ANDREW AND-RAW

new blog

2008-12-08T15:08:00.001Z

In case you're reading this I've started a new (and possibly more random) blog. It's at http://raw-reality.blogspot.com.

See you there.

I haven't bloggered off!

2008-09-10T14:59:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post to apologise to the few followers of my blog that are out there for the lack of any activity for the last few weeks. It's precisely because there hasn't been a lack of activity in my life that I haven't found time to update for a while.

I fully intend to get back on the blogging track soon. Rest assured that my almost totally raw regime has continued; where it hasn't been totally raw there have been some interesting observations. More of that once I have more time... (I'm such a tease!)

Day 20 - Wednesday's Child is Full of (W)Eau

2008-08-20T21:21:00.001+01:00

Have drunk loads of water today as I've been feeling really thirsty, which is odd as I have had my usual litre-and-a-half. I wonder if I've used more than my usual consumption to flush out the nasties of the last few days? Very glad I have access to a water ioniser so that I can have lovely alkaline water to drink!

A lovely, 100% raw day today, the only indulgence being some raw sheeps' cheese on raw (dehydrated) bread.

Also managed to squeeze in a trip to the gym, which I should have done at the weekend. Felt really energetic, which was unexpected, and did more than usual on the upper body exercises, though worse than usual on the running. Although my heart rate and breathing were fine, I was really wheezy after about a mile. As an ex-smoker this may be a bit of detoxing. If it is, I hope this phase is over soon, not only for me but for the benefit of the others on the adjacent treadmills who were wondering why the bloke they were running next to sounded like an accordion when he got off the machine.

Been home from the gym for an hour now. Just a short while ago I had a sudden urge to cough and out came a small lump of phlegm. Isn't detox lovely?

Day 19 - Back to the Future

2008-08-19T23:01:00.001+01:00

I am knocking my cooked food experiment on the head. To be honest, I think my brief dalliance with the dark side has sufficiently served to confirm what I knew already - my body no longer enjoys cooked foods, especially meat.

Had I continued I would have had a curry today, if only to title today's blog entry 'Ruby Tuesday', even if that would only make sense to someone with a basic knowledge of rhyming slang (for the uninitiated, Ruby Murray = curry). The future is raw, and I'm going back to the future!

A green smoothie and berries for breakfast, my usual fruity munchies through the morning, a lovely salad lunch, seeds and nuts in the afternoon, more salad in the evening.

Whilst I still feel a little low on energy reserves I'm aware of how my emotional mood has changed. I feel alive in that respect again. There's been more rain today, but my feelings about that couldn't be more different to yesterday. Yesterday I hated the rain; it was making for a miserable summer, and getting me down. Today the rain is a vibrant energy force from the heavens and I feel like running outside naked and absorbing its freshness and power through my skin as it washes over me, not that I have any intention of actually doing so; it's not the sort of thing you could get away with in London. I have these odd 'get in touch with nature' ideas every now and then - perhaps I should see someone about that...

I certainly feel more positive, and my bowel seems to have found its watch and is kicking into action at its previous time.

At the time of writing I really don't feel that I want to have anything cooked again, except perhaps a bean stew which is nice and fibrous. Hopefully this means that in both a physical and mental sense, I've well and truly got traditional cooked food out of my system.

Day 18 - Blue Monday

2008-08-18T20:52:00.000+01:00

A short post today. I felt awful this morning; totally worn out, like I'd been engaged in some physical activity all weekend. I supposed my insides were, and far more than usual having been subjected to foods it thought were consigned to memory.

My mood has been foul today. I've felt really edgy emotionally, and I don't think it would have take nmuch for me to end up having a vociferous argument with someone. Thankfully that circumstance hasn't arisen today, though I've found myself being unusually sarcastic and snappy with some people in my less tolerant moments; it's probably down to their own patience that I haven't been rude.

Rain. Lots of it today. I've always been fascinated by water, and despite the consequent inconvenience, found something wonderful about rainstorms. Today I have no time for them. This is a definite mood change.

