So, I got all these gorgeous seeds online and decided to grow some sprouts. I did everything as directed and had beautiful budded beauties by day 5, as expected. I sprinkled a few teaspoons on a salad and quaffed down a very tasty lunch. Then, an hour later, it hit and it hit hard - fever, sweats, intense stomach pains, and liquid coming out of all orifices. Only lasted as long as my body needed to get rid of the sprouts. This was about 3 weeks ago, and the experience actually did not put me off sprouts. I figured I’d let in some bacteria somehow into the mix.

Last week, however, I was thrilled to find that my grocer sold sprouted chickpeas. Armed with a raw humus recipe with sprouted chickpeas, I whipped up a batch. It was not only terrible-tasting, but I got a terrible feeling in my tummy once more. These sprouts were fresh, and my roommate not only found the hummus palatable, but didn’t experience any discomfort whatsoever.

This is leading me to believe that the problem is perhaps not with the sprouts, but with me. When I think about the past, it makes sense: In 1999 I ate some mung bean sprouts that were indeed not good. I got sick, but not just the 24-hour food poisoning type of sick. I was actually unwell for a year. It was at the end of that year that a friend recommend I fast. I did so for 2 weeks and was completely healed (yeah, that’s why I am such a big believer in fasting!). What I think is that my body has a memory, and it remembers sprouts - in a violently negative way. Does this sound outrageous? Well, I do wish it weren’t true, as I do like sprouts for the most part, and they are healthy! I really have had few good experiences with them in recent years though. (Yeah, my tummy has not been pleased with me on earlier occasions as well….)

In any case, I think I will be holding on the sprouts, thank you, in the future.

I wanted to fast the whole month of January, but I ended up getting sick of not eating on the 28, and dug into the gorgeous pomello that was waiting in my fridge. It didn’t help that my roommate had broken his fast days earlier! Since then, overall, I’ve been doing really well, staying very organic, unprocessed, vegan, and although far from 100%, very fresh-foody indeed!

Two types of cooked food I have been enjoying without guilt are 1) my root veggie and bean/lentil stew, which, although indeed slightly difficult to digest, is very nourishing, and 2) Japanese style kimchi nabe, using all organic goodies which have been rather expensive, but well worth it. These two recipes been eaten every second day or so since I broke my fast. I am now back into the morning green smoothies, salads, and yes! Low and behold: a few dehydrator recipes: flax crackers and raw cookies! Yum! The down side is that all these nuts and seeds are indeed high in fat. MUST be careful. I am also into making raw chocolates, what with Valentine’s day coming and all. On the upside, I’ve been cycling every day, hoping to keep the calories at bay.

I think my calorie management efforts are working actually. I recently got a bit of software for my iphone called loseit, which I highly recommend. You input your food and exercise and it gives you a nutritional breakdown. It’s also easy to use!

It’s been months and months since my last entry! How time flies. It is already 2010, and I can’t believe fall just disappeared. My raw food journey went back a notch, to say the least, but I did hang on to those morning green smoothies. I am glad I did!

I have moved house and it feels great to have started off the New Year in a new home. I’ve downsized quite a bit, so it’s been a challenge to fit everything where it belongs. I am currently on day 7 of what will hopefully be a 3-week fast. Many people say winter is a bad time to fast; it’s better to do so during the change of seasons or when it’s warm in the summer. But psychologically, I am liking having day one of my fast as the first day of the new year. I have ordered a shipment of herbs from “Blessed Herbs.” In the meantime, I am using leftover psyllium husk blended powder to make me feel full. I take it with apple juice, diluted, and drink lots of water during the day.

It hasn’t been a perfect fast so far (no surprises). I’ve been out for soy lattes on a couple of occasions. Caffeine, along with meat, tobacco, alchohol and refined sugar and salt, is on the top of the list of no-no’s for not only fasting, but for life! STILL not ready to part with my soy lattes…. Even if they did have decaf, coffee is still high acidic…

I also started off day 1 with a few solids - just some mikan, papaya, and kinkan fruit that would go over during the course of the fast if not consumed. I HATE to waste good, healthy, delicious, and in Japan, also very expensive food!

My roommate is also giving the fast a go, though he complains of hunger more than I, and isn’t “blessed” with reserves of fat deposits like yours truly.

Neither of us has experienced any hard core healing crisis or general lack of welbeing yet, aside from the hunger. Umm, wait, I did feel a tad feverish yesterday, and took a 2-hour nap after work… I’ll try to keep writing over the course of the fast.

