Raw Valentines Day? H-NO We went nuts....

             Yesterday was Valentines Day and I had a ball! It was the best Valentines Day ever and I can’t wait for the next one to roll around. It’s crazy to the both of us but this is our third lovers’ holiday together. My, how time flies. Anyway, the reason for me tapping on the keyboard this freezing February morning is to tell about our adventures in food yesterday. We started off the day like many others, with a big smoothie and water. I was far from satisfied as we began to ride thru the city. Our destination was the movies. The theater we went to was in the boonies over a half hour from our current residence but luckily we were in striking distance from the local and plentiful health food store. I figured we could stash some stuff in our back pack and eat that in the movie since we couldn’t eat anything in there anyway and I for one could feel my stomach touching my back. Gaby had some alternative ideas. She told me that she wanted to eat some popcorn at the movies. WHAT!!! Popcorn I thought to myself, she was a funny girl, but she was very serious. I thought about it for a second but couldn’t see myself eating that after a month and a half eating 100% raw. Then a little voice to me said,” T, eat the popcorn, live your life, don’t let it live you”. Being an internal wrestling pro I never fully embraced the idea. I thought she would let it go after we got some food. So enter the health food store to get some coconut juice for sure since I could feel a headache trying to come on. I thought maybe I was a little dehydrated and this would knock the subtle pain right out the park. We also got some our favorite “crackers” (at least until I get a dehydrator) Flax Snacks, pizza flavored of course and a couple handfuls of almonds, plus two avocados to seal the deal. The idea was to open the avocado and scoop it with the crackers, ummm yummy. While strolling thru the isles Gab found her way to the cheese section and sampled not one but two cheeses. Then I knew she was very serious about eating the popcorn at the movies. We were going on two weeks strong on a lovely vegan lifestyle. But I can understand how the smooth, creamy taste of cheese can sometimes cause you to slip up, especially for some one only 2 weeks in who wasn’t very gun ho about it in the first place.

                Exit Whole Foods and enter almonds into my mouth. Now I’ve got something in my stomach and feeling better every second there after. As movies time got closer I got a little more nervous about putting something cooked with processed additives on it in my mouth. Then I thought about the almonds I was eating and the olives that I put on my salads. I don’t know for sure if the almonds are blanched, steamed or what ever. I also don’t know for a fact if the olives had been thru anything extra to stay so damn tasty inside that can so why should I be so silently critical of myself and my lady for wanting to indulge in the other side just for a day. So I asked her one last time if she was serious about eating cooked food today. A simple yes was directed to my ears. I thought to myself…Well maybe I can get some tasty Thai today as well. When we finished browsing the mall and a sporting goods store looking for gear for our bike trip we made our way to the ticket and concession stand. Some how we chose the slowest line possible. People that got in a line after us had already found their seats and were enjoying previews. Maybe it was a sign that this was the wrong move, for the popcorn of course. Finally the turn was ours and I ordered the large popcorn, of course with butter in the middle and on top. If I was going to eat it I was going to enjoy it, damn it. Gaby took a handful while walking to the theater and before I knew it I had put my tongue into the huge tub of calories and fat a pulled back three or four pieces of yellow popcorn. It didn’t even dawn on me that I was eating it until I swallowed it. Then I was fine with it. Usually we can only pick over a medium popcorn but this time we totally devoured it. I couldn’t believe we ate the whole thing. It was like nothing to us, although we were left with an empty feeling in our stomach. Being the “thrifty” people we are we got to see a second movie for free! Leaving the tempting smells of fatcorn behind and the splash of high fructose corn syrup with coloring in the distance, we moved toward an unknown destination.
        
                    We discussed eating one last cooked meal but really didn’t want to spend the money. Finally we decided it was a special day and we should just do as we pleased since we both were not ready to return home and remained shorted nutritionally. Not that what ever we chose would be the healthiest thing for us but this day…anything went. We both thought about what we would most like to eat and it came down to Thai or Indian. I wanted Indian cuisine but felt happy to go for what I knew she really wanted. She had gone all out for me today in the way no one has ever done for me thus made me feel loved superiorly. Not being able to spend much private time has weighed on us and on my mood. I wanted to take full advantage of this alone time. We stopped at a Thai place that we had seen earlier and got a cozy table in the jam packed restaurant. For starters we ordered veggie egg rolls which were basically spring rolls. Gaby ordered her favorite…Thai noodle soup and I got what I know best tofu and broccoli. The rolls came out and I was surprised how hot the food was in my mouth. I could eat anything fresh out the pot or pan before but this food really brought the heat, but still very, very good. Next Gaby’s noodle soup came out. I could tell she was enjoying every fork and spoonful of it. She offered me some but I only took a forkful. I wanted her to really enjoy her food. It took over 10 minutes for my food to come out but the elated mood I felt couldn’t be altered. I knew that Thai food served small portions but the amount of broccoli was a little less than pleasing. I order on the menu this time and got the amazing tofu which came with the obvious tofu and some assorted veggies. I desired only the tofu and broccoli. Maybe this had some thing to do with the trace amount of veggies. The sauce was decent and the over all meal very good.

                 I asked Gaby how she felt and she said “heavy”, I too felt the same but it was very strange. Although my stomach was full I still wanted to eat more. I felt like I was missing something, what could it be? I came to the conclusion that my body was craving all the wonderful raw foods it had been feasting on since the first of the year. It also could be all that salty popcorn and cooked food leaving me dehydrated and craving water. What ever the feeling was I wasn’t particularly fond of it. Nor was I looking forward to subjecting myself to it any time soon. We drove home feeling tired and unsatisfied. I believe the lesson for the day was love is best served hot, moods are batter mild and food should be enjoyed at room temperature ( or raw to all my fellow raw foodies). Now we plan on doing a detox/fast. I need one week to eat the food the no one else will eat and to get my mind right. The fast should last for about a week. I hope it will be simple since I already have done a four week fast.

Til next time, good eating and great love!