Back on the raw food all day today, and now that the day is drawing to a close I feel a little less of a curmudgeon than I have all day. I shall be having an early night tonight because I feel more tired than usual. I hope that will help me to build up a few more reserves of energy.

Day 17 - Turkish Delight? Er, no....

2008-08-17T22:09:00.001+01:00

The experiment continues....

Well, I had my kebab last night. I deliberately picked a good Turkish restaurant fairly nearby from which I have had some delicious kebabs in the past; kebabs so good that no alcohol was required before eating them. Their doner kebabs are made of individual cuts of lamb as opposed to that manufactured reclaimed meat version that you see in so many takeaways, that looks like an elephant's leg on a spit.

In my carnivorous days lamb was probably my favourite meat, and since becoming almost wholly veggie it's been lamb dishes that have made my mouth water with anticipation more than any other. I fully expected that unlike the far more junky pizza I had, this kebab made on the premises would at least be flavoursome. I was wrong. It tasted okay, but nothing special. Now this may be because there's something changed in their recipe, but the place hasn't changed hands so that seems unlikely. I'm more and more convinced that my taste buds have just begun to relish different foodstuffs these days, that is to say, fresh, raw fruit and veg. They are no longer turned on by cooked meat.

I took some digestive enzymes afterwards (I'm happy to experiment but I don't want to give my body a nervous breakdown whilst doing so) and that left me feeling less stodgy than I did yesterday morning after the pizza. I'm also pleased to say that I had reason to use the loo this morning, although nature obviously overslept because she didn't call until two hours later than usual.

The more unpleasant after effect was the greasiness I felt in my mouth. I'd cleaned my teeth thoroughly and rinsed with (slightly) acid water, as is the norm, but I woke up feeling like I'd eaten another kebab during my sleep.

The other noticeable difference I have felt today compared to last week is a lack of energy. I had planned to visit the gym this weekend but that hasn't happened. I've been feeling a little grumpy and cantankerous, which isn't like me at all.

A late lunch at Planet Organic, and this time (apart from some very lightly steamed broccoli) a raw meal. I couldn't face anything more hot food today, so for my 'cooked' element I had a piece of carrot cake. It was a welcome relief from pizza and kebab, though I could envisage the stodge that it would become once it hit my stomach. More digestive enzymes on arriving home.

As I write this daily round up I'm feeling very listless. I've had plenty of sleep but I don't feel rested. I've not been exerting myself but I feel exhausted. I actually feel pretty irritable. I don't feel as in touch with my emotions as normal, and a little detached. This is after two cooked meals, and whilst I'm the first to concede that they weren't exactly healthy choices they were not atypical meals for people to have in this day and age. After only two days I really don't feel very good at all.

Day 16 - The Domino('s) Effect

2008-08-16T18:46:00.001+01:00

Well, I have to say that I was disappointed. In the bad old days I used to quite like a Domino's pizza. I ordered what used to be my usual, a large 'Full House'. I have to confess that there was a little part of me that was looking forward to this.

I've always been a fairly slim person but I used to be able to polish one of these off no problem. Last night, despite being hungry, I managed 10 of the 12 slices, and couldn't take any more. Previously unheard of, but I wasn't getting any real satisfaction from eating it. The consistency of the pizza was reassuringly familiar, but it seemed that my taste buds weren't getting their kicks from the artificial flavourings that they did in days of old. It's almost as if those taste receptors had switched themselves off. I don't know if that's actually the case, but it certainly seems that way.

I don't feel that I slept well at all; I woke feeling a bit washed out. Now that may also be because I went to bed in the early hours rather than the 10pm to 11pm timeslot that I normally hit the sack. Note to self: if you're going to conduct an experiment try and make sure it's a controlled environment. However, I've had a few similarly late nights/early mornings since going raw and I've not experienced the same degree of lethargy that hit me this morning.

At a more basic level - and I apologies for mixing food and toilet talk - I can normally almost set my watch by bowel movements. It's become a regular 6:30 am and 6:30 pm routine. This morning all I could feel was that someone was trying to make a plastercast of my intestine, it felt so clogged up. So, no morning visit to the loo at all.

