"I feel JUICY and SEXY ..."

-now before we get to that...

Journey with me to the Big Island of Hawaii as I ask my "go to" and long time friend a few questions about her Raw Diet. 

First I would like to express how informative and inspiring she has been for me. It was a year ago almost to the day that she was visiting California. I was going see her and her family. With absolutely nothing to wear, I made a store run where I purchased a pair of size 14 jeans. I always envied the beautiful foods Joy posted on Facebook, and longed for the time when I lived in Hawaii, and the vegetarian diet I followed since childhood, but had abandoned 9 years ago. When I saw her happy beaming face in pictures I could remember feeling good. Just plain ol' "feelin good." In my mind I would "someday" get back to a vegetarian lifestyle, but the excuses poured..."busy mom of four now, I cook and bake from scratch that should be good enough right? Maybe if I moved back to Hawaii I would eat healthy again?" However, when I saw her in person, it was clear that she fully embodied what I had left behind. It wasn't about losing the weight anymore. It was that moment that I knew I had to find my way back.  Back to feeling good, back to being energetic, back to the calm, the mental clarity. I began my journey immediately.

No, you don't have to be on an Island to eat clean and feel amazing. Also, the fact that those size 14 jeans would fall to the ground if I tried them on now is a huge plus... the good kinda "plus" Today I share with you my friend and "Raw Foodie" Joy, as I  consider taking the journey a step further and ask her a few questions about eating RAW.

My name is Joy and I am 32 years old. I live on the Big Island of Hawaii.

If you had to categorize your diet, what would you say it is? I would call myself Vegan/Highly RAW Foodie. I've been Vegan/Highly Raw Foodie for 1  year and 4 months.

What was your diet like before making the decision to eat Raw? Sadly my diet before raw foods was the (SAD)Standard American Diet.

 What inspired you to embrace a Raw foods diet? I was inspired to turn to raw, living, electrical food because I was sick of feeling horrible! My main reason was for mental clarity, and mood swings. At one time my anxiety attacks were so bad the I had to go on anti-anxiety medication for two years. I was also over weight, suffered from dry skin, and low energy. I wanted to feel balanced and healthy. I thought there had to be a natural better way to deal with these issues. So I started to do research on Google and You Tube. I was amazed and excited about all the wonderful things, fruits and veggies could do for me! It was the only thing that made sense.

Was it a challenge? If so what was it and why did you continue to push through this challenge? I have to say one of the challenges was having my husband and others adjust to my new way of eating. Also, people asking where does my protein come from? Saying that I was going to end up vitamin deficient. I was never a meat eater to begin with so that wasn't so hard for me. Another challenge was finding some what of a balance of how many fruits and veggies, seeds, nuts, good fats to eat. As I took one day at a time my body started to tell me and I started to listen! There was a few times when I just wanted oranges one day, other days I just felt like eating watermelon, or just greens ect...and last I experienced a few detox/healing crisis' that were challenging and at first I thought the raw foods were making me sick. However I did a lot of resting and stuck with it and always felt amazing afterwards!

Has eating Raw effected your social life? What do you think is the greatest misconception about someone who lives on a Raw Diet? As far as my social life goes its not bad. If we go to a friends house for dinner I will just bring a dish. If we go out to eat, I will also bring snacks or order fruit and salad. My friends and family are pretty supportive. One misconception though would be that its boring, raw food doesn't taste good and many think you will be hungry all the time! Its quite the opposite. These foods are full of nutrition! You don't need very much to feel full. There is an endless amount of fruit and veggies and the flavors and water content is amazing! People will be surprised by the power of Living Foods!

 I often hear "Raw Foodies" talk about a more creative/positive energy change with a Raw Diet. What is the most positive effect you have experienced by living Raw? Any change in your sense of smell, taste buds, emotional/mental well being? The most positive effect of eating organic raw living foods is that I was able to wean myself off of anti - anxiety medication and feel more calm, happy and have more mental clarity. The perks...hmm where do I start?! The first thing I started to notice was I was losing weight without any effort or exercise. Second, I started to become very regular.(If you no what I mean?! HAHA)... After eating a meal I would never feel overly full or bloated anymore. I felt clean inside. Then I noticed my nails and hair started to grow fast. I no longer needed face moisturizer. I also noticed I no longer had body odor, so I threw out my deodorant. I had a couple freckles on my arm bubble up and flake off, then they disappeared!! My husband and others started to notice I had a glow to my skin! My taste buds started to change. For instance I would taste test my husbands canned beans and I could right away taste metal. My taste buds now crave juicy fruits and veggies. At the moment I cant get enough mango's! I have a heightened sense of smell. I feel closer to nature and appreciate where real food comes from. I find myself being more creative. I've once again started journaling, dancing, drawing and soon going to start pottery/ceramics class...Im very excited!

Does your family live on a Raw Diet? If not, does this present a challenge? How do you manage this challenge? My husband is not a raw foodie however he will now drink my green smoothies and fresh veggie juices. He says they taste great! He also eats more salads, seeds, nuts ect. I'm very proud of him for making better choices and he says that he feels a difference when he does. My son who is 5 years old is also a highly raw foodie. I've been juicing for him since he was 1. He loves to get involved and help mommy with the smoothies and planting his own seeds and sprouts in our family garden. I take him foraging around the island so he can see where some of his food comes from. Hoping to ingrain love and respect for nature.

Do you think this diet can be achieved by someone who doesn't live on an Island? This diet can be achieved just about anywhere. Ive heard and seen people foraging in LA of all places!! Pretty cool!

 Do you have a Raw Recipe favorite? Since moving and living on the Big Island Of Hawaii for 11 years I had fallin in love with Sushi...so I have an awesome raw recipe thats delicious! 

I usually keep it really simple but there are those times where I want to be creative so here is the sushi recipe...

                    "RAW RAW" SUSHI

                   2 Raw NORI (seaweed) Sheets

                   2 cups Macadamia Nuts (soaked at least 1 hour)

                   2 tsp Raw Coconut Aminos

                   1 cucumber (sliced into thin strips)

                   1 carrot (sliced into thin strips)

                   1 avocado (peeled and sliced into thin strips)

                   1 Portobello mushroom(slices into thin strips and marinated in olive oil and salt)

                   Sunflower sprouts

                   Spring water (for food processing and getting stuff wet)   

    Directions:

                      Food process soaked Mac Nuts and Raw Coconut Aminos (add more aminos for a stronger taste. Add water if needed.The goal is get a cooked-rice-consistency

                      Using a fork spread the Mac Nuts "rice" onto the raw nori sheet (dip the fork in the water if needed, it helps smooth the mac nut"rice" onto the raw nori) covering the whole thing with a thin layer.

                     Place a slice of one or two of each of your veggies into the mac nut "rice" parallel to each other and have a little hanging out each for good looks.

                      Roll up the raw nori sheets, get two fingers wet in the water and rub them along the edge of the raw nori sheet to stick the hanging flap onto the roll. Place in the fridge for 5 to 10 minutes to help solidify for cutting. Remove from fridge, cut into bite size pieces and serve with some raw coconut amino's for dipping!   

                                                                                                 

Last but not least would you ever go back to your previous diet? I will "Never Go Back" to the old way of eating ever again! Besides I think I look healthier now than I did when I was In my early twenties. I feel JUICY and SEXY on RAW FOODS!! If you want to feel ALIVE...eat RAW LIVING FOODS!!!

Relaxing on the porch after coconut "foraging"