'Raw Power' indeed

Done properly, eating raw food isn't just part of your life, it becomes your life.

During the past 30 days, I've learned definitively I don't have the time or, frankly, the interest it takes to live at such a high raw threshold: Soaking and sprouting seeds or nuts before I can eat them, sorting through the reams of advice and counter-advice, monitoring the minute details of my digestive process. It's just not for me.

That's not all I learned, however, when I gave up meat and dairy products and anything cooked above 118 degrees.  And though I was initially determined not to, I even gave up coffee (mostly because I ran out of beans before I had a chance to buy more).

With those things off limits, I found myself necessarily paying closer attention to the food I've been eating. Because I've prepared much of it myself, I know what ingredients comprise pretty much everything I have ingested, and that's surprisingly empowering. It's also what I'll take with me as I return to a more inclusive diet.

There are parts of the raw-food diet I'll keep. Salads of sprouts and dark, leafy greens, for example, and breakfast smoothies, along with certain dishes that were delicious. I'll be eating more fruits and vegetables and way less processed food.

I also plan on eating meat and cheese and bread, and by the time you read this, I will have already brewed myself a hot cup of dark-roast coffee.

I doubt the level of raw food in my diet will qualify for what raw foodists call "high raw," but that's OK: Henceforth, I don't mind getting most of my "Raw Power" from Iggy & the Stooges.

Spicing things up

The beauty of a fantasy is that it can change at will.

Instead of that lonely tropical island I longed for, I am now on a yacht, sailing warm, calm seas. I am still alone.

Well, almost alone.

There is a chef on board — a culinary master with unimaginable skills. She knows Thai. She knows Indian, Mexican, Cajun, Asian, Caribbean. And, yes, she knows raw.

Tropical green smoothies for breakfast. Luscious salads for lunch. And endless, eclectic delights for dinner.

With so many choices in the world, and so little time to enjoy them, why would I settle for just one option?

After 30 days of eating exclusively raw foods, I am hungry for variety. That doesn't mean I won't carry a lot with me from this experiment. My eating habits definitely have changed permanently. I'm not willing to forgo the extra energy I feel or to regain the small amount of weight I have lost, which makes exercising so much easier.

And although this is a healthful way to eat, it's not the only healthful way, and I don't see my life taking me down an exclusively raw path — mostly because of its limitations, but also because I am just not an extremist in anything I do.

So I won't be sad to leave this experiment behind, but I won't be going back to SAD, either.

I envision eating salads, smoothies and chia seeds daily. Soaked nuts, almond butter and almond milk are here to stay. Raw agave and honey will be my sweetener of choice. Processed foods are mostly part of my past. But I will be eating dinner with my family and dining out with my friends in moderation. My choices on those occasions will no doubt include more raw, but not exclusively.

What I won't miss? The monotony. Green juices. Multiple trips to Whole Foods. Thinking today about what I'm having for tomorrow's dinner. And my bathroom.

Will I ever eat exclusively raw again?

Only if my yacht sinks, my chef drowns and I end up stranded on that island after all.

A New Balance In Post-Raw Diet

Yesterday's paper carried essays from the three of us explaining what we plan to do, post-raw. Here's what I wrote. Be sure to check back on the blog in two weeks, and then in a month, to see how we're doing.

There's a perception that this month of going raw has been about deprivation, that a celebration of burgers and fries awaited at the end. But for me, that would be beside the point of going raw in the first place. And it's not at all how I've been looking at this challenge.

I wanted to give raw food a go to quiet the frenetic pace I had found myself in -- eating on the run, chewing on sugary sweets, slapping meals together without much thought. I felt tired and burned out, and I hoped a living-foods lifestyle would be the pick-me-up I needed.

None of us came to raw to tackle a major health problem, as a lot of people suffering from chronic illness or obesity do. And that's where you'll hear a lot of the stories of staggering transformations, of people vibing big-time on raw.

Still, it's fair to say I saw my own tangible shifts. Did I find the raw bliss I envisioned? No. Do I feel better, lighter and more alert? Without question. I no longer rely on a java jolt to wake me in the mornings, and I don't have the afternoon slumps that drew me to the office coffeepot for another cup. I've learned there's a lot more variety and pleasure in eating raw than I expected. And I've found a balance that keeps me energized enough to sweat through my evening spinning classes.

Am I going 100 percent raw? I don't see that in my permanent future. But I see it for today, tomorrow and probably next week. I figure, I'm in a raw groove and feeling good, so I might as well stick with it until I decide it's not working for me. Why fix what ain't broke?

Still, rigid rules aren't my bag. So I'm certain I'll find my way to the coffeepot and an order of grilled salmon soon enough. I enjoy those things too much to swear off them for life.

But for now, I'm keeping as high a raw diet as is practical in the daily grind and seeing where it takes me.

Hello, Freedom

People keep congratulating us -- like we've done something special.

But people set challenges for themselves all the time, diet or otherwise. They succeed. They fail. They try again.

But they don't do it with hundreds of people watching.

So on this evening, during the last few hours of our little experiment, that's what I'm looking forward to most. Not breakfast, but the choice to choose what I eat without it being so public -- the choice to fail or succeed without letting anyone else down.

Don't get me wrong. I've truly enjoyed most of this, but I'm not sure I could have done it without the pressure of everyone watching.

So I don't feel that I have done anything that challenging or special. The people who are conquering real challenges are the raw foodists who are constantly bombarded with the memory and smells of cooked foods but resist eating them because they believe it is what is best for mind and body.

So I'm happy to be out of the public eye, but I'm willing to let you know what I'm eating for breakfast on the first day of my new semi-raw life:

One piece of sprouted-grain toast with organic butter and raw honey, chia seed and almond milk pudding and organic freshly squeezed oj.

The rest of the day is for my eyes only.