Desperate for some goodness again I had melon for breakfast, and a dark green smoothie a little later in the morning. This helped restore my energy levels but I found myself still feeling a little listless. I didn't really feel like doing anything at all, and spent most of the day watching TV or sitting at my computer. I did have a small salad but to be honest I didn't really feel like eating.

This is all very fascinating. I've had fish and chips before now after a long time raw, and despite feeling a little worse the following morning it didn't make me feel like this. It's a little like a food hangover. Is this coincidental, or a direct result of the error of my ways?

A little more worryingly is the fact that I haven't needed to go to the loo for a 'number two' at all today. I don't want to try and force it - I expect my body to let me know when it's ready (and I hope that this isn't in the middle of the night). If I don't go tomorrow morning I shall have to find something to eat that has a more laxative effect.

Is this a valid experiment or am I just being a bloody idiot? Probably the latter. Especially as tonight I am going to have something I haven't had in an awfully long time. Something that I normally would only eat after a drink or three. From a proper restaurant, not one of those places that serves rubbish to late-night revellers. Tonight, I'm going to have a doner kebab.

With salad, obviously.

Day 15 - Cooked Guinea Pig

2008-08-15T17:22:00.002+01:00

Don't worry. No need to call the RSPCA. I am not planning to start barbecuing cuddly little pets. There's not enough meat on them anyway.

It occurred to me that although there are loads of people doing the 100 day challenge, many are doing it for their own personal reasons and to differing levels. I signed up for the Mostly Raw group, because I've never set out to be 100% raw anyway. My own reason for getting involved was to put myself to the test, not so much to see how raw I could be but to focus on my overall health and how it is affected by diet.

I consider myself very fortunate in that I don't have any particular health issues. I'm aware of how changes in my diet have affected my overall health in recent years, because looking back, I can't say that I didn't have health issues 10 years ago. Nothing had been diagnosed, but the foods I was consuming were typical of those that lead to so many of the illnesses commonly associated with diet - diabetes, heart disease, etc. That all seems so long ago, and going raw appears to have been the final piece of the jigsaw for me.

I have been mostly raw for quite some time - well over 90% for the past year. I have a natural curiosity and I'm beginning to wonder, what would it be like if I wasn't eating this way? Would it make a noticeable difference? What would be the most immediate signs? I already know that I don't feel great after a cooked meal anymore, but is that just because it''s so rare?

So, I'm going to do an experiment and be the guinea pig I referred to earlier. For the next few days I shall still be eating raw stuff and having my juices and smoothies, but I am going to intersperse these with some of the old comforting, convenient and frankly crap stuff that passes for food for so many people, and keep track of the effects, if any, on yours truly. I'm aware of the fact that this may appear to be some kind of cop-out from the challenge and that I'm trying to justify not sticking to raw foods. Well, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, whilst I may not share your opinion I shall defend to the death your right to hold it, even if it's obvious that you're just a cynical old bugger.

This challenge is about me, after all, as it is for everyone doing their own challenge; where we are a collective is in that we want to share our experiences and support for each other. I've been spouting what some brand as nonsense about raw food for a while to everyone that will listen, and quite a few who don't want to but who don't have the option. This is about proving to myself how I am what I eat; it's not that I'm not convinced, but it would be unscientific not to experiment just a little.

I hope that what I recount will be enlightening, and may even be of use to those for whom this raw way of life is new and for whom the temptations of the dark side are still strong.

I have had a fabulously good day food-wise today; berries and a green juice for breakfast, physalis and tomatoes mid-morning, a delicious salad for lunch, hemp seed and goji berries mid afternoon. Tonight will be phase one of my experiment of mixing good and evil. Tonight I am going to Dominos Pizza for the first time in about two years. Assuming my body doesn't die of toxic shock I shall report back tomorrow.

