It’s the last day of my second month. Wow, though being vegetarian has always been easy for me, I can’t believe I’ve had no dairy, rice, pasta, bread, or processed food in that long! Yes, I’ve had the odd cooked veggie, and I’ve had plenty of alcohol (however preservative free and/or organic), and the occasional bit hidden salt or sugar in some restaurant salad dressing or whatnot. But for the most part, I think I’ve been doing a fairly good job so far.

When I pass Starbucks, see world cheeses in the import store, or smell fresh-baked bread from he bakery, yeah, sure, I lament, but it’s getting easier. I’m almost, but not quite, ready to say that I’m a raw foodist. Like I said in my “ABOUT” page though, I hate labels and the connotations that come with them. I’m sure I will be allowing myself the occasional slip, whether a healthy baked satsuma potato or a dare I say a slice of pizza (?) - Don’t want to do that though!

As I may have mentioned before, I think I have to lighten up on the fats. I haven’t lost weight this month, as far as I know - I don’t have a scale, but I find that the fit of my clothes is very telling. I certainly have not gained, though. And trust me, I do not go hungry!

By biggest savior in the cravings department has been my banana ice cream - just a chopped up, frozen banana whipped with cacao power, chopped dates, and walnuts. This meets all my sweet-tooth needs. Beats real cream and processed chocolate any day. Yes, I know, not low in calories or fat, and hardly good food-combining, but way better than the crap I used to inhale.

That new pair of Birkenstocks I picked up at Costco yesterday let me down, big time. Blisters on the tops of my feets, and really sore bottoms. Why is it I always have such difficulties finding good shoes! Umm, that doesn’t seem like a statement that will allow the law of attraction to work for me. Revision: “With a little effort, I will find ideal shoes!”

Speaking of the law of attraction, I was thinking just before logging on to my Mac this evening that I really have to work at getting some income coming in. I had just received my tax for 2009, and it will be pretty much impossible to pay unless I get more money coming in. (The taxes are based on last year’s salary, when I was working 3-4 times the amount and got just over twice the salary.) I open my mail box, and, low and behold, one direct job ofter and another posting! Hopes are high! Rather like working just 3 days a week, mind. Umm, must enjoy while it lasts!

Today I had:

green smoothie
raisens
dried mango (no crap in it!)
leftover cauliflower salad
cherries
raw mushooms, bean sprouts, peppers and humus (I really should try another dip!)
cacao banana ice cream
MonaVie

I wrote a whole bunch of BS here a little while ago, but it all was lost due to a bleep in my internet connection. I hate it when that happens. The main thing I wanted to say about today was my discovery that Costco sell raw vanilla bean pods. Haven’t opened the tube all day - just been stiffing at the tube while doing work. Smells like a lovely, sweet, smokey tobacco!

Today I had:

green smoothie (apple, banana, spinach, squirt of agave & lots of water)
papaya
cauliflower salad
humus with orange peppers, cucumber, string beans, cauliflower
raisens
mangosteen
cheeries
raw radish (western style)

June arrives tomorrow. Amazing how time flies! It rained all day today, and the raw food potluck I was supposed to be attending in Yoyogi Park was canceled. Bummer, but I enjoyed surfing for raw food sites online all afternoon instead. Yeah, I know, I should be doing some work instead…

I did do a bit of “cooking” though - my usual fair, though I did try a new version of Italian tomato sauce: I added green onions, basil, soaked, sun-dried tomatoes, and dates. What an improvement to just the red peppers, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil! In fact, I reckon you could skip the oil. I do like a little sea salt, mind.

My mini Cuisinart processor overheated after making a bigger-than-normal batch of ice cream. I thought that was it for the little guy, and it would have made the second appliance that frozen bananas have killed this month alone, but thankfully after a little rest, the little chopper powered up!

Today I ate:

green smoothie
cauliflower salad
cabbage salad
zucchini pasta and tomato sauce
banana cocoa walnut ice cream

The Meatrix has been online for while now, but even for those who have seen it, it still provides and laugh and reinforces what a lot of us already know. Enjoy:

Today I made a really awesome batch of humus, using sprouts for once, and also my first successful batch of raw chocolates, using simply Artisana’s Raw Vegan Amazon Bliss (coconut butter with supefoods such as acai, yakon, cacao nibs,and goji berries) melted slowly via hot water beneath a class bowl, to which I added cacao powder, and agave syrup. I think I used equal portions of each. I didn’t blend it as well as I could, so after I took the (frozen) little pieces out the the heart mold I bought last week, I could see where the coconut fat had clustered. Tasted pretty darned yummy regardless of appearance! Very rich, but I still managed to eat all of them. Ummm, and I wonder why I am not losing weight. I am definitely eating too high a percentage of fat in my raw diet! Anyway, my roommate was almost convinced that my chocolates were “professional.”

