I love food!

I have been so thrilled with eating again. Exploring all of the textures and tastes of raw food has been a delight. I am getting back into the swing of things since going off my juice feast. My stomach is feeling better, I am no longer suffering from the energy drain I experienced in the first days after introducing food and I am actually a pretty regular visitor to the bathroom so woo hoo for me!

I had my first meal with seeds yesterday and I have to admit that I felt a bit of an addictive force re-enter my life for the first time. I made the Ginger Almond Pate from Ani Phyo's book, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen but I substituted sunflower seeds for the almonds. I made nori rolls with it. I put spinach, the pate, leftover marinated vegetables and bean sprouts.

OMG, it was seriously so good. I was shoving them in my mouth and I just couldn't stop eating them. I ate two rolls around 4:00 and then I made a third at 6:30 and ate it. As much as I truly enjoyed it I have to say that I don't really like the way I felt like I couldn't stop eating them. In fact, just typing this out has made me want to go make some more nori rolls! I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of them.

I spent the evening planning out a few things I want to make in the next several days and I went shopping for the ingredients today. The photo above is a salad I made with romaine lettuce, broccoli slaw, walnuts, dried cranberries and an orange cucumber dressing from Ani's book. The dressing sounded so good but I found it rather bland and lacking. I have quite a bit leftover so I am hoping as it sits the flavors will intensify and meld to enhance the taste. I love the crunch of the broccoli slaw in a salad though.

I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner with my family on Sunday. When I made the reservation I told them that I had a special diet and I was assured that I would be taken care of. I told the waiter that I only ate raw vegetables and asked if the chef could prepare a salad for me with those ingredients. The chef actually came to the table to talk to me. I told him again what I ate and that I was leaving it up to him to create something wonderful for me.

When my plate came out it looked absolutely beautiful. He had arranged it like a piece of art. Unfortunately it wasn't too exciting in the taste department. He had simply cut up raw zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, mushrooms and grape tomatoes. That was it. No flavor, no nothing. Luckily I brought 1/2 of an avocado with me which I slathered over it like a dressing. It was fine then.

So overall I am doing fantastic. I am loving food and loving my life. I have such excitement about every meal and I am really excited about heading over to the raw food restaurant for a treat. I am hoping I can get over there in the next week.