Friday, Day 39, 100% Fruitarian. i did mono for part of the day. Not purposely per se, but circumstance sort of dictated it. i must say it wasn't a bad experience at all. As of this writing though i am thoroughly enjoying a non-sweet fruity salad with spicy plantain sauce. Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
3/4 of a large cantelope

midday:
5 organic bananas

couple of hours later:
one avocado

Dinner:
non-sweet fruity salad which included
nice chunk of chopped ripe papaya
3 stalks of celery
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 avocado
1/4 of a plantain

The sauce:
3/4 of a plantain
1.5 stalks of celery
juice of one lime
juice of two large braeburn apples
small piece of avocado for thickness
one hungarian wax pepper
two handfuls of raisins

It was delicious, but it was too much for the salad. So i drank the leftover (very tasty indeed )

For exercise i did the four mile power march and 20 minutes of toning exercises.

Have a Great Weekend.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 40 of 100% Fruitarian. i know many people seek a sort of "milestone" when they do something like eat raw for 30 days or juice or fast for 30 days. But to me, 40 is special. Its a number that biblically signifies and time of testing. While i still feel i am at baby steps still in this journey, i do want to stop and reflect for a moment after 40 days.

i have not noticed any drastic changes, but many subtle ones. My thinking is alittle clearer, my prayers alittle stronger. Spiritually feeling more in tune with my God and His messages to me. Physically i have dropped about 5-6 pounds and i feel alittle more energetic. There is alittle more bounce in my step for sure. My eliminations go thru periods of being very heavy. Its like i feel my body gathering waste and preparing for a large release of it. i feel this both spiritually and physically. i am feeling less and less the strong desire for salt. i am definitely getting more and more satisfied with the sauces using celery and apple juice that i use to help with that craving. i am totally looking forward to the rest of this journey for many reasons but also to see the different stages i will go through, not exactly knowing what to expect. That is sort of cool and exciting at the same time.

Today i had a nice size sweet fruit salad for breakfast. i made some very delicious mango sauce for it. While i was preparing the mango, the first one i opened had that look that says, its delicious. An orangy-goldish color with juice dripping from it. i used half of it for the sauce and chopped the other half for the salad. Then got a second mango (not as gorgeous) and used half for the sauce and chopped the other half for the salad. Here are the specs:

Lunch:
two nectarines
three bananas
two bosc pears
4 clementines
one mango

The mango sauce:
one mango
juice of two oranges
5 neglet dates
one clementine

Hmmmm Good

Dinner was an exact duplicate of last night except i substituted the hungarian wax pepper in the sauce for a small piece of anaheim pepper (little sharper on the hot but i don't want to waste anything).

No exercise today..


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Today is Day 41 of 100% Raw Fruitarian. i have to say, today was a bit tougher mentally than i have experienced of late. Maybe its life's stresses, maybe its my own cravings, maybe its a combination of several things, i don't know. But i really had cravings for some comfort foods today. My comfort foods are things like raw cabbage wraps with braggs, or soaked bulgar wheat with avocado or carrot-pecan burgers with ezekiel bread. None of these things are considered "bad" or even unhealthy, but none of them are raw fruit either. The grace of God kept me from them and the fact that my wife and children are still fasting. i am glad that i will be fasting tomorrow. Fasting helps me in many ways and the idea of doing it weekly i believe has been a good one for me. How long i continue this ritual, i am not sure, but i do feel the need to do it tomorrow as usual. Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
A sweet fruity salad (i made too much but ate it all):
3 bosc pears
3 bananas
2 nectarines
4 clementines
one half of a mango
half a cup of raisins.

All covered in sweet mango sauce. i must have been outta my mind. Took me an hour and a half to eat it all.

i then went for a four mile stroll with my wife. This was about 3 hours later. The food was pretty much digested (amazing thing that fruit). After the walk, i was hungry again. While i was preparing dinner, i ate two bananas and one avocado.

Dinner:

3 stalks of celery
one large braeburn apple
one half avocado
one cucubmber
two tomatoes
half of a plantain

This i ate with avocado dressing.

The dinner was not as overdone as the breakfast, but as i am posting this i realize i did eat alot today.

Well, Day 41 is over and here we go with a new week.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Monday, Day 42 100% Fruitarian. Today is a fasting day. The heat for the upstairs of my house (where the bedrooms are) is out. This morning it snowed, what a day for a fast! LOL. Anyways, food choices are easy today. It is expected to snow this evening here and freezing rain into tomorrow, so i want to get to the office and get as much done as i can because i will probably stay home tomorrow. We didn't go out and march today but i do intend on doing some indoor toning exercises after work.

