way too excited about this food, and jumping right the hell into the pool. Apparently my body has the same personality I do. ;}

Part of it may also be that I’ve started to really have fun with eating this way. Juicing in the morning isn’t too hard and I’ve gotten into a routine that gets the kitchen cleaned fast (and avoids hurting my back). Even cleaning the juicer isn’t bad when I fit it into my workflow the way it is now. And I’m even starting to understand how to partially prepare meals beforehand—for instance, I can continue to make zucchini boats for DAYS because I have a ton of zucchini in the fridge, a ton of tomatoes, and two huge bowls of nut goop I made Thursday night. It’s just a matter of scooping out a zucchini and putting the filling in, chopping a tomato, sprinkling with salt, etc. It’s not hard, it’s reasonably quick, it’s crunchy and delicious, it’s good! (I couldn’t find this recipe on the web anywhere, but email me and I’ll share.)

And later I’ll have salad—because I have some greens washed and ready in the fridge. But first I’ll finish my smoothie.

Hungry yet? :P

I’m eating raw again! I expect this “experiment” to last much longer, as I have been pining after it for months and months and know how much happier and better it makes me feel on a day-to-day basis. I’m aiming for 90-100% and learning a lot of excellent recipes, as well as starting to understand some of the logistics of eating primarily raw food and, well, how to do it. This is exactly what I was missing when I tried it before, and so far results are fantastic.

An overview of my fantastic results, having begun three days ago:

• The food is freaking delicious.
• I don’t have to worry about burning anything. (Ha.) Or accidentally setting dish towels on fire. (HA!)
• I’m not having any issues with cravings, because I’ve been craving raw food for months—this is just getting what I want. (Not sure how long that will last, but it’ll be okay.)
• I can go running or do other exercise right after most meals, if I want to. Raw food is super duper light and I don’t really feel it (like, for instance, the “heaviness” of cooked food), except in my rising energy levels and general good feeling.
• I don’t feel tired or worn out or anything like that. (This is so much better than using caffeine and crashing all the time.)
• Cooked food is already starting to look largely unappetizing. Wacky!
• I feel great. Some parts of the day are “normal”, but some are getting a little weirdly zoomy. Example. (Oh yeah, I forgot, I’m always like that…)

My fridge is stuffed full of green leafy things and bags of nuts, and I have lots of fruit on the kitchen counter. The juicer is primed and at the ready. Green juice is DELICIOUS! I have leveled up to 28, and 28s eat primarily raw food. ;}

Yesterday Marty and I ate a pomelo / pommelo / pummelo / shaddock (I’m going to stick with “pomelo”, I think, in the interests of our sanity). It is a huge grapefruit-like thing, but less tart and more sweet. Marty called it the Grapefruit That Time Forgot, because it looks just like a dinosaur and we had to gnaw into it like cavemen. He also liked it because, chopped in half, it looked like a brain.

Devouring my half-pomelo, I felt like a wild girl on a sandy shore before the advent of human speech. Eating with my hands! Words just aren’t appropriate, you know?

It was a bit messy, but utterly worth it—and really, not as messy as some of the other strange produce I’ve eaten (read: tried to eat). I have decided that I will plan a gathering for the express purpose of eating pomelos. We can lay a tarp out in the living room. It will be just like a cuddle party! Except with pomelos. And… a tarp.

Okay, different from a cuddle party, but similar because of the glee.

I am experiencing a little bit of detox, even this early on; my skin is kind of dry on my hands and I know from reading Steve’s raw trial that it’s probably not just because of all the washing of fresh vegetables. But I feel pretty mellow and happy (and also pretty silly) so I foresee good things. I think I need a better blender, though. Y’all find me a blender company to sponsor my raw adventures, and I’ll talk about ‘em. (Am I famous enough yet?)

La la la fresh growing food! My life is good.