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"I've just spent the last couple of hours reading your journal......better than *Corrie!" -- Mike, Manchester, UK *Corrie = Coronation Street, a fabbo British soap opera Tuesday 1st February 2000 Day 30 I made my first Champion juice today! A friend loaned me it to see how I got on with it -- it's much more industrial than the centrifugal one I've been using. I juiced a bag of curly kale (finally), 3 carrots, 1 apple and about an inch of ginger. I always use the same about of ginger so I know that this is more potent and hasn't lost so much juice by the massive ginger zing I got off it. Fantastic! Took me forever, though as I had to read the instructions, get confused and wash up the stuff (you can't leave it to go mouldy when it's not yours!) Had a papaya for dinner and about 3 dried figs at 4pm hunger time. For tea (at about 7.30) I made piled-up salad, with mixed lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, sunflower sprouts, celery, sweetcorn, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Very tasty and filling. Wednesday 2nd February 2000 Day 31 Slept so well last night, and still woke up quite early for me (about 9.15). Didn't fancy any breakfast, so I made a pudding at 12ish, consisting of one banana, a punnet of strawberries, 2 medjool dates and a few grapes, all wizzed up in the blender. Made a salad at about 4pm with a smashing pink dressing. The dressing was made of a small red onion, some sesame seeds, a clove of garlic, the juice of a lemon, some chives and parsley and quite a bit of olive oil. I put it in the blender for quite a while and it came out bubble-gum pink! I'll remember this one. My salad had three quarters of an avocado, a handful of alfalfa sprouts and 2 midi plum tomatoes. Yummy! I had another salad with the same dressing at about 6pm -- but this only had avocado, alfalfa sprouts and beansprouts in it. I wasn't hungry, but just fancied eating something at about 10pm, so I made a nori roll and ate some almonds. Then I couldn't sleep because the food hadn't digested. Thursday 3rd February 2000 Day 32 Went shopping with my mum today in Norwich. I didn't eat anything in the morning, so when we got into town we went straight to the Tree House. Big mistake. 1 salad bowl (with cooked beans, vegan mayo, cooked grains), half a bottle of wine and a tofu black cherry cheesecake later -- I'd blown it! Oh well -- this is a learning experience after all. Note to self: Don't go to the Tree House and expect to remain raw -- GOD I LOVE THE TREE HOUSE. Needed some new bras, but the smallest 2 in Debenhams were still too big for me. I'm going to have to buy from one of those special catalogues that sell to inadequate women. I don't want my boobs to shrink, they're too small already! It was James' (our mate, not my nephew) birthday meal tonight, and luckily we went to an Italian that has loads of fresh ingredients. They know me there and weren't surprised when I ordered bits of the menu that weren't set meals. For starters I had olives (they were cooked and I didn't enjoy them -- but I used to love olives). For the main course I had a big salad with mixed lettuce, avocado, tomato, mango, grapes onion and olive oil -- very nice and filling. Drank a litre of water. Stayed up till 12.30 -- way past my bed time. Friday 4th February 2000 Day 33 Was tired today when I woke up at 8.20 (this wasn't intentional, the postman rang my door bell). Had a head pain, kind of all around my skull at the front and sides. I think that was from the cooked food and wine at lunch time yesterday. Ate 4 figs at about 11.30, but they're going out of season now so I think I've had my lot for a while. At about 12.30 I ate a papaya and at 1.30, I ate a whole juicy galia melon. I feel the need to eat simply for a bit! During the afternoon, I was really hungry, so had 3 dried figs (I'm glad I keep them in my drawer!), and a banana that wasn't ripe enough. Kept thinking about potatoes... When I got home I had a big salad. In it was celery mixed with orange pepper, sliced beetroot, avocado mixed with rehydrated sun dried tomatoes, mixed lettuce leaves with basil leaves, a big pile of alfalfa sprouts and topped off with the rest of my pink dressing from the other day. Delicious! Saturday 5th February 2000 Day 34 Didn't fancy any breakfast but had loads of energy so cleaned the house from 8.30 to 1.00, only stopping to eat a nori wrap and give myself a facial. Had 2 more nori wraps for dinner, along with a couple of handfuls of pecans. I just felt like munching. We finally found some cold pressed sesame oil in The Daily Bread wholefood warehouse in Cambridge -- I've been looking all over for it and could only find toasted. I'm going to try to make my