Three weeks ago, I plunged into a raw food diet as a personal experiment. A gal on a mission to find inner and outer beauty, I did some research and the raw food diet just seemed very logical to me for both your body and skin.

I wrote a little bit here about the diet as a preface to my green smoothie post. Living food is packed full of nutrients to keep hunger pangs away, detox your body, and it can help you lose weight. I had to try it and there is nothing gimmicky about it because it’s about eating fresh food.

Now, my first week was your typical honeymoon: I unearthed recipes, read blogs, watched cooking demos, listened to raw vegan radio, and I relished the fresh taste of pure fruit and vegetables. I was in love and I had a special verve coursing through my veins.

Here are some of the recipes I tried and they will definitely be a repeat on my dining table.

Raw muesli: hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, banana, strawberries, blueberries, dried coconut shavings, drizzled with almond milk.

Raw chocolate smoothie: hazelnut milk with frozen banana, cocoa powder, dates, vanilla extract. The best chocolate fix a girl could get without the guilt.

Raw marinated vegetables: broccoli florets, zucchini, tomatoes, leeks, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. You have to leave this to stand for a few hours to taste the full zest of this dish. It’s a bit sour but I poured a little dressing or raw cheese (macadamia, cashew, garlic, salt, lemon juice) or mayo to soften the bite.

Raw marinated mushrooms: White button mushrooms in soy sauce and olive oil.

My first attempt at a raw mushroom pizza: Portobello mushroom topped with raw cheese, capsicum, basil leaves, oilves, with some marinated veggies on the side, paired with raw mayo (macadamia, pine nuts, lemon juice, salt). Mmmm, totally stupendous. I could do without bread with portobello mushrooms as a replacement.

Grapefruit and avocado salad with tomatoes and raw cheese mixed in.

My version of a margherita pizza: Portobello mushroom with tomatoes, raw mayo, olives, and a chunky almond/veggie paste made by accident (more on that later…).

Apple cashew smoothie with coconut oil and vanilla extract.

I felt like I was moving on clean fuel during that first week. I took the weekend to cut out caffeine so I was fine when Monday rolled around. My stomach also didn’t have the familiar strain of taking in dairy, especially since I’m lactose-intolerant. These nut milks are god’s gift to those who cannot abide cow’s milk — almonds, in particular, are high in calcium.

The second week was challenging because I was repeating recipes and getting a little desperate for variety. So I searched the Internet and found a raw pumpkin pie recipe. It was a disaster from the start. I didn’t have half the ingredients and I never liked pumpkin in the first place but some bloggers do have the power of persuasion from their own experiences.

Let the picture speak for itself:

It was truly a bowl of orange horror and raw pumpkin is absolutely disgusting.

I tried making mock tuna, but that too, was a kitchen tragedy. Instead of orange or pinkish like it should’ve looked, it came out green. I probably put in more celery and basil that I should’ve, as opposed to almonds and carrots. In any case, the end result was a very sandy, herby paste, which I’ve half-heartedly consumed with salads or the mushroom pizza above. I’ll probably bin it soon!

At the end of three weeks, my conclusion is it’s hard to go raw, but I do feel good eating more raw vegetables and fruit. I used to snack on salted nuts and cheese, so I found the raw smoothies to be excellent replacements when small hunger pangs strike.

The other experience is I don’t stick to set times to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I just eat whenever I’m hungry and in small amounts. The hunger I experience is less edgy than when I was consuming a “balanced” diet of meat, carbs, and veggies.

Lest you think I’ve switched from being an omnivore to a raw vegan overnight, I’ll like to clarify I did not. I eat more fish and bits of chicken, eggs, some soup, but no big hunks of pork and beef. I’m raw most of the day till dinner time — this kind of made me feel bummed out a little but I decided that 50-50 or even 60-40 raw versus cooked is pretty good for now. It’s impossible to change a lifetime of habits within one short month.

Is my skin clearer? Not really. I broke out a little bit but I understand that it’s part of the detox process, which can last 3 to 4 weeks. I’m still waiting for more radiance in that department but it’s way too soon to have any real effect. I do feel I have more energy without the need of stimulants and I sleep much better at night.

Stayed tuned for more updates of my raw journey…

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