You all have a great day.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 43 100% Fruitarian. My wife called me at the office and suggested that she and the children end their master cleanse fast. She said we had only 2 lemons left. Of course that would not be enough to get them thru one more day. i agreed. i was getting concerned about my son anyways as he was looking much more sickly than in previous fasts. Both my son and my youngest daughter were thrilled while my oldest daughter is determined to make it the one more day. The two lemons will be enough for her alone for tomorrow. My son devoured two bananas and my youngest daughter was literally giddy as my wife prepared some raw cabbage wraps and a large salad with almond pate. They should have broken the fast with fruit (they are all aware of that), but i wasn't going to be pharasiacal about that after they had been such troopers. i will make them a large fruit salad tomorrow. My son is planning to eat that and then have pancakes (he is not doing 100% raw like the rest of us) tomorrow, but i think his eyes are bigger than his stomach coming off of this fast. He will learn that for himself. i was glad to see them all enjoying solid food again.


As far as my fruity day....it was fabulous. Here is the breakdown:

Breakfast:
one cantelope
3 tangerines
2 clementines
2 bananas.

lunch:
5 bananas
4 clementines
3 tangerines.

Lunch was funny as i was at a company sales meeting at a hotel. Lunch was served, it looked like some sort of beef dish with lasangna but i wasn't sure. Everyone was sort of staring at me as i took the above mentioned items out of my bag and put them on the plate. i tried to act as normal as possible as i calmly ate my bananas, then the tangerines and clementines. i was genuinely happy with my food and definitely satisfied.

Dinner:
Non-sweet fruity salad
chopped papaya
chopped celery
chopped avocado
chopped tomatoes (2)
chopped cucumber

Covered in spicy mango chutney. Sauce wasn't bad, i could have made it better, but the tomatoes made this salad as i had a very large juicy organic one in there.

For exercise, i have done nothing to this point (ice storm today), but i will be doing some pushups and wall squats before the night is over. Also, i forgot to mention that i did 3 sets of pushups last night before bed.


Hope you are having a great week.

Grace and peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 44 100% Fruitarian. It is mid-day right now. But i wanted to report a development. For the last couple of days, i have had this cold sore in my mouth. Then yesterday i got a second one. This morning they were so painful that i almost could not eat my fruity breakfast. My teeth were also feeling sensitive. Since this has just started, i am thinking it may be a detoxifying reaction of some sort. If it persists through this week i have a back up plan which would include the use of ground nuts and possibly greens. Right now, the greens i have been consuming have been celery and cucumber. Other than that i am feeling great. But this is very irritating. This morning was good as most of my family was able to join me for breakfast

The fruity salad had:
one bartlett pear
3 nectarines
3 apricots
3 bananas
one navel orange
4 clementines
about a cup of raisins
half of a cantelope

i covered this with the most delicious mango sauce i have made yet:
one mango
10 neglet dates
handful of raisins
one clementine
half a nectarine
half a apricot
juice of three oranges (i was preparing for four)

Delicious. i am mindful of the mouth sores and tooth sensitivity, but i am definitely going forward.

No exercise as yet, but something will get done today by God's grace.


Until Later.......

Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 44 100% Fruitarian, early evening. Something interesting happened today. My wife made some raw sun burgers for her and my daughter. She didn't like them because she said they were not savory (alittle bland). i took a pinch of one and i could taste everything that was in it very clearly. Not only that it didn't taste bland to me at all. i just took a pinch because she had carrots, onions and other raw stuff that i am not eating right now, but i know my tastebuds are changing. What i did for my avocado-plantain dressing was add alittle basil (about a tablespoon) and i found this salt-free bombay indian spice that i didn't like before because it had no salt (it has been sitting in my spice shelf as my wife didn't think she'd like it either) and added a few dashes of that (i'd say less than a teaspoon). The result? It tasted totally fabulous and the thing i loved is that, there was no salt! This is a very big thing for me. Its been less than two months and not only is my mind getting clearer, but i am overcoming the salt addiction by God's grace. i am very happy about this

So my non-sweet fruity salad was:
good chunk of chopped papaya
1.5 tomatoes
half of one haas avo
4 stalks of celery
one cucumber

The sauce:
one half of one plantain
The tops of the four celery stalks (they were large stalks) with the accompanying leaves
juice of two large braeburn apples
juice of one lime
three quarters of one haas avo
handful of raisins
small piece of hot pepper
the above-mentioned basil and bombay salt-free stuff.