Day 14 - The Truth Is Out There

2008-08-14T21:49:00.005+01:00

An odd day today, due to the fact that for the past week I have been expecting to have the day off. Then earlier this week I found that I had to attend a meeting up in London. This meant going into work in the morning, but having to leave at 12 in order to get to the meeting for the 1.30 start time. Accordingly, I started eating my lunch at 11am. This seems to be becoming a regular event, and whilst I don't find it hard to do it does mean that by late afternoon I'm famished.

On the plus side, being in London meant that it was easy for me to pop along to the raw food event at Planet Organic in Fulham. I knew there'd be a few people there from my two regular raw sites (GI2MR and RawFu), and sure enough it was nice to meet a couple of my virtual friends in person. I only wish I'd had more time to spend there meeting more.

It was also nice to bump into someone who I had previously met during the week I spent at the Hippocrates Health Institute at Christmas last year, which was quite unexpected.

Internet communities are strange things. Seven or eight years ago I had a very dim view of them, and when I heard tales of people becoming friends (or even getting married) after meeting on the internet I thought that they were, to be frank, nutters. I was content using the internet and chatting on a forum of a music magazine. Then, one day, someone suggested that seeing as so many of us were in the London area (or at least, able to get there), why not all meet up for a drink. I was surprised to find that I was game, and a dozen or so people put their names down.

Come the day, however, I was more unsure. As I walked into the pub we'd chosen as our venue I was thinking, what the hell am I doing? What if everyone else is really nerdy? What if they're all geeks? Will I be the only normal one, or if they're all geeks, does that mean that I'm a geek?

After a few moments self-analysis I was fairly sure that I wasn't a geek, so I decided to reconnoitre the pub and try and identify the others (I had already decided not to arrive bang on the due time so as not to be the first). After a few minutes I couldn't spot anyone that I'd be determined to give a wide berth to, and identified a potential group at a large table. I was pleased to find they were almost all fairly normal, and my opinion of meeting up with people changed instantaneously. I still wouldn't marry any of them, mind you, not least because they were all blokes and I'm not that way inclined.

Consequently, I was quite looking forward to meeting a few fellow raw fooders, and was able to have (albeit brief) chats with Anastasia and Valine, already friends courtesy of the Web 2.0 phenomenon that is social networking, and hopefully to become moreso in real life. Whatever real life is. It's also reassuring that real people exist who are committed to the ideal of a raw way of life. It's nice to be able to discuss what you're going to eat without people looking at you like you've escaped from Roswell.

I can't wait now until the 30th when there'll be more time to meet more people and have a good old chinwag about our experiences. The truth is out there. We are not alone. An any other sci-fi movie tagline you think is appropriate.

Day 13 - Unlucky for some, maybe, but not me!

2008-08-14T11:36:00.000+01:00

Day 13 - Unlucky for Some
Not the best of days. Lots of pressure and tight deadlines to meet at work. Luckily I prepared my lunch and snacks before I left home.

A couple of years ago at the place where I used to work I would buy lunch out, even though most times it wouldn't be organic which was an ideal I tried to maintain. I would also buy a bar of chocolate and probably a pack of potato crisps every day, so I was doing a pretty good job of countering all the benefits of eating organic with my habits during office hours.

I've been working at my current place for almost a year now, and I only recently found out that there's a snack machine downstairs, full of all the goodies I used to enjoy. I was really pleased to find that I didn't even feel a twinge of curiosity to find out what was in it. I'm quite proud of myself for that.

Anyway, back to work. There was so much to do that I ended up working late. After my 8 o'clock cut-off-for-eating point, in fact. Thankfully I'd had quite a bit of food over the course of the day - my habit is to graze all day with a large lunch plonked in the middle - and so I wasn't that hungry. That's not to say the temptation to stop off for a pizza on the way home wasn't there, but I resisted.

The further I get into this challenge the less inclined I am to find solace in non-raw foods even, it appears, when I'm a bit stressed. i hope that this is the way things stay.