Today I had:

melon
MonaVie (half the bottle!)
tomato, avocado and greens with oil and balsamic
raw button mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower with humus
raw chocolates

Fast talking, super enthusiastic Arnold and a successful client rave about losing weight with raw food:

OK, I should already know this by now, but it is imperative for a raw foodist to always carry emergency stock in her/his bag when out for a whole day. Problem is, you never know when you will be out for a whole day!  I packed leftover cauliflower salad and some fresh fruit for later on after lunch at work, but I was invited by my old students to hit the town (if you want to call Nagayama station a “town”) for an evening of excess straight after work, and of course I accepted. I had intended to shop (which I did actually do with great success beforehand - please read on) but I was famished by evening and ended up ordering a grand total of 6 raw salads, but I allowed the toppings of fried burdock root and fried lotus root to pass through my lips and…. I loved it! As I did the wine. Resistance becomes futile when surrounded by the borg; beginning raw foodists should avoid surrounding themselves with temptation by not letting themselves go hungry and then dining out with…. gasp, beer-slopping, fried food-eating carnivores (not that the meat part tempts me).

However, the great wonder of the evening was my little shopping expedition beforehand- I discovered that Nagayama’s Seiyu store has really made some phenomenal changes. I found a fruit, nut, and sembei store that sells raw peanuts, and an organic store that sell raw shouyu and raw miso. Soy sauce and miso are omnipresent in Japan, but do you know how long I’ve searched for the real macoy, raw stuff? Very happy! Cost a fricken’ fortune, mind!

After returning back to my station on the late train, tonight was the first night I was actually tempted to buy a helping of McDonald’s fries since getting on this raw food gig. With clenched fists I passed the tacky franchise and made it home. No sooner had I entered my apartment than my bag of raw peanuts ripped open, almost on their own accord. I don’t remember tasting anything as delicious and completely satisfying as a simple bag of peanuts. It must be PMS. No other explanation. But can I just say: God in her divinity has really and truly blessed us by dreaming up THE PEANUT. Though I do wish there weren’t that horrendous amount of calories and fat involved, especially considering the quantity I have just now finished ingesting….

Today I had:

green smoothies
cauliflower salad
kiwi and lichies
daikon salad
fried burdock and lotus root sald
sesame cucumber salad
kimuchi
peanuts (what, seemingly 2 cups worth!)
white wine (organic and preservative-free, of course!)

Here’s a goodie I found earlier on today: Storm of www.thegardendiet.com has this video comparing the cooked and the raw:

I spent WAY too much time surfing the NET today instead of getting work done. Amazing how we procrastinate until the very last minute. I am being followed by and am following one Ms. Leah Salmon on Twitter now, who has a great little website, on which I discovered the following great wake-up advice:

Today I had:

papaya
leftover Asian slaw
leftover humus with broccoli, button mushrooms, and bean sprouts
leftover cauliflower salad
cacao and banana ice cream
wine

I taught a colleague and his wife their first French pronunciation class today. As a non-native speaker of French, I hardly feel qualified to instruct pronunciation (in particular!) but then I remember that a) my spoken French actually isn’t half that bad, having been born and raised in Quebec - though it has deteriorated having lived in Japan all these years b) I must recall where I am living: there are people teaching English here that can barely hold a conversation (in English), albeit mostly in the countryside. In any case, I quite enjoyed it!

I brought a grocery store salad mix to work today (with added dark greens, tomatoes, and dressing), but I was amazed at how quickly it browned. Still totally edible, but remind me to avoid iceberg lettuce and other relatively nutrient-deficient leaves! Thank goodness my dressing rocked!

Today I had:

green smoothie

(greens, banana, berries, honey. My smoothies never cease to illicit questions and awe from my morning class students- yes, I bring my giant green watery mush to class!)

mixed salad with honey mustard dressing
banana
Asian salad with honey, sesame, apple cider vinegar, soy sauce and olive oil
cauliflower olive mix
humus (made with sprouts and miso!) and raw broccoli
frozen banana ice cream (with coconut butter, cacao powder, and coconut flakes- this was a winner!)
white wine (for a change- I think my teeth are permanently purple!)