Delicious. i made too much so i poured what the salad needed on it and drank the rest (very yummy)

For exercise today i did 3 sets of wall squats and will probably do 3 sets of pushups before bed.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

hi, I've been reading your diary and really enjoy your posts. I have been trying to prepare some raw dishes but some of them require salt and I have noticed the salt is really affecting me badly. I usually enjoy green smoothies but lately I have been wanting to learn how to prepare raw dishes for my non raw family. Most of the recipe's require a pinch of salt. I am just learning this new way to prepare foods, in many ways I prefer to keep it simple but I am trying to entice my family. Its also good to hear your family eats raw foods as well. Keep up the good progress.
Pam

pampam Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hi, I've been reading your diary and really enjoy
> your posts. I have been trying to prepare some
> raw dishes but some of them require salt and I
> have noticed the salt is really affecting me
> badly. I usually enjoy green smoothies but lately
> I have been wanting to learn how to prepare raw
> dishes for my non raw family. Most of the
> recipe's require a pinch of salt. I am just
> learning this new way to prepare foods, in many
> ways I prefer to keep it simple but I am trying to
> entice my family. Its also good to hear your
> family eats raw foods as well. Keep up the good
> progress.
> Pam

Hello there Pam. So glad that you are being helped in your journey in some small way by my journey. i also have been reading your progress and am pulling for you. i just want to make sure of something, i don't think salt is a bad thing. i think too much salt is a bad thing. i personally have a salt addiction because of a lifetime of overdoing it to the point where my body craves it like a drug. If you don't have that problem, i see nothing wrong with a dash of salt in a recipe. Particularly if you are just starting out. Eating raw food is a big change for most people and having that food taste good to the palate is a big part of sticking with it. One can use small quantities of salt and still keep the meal wholesome and simple. i am hoping, praying and believing that by fasting from salt for this year, my tastebuds will have an opportunity to overcome the perversion of excess salt. Perhaps then i can go back to using just a dash here and there or maybe none at all but i will know then.


May Grace and Peace be multiplied to you abundantly.


todd

Day 45 100% fruitarian. Ok.......last night after i posted, i ate my wife's raw sun burgers, about 4 of them. i felt like she would end up throwing them out, plus i had the munchies. i dont like that situation because my desire not to waste anything caused me to eat something that i didn't really want to eat. It was raw, but as i stated earlier, it had carrots, onions and some braggs in it. It did taste good, but it wasn't fruit. i know, some people may think 'If my junk food was raw i would feel great', but that is not the point here. i really want to stick with just fruits and fruits only for 2009. i felt nothing wrong in my system today, but i don't want to do that again. Not that anything was wrong with them, except they had some braggs in them. i really don't want any salt. i also ate one stalk of celery and a fuji apple. Really it wasn't about the food as much as the nervous munchies and my mouth was hurting too. Ok.....that's it for yesterday...on with today.

Today, i had an excellent, delicious fruity day (inspite of my mouth pain and its hurting). But the food was good.

Breakfast:
one banana
75% of a small watermelon

Lunch:
non-sweet fruity salad:
two tomatoes
3 stalks of celery (i ate a 4th stalk as i was preparing it)
one cucumber (i tossed the ends of the cuke in the sauce mixture)
about 25% of a red sweet pepper

i covered this in a sauce that was a duplicate of yesterdays with the exception that i replaced the plantain with a mango (a mango that i would not have eaten btw, but it made a delicious addition to this sauce).

For exercise i did a four mile power march then about 20 minutes of toning exercises.

i am sure i am not done eating for the day, not sure what i will eat (only that it will be fruit), will post that tomorrow.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Day 46 100% Fruitarian. Today was an "ok" day food wise. My mouth was still hurting this morning so i couldn't eat as much as i wanted to. Too bad though, because i prepared the most delicious sweet mango sauce that i ever tasted. The family loved it so there were no worries about leftovers . i had one bowl of it and then drank 16oz of fresh squeezed OJ. That was delicious. i have done fasts on OJ in the past and its so delicious that i never tire of it. Which is probably why its the base for all my sweet sauces.
Here is today's menu:

Breakfast:
One bowl of this fruit salad:
4 apricots
4 nectarines
3 bananas
one anjou pear
one cup of raisins
4 clementines

The sauce:
one mango
juice of 4 oranges
7 neglet dates
handful of raisins
one apricot
one nectarine

One very happy family

Dinner:
non-sweet fruit salad
half of a cucumber (it was a large one)
two tomatoes
about a quarter of a nice sized papaya
3 stalks of celery (i cut off the top parts for the sauce)
3 mini sweet peppers
one half of a plantain

Then some avo-plantain dressing:
one very ripe plantain
juice of one lime
juice of two fuji apples
tops of three celery stalks
handful of raisins
one hungarian wax pepper
75% of one avo (i ate the other 25%)

about 2 tsp of the bombay stuff and 2 tsp of basil

Delicious.

No exercise today. i was too busy.

btw, had a very large bm yesterday. Not coincidentally, my weight is now 187lbs. My weight seems to be dropping very gradually. i like that because its natural. Everything is all good at this point. We move forward.

i probably will drink more OJ later. Last night after i posted i ate the rest of the small watermelon (about 25%) that i didn't eat for breakfast and one tomato.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Greetings. Rather quickly went through last posts, will spend more time catching up later. Glad you're still on the good journey and posting. Thanks for sharing.
Big feasty salads! I am going to make a fruit sauce soon, too! I'm about to embark, seriously, on rawfood journey again and visit this site more often. Reading your journal will be a big help: inspiration and motivation. Nice to hear of the subtle changes you feel. It sounds like it is both energizing and 'quietening'....that's what I'm after.