Day 12 - Snow White, Sleepy and Grumpy

2008-08-12T19:27:00.000+01:00

Really tired today. One of the knock-on effects of being 100% raw has been a bout of insomnia. For the last few nights, whilst I've had no trouble finding my way to the land of Nod I''ve returned early after about 3 or 4 hours and been unable to get back. Mind you, I've been through similar detox symptoms before so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it! (lol)

Another perfectly raw day with the usual breakfast and lunch routine. As a snack I had some plantain chips which we've made in the dehydrator. Sprinkled with chilli and a tiny amount of lemon juice, and they are gorgeous!!! Much better than the fried version you get in a pack.

An early night for me tonight, and here's hoping for a good night's sleep.

Day 11 - Grey Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2008-08-12T06:47:00.007+01:00

I must admit that keeping a diary of what you're eating is not the most exciting thing in the world to do; I mean, I enjoy doing it but I'm sure it doesn't make for the most exciting reading, especially as my main meal (my lunch) has the same basic ingredients every day. Suffice to say that it's still wheatgrass, green juice, berries and black grapes for breakfast, salad for lunch, and yesterday evening (I'm writing this on day 12) I had a jumbo sized nori wrap with sprouts and a mild curry paté made with sunflower and pumpkin seeds, wrapped up similarly to those hoi sin duck tortilla wraps you see in Waitrose, and absolutely delicious it was too.

I was watching someone's video blog earlier and the blogger on it was commenting on the fact that their first grey hairs were appearing; I won't name names as I'm a gentleman. I used to have quite a few grey hairs myself, in my sideburns and temples, but they pretty much went when I stopped having non-organic food. Then, a few months ago, since I got back from Florida at Christmas, I noticed that there were a few more making a comeback; not enough to be noticeable to most people unless they got up close, but enough that they were proving an annoyance to me, particularly as they were near the front.

Every time I went to the loo at work I'd go to wash my hands and glance in the mirror, and there would be these bastard grey - no, white hairs dancing about and waving at me. I'd vainly (in both senses of the word) try to pluck them out but they obviously knew that this was what I wanted to do, as they had spent all of the day thus far intertwining themselves with other, lovely, healthy hairs, so that when I pulled out a white one I'd get one or two brown ones too. I gave up doing this a short while ago, resigning myself to the fact that they were here to stay.

Watching this person's video blog this morning reminded me of these unwelcome visitors and it occurred to me that I must have started taking them for granted as I wasn't noticing them any more and I couldn't recall when I'd last seen a white one. Having just been to have a look in the mirror it would appear to be because they aren't there anymore.

There are two or three possible things I can put this down to. Firstly, I used to wash my hair every morning (with a 100% natural Burt's Bees shampoo). I stopped doing this and now only wash it every two or three days, after which it starts to look a little dull and lifeless, like waking up and finding roadkill on your head. It may be that not washing the natural oils out of my hair so often has helped banish the grey, but I don't think it's that...

Secondly, I used to dry the hair with a hairdryer (although only to finish it off and therefore only for a couple of minutes at a time). Although this occasionally made my hair so frizzy that I resembled candy floss, I had, on and off, used a hair dryer for years and never once did it contribute to grey hair. So I'm not convinced it's that either.

The third thing is that although I have been 80%+ raw for ten-and-a-half months I would still buy myself the odd non-raw treat. In recent months, since discovering them in America, it has been pita chips (particularly pesto flavoured ones). It's occurred to me whilst writing this blog that I only started munching on these after Christmas this year, and shortly thereafter is when the white hairs began to appear. Now that I have been off them for a few weeks, the white hairs have disappeared.

It seems odd to think that a packet - ok, several packets - of tasty pita chips could have an effect on one's hair, but there does seem to be a direct correlation. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised as by dint of it being cooked it's not a natural food, and consuming non-natural food is bound to have a knock-on effect somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a link.

It annoys me somewhat that supposed 'healthy' stores (Whole Foods/Fresh & Wild, I'm referring to you) stock these things, because they put temptation in your way. Not only are these particular chips not raw, they are refined white flour-based (very bad for the gut as they prevent absorption of nutrients) and not organic. They are, however, delicious. Obviously I blame the stores for stocking them; it's nothing to do with my lack of resolve. I have now spent several weeks without indulging at all. The fact that Fresh & Wild hasn't had them in stock for a few weeks is a mere coincidence.

