I love dates. I love the taste of them. I love the sweetness they provide me when I’m going raw, because if you were/are a big consumer of sugary products (and most of us were as kids, and perhaps as adults… candies, most morning cereals, specialty drinks from starbucks, “fruit” juices, breads, milk… well, pretty much everything has sugar in it… I could go on for a while), you’ll find yourself craving something sweet every once and a while. And dates, much like apples, pears, watermelon, bananas or any other sweet fruit (even carrots sometimes taste sweet after you’ve gone raw for a good amount of time) can fulfill your desire for something sweet.

Now, here’s the kicker.

I’m allergic to dates… and all other dried fruits…

Well, I WAS, until I went raw for the first time.

Now, I’m not asking you to try this… nor am I promoting this in any way, but I got over my food allergy to dried fruit by going raw the first time around, and now, I can eat dried fruit without a problem. In the past, my allergic reaction to dried fruit was really bad… potentially fatal. My throat would close up, my chest would get tight, I would get nauseous and pretty much just throw up anything in my stomach. When I did a raw food fast the first time around, I wanted to move beyond simply snacking on raw foods and eating salads. I wanted to prepare foods and make meals like raw burgers and breads, breakfast bars, pretty much raw versions of anything I made with cooked recipes. But, I found a lot of the recipes I researched used dates or other dried fruit. The first recipe I tried with dates was a raw ketchup recipe (it was a decent recipe, but I didn’t really care… I really missed processed ketchup… notice I didn’t say REAL ketchup… you know, the red stuff made with sugar, salt and high fructose corn syrup). I was about 2 weeks into my raw food diet when I really felt the need to try some different recipes. I blended up the other ingredients and added the dates, just like the recipe suggested, gave it a taste and waited for my allergic reaction to kick in.

Nothing. Not a sniffle. Not a twitch. Not a dry heave. Nothing. And it didn’t taste that bad either.

So, I picked up a date and gave it a sniff. My allergies in the past were sensitive enough to be triggered even by the smell of dried fruit. No reaction at all. I decided to really tempt fate and nibble off a bit of a date. And to my surprise, I tasted the sweetness of a date for the first time in my life without having an adverse reaction. After finishing off the date, I tried my luck at eating a raisin and later a dried cranberry. I didn’t like the taste of either of them but I didn’t throw up or have any difficulty breathing. I had to ask myself, “what happened? How is it possible that I was suddenly no longer allergic to dried fruit?” That’s when I realize what eating a raw food diet was doing for me. I think my body was no longer busy fighting the chemicals from processed and cooked foods I was putting in my body and it was able to focus on other things like fighting food allergies. Like I said, I’m not telling you to try this, but I’m just letting you know this actually happened to me.

Some raw food enthusiast believe when you’re eating cooked and processed food, it isn’t really food in the truest sense of the word because it’s devoid of nutrients that your body needs, and you are, in a sense, poisoning your body. The human body really only has the capacity to break down actual food, and everything else is simple waste that either gets deposited by your body or retained by your body in the form of fats and other items which are bad for internal and intestinal health… and since you’re potentially poisoning yourself, your body isn’t receiving enough raw nutrients to be able to fight off basic things like allergies or basic sickness (since I was eating fairly healthy before I went raw, I never related my dietary habits to my resistance to disease, but I hadn’t been sick for close to 3 years… I went through flu season last year without a sniffle at all or any medication) And, from what some raw food nutritionists believe, if you eat poorly long enough, your body will stop managing your sugar levels effectively and potentially leave you more susceptible to other diseases like diabetes and cancer (some have reported a raw food diet even helps with autism). This is actually the basis for chronic illness treatment at places like the Gerson Institute.

So, what am I saying? Personally, I do not know if a raw food diet can cure cancer or any other chronic disease. Diabetes, sure, a raw food diet can definitely help, or if you have any other intestinal health issues, consuming food with a high nutritional value can really help. All I know is what was working for me. And that I’m no longer allergic to foods that used to affect me. And my body can endure some pretty highly contagious environments (kids both had strep throat last year during my raw food diet and I didn’t get sick at all…). But, if you’re feeling tired all the time or you’re feeling generally unhealthy or stressed, think about what you’re putting into your body and ask yourself if it really is good for you. And if you know it isn’t, you should figure out a way to stop eating it, because there are most likely long term effects on your body you may have never even considered.

