Gone Raw

I never thought I could be a vegan and give up dairy products. Now, one year later after becoming a vegan, I can honestly say I do not miss them at all. We became vegan by accident after stumbling across this book that explained in detail not only the inhumane practices employed by the meat and dairy industries, but also the detriments of including those foods into our diets. Michael and I have been vegetarian for the majority of the 16 years we've been together, so to switch to a diet without dairy products wasn't that much of a leap. I had this cookbook to help me along, and we decided to try it for a week and see how we felt. The change in our bodies was remarkable and life-changing.

Now, a year later, and a change is taking place again. Again, almost by accident, I have been influenced by the blog-o-sphere of which I have become a part since moving to the Caribbean and becoming a full time mom, wife, and homemaker. I had seen the green smoothie challenge coming up on some of the blogs I follow and then I read this post on Shivaya Naturals. It led me down the internet rabbit hole to several interesting raw food blogs like this one that left me with the same sentiment I had before becoming a vegan. Let's try it for a week and see how we feel. So, not only have we been having green smoothies every morning for breakfast since Michael has been on break, but we've been enjoying raw meals at every meal from this cookbook and are loving the energy and lightness we both feel. Michael and I are often all or nothing in our lifestyle choices - we can be a bit extreme when it comes to food preferences.

I spend a lot of my time thinking about what goes into our diets and what we will be eating for each meal. We have always avoided eating processed foods and refined flours and sugars, favoring homemade slow food using as many organic and fresh ingredients as possible (unfortunately, local is not an option here) and whole grains as well as unrefined sugars and their alternatives. But, my one problem with my diet, is that I love to bake. I am a carbohydrate addict. So, something else this raw diet has led me to, which for me is the gold mine, are the delicious and guilt-free raw desserts that use only nuts, seeds, and fruit. The first dessert I made was a chocolate mousse tart with strawberries. You use avocado in place of cream and it tastes so chocolatey rich and creamy, you have no idea there is an avocado in there! Our new favorite cookie is made using only cashew butter, a little maple syrup, vanilla extract, and ground almonds. The trick is putting them in the freezer. I am very excited about this recent dietary change and am loving the vibrant energy I feel.

Tonight we went to Tropicana, an upscale french restaurant in the Marigot Marina Royale, and I was so excited that I could order a market salad and a raw carrot soup from the menu. I left still feeling fantastic and not overly full and sleepy like I would've felt had I ordered something with pasta and had eaten the bread on the table, which is so easy to do when you are a vegan and not eating any animal products. So, I just thought I'd share this exciting change in our lives. Michael has been super supportive in this endeavor since at the beginning I sliced off the tip of my right middle finger with the mandolin vegetable slicer I bought, he's been my sous chef every day and is very skilled with a knife.