Perhaps when I've completed the 100 day raw challenge I'll buy a couple of packs and test my theory. Purely in the interests of scientific research, you understand....

Day 10 - Raw Like Sushi

2008-08-10T21:23:00.002+01:00

Went to sleep at around half past midnight last night, a good couple of hours later than usual. Normally I wake up with the sunrise or just before, but this morning I slept through til 6:45. Felt a little thirsty and there was a slight headache there but I felt so much better for the rest. Got up to get a glass of water and then went back to bed. Read a book for a short while and then at about 7:30 went back to sleep. It was 11:45 when I woke up, but by then I felt brilliant.

A shot of wheatgrass, a green juice (garlic, celery cucumber, sunflower and pea sprouts) and I had the most amazing energy rush. The trouble is, I didn't do anything with it!

Anyone who's seen my blog entries on GI2MR will see that I joined the gym, full of enthusiasm, earlier this year. Despite not updating the blog I have continued to go but my visits have been infrequent over the last few months. The plan was to go today, but here I am at 8 in the evening and apart from going out to do a little more shopping for things we forgot yesterday, we have done - to use a technical term - bugger all!

Well, I suppose that's not exactly true. We were trying to decide what to have to eat this evening. In the main we've kept it fairly simple - salads, usually - but we thought we'd have something a bit different today. My beloved suggested raw veggie sushi, which seemed a good idea, not least as we've stocked up on so much nori that I think there is more in our kitchen than in the sea. A true joint effort of preparation and the end result, whilst not quite as perfect looking as you see in a restaurant, did look pretty good, and tasted superb. Who needs fish?

Day 9 - For (feeling) Better or Worse

2008-08-10T00:10:00.000+01:00

A mixed old day.

Woke up this morning feeling fabulous, not just 'cos of the raw but I think also because my missus is now committed to the 100% raw challenge too.

Wheatgrass and green juice to start the day, along with some berries (the usual thing). Then we needed to stock up on our veg for the week, and so we headed down to Kentish Town to go to Earth. We filled our trolley up so quickly that I thought it was going to cost a fortune. In the end it only came to £46. Who says organic has to be expensive? I love Earth; it's a great little shop and they often sell the same stuff cheaper than Fresh and Wild or Planet Organic, and (I think) have a wider variety of stuff available. Saturday is a good day to visit too, if you're driving, as parking on the main road and side streets is free.

There were a couple of bits and pieces they'd sold out of at Earth, so we made a quick trip down to Fresh & Wild to get those (rocket, raw pistachios and cashews, avocados) and then completed our tour of favourite London organic shops by popping down to Planet Organic in Torrington Place for selection from their raw buffet. Lovely. A little more shoping there, including some seeds, a purple cauliflower and a huge watermelon.

Got home feeling fabulous but as the evening wore on I began to feel very listless. I normally try to be in bed by around 10:30 and I thought it was a case of me getting tired. Then I started getting a little wheezy, like I did the other night. My wife went to the kitchen and when she came back looked at me and said "Are you ok?" Apparently I looked pale and had dark circles under mye eyes. I guessed that it was another bit of detoxing. It's now been accompanied by a dull headache.

I sometimes think that this is unfair, given that I have been on a high percentage raw diet for nearly a year, but then if I'm honest I have to admit that I spent a good number of years putting toxins into my body so I shouldn't be surprised if it takes a while to sift them out.

Off to bed now (wanted to write this up whilst I was still feeling rubbish, and also tried to stay up to see if I got any better - I haven't). Hopefully will be a bit better tomorrow.

Day 8 - Back on Track

2008-08-08T19:14:00.000+01:00

After last night's major indiscretion I'm pleased to say that I've been a committed raw foodist today. It's a while since I've had anything so junky and my body has been telling me today that it doesn't like it. NEVER AGAIN!

