Busy bees!

Hi everyone!

This week is dead week (which really means write a shit ton of papers week) and next week is finals. I can't speak for Hill and Shana, but I'll be taking a couple weeks off from blogging, to get my stuff done!! After that.... I'll be RAW for the SUMMER and beyond!!!!!

Can't wait until then.
Peace and love,
Sam

Inspiration

Well, it's been a great week! I've had a successful week and a half eating raw, and I feel ready to keep going! I've only had a couple cravings, but they were mostly out of boredom... which I realized, so I just told myself that the reason I wanted to have something cooked was because I was bored, not because it would help my health in any way. That helped me avoid "cheating" and maintain my raw lifestyle.

I have had an enormous amount of inspiration lately. Inspiration to stay raw, inspiration to read a lot of books this summer, inspiration to go outside and go for walks..... but mainly, due to a couple factors (one of which is definitely my raw foods life!), inspiration to do something with my degree. The past few months, I have felt that perhaps I didn't really want to be a teacher. I thought that I might go to graduate school or find a job editing, or just find some health food store to work in for a few years. I have been feeling lethargic and unoptimistic about my future, mostly because I haven't been inspired to feel anything else.

This weekend was the final preparatory stage in my student teaching process. I am going to be student teaching on the Navajo Reservation in the spring, and I've been preparing for it for two semesters! Our final workshop was great because we found out our placements and our placement partners. I have a great partner, and I found out I'm going to be placed in Piñon, AZ, at the high school of the same name (Go Eagles!). Piñon is known as the city where the pavement ends and the West begins, and is about halfway between the most remote and the most cosmopolitan areas of the Reservation. The experiences I've had in preparing for this adventure, especially the workshop, have really changed my outlook on life (and I suspect that actually student teaching will do the same!).



I've discovered that I do want to teach... I want to teach in developing countries. I might stay on the Rez for a year or two after (hopefully!) getting a job there, then I want to maybe join the Peace Corps or find another non-profit organization that specializes in education... then I can go to India and Africa and teach English... that's my dream!

It's wonderful to move from a place of boredom into a place of serious optimism and excitement. I have no doubt that raw foods have helped me reach this place, even in the short amount of time I've eaten them. I haven't felt this good in a long time... it's nice to feel like myself again.

Beautiful Food

Raw food is just so pretty! This is what I ate today. Click it to see it full-sized!


A salad of romaine, half an avocado, a little red onion, and oil & balsamic. It was delicious, and it made me feel great!!

I had orientation for my new job at Bloomingfoods today. Cooking is going to be so fun! The people there are really nice, too, of course. Hooray!!!

Stayin' strong after a week raw...
Peace and love!
Sam

Wow!

Yet another blog post from me!!! First off, I'd like to announce my newly acquired position as deli cook at Bloomingfoods on 3rd St. in Bloomington, Indiana!!

I'm having a wonderful day. I decided last night that I would eat raw today... it's really phenomenal.

After my first shift at work I had a salad with carrots, cabbage, zucchini, celery, green pepper, raisins, alfalfa, broccoli, and oil & vinegar. I also had a cucumber/tomato/onion salad with oil & vinegar, as well as a banana, a few grapes, and a couple pieces of canteloupe.

I dashed over to Bloomingfoods after calling my mom to wish her happy Easter. I grabbed half a pound of banana chips, some raw trail mix (the gogi/cacao stuff!), some dates, a couple apples, carrots, and kiwi. Hillary called and said that she and Shana were on their way over to Bloomingfoods, too! That was a lovely surprise. I sat and ate with them for a bit and then returned home.... to finally try out my new juicer!!!

I learned how to work the juicer and juiced two carrots, two apples, and about 1/4 cup melon, and half a dozen or so very large purple grapes. I have to say, the juice was absolutely AMAZING. I haven't ever had a better glass of juice in my life, hands down. Here's a pic of me enjoying the lovely concoction! Go make some, if you can!!

Drinking that juice certainly made me believe that I could embark on a long-term juice fast sometime in my lifetime... hopefully later this year, if things go well in the summer! I can undoubtedly try a short-term juice fast sometime soon. Mmmm!

Peace and love,
Sam

PS- "Freedom can never be reached by the weak. Throw away all weakness. Tell your body that it is strong, tell your mind that it is strong, and have unbounded faith and hope in yourself." -Swami Vivekananda

Fabulous Friday

Hi, everyone!

Yesterday was very fun. I fasted on distilled water until late afternoon, even throughout my interview at Bloomingfoods! Bloomingfoods, our local co-op grocery store, is hiring part-time cooks to work on the hot/salad bar and grab-n-go items. I'm fairly certain I'll get the job, which is absolutely fantastic!

After my interview, I headed over to Shana and Hillary's place. Hillary came home from work, we talked for a bit, then headed over to Bloomingfoods. I broke my fast with a piece of absolutely delightful red pear that was being offered as a sample at the store. We then sampled strawberrries, pineapple, and some sort of tangering hybrid. It was delicious! The most exciting part of the trip was the raw trail mix. This trail mix had dried goji berries and cacao nibs in it, both of which I hadn't ever tried before. They were both absolutely delicious!

We had (vegan) Indian cuisine at Bombay House for dinner, then went back to Bloomingfoods for dessert. More trail mix for me!!! That's three trips in one day to my favorite place in town!

Working there over the summer should hopefully help me stay raw and keep motivated. I've been thinking a lot about my motivation lately. I think I'm going to watch a raw video on YouTube each morning after I wake up, which will hopefully keep me positive and excited about eating raw. Matt Monarch's feature on the Raw Food TV Spot is particularly enjoyable and uplifting:



It just makes me smile!
Peace and love,
Sam

Water and Me

Firstly, I'm feeling much better. I won't apologize for that last post, but I will say that I'm a little disappointed in myself for letting my PMS-related emotions get the best of me. We had a lovely Passover Seder two nights ago, and I performed a ritual act to rid my life of my self-judgmental attitudes. Let's do it!

"Now we must consider when to drink. Drink only when really thirsty, and never drink during a meal or directly afterwards. If you must drink near mealtime, it is suggested that you drink at least thirty minutes before eating or two hours after eating. When drinking with meals, we often have the tendency to swallow food that is only partially masticated. In addition, the water will hinder the process of digestion by diluting the digestive juices. Of course undigested or partially digested food is toxic and cannot be assimilated." excerpt from Raw Foods Explained

Raw Foods Explained also discusses what type of water to drink. Specifically, it discusses the dangers of tap water and the benefits of purer forms of water, expecially distilled water. Question: why do we not drink distilled water ourselves, when we are so keen on giving it to pets, particularly fish? We need water as much as a fish does, and the fact that we use water in a different way than fish does not negate its essential role in our lives and bodies. Raw Foods Explained also says:

"Our body is about 60-70% water; fruits are typically 80-90% water! Vegetables are high in water content, too. If we eat an abundance of fresh raw fruits, including melons in the hot seasons, little or no water for drinking will be needed!"

I'm off to eat my bowl full of broccoli, without water. I'll have some this afternoon!

I'd be interested to see how cost-effective buying a water distiller is in the long-run (compared to buying pre-distilled water at a grocery store). For now I'll buy more distilled water, but, hopefully over the summer I can buy a distiller myself.

Much love and peace!
Sam