One of the questions we get asked all the time is "but don't you miss the variety?"
The first few times I heard this I was quite taken aback, because it seemed so bizzare. Since going raw, I've been forced to "give up" many foods that I never chose to make part of my diet - they were "just there" because they were everywhere. There was never any question of eating stuff like pasta, it was just always in the house and pretty much "everyone" ate it without thinking twice. The moment you decide that you want to go in a different direction to what "everyone" is doing (EG the mainstream) you start needing to make decisions. Not just based on what's around, but what you want your life - and diet - to be about. This is why two raw foodists will just about always have more differences in their diet than two SAD (standard American/Australian Diet) people. When you start making decisions, you start looking out for more `option`s to decide from, more choices, more opportunities until searching for, finding, and enjoying wonderful, strange new foods just becomes part of your daily life. Take our lunch yesterday for example:
You'll notice Dragonfruit, Abiu, Lychees, Soursop, Mangoes, a Longnose Sapotey and an unusual relative of the paw paw that I've only ever seen once before. Compare this to the last person who asked me the variety question when I asked what they'd had for lunch "McDonalds". And when I asked how often they had that "Not much. About two or three times a week." It was really hard not asking them where they got THEIR variety from, I can tell you!
What it all comes down to, is that we tend to feel what we consistently think about. We look for wonderful new foods and experiences that we've never tried before and surprisingly always seem to find them (even in Japan famed for it's outrageous fresh food prices). People starting raw often focus on what they're giving up more than on finding wonderful new *experiences* (note: I don't just say replacements here!). Strangely enough when they focus on a lack of variety, they're not focusing on finding new alternatives. So they don't. And the result is that the lack of variety they focus on becomes real.
Now what to do about this? My challenge to you, is to find at LEAST one of the many fabulous new foods this week that you can hunt out. Try it. Regardless of what you first think, try it a few more times to get over the "this isn't what I've previously enjoyed..." phase. If you don't enjoy it - move on and try something else! When you do enjoy it, make a point of sharing it with friends and treating yourself to it from now on. It's amazing how many fresh raw foods that appear expensive actually come out very cheap when you compare the price to how many overpriced chocolate bars you'd get for the same price. Most of all savour the experience, going in looking to be delighted. I know you'll be thrilled with just how often you actually are!
Viva La Raw!
Piers
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