Wheatgrass and green juice this morning, along with a grapefruit. Physalis mid-morning and another salad at lunch. Nuts and seeds in the afternoon. A usual work day, really.

I waffle on about these salads without ever saying much about what's in them. All my salads are basically based on a standard platform; rocket, corn sprouts, sunflower sprouts, pea green sprouts, romano pepper, carrot, and hemp oil. This is then finished off with the addition of different veg and seasonings to create something a little different every day. I guess I'm lucky that I don't crave for a huge variation each day.

By the end of the day my body felt much better. Major raw foodness this weekend, including some outdoor exercise if the weather stops being shite.

Day 7 - Post Script - Bad! Bad ! Bad!

2008-08-07T22:04:00.000+01:00

As I mentioned earlier my other half is joining in as of tomorrow, on her own 93 day Challenge. We had a last night "to hell with it all" by way of marking the occasion. Fish and Chips. I'm ashamed. Lots of enzymes before bed to try and digest the evil fried nasty! At least with the two of us committed to raw from hereon in we shouldn't go down this route again.

Day 7 - So far, so good

2008-08-07T17:10:00.000+01:00

Wheatgrass, green juice, berries and grapes for breakfast, some cherry tomatoes and physallis for a mid-morning snack, and I'm eating my salad as I type this. I am, however, knackered after a very bad night's sleep. As an ex-smoker I sometimes find my lungs go into detox mode and I get slightly wheezy and very coughy (hmm.. coffee..... Aargh! Resist! Resist!)

Where was I? Ah, yes. Normally I get these coughing fits during meetings or when I'm at the cinema. You know, inconvenient places. Today, I was at home. It was just the time that was inconvenient. 3am. The coughing only lasted a few minutes but could I get back to sleep? No. I've been worried about this all day as I have a very important high-level meeting this afternoon and I didn't want to be yawning and nodding off whilst there. However, 20 minutes to kick off and I feel brilliant, and I put this down to the buzz I'm getting from all this rawness.

Day 6 - Funny old day

2008-08-06T20:20:00.000+01:00

A weird day. Breakfast, juice and salad preparation as per the norm, but I had to go into London for a meeting, and therefore (to allow for travelling time) had to leave the office at 12.00 noon. There was going to be lunch available but frankly I don' trust the origins of the contents of most catering for these events so I made sure to eat my lunch before going. This meant that I started eating my lunch at my desk at 11.00, which is way too early for lunch. The meeting finished at 4pm. I was starving by then. There was a kiosk at Embankment station and the chocolate was screaming at me (even though it was non-organic which normally falls outside my hearing range, like a dog whistle to a Rottweiler. Whilst standing on the platform waiting for the train back to work I felt conscious of disgruntled commuters struggling to hear the station announcements over the rumbling of my stomach. Back at the office a banana was waiting for me. It didn't have to wait much longer.

Day 5 - Define "raw"...

2008-08-05T21:47:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately the words "piece of cake" were still floating round in my head this morning and I had a severe case of the munchies all day. That said, I started the day with berries and a green juice, and my usual salad for lunch. All very easy, really, even if the hankering for something treat-y was niggling at me all day. On the way home from work I went to the supermarket to get some romano peppers, avocados, spring onions and grapefruit. Came out with romano peppers, avocados, spring onions and grapefruit.

And cheese.

In my defence, it was an unpasteurised (and therefore raw) cheese, and whilst this was not sticking to the vegetarian ideal it was at least within the remit of the Raw Challenge. Sad to say, the Nairn's Organic Oatcakes which accompanied the cheese, weren't exactly raw. I'm taking some consolation in the fact that they are organic and at least provided a bit of fibre.

