Sunday, January 6, 2008

On the Brink

As I ventured out tonight purchasing all the items I think I will need/want for the next few days, it struck me how odd it is to be so conscious of meals and strategies behind planning them. The modern 'conveniences' that we have at our disposal have made well thought out meals a thing of the past. Instinctively, most folks raised in America know that they can just swing by a restaurant or fast food joint if they forget to plan ahead for a meal or if they are out in the middle of the day and get hungry.

I was reminded of a time in my past (some 20 years ago) when my family was transferred to Italy for three years. Although we still had the Air Force Base Commissary to rely on, we chose to become more Italian in how we experienced life. We had small kitchen appliances (teenie fridge and teenie stove) and few cabinets. We purchased nearly all of our fresh fruits and veggies at the local open-air markets each week, and we typically only had enough on hand for the next few days of meals. Although it took some planning, we ate better and felt better than I ever had before or have since.

As my mind continued to wander on what food preparation must have been like for past generations (I won't bore you with the details) I realized that I was done shopping after visiting the produce section and the nuts/seeds area. That was a strange sensation!

I must admit panic set in as I wondered if I would be able to do this ... this new way of eating that was so contrary to all I've ever known. Mercifully, my hubby has agreed to go raw as well, but then I began to panic about his lunches and such (he works in a physically demanding job and is also away from home each day). We talked about it when I returned from the store and we are just going to do the best we can -- after all no one is "making" us do this and we don't "fail" if we aren't 100% raw immediately. (Can you tell the perfectionist in me is rearing her head??)

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day -- the day we chose to give raw a shot. I'm aiming for 100% for this month but we'll see how it goes. Each day, each meal rather, will be a victory in and of itself, I think. I'd like to see what 100% feels like, and what I feel like afterward. I'd like to see what will change with me and what I will lose. I'll wait till a little later on to divulge the dreaded "Before" shot and stats. Suffice it to say that while I'm not the biggest girl on the planet, I sure am bigger than I used to be ;o) -- and that's reason enough to be embarrassed. So, I'll wait until I have good news to report.

I'm headed to bed now to dream about not cooking anything for a month -- LOL
I'll check back in tomorrow night and let anyone who cares know how I did on my first day. Don't expect a blow-by-blow description of what I ate -- that's kinda creepy -- but I will post some about my daily adventures and will post tons more stuff on the raw and vegan finds around the web that I've turned up in preparation for this month long experiment.

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