Day 47 100% Raw Fruitarian. Had a raw potluck at our home today. Went very well. My mouth is still hurting so i only drank smoothie this morning (what a delicious smoothie it was!). i bought a case of bananas a few days ago and they are all getting ripe at the same time. Looks like i will be eating mono for alot of the day tomorrow Might be a blessing in disguise. Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
Plantain-banana-orange smoothie 32oz

Lunch:
Non-sweet fruity salad with plantain-avo sauce (spicy)

later:
3 bananas and a banana smoothie (16oz).


No exercise today, but was plenty busy.

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Elakti Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Greetings. Rather quickly went through last
> posts, will spend more time catching up later.
> Glad you're still on the good journey and posting.
> Thanks for sharing.
> Big feasty salads! I am going to make a fruit
> sauce soon, too! I'm about to embark, seriously,
> on rawfood journey again and visit this site more
> often. Reading your journal will be a big help:
> inspiration and motivation. Nice to hear of the
> subtle changes you feel. It sounds like it is
> both energizing and 'quietening'....that's what
> I'm after.

Definitely......Blessings to you on your journey!!

Day 48 100% Fruitarian. In cruise control for the time being (who knows what lurks around the corner lol), but everything is just flowing. i have had some salt cravings but when i eat they go away. The key seems to be to make sure i eat enough (which i definitely do). Had alot of bananas today (and will have more following this post). i have been reading some raw foodist express concerns recently about the possibility of over-eating on fruits. With all due respect (i seek to respect all opinions regardless of how ridiculous they sound to me), i cannot agree. This is theory without real life experience. i am a classic long-term over-eater. i am to be 48 years old this year and for most of my life i have over-eaten. i have been a raw vegan for nearly 5 years now and for the other 43 years i over-ate on pies, cookies, cakes, baked goods, bread, cereals, flesh, ice cream and many other things. It was destroying me. i do believe in temperance, but in this society, we are conditioned to over-eat. i believe the raw diet (particularly the fruitarian one) over time causes a person to naturally know when they have had enough to eat. The toxins, poisons and drugs in the processed items we are trained to call food, with all its lack of nutrients (except those that have been "fortified" by men from laboratories), destroys our ability to know if and when we have had enough. One of the things i have learned from my own person, the raw food journey is just that, a journey. There will be many twists, turns and new experiences. There will be lots of learning and growth. There will be mistakes made and learned from. But too many people are taking the stage of their journey as the stage of everyone's journey. Too many are trying to scientifically control theirs and other's journey (many times in order to make money), i have no problem with people earning a buck as its everyone's right, but if someones health is involved, we need to be careful.

There, that is my rant for the day

Today's menu was:

Breakfast:
6 bananas followed by two bowls of sweet fruity salad (which included chopped bananas) with plantain-mango dressing.


Dinner:
Large bowl of non-sweet fruity salad with avo-plantain dressing.

i will have more bananas and juice a very ripe half cantelope (its going bad and of course, i wont let it waste) in about an hour or so.

Exercise:
4 mile walk.....very short hike (it was very muddy so we cut it short)....will do some pushups and wall squats before bed.


Grace and Peace be multiplied to all.


todd

Hey Todd,

"One of the things i have learned from my own person, the raw food journey is just that, a journey. There will be many twists, turns and new experiences. There will be lots of learning and growth. There will be mistakes made and learned from."

I hear ya! I've been on this journey off and on for 25 years, mostly off, but always cognizant on some level of what I need to be doing for myself. The last six years I have been more consciously drifting back to rawness, and just living more sustainably in general, in my mindset, but it seems like there is always something or someone to deter me from what I know I need to do for myself. It sounds like a cop out and that I am weak. Maybe I am but I really don't want to be. I have eaten 100% raw for short amounts of time, and 80 or so percent for extended periods (last year and 1981-1985 off and on). I really want to push this and go all the way because in spite of detox symptoms, I feel amazing when I eat 100% raw. I feel 25 instead of 47. I don't want to attempt to make my family adopt a lifestyle (which is what raw foodism appears to me to be) that they aren't comfortable with, but I find it difficult at times to stick to just eating raw food when my honey wants to cook some amazing dish (he is an amazing cook and loves to do it) and I say "no, I'm not eating anything cooked" and then he doesn't want to just cook this amazing dish just for himself. I feel guilty. I know it isn't his problem -- my feelings are mine and he isn't trying to make me feel guilty, but I want him to be happy too. So I just need to figure out how to do what I need to do for myself and still validate his efforts without sacrificing my health. Last night was a case in point. He wanted to make pizza. I am okay with eating some cooked food once in a while, but I recently have discovered that wheat really cramps my digestive system up, so I said I wasn't eating any. He was surprised, even though he knows that I have been having this problem. I think he gets confused because I will say something about what I am going to do dietarily, then I cave and eat something that I know is going to make me ache (out of weakness, not because I am disregarding what I had previously said), then he gets confused about what I am doing or feels like I am being schizophrenic with my diet.

