Raw Was Raw

After less than one full day of raw food I had to step back and reconsider my decision. There is a change in ones mind as hunger sets in. In a way we become less sophisticated animals. The pain of hunger, and the hunt for food to fill the need, alters human judgment.

When the day began I found options like fresh fruit and raw nuts to be exciting. By midday I was choking down raw sprouts and mixed greens. It occurred to me then that sustaining life on raw food would be a challenge.

By seven in the evening I was just plain hungry. I had played basketball and eaten mostly fruit through the afternoon. So I turned to a raw food cookbook and attempted to make a raw substitute for Thai curry. It included squash, cucumber, and cilantro. These shredded vegetables were topped with a sauce of lemon juice, coconut milk, curry paste and garlic. It smelled great. The shredded butternut squash looked like freshly grated cheddar cheese. The flavor was not as noteworthy.

It tasted like a curry dish that someone forgot to cook. I tried to choke down a few fork loads. During my meal I kept thinking this dish would be superb if it was simmered for down for a few minutes.

I gave up early on the meal and began pacing the kitchen. Now I was staring at an earlier concoction of raw peanuts, which too quite some time to shell. I had used a food processor to annihilate raw peanuts, raisins and honey. It was rough gelatinous goo that did not taste all that bad. In the world of raw food, not so bad is synonymous with delicious. Could I spend the rest of my life eating like this?

No. I broke down and sliced into the Jalapeño cheese bread I had made just a day ago. I do not recall a time when bread seemed quite as satisfying. Then the feeling set in. I had failed. The raw food experiment was over.

I was not content to call it a failure. I sat down in my reading chair and pondered the implications and motives for trying to solely eat raw food. There was not the science or support I had found in the natural food movement. Come to think of it, I had failed to read any opposing literature. And I had questioned some of the pro raw food literature that seemed unsubstantiated and confounded too often.

I have by no means thrown out the baby with the bathwater, but I have relieved my desire to eat raw food for the time being. Surprisingly, this is in harmony with one reoccurring statement made by raw food authors. Eat what works for you; listen to your body. I enjoy cooked food. It tastes good, and it works for me.

And some articles that I read after the fact. These are not in favor of raw food.

The Raw Food Diet: A Raw Deal

Does Eating Raw Foods Make Sense In The North?