What happens when a new-age Vancouver-bound vegetarian gal meets a handsome Guelph-based spiritually-minded vegan? Sparks fly, power shakes are drunk, and tofu is scrambled. Almost immediately, they decide they want to live together, practice yoga, abstain from cable television, and eat mostly raw food.

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Why raw? I have been asked this question a vast plethora of times. I suppose a more accurate query would be “Why raw food now”? Several years ago, in an attempt to combat a myriad of health and general life challenges, I decided to embark on this journey. After spending several weeks drinking blended green smoothies and concocting peculiar looking meals that were more interesting than delicious, I fell off the wagon.

The experience left me flabbergasted for several reasons: 1. How fantastic I felt eating predominantly raw food and 2. How incredible difficulty it was to stay 100% raw, 90% raw, 80% raw… well, you get the picture. I had phenomenal cravings, made more difficult by the fact that I was surrounded by friends enjoying delicious cooked things. About a year ago, I made another attempt at going raw, but was sadly met with the same results again. Despite being a stubborn Leo with the will power of an iron horse, being subjected to an environment filled with Big Macs and fries did little for my raw resolve, and had me frantically searching for veggie burgers and buns – and to be completely honest, candy, chips, and anything that could be fried.

I am hoping that the third time is indeed the charm. Luckily, I have an arsenal of support, a collection of fantastic kitchen gadgets – because I enjoy shaping my vegetables into flowers – and a list of goals to back me up. Possibly the most encouraging about this attempt is the fact that I will not be going about it alone. My significant other, vegan for 20 years, is planning to join me in my new dietary and lifestyle habits. This is absolutely titillating for me! In my moments of weakness and temptation, I will not be faced with the ghosts of my dietary past. Coming full circle to my original question: why raw now?

1. I am a recovering workaholic *smile* and want to increase my energy, vitality, and productivity without sacrificing my life.
2. I am occasionally vain *self mockery* and therefore desire a perfect and glowing complexion.
3. I am a reformed hypochondriac *more self mockery* thus would like to exist in a state of optimal health.
4. I am concerned about the state of the planet and as such, wish to live in an organic, natural, and “green” state of being.
5. I will be sharing a home with a like-minded and supportive person.

It is entirely conceivable that I will spend a significant amount of time fantasizing – and possibly obsessing – about all of the delicious foodstuffs that I will no longer consume in the near future. Thankfully, I am a vegetarian, and therefore I already have certain disinterest for steak, deep fried chicken, and pork tenderloin. Bacon, however, is still a bittersweet memory but it is continually fading. Eggs have already waved their farewell, and milk was something I had little desire for in the first place.

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I am not aiming to be 100% raw, but rather somewhere in the range of 90% – I wish to leave a bit of room for the occasional vegan sausage, or for the faux turkey roast which we plan to serve at Thanksgiving to our (un)suspecting family. The countdown is on. Our lifestyle adjustments are slated to begin this fall, albeit a bit late. Moving into a new house and living in a sea of boxes has been somewhat of a deterrent, but we are currently strengthening our willpower to make this leap. In the meantime, please graciously avoid watching me devour an order of onion rings and wait patiently as we begin our journey of slicing, dicing, and green smoothie blending!