The Day After

Yes...I have survived another Thanksgiving holiday with my marvelous family and friends. We had a beautiful day that included dinner for 20. As a raw foodist, orchestrating a festive and appetizing menu for a guest list of cooked food eating carnivores was not a task I took lightly. The menu consisted of a combination of the best of both worlds....traditional Thanksgiving fare and the introduction, to the majority of my guests, of the beauty and health of raw foods. I guess it is good to know that my appliances still work and that I haven't lost my ability to produce gourmet cooked foods for a crowd when the occasion calls for such.

I won't be sharing my recipes in this entry, although I will get around to it. I just needed to blog my assessment of where I am today, in the aftermath of such a day as Thanksgiving. Preparing all of that food seemed excessive and I felt troubled as I was vigorously adhering to the traditions that my family has always observed. No one had a clue I was at odds with the whole affair, yet in my heart, I kept asking the question, "Will this be my last Thanksgiving to cook?" My family doesn't have a real concept of who I am or what I do as it relates to the whole raw food thing, nor do any of them seem to care. I am speaking in a broad sense because my immediate family..husband and children, get it because they live it with me on a daily basis. But parents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, etc. just look at me with a baffled look as though I am dabbling in some type of cult. Perhaps that is the reason I keep my diet so much on the down low...in an effort to simply not upset the balance of these family functions that seem to revolve around food, all cooked and always in excess.

So, through my personal discomforts of yesterday's activities, I think I've turned yet another corner. I have a great deal of acceptance and love towards my family and I am so very thankful for all they mean to me. It really doesn't matter to me if they understand or accept my diet/lifestyle. It really doesn't have to be a big deal. One or two days a year I can certainly compromise my diet and enjoy all the fun and love that flows through the crowd. (Albeit, I was popping digestive enzymes like a junkie). They need their cooked foods somehow...it completes the ambiance for them. They can see that I have made and continue to make personal changes that are having positive impact upon my health and my appearance. They can tell by my words that I am doing my homework as it relates to diet and health. I don't have to cram anything down anyones throat. If anyone wants to know more, they can ask me. That is just where I am with it all.

Yesterday made me proud to be a raw foodist. It made me realize how eating raw is so much kinder and gentler on my body, my kitchen and the resources around me. Washing raw dishes hardly requires soap. Yet today, I have pans that are soaking in my sink that may never come clean due to the residues of cooked, congealed foods. As troubled as I felt in the midst of a pipping hot kitchen yesterday, a sense of gentle peace and gratefulness has settled upon me today. My husband is waiting on me now....ready to start this day with a green power smoothie. Yes, I have much to be thankful for.