Sorry about the rambling, but the sentiment on "twists and turns" really hit me. Have a great day!

"Sorry about the rambling, but the sentiment on "twists and turns" really hit me. Have a great day!"

Hey there sundancer! Could it be that you are, like me, addicted to salt or sugar or both? For me the savory things i crave end up really being a craving for salt. My body wants it because its used to getting that fix. But now i am denying it that fix. Like a heroin addict, it is attempting to make any and every excuse as to why i should give it this fix. But as the weeks are going by, the cry is getting weaker and weaker. In the past i would eat raw but not deny my body the salt fix. i felt good but i knew it was possible to go to a much higher level. i believe by Grace that i am climbing higher now.

Also, we must make sure to eat plenty (like the 30 bananas a day doctrine...lol) because not eating enough of the raw foods leads to hunger and cravings which are more easily given into.


The Twists and turns continue....lol


Grace and Peace be multiplied to you.


todd

Monday, Day 49 100% Fruitarian. Today was scheduled to be a fast day, but i didn't fast for mainly two reasons. First i bought a case of bananas last week that were getting very ripe. My family was not consuming them at the rate that i thought they would. So, in order to prevent them from going bad, i just had to eat alot of them ;D. Secondly, i was looking for food comfort today.

The good thing is that i ate mono most of the day. i really can get into eating mono fruit. The problem is i would need a higher quality of fruit than i now have in order for it to really work. i figure the summer would be a good time to really do it right. i wonder what i will be like by then? Its exciting to think about.

Todays meals were as follows:

No breakfast:

noon-time: 6 bananas.

3pm: 5 bananas.

6 pm: 1 banana

7pm: non-sweet fruity salad with avo-plantian sauce. i put some fresh cilantro in the sauce, but my taste buds are ready to fully appreciate it at this time. Perhaps further in the journey they will be.

For exercise:
i did the four mile power march early this morning. Then 4 sets of pushups and 3 sets of wall squats.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Hey Todd--

I think I may have a problem with salt but not sugar; I rarely eat sugar. I noticed as I ate cooked squash and sweet potatoes I wanted a lot of Earth Balance (margarine) on it. Maybe it's the fat factor too. I did pretty well today in spite of the cooked veggies at dinner -- raw the rest of the day.

Sundancer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Todd--
>
> I think I may have a problem with salt but not
> sugar; I rarely eat sugar. I noticed as I ate
> cooked squash and sweet potatoes I wanted a lot of
> Earth Balance (margarine) on it. Maybe it's the
> fat factor too. I did pretty well today in spite
> of the cooked veggies at dinner -- raw the rest of
> the day.


That sounds like an accurate assessment. Yes, i forgot about the fat thing. Closely associated with the salt thing. i get mine from the avocado, although i usually try to limit myself to one per day. Sometimes though i have eaten as many as three in a day. i stay away from the nuts though. So far its worked out well. Do you like avocados?

Love 'em!!! I think I just need to plan my meals better, stop allowing myself to binge, and plan other things for myself to do to get myself out of the kitchen in the evenings. I know what I should eat; it's tough in the evenings when my hubby is cooking for hours (which he loves to do) and wants me to hang out with him in the kitchen. Then I snack and snack while waiting for dinner when I should eat a raw meal a little earlier then call it good for the day. Maybe I could sit at the kitchen table and plan raw meals for the next day while he's cooking or something.

Great idea! or you could be snacking on some avos with celery or bananas or oranges or clementines or mangos or something while you are hanging out with him and planning the next day's menu (smile).



Grace and peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 50 100% Fruitarian. Well, 50 is a number that biblically indicates the time of the first fruits. The time when the earth begins to bring forth its fruit. So, what fruit am i beginning to bring forth? i don't know...lol.
i am growing in clearness of mind each week for sure. i have been under tremendous pressure in my personal life, but it hasn't caused my to falter in the diet (i am thankful for God's grace upon me). At this point my weight has been fluctuating between 185lbs and 188lbs. Most of the time these days its 187lbs. i have purposely not let myself get too intense on the exercise but have been consistent in light exercise and toning movements. The biggest detox episode was this tremendously painful series of sores in my mouth. i have a pretty large scab-like thing from one of them. It lasted over a week. Also a few days ago i saw these dark spots appear on my forehead but that was gone after two days.

i don't know what else to expect, but i move forward. Some have called for me to included soft greens like romaine in my diet. i may do that, but not right now. i am also feeling less cravings for nuts. Almost no cravings in fact, which is amazing as nuts and nut butters have been a staple of mine all my life (even when i wasn't raw or even vegan). The taste for salt is lessening by the week. i really enjoy the non-sweet fruity salad as much as the sweet one now. i have discovered several new sauce recipes. This is good for transition, but i look forward to the day when i will not need them. i don't know when that will be, but i want it to happen naturally as my taste buds change.

