raw quiche koali

Photo Koali Pontual Thorne

As Hilloah mentioned, many of us are either going raw for the first time, or (as in my case), finding a way to be mostly raw while still enjoying certain condiments that keep me that way. I remember the first time I went raw–I was at The Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico and was amazed that some of the people who worked there would sometimes go out for beans and rice, or some other such scandalous food! At the time, I was on the straight and narrow and simply shocked that anyone with access to the cleansing diet would consider anything else. At the end of our two week cleansing regime we had the equivalent of a gourmet raw meal and I woke up the next morning with mucuous in my eyes. The body adapts quickly to a clean diet.

mango tree II

Another time when I visited my friend Jeffree in Puerto Rico (he was super raw and lived in a tree house made of two Mango trees that intertwined), we decided after weeks of raw to roast some Jackfruit in the coals of a fire down by the river. Boy, was that some of the best cooked food I’ve ever tasted. Amazing how the tastebuds are titillated by simple foods when not overstimulated. jackfruit

Well, times have changed, and I’ve learned that for myself, it is sometimes more rewarding to be a little more lenient and enjoy raw foods even more that way. For instance, this morning after a delicious smoothie of bananas, blackberries, blueberries, oranges, celery, chia, and spirulina, I had some “raw” bread with almond cheese, and just for a treat, I put cured black olives and roasted tomatoes on top. The roasted tomatoes were from the local market, and were so delicious. I enjoyed my raw snack even more than I might have with a fresh tomato slice. I don’t know that I’ll ever choose to be “radically raw” again, even though it feels good. I might just like to relax and enjoy life without too much judgement. And that’s how we are at Living Light. We honor everyone on their path, no matter where they are.