own raw tahini now! Had 3 more nori wraps throughout the rest of the day -- ate one and a half avocados today. The best nori roll had sundried tomatoes, avocado, garlic, black pepper, basil leaves and lettuce -- very Italian. Sunday 6th February 2000 Day 35 Woke up at 8.30 (how come I can do this on weekends?), made a smoothie from 2 bananas, a punnet of strawberries and 2 dates. Went shopping for a bit but felt really tired and was happy when we got home as I made a nori roll with the last of my sun-dried tomatoes and then ate a load of pecans in bed. Felt really tired in the evening, I think I did too much yesterday. I thought I should make a juice to liven me up. I used a big bag of curly kale, 5 carrots, 1 stick of celery, an inch of ginger and 1 beetroot. It made me feel a bit more alive -- enough to put my new curtains up. I've had enough of trying to juice curly kale -- it's too much hassle, you have to beat it up to get it in and it takes ages to juice. I wonder if there's an alternative? I made a small bowl of salad at about 9.30 -- it had half an avocado, a bit of red onion, lettuce leaves, sesame seeds, loads of olive oil and 3 tomatoes. Monday 7th February 2000 Day 36 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 6 lb (118lb) (3lb less) (total 9lb less) Pulse: 60 beats per minute (still higher than normal) Chest: 33.5 (oh no!) (total .5 less) Waist: 25 (1 inch smaller this week!) (total 2 inches less) Hips: 34.5 (.75 inch smaller) (total 2 inches less) Upper leg: 20 (same) (total .75 inch change) All measurements are in inches. Slept really well last night, from about 11pm to 8.30am. It's still too much, though. Felt like I needed protein stuff this morning, so at 10am I blended a pudding made of 3 bananas, a mug full of soaked sunflower seeds and half an avocado. I don't normally feel the need to eat like this, it's too heavy. Oh well. From about 1.30pm, I started on my coconut. After bashing it in various ways for 10 minutes, I finally got the milk out. I'd forgotten how beautiful that stuff is -- I downed it to face the final challenge -- getting the flesh out. Once I'd opened the coconut, I spent a long time savouring the flavour. However, I couldn't even eat a quarter of it. I think I'll get another one when this one's gone. I was watching The Naked Chef on the telly last week and blimmin' Jamie Oliver had a coconut, bashed it twice over the sink and threw all the milk away. How come he only needed to bash it twice, and why on earth did he throw the best part away? Fool. Strong fool. I played badminton for an hour tonight, but half way through my ears really started to hurt -- I think I've dislodged something! I was really thirsty too, I drank loads of water. That bit of coconut kept me going for ever and I wasn't really hungry come tea time, but I had to have my greens, so I made a small bowl of salad with 2 tomatoes (I also ate 2 other ones while preparing, they were so red and ripe and juicy), lots of basil leaves, a clove of garlic, some red onion, some rocket thinnings, red pepper, and olive oil and lime juice on top. I served it with 2 nori sheets. I also made Stevie's tea at the same time and looked longingly at his baked potato. But I didn't give in. I've booked our Valentine's night meal and pre-ordered vegan mashed potato -- well you've got to take advantage of these things, haven't you? Drank another half litre of water before I went to sleep. Tuesday 8th February 2000 Day 37 Slept very well again today -- almost 11 hours. I wonder why I have to do that? Didn't want to eat until 12.00, and even then didn't fancy munching (I think I've worn my jaws out on my coconut!). I made a juice with the Champion, a whole pint. It had 1 pomegranate, 3 kiwis, 1 apple, a bit of coconut, 2 carrots and 1 lemon. The coconut gave it a strange oily texture but I liked it. I also ate the bit of pulp that had the coconut in it - that was nice. I think I'll experiment processing some coconut with some seeds or avocado later to make a butter. Since breakfast was so late, so was dinner. I had a small bowl of salad at about 3.30 with a nori sheet. In the salad was half a most delicious avocado, some rocket thinnings, basil leaves a small red onion, a clove of garlic, some red pepper and olive oil with lime juice. Very flavoursome! I wasn't very hungry later on, so I just whizzed up 2 bananas, 2 dates and a "tree ripened" papaya. I think Tree ripened means Tesco can justify the price being twice as high, because it's got a lovely yellow skin and tastes really flowery. Oh and you get a free lime and a plastic box with it too. What a bargain. Did I write about having no spots the other day? Well, I've made up for it now, I've got about 5 on my face -- a world record, I think! I'm putting