Day 12

Not easy.  I was not content all day long.  It probably didn't help that I spent a good portion of the day surfing the 'net for raw food recipes.  But still.  It seemed like I ate a lot, but I just couldn't get satisfied.

THEN ... I started craving pizza.  Hot pizza.  With cheese.  Ooohey and gooey and oh no.  I seriously considered it.

Then I came up with a compromise.  Since I do not have a dehydrator, I have no way of creating a pizza crust.  So.  I made a crust out of dough and rolled it out, covered it with a teeny bit of jarred marinara sauce and then cooked it.

Then I put some raw cheddar cheese spread, chopped up (raw) mushrooms and red peppers, and little slices of squash -- and it was delicious and ended up quelling my craving.  Satisfying it big time.  Maddie even had three slices of it -- and deemed it "sick."  (This is good!)

So I guess the lesson here is -- if you're going to waver, seek a compromise that doesn't take you too far over the cliff, but instead is far less evil.  I mean in truth, all I ate that was bad was a little flour and a teeny bit of cooked sauce.  Again.  Not so bad.  And I don't feel in the least bit guilty -- instead I am proud of myself for handling it with such aplomb!

Day 11

When I woke up this morning I glanced at my watch and saw it was 10:30.  Oh wait!  You turn the clocks back, so it was only 9:30.  I closed my eyes and went back to sleep in that case!

Then I woke up an hour or so later and wondered why I wasn't springing out of bed.  Where was all my energy?  I've been eating exclusively raw for ten (going on 11) days, and I am starting to feel like, well, like normal.  And I'm not dropping any more weight either!  What is going on?

I read in bed for a while then got up and made myself a smoothie.  I filled it with maca powder and hoped that would rev me up a little.  

Then it all became quite clear when I was sitting at my desk and said to myself ... is that a cramp?  Do I have my period?

The amazing thing is that yes, I did have my period, but I HAD NO IDEA until the moment it came!  The only signs (not irritation, not bloating, painful boobs, etc) was feeling less euphoric than I expect to on a raw diet.  Like I said, I kind of felt like I do on cooked foods.  Okay, just not flying!  Hey!  I'll take it.  My periods have been getting really brutal the past few months, so to have this one arrive without any warning was lovely.  And, it explains the no weight loss!  Even better, I didn't GAIN weight through bloating.  I've just remained the same the past few days.

Oh, and also the incredible appetite I've had!  I managed to get myself full last night on all the good food, but I woke up this morning absolutely starving.  I've downed a few more fajitas, but I think I might need more!

No cravings for salt ... all is good.  

Now that I know what is going on!

Day 10

This morning I whipped up a bunch of things to take to my sister's for dinner.  I had asked her to get the heart of the meal -- all the veggies (and chicken for the non-raw people) while I put together sauces and dips.

It culminated in the most DELICIOUS Mexican meal.  I made (all raw of course) a cheddar cheese dip, some fajita "meat" (which was mostly walnuts) some sour cream and then spread all of that on a flour tortilla mixed with the marinated veggies, and I am telling ya right now, IT WAS TO DIE FOR.

Now, I had purchased some sprouted grain corn tortillas at the health food store, and my first fajita was in one of those.  But it was horrible.  It tasted like cardboard, and well, if it doesn't taste good, then I'm not going to bother.  So without a second thought I spread it all out on the flour (and yes, cooked) tortilla.  And you know, who cares!  It was so darn good.  I am still anxious to make my own dehydrated tortillas -- but until the dehydrator comes, I just have to make do.  Oh, and did I mention these were SO GOOD?

My niece had made my son a birthday cake (I was gone over his 13th birthday) and while everyone ate that I took a few bites out of a raw truffle that was just so sweet.  But I didn't feel deprived.  And really, cake isn't all that great!  I could have made something comparable, but I didn't really care.

I also bought some young Thai coconuts at the health food store and cracked one of those open.  Oh, they are so refreshing.  I kept wondering why I wasn't getting all zappy with energy, between that and the truffle.

I figured that out the next day.