I'm grateful for hours spent at barnes and noble reading and getting caught up on computer tasks:-) It's nice to get away from the household duties and the pull of the project stacked up :-) I'm also grateful for the Dr.Oz show where I heard an interview the other day with a raw foodist. Decided to check out what it means to go raw and I'm very impressed. I'm going to give it a shot. I'm grateful that my pants have been too tight lately and it's leading me to make a change! The book I'm reading is called "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose and while it's not a pure raw food book, it is mostly vegan and focuses on the importance of food combining (or not in most cases) and "quick exit" foods. Yep, you guessed it - things that make you go to the bathroom!

I find this diet appealing because it focuses on raw fruits and veges and things found in nature - not overly processed and pasteurized so that there are no enzymes or vitamins left in the food. Here is an interesting link to how raw food is so much superior to cooked food in some cases. Watch the one about apple pie. While I've never even considered going vegan or vegetarian, I really don't eat a lot of meat anyway and would probably do better with more fish and definitely more veges and less grains. The recipes in the book look amazing and I'm very impressed with the green lemonade I made this morning. I dusted off the juicer and put in celery, kale, spinach, lemon, and ginger and was prepared to have to choke it down but was pleasantly surprised when it actually tasted quite yummy!

I also like this book because it talks about de-cluttering your closets and pantries as well as your arteries and intestines. I especially like this way of eating because you do not have to count calories and determine the optimal mix of fat/protein/carbs. As long as you eat foods in the right combination and stick as close as you can to plant-based foods not heated to above 118 degrees Fahrenheit, you can eat as much as you like!

I will share some of my favorite dishes in the future. For now, I'm off to buy a very expensive blender to make raw ice cream :-)