It’s been an interesting week with a lot of technical issues: My recipe blog has literally “disappeared,” first of all. It’s simply not there. All the files have disappeared. I am dumbfounded. I think it happened when I was backing up. Pressed the wrong button? Tears have shed, as I’ve put hundreds of hours into the thing. I hadn’t backed up in a while, so I can only hope that I can salvage some of it…

The other deal is that I started online classes with an eikaiwa school. That’s how desperate I am for income! Not to diss the industry, but… well, let’s be honest, motives are profit-oriented only, meaning they give the student what they want, which is not necessarily what they need or in their best interests. There is also a large margin between what’s charged to the student and what’s received by the teacher. Let’s hear it for capitalism! I am not being entirely sarcastic, please note.

So, anyway, the classes are interesting, and the technology is good, but when something goes wrong online, it can be stressful… Or at least, I get stressed. It is also disconcerting if the student can see you but you cannot see them. I had skype on in the background for tech support and some creep rang me up in the middle of a lesson. Didn’t have the settings on right, obviously…

And no, it has NOT been a good idea to stop my daily blogs. I have not only gone to less that 50% raw, but I’ve added breads on an almost regular basis, and due to PMS have succumbed to processed chocolate. It could be worse, but no, I am not proud of myself. I’ve been a bit busy and this has not helped, but it’s not excuse. I ate some today.

Today I had:

green smoothie
cauliflower with nutritional yeast & potato
genmai onigiri with natto
snickers bar
red wine

A busy day at work! I ended up snacking on a few more senbei than a should have. I’d better watch that I don’t relapse into previous at-work munching habits.

Today I had:

green smoothie
green salad
senbei
banana
chai tea
chestnuts
red wine

I had to go into town to sign the contract for my new part-time temp job today. I’ll be coaching over the Net. It’s doesn’t pay well, but it sure helps, and promises to be interesting. If it turns out not to be, it’s only for a few months anyway. Eating on the road raw proved easy, but I had cooked grains when I got back.

Well, I’ve decided that, at the beginning of this second week of my 7th month on a mostly raw food diet, that I am ready to stop blogging on a daily basis. I’m going to give it a go and see what happens. My biggest fear is that without the accountability to myself, I will stop paying attention to what I am eating. It may happen, it may not. It’s time for a test!

See you need week or so.

Today I had:

green smoothie
banana
mini oranges
green salad
green tea
nori rolls
whole grain bread
olives and tomatoes
red wine

Had an exhausting day helping students learn the Edublogs.org and twitter.com systems. Neither is terribly complex, but even with Japanese written and oral feedback, some students had difficulty. I worked through lunch of course, but by the end of the day, 2 classes had successfully signed up and had all understood the homework (I would like to think, anyway!)

Today I had:

green smoothie
fruit mush
senbei crackers
tea
2 containers of natto
mikan (small oranges)
chestnuts
green salad
red wine
soba noodles with seaweed

First full day at one of my schools. Was exhausted when I got home and had to nap! After a private lesson on some file organization, the day ended rather abruptly.

Today I had:

green smoothie
leftover cauliflower couscous
leftover avocado lemon pudding
raw spaghetti with tomatoes
apple juice
red wine
pear
dates

Another day at the office. Still trying to figure out the system for my new website. This blog might be moving to a new place later rather than sooner….

Today I had:

green smoothie
Trine’s fruit mush (blended fruit, essentially)
red wine
miso soup
carrots and humus
soy sauce and brown rice with alfalfa
raw chocolate balls
red wine

Today I chowed:

green smoothie
broccolli and humus (the “real” stuff)
raw chocolate balls
nori rolls with saurkraut and all sorts of veggies
oranges
banana
onigiri

Today I had:

banana ice cream with walnuts
apple juice
green smoothie
green salad
nori rolls with leftover veggies
red wine
bowl of olives
nori sheets

It was a busy but successful first day of classes (I’ve been blessed with delightful students this term at this particular university), and (but) a colleague and I went out for dinner afterward, and it was difficult to stay raw. Definitely stayed vegan, mind.

Today I had:

green smoothie
chestunuts
eda mame
citrus avocado pudding
variety of salads
gobo and fries
tomato pizza-like thing
red wine
G&T

I had a busy day at a surprisingly empty office today preparing for the first day of classes tomorrow. I had a productive day, and an enjoyable day of eating day, too.

Today I had:

green smoothie
papaya
lime-avocado pudding
Italian salad
red wine
chestnuts
oranges

I went into town today to have dinner at a vegan restaurant just off Omotesando Street that I’d been dying to try- the Brown Rice Café. The food was awesome, as was the organic beer, which was more like a mead. Cooked? Yes. Unhealthy? No. The other 2 classes of wine and gobo chips we had at Pronto were less than desirable though. I really love Aoyama! A great evening with great company.

Today I had:

green smoothie
fruit mush
steamed veggies, brown rice, miso soup
beer
red wine
burdock root chips