it down to detox and have had to ladle lavender oil on them. Wednesday 9th February 2000 Day 38 Finally got to sleep at about 1am, it was so windy outside and my aluminium flowers in the garden sounded like Rolf Harris after a few pints. I got my drill out this morning and fastened them more securely to the wall. Ate a papaya for breakfast at about 9.30, but it wasn't very nice, so didn't satisfy me. Made a nori roll at about 11am, but I need to go shopping so it had a paltry filling of one stick of celery, some slices of coconut and some orange pepper. It was nice, though. I also scraped the rest of my coconut out and at that, all before noon. Had 2 nori rolls at about 2pm, filled with homemade tahini (not too smooth!), celery, carrot and orange pepper. More nori than filling -- must go shopping. Made a smashing shake at 4.30 -- I got about 1 cup of soaked sunflower seeds and flax seeds, added some raw sesame oil to it and blended it for ages in my coffee grinder attachment. I then put a couple of dessertspoon of it in my blender, added 3 ripe small bananas, 2 medjool dates and quarter of a litre of water. I blended this for ages and then passed it through a sieve. I then added the mush back to the blender and added a bit more water. I blended this for a bit and passed that through the sieve as well. I then poured the mixture into a glass and sucked. It really looked and tasted like a chocolate thick shake -- I think that's down to the flax seeds. Amazing! Thursday 10th February 2000 Day 39 Had to go to Watford to day, so I'm outside my comfort zone for the first time in my raw life. I ate an apple on the way, and had a bottle of water when I got there. At about midday, I had a salad in the canteen of sliced tomatoes and rocket with olive oil. I then had a fruit salad that had bananas, apples, pears and grapes in it. On the way home I ate another apple, but I was very hungry. When I was driving home, I got a really odd sensation -- something I've never felt before. It started off like I felt something move in my heart, or my heart twitched (this wasn't like a palpitation). Then I felt warm all over, like blood had just shot from my arteries and reached my fingers and toes. My heart then thudded a couple of times and then everything went normal again. I just can't explain or begin to guess what that was all about, but it felt like something had moved out of the way in my heart. How odd, eh? I stopped off at Tesco to do some shopping, and then went home and made a salad of baby spinach, basil, cherry tomatoes, red onion and olive oil. My avocados weren't ripe so I didn't add them. About an hour later I was still hungry so I got a bowl of beansprouts, added some avocado (couldn't wait for it to ripen), olive oil and basil. I ate a couple of dates later on. Still hungry at 9pm, I made a nori roll with my normal salad ingredients and some soaked sunflower and flax seeds. Friday 11th February 2000 Day 40 Made another pint of shake the same as Wednesday at 12.30. I was really tired all morning -- sore eyes, heavy head, no concentration. I've not felt this bad for a long time. For dinner at about 3.00, I ate about half a big mango -- couldn't finish it, though. Perked up a bit towards the end of the day, so Stevie took me out for a meal. We had a little drive into the country and found a pub that did food. For starters I had a fan of melon, then a big salad with avocado, different lettuce leaves, pepper, red onion red cabbage etc, then I had a fresh fruit salad for pudding which was mainly melon, apples, and grapes (there were oranges in there, too, but I don't like them). I did eat a small bit of brown bread roll - it was the seeds on the top that made it look so appealing! I also had half a cup of coffee, but didn't enjoy it. Saturday 12th February 2000 Day 41 Woke up at about 8 this morning -- how do I manage it so well when it's not a work day? Is someone trying to tell me that I shouldn't go to work?! Had a smoothie for breakfast made with 2 dates, a punnet of strawberries and a carton of blueberries. Made a massive salad (a really massive salad), full of baby spinach, plum tomatoes, 1 cob of sweetcorn, 2 spring onions, a little bit of red onion, loads of beansprouts and mixed lettuce leaves. I topped this with a dressing, made of quarter of an avocado, some olive oil, some sesame oil, 1 clove of garlic, juice of half a lemon, all whizzed up in my coffee mill attachment. I ate half of this salad at about 2pm and the other half for tea at about 6.30. At about 9pm I had 4 dates, but one of them tasted like nail varnish. Yuck. I had so much energy today, managed to do loads of cleaning, went to the pictures, etc -- felt really well today. Sunday 13th February 2000 Day 42 Woke up at about 8 again! Had