Well, thats my 50 day report.....moving on.


Today's menu was:

Breakfast:
one banana, one-third cantelope, one-half a mini-watermelon, 32oz of fruit smoothie

Lunch:
three navel oranges.

dinner:
large non-sweet fruity salad with savory plantain-avo sauce.

Had a small snow storm here last night and this morning and it was windy and cold so no power march today. i will end up doing some pushups and wall squats later.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Day 51 100% Fruitarian. Personally, today was a great challenge. Fortunately, foodwise.....it was a great day. i am really having a taste for melons. i am hopefully going to be able to do some shopping tomorrow. we have one small watermelon left and i am sure i can only eat half of it. We have other fruit, but i am really wanting melon now. Its juice, sweetness and water are really appealing to me at this time. i have warned my family that when i do go shopping expect to see alot of them ...lol.

Today's meals were:

Breakfast:
half of a small watermelon. 3 navel oranges. 3 clementines. One banana.

Dinner:
One very large non-sweet fruity salad with avo-plantain sauce. This sounds redundant but actually i am making slight changes to both the sauce and the salad almost daily. For example today i had no papaya, but i put two apples in the salad (delicious). i have also been sprinkling basil on the salad and in the sauce. Lately i have also been adding more celery as its taste seems sweeter now. Things are a changin'.


i am about to go and eat about 3 oranges in lieu of not being able to eat my melon until tomorrow.

i didn't end up doing exercise yesterday as planned. But today i did four sets of 30 pushups.


Grace and Peace be multiplied to all.


todd

Day 52 of 100% Raw Fruitarian. i was fortunate enough to be able to do my food shopping today (Thursday), i usually do it on Fridays. Its much more of a mad-house like atmosphere then so it was good. i also was fortunate enough to have alittle extra money for shopping. What extra goodies do you suppose i was able to secure? Fruit of course! Large quantities of it. i bought 7 melons today , 3 watermelons and 4 cantelopes. i am looking forward to having an entire melon to myself for Lunch this weekend. There was another sale on organic bananas so i got plenty of those, along with lots of delicious oranges (also organic and also on sale this week). i did make one strange purchase though. i saw these raw snow peas (aka snap peas), they looked so good. i tested a few in the store. That led me to buy a pound. i ate too many of them, as i found out later (too late of course) that they are really legumes. i thought they were fruit. They did feel heavy on my tummy. i am not sure what i am going to do with the rest of them. My son thought they would taste good cooked so maybe i will persuade him to make some for himself. That way i won't have to eat all of them in order to avoid wasting them. Today's menu was:

Breakfast:
Half a mini watermelon. two navel oranges. 32oz of juice made from two nectarines, 4 oranges and part of a fresh pineapple (Delicious).

Lunch:
i had maybe ten of those raw snap peas and a sampled my wife's raw carrot burger (raw but not fruit). Then i had the most delicious non-sweet fruity salad with avocado-mango dressing (i found some amazing mangos today).

Later:
3 more sweet, juicy navel oranges.


For exercise i did the four mile march and that was it as i was busy trying to get all my shopping done (i normally go to 3 or 4 different stores seeking the best bargains i can find), takes me 3-4 hours to get shopping done usually.

Grace and Peace be multiplied to all.

todd

Day 53 100% Fruitarian. What an eventful day i had today. A day of surprises, pain, natural healing and raw delights. Let me start with breakfast. i had a half of watermelon (i am really into melon at this particular time), 4 clementines (sweet like candy), 3 navel oranges and one banana. Now i normally eat my breakfast after i workout (you will see why in a moment), but today i was so drooling over that melon that i couldn't wait. Then we went for our power march. Now yesterday (this is going to get alittle yucky), i did the same thing and about halfway thru the march i had to relieve myself. i mean really, really bad. Like my stomach was poking out like a pregnant woman, number one and number two. i didn't tell my wife about number two because she would have freaked (in fact you are finding out about this before she is), so i found a secluded spot in the woods in a little crevice where water once flowed but doesnt anymore. There i dropped my pants (it was about 25 degrees) and took care of my business. Actually i have done that before when hiking in the deep woods in New Hampshire. When you are raw, bm's are very smooth (tmi), anyway i did that yesterday and came back to my wife relieved and cool as a cucumber. She didn't know all that i did back their. This is why i don't eat before i go out, situations like that. You would think i would have learned my lesson. But noooooo.

