Hi everyone! My name is Lisa and I'm 25. I am Jamaican (though I moving to Florida, more specifically the Miami area, in the next 8 to 10 months). Because I live in such a tropical environment and the year round availability of fresh produce, I have been about 75% raw for most of my adult life quite by accident really... I wasn't even aware of the raw "movement" until a year ago when stumbled upon this website and a few raw foodist blogs. I chose to eat a predominantly plant based diet (now I fluctuate between 80% and 100% raw but I don't really stress the numbers) because of how it made me feel. Websites like this one though have shown me quite a lot of creative ways one can thrive in this lifestyle.

It blew my mind when I first came to realize how much my entire psychoemotional state was based on what I ate. Of course it makes a lot of sense now - you feel better when your body's working efficiently and your body works efficiently when you give it the right fuel & building blocks, but it's really not something that I think enters the general publics consciousness. You are what you eat... what a truly simple yet profound concept.

I grew up in a very epicurean household. My mother and several other family members are classically trained chefs so food and meal-time was (and still is) very important. And even though I grew up eating meat and cooked food, meat was never the main feature in any dish and it wasn't present in every single meal. Snacks were always fresh vegetables from our garden or fruit picked straight from the tree. I grew up learning the importance of maintaining, as best you can, the integrity of food. I believe it is this that lead me to eating raw.

I do, on occasion, miss cooking. In fact, I have found that I continually gravitate to the longer, more complicated raw recipes because I am used to this type of process. The things I miss about cooked food tend to be random... like the smell of roasted garlic in the oven... or the sweetness that caramelized onions imparts to a soup. I have gained so much by eating raw that the cravings for cooked food are few and far between.

After lurking and reading these boards for a few months I thought I'd join in! I have already learned so many interesting things here (in particular, posts made by Brian and arugula) and I look forward to getting to know you all!



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

Lisa:

-When you come down to Florida way, make sure to hook up with Coconutcream in Miami......and drop me a line at davidzanemason@hotmail......and know that you've got support and friends in the neighborhood!

-David Z. Mason

Hey David,

Fantastic thank you! And I will most certainly drop you and coconutcream a line. We are quite excited about the move... I have been told there is a thriving raw foods community down there, which was one of the major motivating factors in choosing that area!

Lisa



My website: The Coconut Chronicles

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