a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon in it and then did some gardening for about an hour. It was bitterly cold out there -- far too cold to stay out for too long. My dwarf irises are in full bloom -- beautifully purple. Last year the slugs got them all so I only got about 1 flower -- some of them have been got again, but it's not as bad. I do a slug patrol a few times a year where I go out at midnight with a teaspoon and a glass jar. I catch the slugs in the jar and take them to a verge the next day. It's too cold to do that yet, though. Brrr. When I'd warmed myself up, I made a pudding out of 2 bananas, 2 dates and a carton of blueberries. That was nice but a bit sweet for me. I think I'll not add dates next time. For dinner I made a nori wrap with half an avocado, some beansprouts, some lettuce and some tomato in it. I fancied more, so I made another one but just with half an avocado and nori. For a snack at about 4.30 I made another nori wrap, but it was a bit dry, just with alfalfa sprouts (my new crop), basil and tomatoes. I did a bit of decorating this afternoon for a couple of hours in the loo, and wanted to do more semi-active stuff. I made a nice tea tonight for us both -- we had salad with half a sweetcorn each, a little gem lettuce each, half an avocado each and a mixed salad consisting of grated carrot, baby spinach leaves, basil leaves, tomatoes and red onion. I put a sunflower oil, olive oil and lemon dressing on it. In addition, I had some alfalfa sprouts. Stevie also had 2 veggie spring rolls and potato salad (made with Plamil mayonnaise, mustard powder and chives). I made a nice dip for his spring rolls, which had sesame oil, soya sauce and half a lemon juice, chopped garlic, ginger and spring onions. As I'm going to eat cooked food tomorrow night, I had a mouthful of potato salad (an old fave of mine) and a nibble of the spring roll and sauce. Even though I've felt tired a couple of days this week, I'm pleased that I've managed to keep the house quite tidy (I never had the energy to do that when I was cooked), especially the kitchen. This is quite a subtle increase in energy -- a level that most people would consider normal. However, when you've had a lifetime of feeling exhausted, cloudy headed and drained, this feeling is out of this world. Yes, I'm happy with the progress so far. Monday 14th February 2000 Day 43 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 4 lb (116lb) (2lb less) (total 11lb less) Pulse: 56 beats per minute (a bit better but still higher than normal) Chest: 33.25 (oh no!) (total .75 less) Waist: 25.25 (.25 inch bigger) (total 1.75 inches less) Hips: 34.5 (no change) (total 2 inches less) Upper leg: 20.25 (.25 bigger) (total .5 inch change) All measurements are in inches. For breakfast, I ate a really big juicy ripe delicious mango -- it filled me right up. I've got some nice big organic apples at the moment, so took 2 of them to work. I had one at about 11am, and then I ate 4 dried figs at about 1pm, then I had my other apple at about 4pm. I didn't feel hungry and the apples were gorgeous. Didn't play badminton today as Stevie had a headache and we had Valentine's night to get ready for, anyway. I'd planned that I'd eat cooked tonight, so I went home from work and got in the bath with a 1996 glass of red wine from Vinceremos. The first sip was like red custard, really nice. A few sips later and it tasted quite sour. It had an almost immediate effect on me, and I had to lie down for 5 minutes when I got out of the bath. At the restaurant (Hobbs Pavillion), I had a choice of garlic mushrooms or a salad to start. I went for the salad - which absolutely amazed me. I thought that if I was having a cooked night, I'd go for it totally. My main course was a pancake full of ratatouille, which is a new vegan pancake. This was the nicest one I've ever had there -- a good combination. We had a side order of mashed potatoes (I ordered them specially so they didn't put butter or milk in, as potatoes is something I really miss). The potato thing was funny, because it did satisfy something in me but I didn't relish the flavour as I used to -- raw fruit has got so much more taste to it! For pudding I had a cashew, banana and maple syrup pancake with a hazelnut praline, that too was just fine and dandy. I had a funny taste of flour in my mouth for a few hours afterwards, though -- I suppose I'm not used to it now. I only had one glass of wine with my meal, and didn't even have a Calvados. I drank about half a litre of water throughout the meal -- you forget how dry cooked food is. When I eat my raw food, I never have water with it. I have water separately, but not to wash the meal down. Tuesday 15th February 2000 Day 44 Woke up at 8am, bright