Day 4 - Lunchtime Reminisces

2008-08-05T09:03:00.000+01:00

Again, this was a relatively straightforward day for me. Since I made the commitment to raw back in September '07 I have made myself a salad lunch every morning before coming to work. There have only been two work days where I haven't done so, both of them for days where I knew I would be going out. On both occasions it was to go to a place near where I work where you could choose from a number of oriental dishes (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, etc.). Yes, Ok, it was cooked food, but they tended to get shirty if you used their tables to eat your own stuff so I couldn't take my own, and as it was for birthdays and I would have been conspicuously the only one who wasn't there from my work group. Having made all those excuses, it's only because they were quite happy to cook without any added MSG that I allowed myself to eat there, otherwise I'd have attended but gone back to eat my lunch at my desk afterwards.

I'm waffling. Sorry, I tend to sidetrack myself sometimes. Clearly I've become such a raw food bore that I'm boring myself. Anyway, another day eating my lovely raw lunch at my desk, and a small salad in the evening, with nothing but fruit, seeds and nuts to help me throughout the rest of the day. Went to bed and fell asleep thinking that this 100% raw thing was a piece of cake.

Day 3 - Two's company

2008-08-03T17:36:00.000+01:00

Green juice, berries and salads all day for me. Spoke to my wife about the challenge again and she pledged to join in a week late, i.e. as of this Friday. This is good news, especially as she's been finding it a little tough recently on the raw side of things, so it'll be good that both of us will be aiming for 100% raw (or as near as dammit as we can), even if a 93 Day Challenge doesn't have the same ring to it.

Day 2 - Fast Food!

2008-08-02T19:37:00.000+01:00

Day 2 was actually fairly easy. I usually fast on a Saturday and this week was a fasting week. Fasting just means that I'm not eating any solid food. However, fruit and veg juiced are still food in terms of their nutritional value.

Wheatgrass and green juices in the morning set me up fine for the day. I do miss eating when I'm fasting, but every time I've done it I've stayed at home away from any external temptation. This week, my wife and I went into London during the day and ended up at Planet Organic in Torrington Place, where - being saintly - I bought two veggie juices, whilst my beloved (who wasn't fasting) tucked into a raw meal. She seemed to be making a point of telling me how much she was enjoying it, which I thought was particularly mean. On reflection, though, I realised it was probably just my own awareness of the fact that she was eating and I wasn't that made it seem callous, and so I decided not to file for divorce just yet. We had to do a bit of shopping for a few odds and ends and I successfully resisted the chocolate which was calling me like a Siren every time I was within earshot.

Day 1 - Raw Enthusiasm

2008-08-01T20:59:00.000+01:00

As I said in my introductory post I've been on the raw "thang" for a while now. Consequently, Day 1 wasn't too much of a shock to the system. The day started with a green juice (ginger, celery, cucmber, sunflower sprouts and lemon) followed by some blueberries and grapes. Then I made my lunch for the day (a green salad). Mid morning snack was some cherry tomatoes, and I had some nuts and seeds to munch on in the afternoon. Another small salad at home in the evening and the day was done. I always try to make sure that I don't eat anything after 8pm - it doesn't give your body enough time to digest it before going to bed.

The Taste of Things to Come

2008-07-31T13:37:00.002+01:00

I have fond memories of being given bits of raw veg by my mum when she was cooking - cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, turnip (to us Scots, swede to everyone else) - and loving it. To be honest, she did a pretty good job in bringing me up on a healthy diet. It was ony when I was a single guy that I started eating more processed food, and when I worked as a salesman with a workday spent on the road I would eat lots of chocolate bars, crisps, sandwiches, sausage rolls and wash them down with a couple of bottles of Dr Pepper which - unbelievably - I used to think was more 'natural' than Coke!

Many years on (thanks in no small part to the guiding hand of my other half) I've become far more aware of how bad the majority of 21st century food is for health, not only because of the food additives and pesticide residues they contain, but the fact that so much of it is meat, so much of it is cooked, and so much of it has very little nutritional value. Consequently, I made a commitment in September 2007 that I was going to have a largely raw vegetarian diet.

To cut a very long story short I found an internet community of other raw fooders and through one of the friends I made there found out about a challenge to be 100% raw for 100 days, and so I've decided to give it a go and use this blog to chart my progress. I've been at least 85% raw for a few months already. How hard can it be ... ?