So today i ate my breakfast and we went out. About the same time as yesterday, i had to go, this time just number one (i felt number two coming but it wasn't that bad). But number one was really pressing. So i walked quickly to the same spot in the woods, but in my haste i stepped accidentally into what i thought was solid ground but it was a hole. My foot got caught and i fell backwards, twisting my knee in an awkward and unnatural way. Ouch. Perhaps out of shock, i quickly bounced up to my feet and again took care of my business. Then again i walked out to my wife like nothing happened. My knee hurt alittle, but i felt like i would just shake it off. About 4 hours later or so, (the time i was having my non-sweet fruity salad), my knee suddenly swelled up like a balloon. It was about twice its normal size. The pain was intense, so much so that when my wife attempted to touch it and message it, i nearly fell out. i could not finish my meal of course, so i hopped to my bed and lay in pain. i could not even take off my clothes. My wife got a baggie and filled it with ice and wrapped it around the knee. i elevated the knee on pillows. The pain was throbbing up my leg and it was beginning to give me a headache. My wife keeps iboprofen for herself and i was tempted to take some, but i didn't. i am definitely one who is not into pills, hospitals or doctors. i mean, God bless them and if i actually break a bone take me to them, but otherwise no thanks.

Anyways, after about 2 hours the throbbing stopped. i was able to take off my clothes and i took off the ice and lay there. At this point whenever i moved it hurt. Then an interesting and amazing thing started to happen. With each passing hour, i could feel the swelling reduce. i had to get up about 7 times during the night to urinate and the first time i hobbled, but the 7th time, i walked. The next morning, the swelling was completely gone, i could stand on the leg and walk. It still had some soreness in it so i decided to stay off of it as much as possible, but i knew my body had healed itself. i praise the Lord for His grace and the power of healing He puts in fruits!

Also, during my travels yesterday, i needed to stop by the Asian market for some plantain. They sell some really good plantain there. Whenever i go i also ask about durian. They always say 'in a few weeks' or 'in the spring'. So as i was paying for my plantain and was chatting with the store owner, i mentioned how i looked forward to when the durian came in. Then the nice asian gentlemen said the magic words 'We have durian now'. i could not believe it, finally i would taste the famous durian. He had them frozen in small plastic boxes. It had been cut and placed in plastic wrap and shipped. He said the whole fruit would come soon. i bought two boxes that had three chunks in each. i was so excited, even while my knee was beginning to kill me. i had to make a stop between the market and home and it took about an hour for me to get home. In that time i started to smell the famous durian smell. Yes, it smelled like raw sewage....LOL. But i expected that. i called my wife from the car to tell her that i got it, when i got home my daughters where waiting at the door as all of us wanted to check this fruit out. When we opened the box, my son left the room . My youngest daugther (soon to be 14), held her nose. My wife and older daughter cringed up their faces. i opened one of plastic wraps. It was cold (for they had been frozen), i don't like to eat fruit cold like that, i prefer it at room temperature, but i understood the distance they sent this fruit from so i knew that unless i was in SE Asia, this is how i would get it. It tasted sweet and creamy. My oldest daughter tasted it twice, she didn't like it. My youngest daughter liked it and so did my wife. i was in alot of pain so i tasted alittle and enjoyed it. Now, we ate it in my bedroom, our house is two stories and my bedroom is on the second floor above the kitchen. We had the durian in the fridge, its smell permeated the whole house..lol. i felt like someone stuffed my nose with it. But the next morning (this morning), my wife tells me, 'don't eat all the durian, save me some'..that confirms that she, like me, has found a new love. i am glad she told me that, for as i am writing this report, i just polished off the other box and there is one wrapped piece left which i saved for her. Its even better today than it was yesterday. So creamy and sweet. Now, my son is demanding that when we get the whole fruit we eat it outside, i admit, i can understand that. i probably will eat it on the back patio, i think it will be a good time. i can surely understand how some adore it and some hate it. i am definitely in the former category. Now i would like to make a trip to SE Asia just to get some fresh. i have been invited to the phillipines to preach and i told them they could pay me in fruit (seriously). When i mentioned mango, avocado, melon and durian, they were happy as they said they could easily get all those. Oh happy Day!!

The menu today was:

Breakfast:
half a watermelon, 4 clementines, 3 navel oranges, one banana

lunch:
half of my non-sweet fruity salad with avo-plantain-mango sauce. (i plan on eating the rest today and using it as wrap filling with some romaine leaf).

later:
Delicious, rich and creamy durian.

Exercise:
i did the four mile march, some squats with a medicine ball and some other leg exercise with it (this was after the injury but before the swelling).

Have a wonderful weekend:

Grace and Peace be multiplied to all.


todd

Day 54 100% Fruitarian. i took it easy today as my family went to visit a local congregation. i stayed home and had a very peaceful, quiet day (which i very much enjoy). i ate like a king today for the most part, but my leftover non-sweet fruity salad had definitely lost its power. i tried to make wraps out of it and that has definite possibliities but the salad had lost its umph and i wasn't as satisfied as i normally would be. It appears the non-sweet fruits do not keep as well (in this case) as the sweet ones. i am still amazed at how quickly my knee is healing. The only problem is i like to hang out in my bedroom and the kitchen is downstairs so i exercised it more than i would want to going up and down. Today's menu:

Breakfast:
half a mini watermelon, 3 navel oranges.

snack:
Delicious Durian (i saved my wife one chunk and even that we split later, i am an addict).