and breezy, as I did yesterday. Made Stevie his breakfast of mushrooms on toast, and sat at the table with him, eating 3 bananas. That was nice and simple, and satisfied me until 12.30 For dinner I had 1 little gem lettuce, half a red onion, a handful of alfalfa sprouts, 1 stick of celery, some basil leaves and a mixture of olive, sunflower and sesame oils (all cold pressed). I didn't feel like any tea, but I had a glass of wine (I have to finish off the bottle!) and a couple of chocolates (left over from Xmas). My neck is very sore today, it has been for a few days. I'm getting a back massage on Saturday so I hope that will soothe it. Sometimes I really can't bear the pain, and it doesn't matter how I sit -- the pain just travels up from the middle of my back. At the moment it's right where my skull and neck meet. Wednesday 16th February 2000 Day 45 I found it hard to get comfy last night with my sore neck. I eventually got to sleep on my front with a pillow under my chest, to lower my head. I woke up in the same position, so I must have been comfy. My neck feels a bit better today, but still hurts. Wasn't hungry this morning, so I just had a bottle of water. At dinner time, I had a salad made up of apple, celery, little gem lettuce, alfalfa sprouts. I used olive oil and lemon juice to dress it and had it with a nori sheet. Just before we went shopping in the evening, I had 3 dates. When we got home I had another salad -- 1 avocado, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, beansprouts, tomatoes and olive oil and lemon dressing. That was really tasty -- avocados are gorgeous at the moment. Oh, I had half a glass of wine with my meal (still trying to finish the bottle off!). I did about 15 minutes of back exercises today, to try and strengthen it and to stop it hurting. Thursday 17th February 2000 Day 46 Slept very well again, and woke up before 8, not groggy at all. In fact I even got up to make Stevie's breakfast. I had a papaya. The first thing my back did when I got up was crick and crack all the way down the spine. I'm wondering if this is some sort of detox that I'm going through. If most of my problems are in my back, then it could be right that it's detoxing. Hmm. Oh, I had an attack of cystitis this morning so drank a bottle of water to try and flush out. For dinner at about 12 I had a salad with another whole avocado, the last of this batch's alfalfa sprouts, lettuce and watercress, and 4 tomatoes with olive oil. Nice. In the evening I had a salad with 3 nori sheets (pig). I made a dressing in the food processor with cashews, lime and lemon juice and olive oil. Friday 18th February 2000 Day 47 I woke up with a clear head and had a giant mango for breakfast. At about 2pm I had a banana, and then a nice avocado at about 3pm. I had a handful of grapes at about 7pm. When I got home I cracked a coconut, drank the lovely milk and ate about a fifth of the coconut. At about 9pm I had 4 dates. I wasn't very hungry today and enjoyed just eating simple fruit. Saturday 19th February 2000 Day 48 Wow -- just having fruit for a day yesterday gave me loads of energy. I only slept about 4 hours last night and feel great. I had a pub lunch with my mate Karen (A) today, and I managed to get a good salad out of the menu ingredients. I had lettuce, carrot, pepper, onion, tomato, cucumber and cress! I even got an apple for pudding. I then had a back massage in the afternoon to try and ease the pain in my neck but it didn't work too well. I wasn't hungry until much later, so I had a salad at about 7pm, with avocado, a little gem lettuce, tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice. Sunday 20th February 2000 Day 49 Stevie's birthday! This was another planned non-raw day. BUT... for breakfast Stevie wanted Rashers in a roll and Linda McCartney Sausages in a roll. He also asked for a nice smoothie, so I was glad to oblige. The smoothie had blueberries, bananas, a big juicy mango and brambles in it. I had a whole dish full and Stevie had a pint mixed with a bit of apple and mango juice. The rest of the day I just ate mostly rubbish food with a bit of good stuff in, such as Not Ham sarnies, hummous (with good celery and carrot to dip), and raw baby peppers stuffed with cooked mushrooms and vegan mayonnaise. I drank a fair bit of wine and calvados, but still managed to thrash everyone when playing Risk towards the end of the birthday evening... Monday 21st February 2000 Day 50 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 4 lb (116lb) (2lb less) (total 11lb less) Pulse: 53 beats per minute (much more normal for me) Chest: 34 (interesting) (total no change) Waist: 25.5 (.25 inch bigger) (total 1.75 inches less) Hips: 34.5 (no change) (total 2 inches less) Upper leg: 20 (same) (total .75 inch change) All measurements are in inches. How strange that I've got some boobs back, lost no inches and yet lost 2lb. Stuff must be shifting around all over the place! Woke up quite early for me especially after the eventful day yesterday. Didn't fancy any breakfast but managed to shove a stick of celery in my mouth before going to work. My head felt a bit blocked all day, as was one of my nostrils. I noticed that when I woke up my joints and lips felt a bit swollen -- my face was all pudgy too. At about noon, I started on my giant mango which lasted about half an hour -- Mmmm. I had an apple at about 2pm, but wasn't too hungry. I played badminton after work but had no coordination whatsoever. I made up for my lack of food in the evening. First of all I made a big salad with a little gem lettuce, half an avocado, some tomatoes celery and olive oil and sunflower oil. Then I made about a pint of almond and sunflower seed milk which was really tasty and not sweetened with anything. That filled me up and was just what I fancied. Tuesday 22nd February 2000 Day 51 Wasn't hungry this morning either -- but my neck was killing me. I got to work and realised I'd forgotten to bring some food with me, so I had a banana and a small bunch of grapes, then went to Tesco at dinner time. I then ate 2 avocados and 2 tomatoes, which filled me up. I went out with my mate Arun tonight, so got through 2 bottles of water and a large leafy salad with a bit of tomato and cucumber on it. Very exciting, that was. When I got home at about 11pm I made 2 nori rolls with an avocado, some little gem lettuce leaves -- much better! Wednesday 23rd February 2000 Day 52 Had a long day today because I had to go to Watford. When I went two weeks ago I was totally exhausted the next day, so it'll be interesting to see how I feel tomorrow -- how much I've improved. Ate a banana in my car at about 9.30, and drank a bottle of water. For dinner I was going to have a leafy salad and a fruit salad, but there were dead aphids on the lettuce (Watford canteen -- you should be ashamed of yourselves!). I just ate the fruit salad, which had grapes, kiwis, apple and melon -- I left the oranges. I got quite sleepy at about 2pm and had to have my brain in gear for the meeting I was in so I snuck half a cup of coffee. I didn't enjoy it and it made me go all wobbly for a bit! I should have brought my bananas out of the car. I usually have something raw with me in case I need a bit of energy but didn't this time and look what happened -- I went and drank coffee! I was tired when I got home so I only ate the rest of my coconut (about a quarter) and an avocado. Thursday 24th February 2000 Day 53 I didn't get to sleep until about 1am -- maybe because I'd just eaten fruit (I sleep less on days that I've only eaten fruit), but it could have been the coffee... I wasn't tired at all today, so I'm probably getting stronger, as I can directly compare today with the other Thursday after the same amount of travelling the day before. I wasn't hungry until about noon, when I ate a giant mango. I made an avocado soup at about 1.30. I put 2 small avocados, 2 heads of little gem lettuce, 2 sticks of celery and a few leaves of basil in my blender with about a quarter of a litre of water and a dessertspoon full of left over almonds and sunflower seeds from my nut milk. It was really tasty but a bit much for me, so I'll just use one avocado next time. We were going to a Chinese restaurant tonight with work, so I made my dinner beforehand. I had a papaya, 2 bananas, 2 dates and the rest of my nut and seed mix from before. I put it all in the food processor and it made a nice bowlful. At the restaurant, a few people looked at me funny and asked questions when I just drank water, but no one thought it was odd. I suppose they realise they can't wind me up about this! I got through about a litre of water. Friday 25th February 2000 Day 54 Woke up just after 9am after a long night last night. I wasn't bored at the restaurant but would have preferred to be elsewhere. I think I'm being quite introverted at the moment while I transition. I've got so much to think about that I need a lot of time alone. Had a giant mango at about 11am, and then a banana at about 12.30. Went to the pub and drank some water. Had another banana at about 2.00, and a dried fig at about 4. I was freezing cold when I got home (our office is so cold where I sit that I have a blanket!), so I went to bed for half an hour to warm up. For the first time since I've been raw, I wanted to eat something warm, so I made a raw soup and then gently warmed it over a bowl with hot water in it. I'd thoroughly blended a third of a coconut, some ginger (for warmth), a head of little gem lettuce, some sunflower