Raw greens sometimes a waste of green

Almost everything that I eat is cooked in some form.

My steaks need to be practically burnt with absolutely no pink. For my side of vegetables, I like them steamed. And sometimes I even order fried ice cream to top off a meal.

So on Friday, when I set out to incorporate raw foodism — which is a lifestyle that promotes the consumption of mostly uncooked and unprocessed foods — into my diet, my body was surely in for a shock. Raw greens not in salad form can be interesting.

My first venture into unfamiliar territory was a green smoothie from the Shot in the Dark Café, 121 E. Broadway Blvd. I thought about turning back on my adventure of eating raw greens by getting the always delicious orange juice with bananas and strawberries. But I went with cucumbers and sprouts instead.

Let’s say that there was plenty of green left over but it wasn't in my pocket. So after that interesting encounter, I changed my mind. Eating anything raw, not just the greens, would be the new challenge for the day.

When I got home, I decided someone on YouTube had to make something exciting that I could eat on this raw food diet of mine. I thankfully found Raw Allison's recipe for pizza, which is basically all the fixings without crust. Brilliant.



Wild Oats had all the ingredients for the pizza including the unprocessed cheese. But I already had guacamole from Trader Joe's.

I cheated myself for dinner. Instead of trying something new, I decided to simply stick with the challenge at hand by making the most out of the leftover raw pizza. I threw it over some organic baby lettuce from Trader Joe's. And it was delicious.

Throughout the day, I snacked on raw peaches and raw snap peas. And when I was ready to congratulate myself for a job well done, I realized I was also drinking Dr. Pepper so I ended up failing my own assignment.

I'll get 'em next time.

Here's more about going from a standard diet to a raw food diet:



If you're interesting in going raw in Tucson, check out the Tucson Raw Food Meet Up Group for raw food information as well as contacts in the raw food community. And don't miss the Raw Spirit Festival that's happening Sept. 12-14 in Sedona.

Until next time, happy eating.