Living Rawesome

Comfort in the RAW

Yesterday I went to Orlando with my family.  We went to Mall at the Millenia to go clothes shopping for Jason.    I woke up very early in the morning and worked on my Powerpoint presentation for Rutabaga’s Raw Food Class on Monday night (big accomplishmet).  I sat at the computer for many hours and clicked away, so by the time he returned from the gym and shopping at Rutabaga’s for my lentils and thai coconuts, I was ready to go.

But before we left,  he made me vanilla chai tea, because I was not particularly hungry.  It was yummy until 10 minutes after, my stomach was burning.   I figured I should eat something to make my belly feel better.  I ate a huge salad with spinach, sprouts, and some shredded carrots all topped with my favorite simple tahini dressing.  After eating this I felt so alive and energized.   I was very full from eating such a big salad but I felt so balanced.  I enjoy starting my day off with greens and sprouts.  It doesn’t set me into a sugar binge, like smoothies do on many occasions.  Ever since I have been doing more Raw and Living Foods, I have become very sensitive to what my body really needs.  I love listening to my body and allowing my inner voice telling to guide me. I am enjoying My RAW life.

Normally I pack food before we go out of town, but I was full and I didn’t pack anything for our trip.  I figured I would grab some fruit from Whole Foods  if I was hungry.  We stopped at Whole Foods first and the boys ate lunch.  I ate some Rainier cherries, which were tasty and I didn’t feel the need to buy anything else.  I did question if I should though.  I thought , “oh no I’m really taking my chances here, I should buy something because they may not have anything at the mall.”  But I didn’t buy anything.

We arrived at the mall and parked near the food court.  We walked through the food court and we were offered  free chicken samples and of course we turned them down.  Whenever we go places I always seek out what healthy food options there are.  As we walked around looking for healthy choices, I started thinking about how much my life has changed and most of the foods offered in a mall food court are not appealing to me at all anymore. The smell of fresh baked pizza, cinnamon buns, fresh pretzels, even looking at Haagen Daaz ice cream used to make me want some.  Now, I know that this so called “comfort food” is not nourishing my body or making me feel comfort.  I used to get mad that there were not enough fresh choices, outside of a health food store or vegetarian restaurant.  I usually have to settle for salad.  Now don’t get me wrong I do love salad, but sometimes you just want something different.  Looking for the healthiest option,  we came upon Fruit’n Smoothie Sensations.  The cafe is beautiful, they have all fresh fruits such as mango, pineapple, kiwi, berries, cantaloupe and strawberries in the case.  I was excited to see they had 4 vitamixes sitting out and they had ice.  I rarely can order anything directly of a menu , so I always like to make friends with the employees.  I spoke to a man and asked if I could just have a smoothie with fresh cantaloupe and fresh strawberries and water with loads of ice.  He was very friendly and said yes.  I was so pleased in knowing I could get something healthy and enjoy my shopping experience.  I told him I would be back to talk to him later.

After shopping for hours, I did go back and we had a refreshing cantaloupe and strawberries smoothie.  I have Sebastian hooked on them too now.  We did add a bit of Stevia to it, thanks to Jason running to the car and grabbing some for us.

I take comfort now in knowing that I can find choices to meet my RAW needs, but I have to seek, and there I find.  It is always nice to find friendly people who are willing to work with you.  And the people at Fruit’n Smoothie Sensations were very kind:)  It is always a great idea to tip them too.  All juice bar employees should be tipped (Hee Hee)