By the way, did I mention I love dates?

P.S. Still raw. Down another 1/2 pound. 160 down to 158 so far.

Coconut Cake (9”, 12-16 servings)

9 cups oat flour (ground oat groats or rolled oats)
2 cups nuts pecans or walnuts (chopped fine)
3 cups shredded coconut
1½ cups agave nectar
1 level tablespoon ground cloves
Water as needed (about 2 cups)
1/2 pineapple pulsed (in food processor)

In large bowl, combine oat flour, nuts coconut, pineapple, cloves and agave nectar. Mix well. Add water while kneading the mixture. The batter should be moist but not runny. If too much water is added let stand for 15-20 minutes. Form dough into two large balls. Press each dough ball into a spring form pan.

Icing

6 cups shredded coconut (set aside two cups)
1 cup coconut meat (from young Thai coconut)
4 cups water
1 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 vanilla bean or 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons psyllium powder

Blend 4 cups shredded coconut, and remaining ingredients in high speed blender until creamy. If too watery add a little more shredded coconut.

Remove 1 cake from spring form pan and place on a plate (this is your bottom layer). Spread Icing on bottom layer of cake. Remove other cake from spring form pan and place on top of bottom layer. Ice the top layer of cake, spreading icing along the sides of cake. Top with shredded coconut.

What I Ate:

• Grapefruit Juice
• Golden Delicious apple
• Baby Carrots
• Large salad from Chop’t
• Sunflower Seeds
• 2 Pickles
• Faux lasagna

One thing I haven’t slacked on has been doing my P90X workouts. I cut my foot in a dressing room yesterday (Long story.  Never get hurt in Macy’s.  Believe me.) and still did Kempo X.  Dedication paid off this morning when I saw the scale was down .5 pounds and the dress I’m wearing looks good.  I guess if you can’t lose pounds, at least lose inches, right?

My goal for today is no office candy or other sweets.  So far so good.  Sugar is a major part of my food addiction.  Raw food is my medication.

Day 7 was really busy.  As of the morning I was 197 pounds.  I had a lot to do on Sunday and I had by baby with me (my Peekapoo, Daisy).  Went to Eastern Market in DC to check out the fresh produce and had Fresh Lemonade and some fruit to start the day.  Later I realized that I actually should have bought some fruit to take with me so I ended up eating some dried fruit strips in the afternoon.  Got home and had a nice green smoothie with 2 bananas, mango, and spinach.  Ended the night with raw nuts (peanuts, sunflower seeds, and cashews) with a little sea salt sprinkled on them.  My water intake could have been better but I tried to make up for it before bed.  Did P90X with my baby and went to bed very tired.

I wasn’t really that hungry.  I think I was stressed out by my taxes (That I didn’t start on until Sat).  Ugh…Maryland taxes are HIGH!  Couple that with Aunt Flo at the door with my monthly and you get a recipe for diet hell.  Normally I would have grabbed for chocolate or ice cream, but the cravings weren’t there and I thank goodness!  That is real change for me.  I’m no longer coping with life’s challenges with food.  I’m facing life and living it.

I see wellness manifesting in my life.

Oh Fast Food, You almost got me, but I won.  Nothing like sitting in the drive through with ice cream on your mind (because anything else would smell like fast food and my boyfriend would know) and having an epiphany.   I realized that I was listening to the old, sick, sad me and that the real me was the one behind the wheel.  I drove away with a smile on my lips and peace in my heart.

What I ate:

• Grapefruit juice
• Handful of raw peanuts
• Bag of baby carrots (my tummy hurt after this.  Ow.  Felt better after I got my salad.)
• Large Lunch Salad
• 1 mini Almond Joy
• 2 raw nut/date balls (not really hungry last night)

I woke up this morning at 200 pounds (down from 202.5 on monday).  Very happy about that.

Since Monday I’ve been 90-100% raw each day and exercised 30 min each day.  I’m down 2 pounds over this period. I feel like this is the place, the moment, the feeling, the place in time where my paradigm shifts.  I’m changing.