Lunch:
non-sweet fruity salad wrapped in romaine leaf. i believe this can be very good with fresh made salad. i had leftovers from yesterday and it appeared stale as i afore-mentioned. It wasn't very satisfying and that is something that frustrates me. i like to really enjoy my main meal and i usually do (in fact this is the first time in this leg of the journey that i really didn't).

one mango.

Later:
Split the last Durian chunk with my wife. i am trying to scrap together the $7 that i need to get some more tomorrow (if the asian store is open on sundays and i hope it is).

No exercise today obviously.


Have a wonderful rest of the weekend.


Grace and Peace be multiplied.


todd

Sunday, Day 55 100% Fruitarian. Wow. What a weekend i have had! i mean i already spoke of the events of friday with the knee injury and the durian. As of this writing i'd say my knee is about 90% healed. The power of God in this diet is amazing to me. Well, yesterday, i was thinking of how i could scrap together $7 to get some more durian. i mean i love that stuff. i even like the smell now. Its scary. Well, i was sitting in my living room pondering this (i even mentioned it in my last journal). Well, a very generous and sweet person, who is also on the raw journey read that. This very generous and sweet person said they would like to buy me that durian. i seriously thought they were wishfully thinking. But they were serious! Today in my paypal account was enough money to feast on durian.....and feast we did! Oh, dear friend THANK YOU. That doesn't seem to be enough..THANK YOU VERY MUCH .Nah that doesnt do it either.......i will just say i praise the God of Heaven for touching your heart and i will keep praying for you. What a weekend.

So needless to say, i enjoyed some sweet, creamy, delicious durian. i am thinking if i like it this much coming from across the world in a frozen state, how much better would it be fresh? Those of you who live where this stuff is grown are blessed indeed. i was able to go for a walk with my wife today On Friday i thought that would have been impossible. i mean picture a grapefruit on your knee and thats what my knee looked like. i could not touch it or move on put any pressure on my leg without severe pain. Today i was walking with a spring in my step....amazing.

ok..todays menu....ate like a king today:

Breakfast:
half a mini watermelon, 4 clementines 2 oranges (valencias), one banana.

Lunch:
2 bananas, one brazilian honeydew melon (got it at Sam's club for $1.88, now if you shop for melons you know that is cheaper than usual). That melon was sweet like candy.

Dinner:
zucchini spaghetti with cayenne, basil, chopped tomatos in basil, plantain sauce and pieces of avocado over it.........Delicious.

some non-sweet fruity salad with the same plantain sauce

Delicious Durian....i could have left everything else and just eaten this

Exercise:
i felt good but didnt want to push it so we did our usual casual stroll but it was only about 1.5 miles instead of the usual four. No problems with the knee at all.

i pray your weekend was better than mine! (mine was pretty good too)

Grace and Peace be multiplied unto you.


todd

Quite the weekend, Todd!! Glad you're better! I haven't tried a durian yet, but I know a store (about a half hour away) that sells them sometimes. I have to get up the nerve...

Day 56 100% Fruitarian. i was supposed to fast today, but i didn't. The reason is that i failed a test. You ever pray and ask for patience, then you get placed in situations that really cause you to lose patience? i have, its during those times i have learned that patience is developed. Well, i have been asking to be able to reveal more love. Not love the way the world knows it, but deeper love. Divine love. A love that has to be from above and outside of me and i must receive in order to give. Well, when i asked, i was tested. i failed the test. We very rarely see ourselves in a true light. For example, the other day i heard someone negatively judging fruit because they felt so bad and had some bad detox as they ate it. They blamed the fruit and not their really filthy digestive system and dirty blood. This is how we humans are, its not us, its something or someone else. i have learned different. At this stage in my journey as a Christian when there is a problem, i look to me first. Even if it appears to come from some other direction. Our reaction to any situation tells more about us than the situation life puts us in. i want a reaction that reflects a Divine Nature, not a faulty human one. There is always tomorrow if we are fortunate enough to see another day (i am thankful for Grace). Well, because i saw how far short i am in this area and because i was feeling some other pressures of life, i decided to eat. i didn't come to this decision until the afternoon so i didn't eat breakfast. My knee, by the way, is completely healed, but i did not exercise today as a matter of circumstance.

the menu therefore was:

Lunch:
4 clementines, 2 oranges one chunk of Durian

dinner:
non-sweet fruity salad, with no sauce but i put curry, cayenne and basil seasoning on it. (not bad).

Later:
2 bananas, the remnants of the durian, fruit smoothie with nectarines, oj, banana, raisins, water.


no exercise today.


Grace, Peace and Love be multiplied.


todd