oil, a bit of pepper and a clove of garlic. It was really nice and very satisfying -- I didn't need anything else tonight. Saturday 26th February 2000 Day 55 Woke up about 9am and did a load of cleaning while Stevie went shopping. I can always do more when I'm alone. Felt really energetic and happy. I had a flax/almond shake for breakfast at about 11am. I blended about a mug full of flax and almonds (they'd been soaked overnight), with half a bottle of water, strained it through a sieve, put the mush back in the blender, added the rest of the water, sieved that, then put the mush in my food processor. I rinsed the blender, added about half a mango and 2 dates and made my lovely malted drink. While I was drinking that, I stripped the cob of a corn, crushed a clove of garlic and put these in the food processor with my almond/flax mush. I added dried chives, sea salt and pepper. I whizzed them up and spread little circles of them on foil, sprinkling a bit more salt on top. I stuck them in the oven on the lowest heat with the door open and dehydrated them for about 4 hours. I turned them after about 3 hours and was surprised that they didn't break. After 4 hours I had to go out, so I put them in the sunshine on the kitchen side board (covered in tissue so no fruit flies got on them). These are for tomorrow - I wouldn't normally faff so much but I'm doing me and Stevie a 4 course raw meal, and I'm making seed cheese and flax/corn crackers for the end of the meal. I had a strawberry soup for dinner -- blended 5 strawberries with 2 really ripe bananas and a head of little gem lettuce. For tea I just had a salad, another little gem lettuce, 2 tomatoes, 1 stick of celery, a quarter of a red pepper with olive oil, sunflower oil and balsamic vinegar on top. We went to Chris and Melanie's party tonight and I was supposed to be making guacamole, but my avocados weren't ripe so I made a salsa out of 1 (not very ripe) avocado, half a chili, some sunflower oil, 2 tomatoes, a red pepper, a red onion, and a clove of garlic the juice of half a lemon. I left half at home for tomorrow, but the stuff I took to the party got eaten (and not just by me!). I ate baby carrots and lettuce dipped in the salsa and drank water all night (although I did have a tiny sip of Babycham). Sunday 27th February 2000 Day 56 Didn't get to bed till about 2, so I woke up at about 10.30. Ate half a mango at about 11, and a dried mango strip at about 2.00. Wasn't hungry for the rest of the daytime -- I started preparing a 4 course meal at 4pm for me and Stevie. Bless him for letting me experiment on him again! Right, this is what I made for our meal at about 6pm Soup I blended a third of coconut, 2 sticks of celery, 1 little gem lettuce, a bit of chili, a bit of ginger, some black pepper, some pumpkin seeds, mustard powder, clove of garlic, red onion and half a mushroom with some water. I did this for ages to get all the flavour into the water. I then put this through a sieve and set the pulp aside. I put the soup in 2 ramekin dishes and but in a bain marie type thing with warm water in, and covered with foil for about half an hour. To garnish this, I marinated some thin onion rings and thin mushroom strips in balsamic vinegar for about half an hour, then soaked in sesame oil. I added a big bit of parsley and floated the thin vegetables on top all immediately before serving. Comments -- I needed more coconut, and I would have marinated the vegetables in cider vinegar as balsamic was too strong. I'm still not sure about the rawness of these, but when I'm only using it as a garnish about once a month to make a meal I don't think it's too important (yet!). The pulp that I set aside has been made into patties and is being dehydrated. Main course Salad bowl made with mixed lettuce, grated carrot, tomatoes, celery, olive oil and sunflower oil, with the balsamic vinegar from the marinade above. I tried to make a pie and I think it would have been OK if I had dehydrated it for several hours, but I only had an hour and a half. I liked it more than Stevie, but my taste buds are different to his now. I won't say what was in it because no one would want to make it! Dessert Love pie. I'll call it love pie because it was heart shaped. A couple of days earlier I froze a blended mix of sieved flax/almond milk, mango and ripe banana in a heart shaped cake tin lined with cling film. About half an hour before the meal was going to start, I took it out of the tin and put it on a plate. I then placed thin slices of strawberries on top, layered on each other like feathers. I got a strip of dried mango and cut it into really thin slithers and made a swirly pattern on top of the strawberries with it. The cream was made with soaked brazil nuts, normal dates, water, sunflower