The crazy busy period I mentioned a few weeks ago is almost over. The exam I had to take at work? It was scary, but I passed!!! Such a weight off my shoulders. However, I discovered that I need to take another (unrelated) exam soon, so unfortunately my evenings of studying aren’t over yet. Studying for the next exam will be more fun, though, because it’s a topic I actually like — I need to get a certificate to verify my proficiency in Italian, so I have a week or so to brush up on my italiano!
Now onto food: you may recall that at the beginning of the year, one of my resolutions was to try to eat a raw vegan diet for three days. Since J had to go out of town again for a few days, I decided that this upcoming Sunday through Tuesday would be the perfect time for my little experiment! It’ll be much easier to do when I’m only shopping and cooking preparing food for myself 
. I’ve found a bunch of raw recipes that I’m excited to try.
However, as the end of this workweek approached, I found myself stressing out about a few days of living all-raw. It’s been a stressful few weeks, plus it seems like I just finished the last period of restriction (giving up chocolate and candy for Lent). I realized that I want this raw experiment to be fun, not something that I’m dreading, and also that going all-raw is a big step for anyone and something that’s meant to be done gradually. Rushing into it just isn’t healthy. So I’ve changed the terms slightly: instead of three days of all-raw, I’m doing five days (starting last night) during which I will incorporate more raw foods into my diet and try out raw recipes. I may not eat 100% raw on any of these days, and that’s OK. I’ll still be focused on eating a clean and plant-based diet. I will still avoid all meat and animal products and will try to avoid processed sugars, and once I finish off some dairy products in the fridge I won’t buy any more until after Tuesday. I’ll use honey because it’s the least-processed sweetener I have, although I realize it’s not vegan. Once again, I am OK with this.
Reframing this challenge for myself makes it seem much more enjoyable and reasonable, and I’m excited once again! As mentioned before, I started last night already because I found a raw recipe that looked so good and I was dying to try: raw tortilla soup! I omitted celery and added chipotle powder to give it some smokiness and heat. Then I topped my bowl with extra cilantro and diced avocado (and enjoyed it with a piece of Finnish rieska bread alongside).
This was SO GOOD. All the seasonings (lime juice, cilantro, cumin, chipotle) gave it an amazing depth of flavor, and it was so satisfying yet of course so light. The fact that it was cold didn’t bother me at all. I’m already looking forward to making this for J, because I think he’d like it too.
I’ll be sure to keep you updated on my adventures in raw food over the next few days!
Looking forward to your small experiment!
I can assure you that it won’t be that difficult to be vegan. We currently apply 50/50 strategy with raw foods – try our best to ensure that at least half of our plate is covered with raw vegetables. It gets easier as the days get warmer and there’s more fresh stuff readily available.
You’re right, it hasn’t been that difficult! When the fridge is filled will lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, it’s easy to choose them over other foods.
Good luck! Like Eva said, we try and strike a balance between cooked and raw and it seems to work out for us. You could also use this time as an opportunity to try out the expanding vegan processed foods in Prisma, such as the faux-meat, tofu and soya desserts. Have fun!
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