I have only three days to go until my month of eating raw starts. I have been busy preparing some raw food ahead of time such as dehydrated Tamari almonds, dehydrated kale chips and today I have a few racks of flax seed crackers in the dehydrator. I made my first ever nut cheese, it doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, but it still quite good. I have also started some bean sprouts. In order to make this as easy as possible, I have been reading my books and making a plan. Here is the plan so far:

Breakfast – A large green smoothie with frequent changes of types of leafy greens between kale, bok choy, romaine, parsley, mint, cabbage, and any others that aren’t too bitter , fruit such as bananas, berries, mango, pear etc and a tablespoon or so of chia, flax or hemp seeds, rotating the types of seeds.

Lunch – A large leafy salad with other raw vegs added, seeds such as pumpkin or sunflower sprinkled on, avocado, peppers, cucumber and possibly other vegs and when I am tired of salads a seed or nut pate or “cheese” with raw vegs and flax seed crackers. Fruit for dessert.

Supper – I would like this to be a more creative meal something like raw zucchinni pasta, raw vegan sushi, dehydrated seed or nut burgers etc. Dessert may be something a little sweet with dates or other fruit, coconut, nuts

Snacks – almond “milk”, sunflower hemp “milk”, Tamari almonds, kale chips, raw cookies

I already know what is going to be hard for me. I won’t miss meat, but I will miss starch, such as oatmeal, brown rice, bread, and the occasional…. ummm…. less healthy treat. My desire for starchy or sweet carbohydrates usually kicks in about 8 pm in the evening. I want to break the habit because it is not a healthy time of the day to eat these types of foods. I want to snack on a piece of fruit or some seeds and feel satisfied. My concern is about raising insulin levels during the night, and promoting belly fat, which is a risk factor for insulin resistance and eventually diabetes. There was a time when I never snacked in the evening, but it is now a hard habit to break! The other thing that will be a challenge is eating enough greens. In the book “Becoming Raw” the authors advise 600 grams of leafy vegetables a day. 600 grams! That is two of the large cello packs of salad a day! I would have trouble eating that in a week! Besides, I only shop once a week, and I don’t have enough room to store it all in the fridge… and while I want to experience all the benefits of a raw diet this cleanse and transition also has to be about what is realistic for me in terms of time and money. Here is how I made the vegan “cheese” today:

Vegan “cheese”

1 cup of cashew pieces soaked in water for four hours
1/2 lemmon
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tbsp fresh chopped dill
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
pinch of sea salt

Blend until creamy in food processor. Serve on dehydrated flax crackers or use as a dip for raw vegetables.