I made nut meat delight last night with soaked walnuts, red onion, and celery all blended in a blender.  Then I seasoned it with cilantro, cummin, Lowery’s, and pepper.  I put the blend in romaine leaves and ate it lettuce wrap style.  YUMMY!

I’ve been going through cravings.  I haven’t had much of an appetite in the evenings.  All I want after work is some juice or soda and microwaved butter popcorn.  Sigh.  I’m eating really well during the day so I’m sure that’s part of the issue.  I think it’s more so rebellion.  You know how little kids act when you tell them they can’t have something.  They pout.  They resist.  I think that somewhere in my subconscious, there is a lil girl pouting because I’m not giving her any sugar.  Well, just like a good parent, I’m training my body in the way that it should go.  I’m giving myself discipline and direction.  It’s an awesome gift to give, too.

I’ll have to make a green smoothie when I get home.  Time to take time and visualize this healthy and happy body that will be birthed out of the changes I’m making in the NOW.

Sugar addiction is no joke.  I haven’t binged on candy and sweets in about a week or so.  Manifestation is my goal.  Victorious one more day.

Day 25

Weight: didn’t feel like weighing myself today.

Today I’ve had an apple, my usual big lunch salad, and a box of rasberries. No candy, nothing that would have me tripping out later. Oh I’m such a creature of habit. i bought a new receipe e-book yesterday from Raw Freedom Community. I can’t wait to make some of the stuff!!! OH my goodness. The food looks so good in the photos. I need some options. I realize that I’m getting bored. I don’t want to be cooking everynight, but I need some options.

I’ve also been watching Louise Hay’s You Can Change Your Life Series on YouTube.  I love it.  She says the key to good living is to love yourself.  I think she’s right.  It’s hard though to look in the mirror and say “I love and accept me right now, as I am right now”.  I want to be able to say that.  It’s not just about weight, but that has been a major issue for me since I was 8 (my first “diet” per doctor’s orders).  Oh…the journey…the journey.

I ate about 1/3 of the container.

That lead to some Chinese food (crab rangoon and steamed shrimp) on Saturday and burger/fries on Sunday. I got a hold of myself by Monday (just ate some jelly beans and a diet coke…raw the rest of the day). Sigh. I didn’t feel the goodness and freedom I been feeling eating raw food. My mind was all over the place. All I could think of was food and how I could get some more cooked food. I was trying to reason and bargain with myself. Umm…I felt crazy. Why am I talking to myself trying to get myself to see that I’m just doing the very thing that makes me unhappy and gets me further from my goals. This is really addiction and people need to start treating it like that.

After getting myself back on track yesterday I feel much better. I was 180.5 pounds this morning so I didn’t wreck too much havoc. But I did see some of my insulin rash come back and I had inflammation most of the 4 days. I started my morning with a green smoothie and 3 pieces of the raw walnut, raw almond, and agave nectar nut “candy” that I used to make the last time I went raw. This stuff really helped with my sugar cravings and gave me a lot of fiber. I don’t know why I didn’t make it sooner. Duh!!

I took a walk yesterday to try to “walk it off”…walk the cravings away. I realize boredom had a lot to do with my eating. When I got outside in the wonderful weather I felt fantastic. I thought back to walking to the corner store as a teen for relief from my person issues in the form of sugar. I realized later that day that instead of a treat, sugar was now a punishment. That’s how it feels after I eat it. Like it’s wrong…like I’ve betrayed my true intention to be healthy and beautiful. Freedom is not feeling that way. Not eating junk food as well as developing a healthy attitude toward food and eating.

Eating junk doesn’t take the pain away. Not eating junk is not a punishment. Eating healthy is true freedom…mind, body, and soul. I want freedom from cooked food, and junk food addiction. That’s my goal.

I feel much better today.  Basically had fruit all day…bananas, grapes, apples, banana chips..etc.  I was 178 pounds this morning.  Because ice cream was in my system I had more cravings for chocolate today…but I fought them off.  I had to come straight home after work because if I had gone out browsing or shopping I think I might have faced some temptation.

I did some house cleaning.  Feeling good.  Taking it one day at a time.

Food is not recreation.  Food is not recreation….or at least not the preferred type of recreation.