Hello Vacation! Goodbye Diet!

My husband and I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee for the first week of May.  We stayed in a beautiful cabin in the Pisgah National Forest that had a full sized kitchen.  We packed up the cooler and our trusty blender.  We awaited with open arms the numerous fresh produce stands that dotted the roadways.

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Hi, my name is Sara. I'm addicted to cooked food.

Pizza is my downfall. I also love pasta and garlic bread. I've managed to keep at arms length my beloved Puffy's, the most divine of all cheese curls.

I have come to realize that my love of cooked food is much more than taste. It connects me to memories. Pizza usually accompanies date nights with the husband. Eating Puffy's remind me of playing Settlers of Catan with our first Lancaster friends, Seth and Steph.

5 Golden Stars

I have a problem. It's a superiority complex.

Now that I'm nearly a raw vegan, I love food shopping now. I often spend hours meandering up and down isles, reading labels and finding out what's new in the natural food section. But then it hits me:

No, I Didn't Quit...

Alright, Doubty McDoubterson, I didn't quit my (nearly) raw, vegan lifestyle. I wasn't ashamed of my failure and therefore avoided blogging. I simply didn't blog!

So, I'm back and I have some announcements!

Please Don't Kill Me

I am down to the 152lbs hover rate*. I am half way to my goal! I no longer suffer from PPS (Pinchy Pants Syndrome) and I'm relieved to not have to purchase larger clothes. However, I credit this to being sick for 8 days, with little to no appetite during that time. So, I'm halfway there on a technicality!

Down for the Count

I'm down for the count. Today I woke up with a scary cough and I'm now running a fever. I don't get sick often, so I have been analyzing my entire life for the last two weeks to figure out who or what's responsible. I'm not getting answers.

The Black Thumb

Dear Reader,

I have a black thumb. I have this amazing ability to get excited when planting flowers or vegetables, only to lose interest the next day and kill everything I plant almost immediately. I even killed my indoor bamboo plant - aren't they supposed to be indestructible?? There are many with green thumbs; mine is black as death.

A raw food diet is an excellent reason to start growing your own veggies, fruit and herbs. Not only is it an inexpensive way to eat, but you also know where your food is coming from and what was put on it. My mother-in-law has full blown salads growing in her back yard. She saves hundreds of dollars each year on produce by growing it on her own. Additionally, she reaps the benefits of Vitamin D from the sun and plenty of fresh air and exercise. Back when I was a frizzy haired, glasses-wielding youngster, my mother grew an "organic" garden, taking care of the pests in safe ways (i.e. dousing broccoli heads in warm salt water to extract all the worms). Planting a garden seems like a natural activity for me this year, but I'm terrified of the looming black thumb!

It is no secret that a raw, organic diet can be pricey. But here in Lancaster County, there are roadside stands selling fresh fruit and veggies (I pass three on my way home from work!). Usually the prices are cheaper than the food stores and to be honest, I would much rather buy local, fresh produce than organics* from California.

So, do I cut off my proverbial black thumb and try my own garden this year? Or do I purchase from the ample supply of delicious Lancaster County produce?

~Sara

P.S. I completely failed the last two days. While I had fresh fruit and veggies, I also consumed white flour, refined sugar and dairy products. This diet is hard, especially if you had a rough day at work and don't feel like chopping veggies.

*The Hallelujah Diet recommends organic veggies and fruit, but does not require them. They claim that organic vegetables, along with their products BarleyMax/CarrotjuiceMax, simply help the healing process occur faster. They are not requirements in the diet.