oil -- blended very heavily in a coffee mill attachment. Oh, I added some young lemon balm leaves to the top of the heart -- they were refreshing to eat in between mouthfuls. We loved this dessert, it was really pretty and so tasty! Cheese and crackers I made the crackers yesterday, and the cheese today. For the cheese I got a mug full of sunflower seeds that had been soaked for a day, covered them in enough water to help them turn, added a handful of parsley, a clove of garlic and some sea salt, and blended them for ages. My motor would have probably died on this one so I kept stopping it for a few minutes and starting again. I then put the whole mixture in an old (clean!) stocking, and put it in a colander over a bowl. I weighed it down with a few heavy items. We were so impressed with this! It had the texture of soft cheese and tasted quite nice, too. I think next time I'll put onion in it and omit the parsley (the parsley dyed it green instead of adding green flecks because of the amount of blending involved). I could add the parsley at a later stage - that would work better. Maybe a tiny bit of turmeric or mustard powder would help to dye it a bit yellowy? The crackers were great -- they held together really well and tasted really authentic. This was the best experiment yet. You may ask why I've gone to all this trouble when I could just have a papaya or something for tea. Well, it's partially curiosity, I've always experimented with food, but it's mainly because I think it's the best way to turn other people on to raw food -- to give them something familiar. This is the same principle as giving meat eaters a Not Ham sarnie or something -- they're in their comfort zone and you're shattering their illusions. I'd love to have some friends round for a raw meal, but until I'm confident, I'll have to keep practicing on Stevie (bless him!) Monday 28th February 2000 Day 57 Here's my weekly measure-up: Weight: 8 st 3 lb (115lb) (1lb less) (total 12lb less) Pulse: 60 beats per minute (higher than normal again) Chest: 33.5 (total .5 less) Waist: 25.5 (no change) (total 1.75 inches less) Hips: 34.25 (.25 inch smaller) (total 2.25 inches less) Upper leg: 20 (no change) (total .75 inch change) All measurements are in inches. I felt tired today -- for the first time in weeks I couldn't wake up this morning. I think I just ate too much mixed food last night. Even though it was all raw, it wasn't properly combined. I wasn't hungry until about 1.30, and I just ate left over salad and pie from yesterday, with the last of the seed cheese. The pie was nicer today. At about 4pm I ate a banana, and at about 6.30 I ate an avocado. I was too tired to go to badminton tonight. Naughty girl. I had a bottle of water before bed time. Tuesday 29th February 2000 Day 58 Well, I didn't sleep a wink last night. I was in that strange half asleep but aware state all night. How strange! I didn't feel like eating in the morning, but had a giant mango at about 12.00. I then had a banana at about 1pm. Me and Stevie went out for tea tonight before going to see the fantastic Toy Story 2. I had olives to start (probably not raw) and a nice big salad with lettuce leaves, tomatoes, avocado, grapes, kiwi and mango. I added a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Oh - I also had a Cointreau. "(Your journal) was a tremendous help and just flat out made me feel better about myself. Best of luck to you, I hope you get everything you want out of life" -- Kari, Tempe, Arizona, USA How do I feel after my second month? I've got about the same amount of energy as I got in the first month, but my sleeping patterns have really straightened out. I'm sleeping about a normal amount now, but I get to sleep about 20 minutes after going to bed, instead of 3 or 4 hours - that's a real achievement. I've been able to get up most mornings without a problem. My increase in housework is still there which pleases me as I don't live in such a pig sty any more. Emotionally, I feel much more balanced. I haven't had really high or low points - I've just felt a bit floaty, but content. I feel happy. My runny nose isn't a problem any more at all. I'm not buying half the amount of tissues as I used to! The cellulite on my thighs is almost gone. My whole body feels smoother. I still feel thirsty quite a lot, but this is the only real detox symptom I've had - and it's curable by drinking! I've had 3 cooked meals this month and each one has been more disappointing than the last. I plan to eat one cooked meal in the coming month, but wonder if I'll like it at all. I also plan to do a 5 day fast to get rid of some deep seated toxins -- I've never fasted before so it will be interesting... next

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