raw food and my homeschooling lifestyle

[Amahla Johnson]

This week when I went to the farmer's market, for the first time there was a stand selling raw food! I was so happy!  We often meet there with a bunch of homeschooling families that we are friends with and hang out for several hours.   There are stands selling produce and different prepared food - organic hotdogs, bread, soup, quinoa salad, crepes, ice cream, sandwiches.  I have been used to bringing my own salad and buying the odd thing like sprouts to supplement it, and then buying cooked food for my daughter.  Now I don't have to!  This week I bought a collard wrap and a cookie.  They were pretty good (mine are better everyone agreed) and slightly pricey but still this changes my life. :)

Another thing that is new and so nice, is that we've had a bunch of birthday parties to go to recently and people are trying to be more raw-friendly.  Because all of the homeschoolers we hang out with are generally into holistic health stuff, often there will be a regular cake and a dairy & gluten-free cake etc.  This year, two of the moms went out of their way to buy a slice of raw cheesecake specifically for me!  And with the other parties there have been raw options like lots of fruit, and crudite with guacamole.  It's so great!  Sometimes I do let myself have a few bites of gluten-free cake or a couple of rice crackers, but overall I can stay raw without shlepping tons of food with me.  

I'm pretty lucky I think - to have the group of homeschooling friends I do.  They like the food I make and my kid gets peer pressure to eat healthy!  Usually we drink spring water at home, and take it out with us in glass bottles.  One day a couple of weeks ago, we ran out of water and I told her to get a drink at the water fountain.  One of her friends, age 6, told her not to drink from there because the water has flouride and chlorine in it!  

Last summer I was hanging with a pregnant friend in the park, and a few of the homeschool kids were hanging with us and I was giving them snacks.  One of them, an 8 yr old girl, told me I was a good mom.  "Why do you say that?" I asked.  "Because you always have snacks and they are gluten-free."  I had to laugh.  Then my friend was asking them if they were gluten-free.  The 4 year old said "Yes, I'm gluten-free and she's gluten-free and P---- (my dd) is half gluten-free."  Ha ha ha.  I let her have wheat but try to keep it to a minimum.  

 

I would like to do a little improving of her diet in the next few months if I can - I also notice the same thing with her that I notice with myself:  if she's really happy, junk food is not an issue - she just forgets about it, and her body seems to speak more clearly about what it truly needs.  But to get her to the edge of her capacity for engagement and flow everyday is a bit of a challenge.  I think as she gets a bit older and can pursue more things on her own, the better it will be.  Yesterday we traveled to a different city to visit some close friends, also homeschoolers.  My dd and my friend's daughter always move into this zone where they are deeply absorbed into imaginative play for hours.  For hours!  I think yesterday it was like 7 hours of full on play with breaks to eat and go to the bathroom.  They played indoors and also went to 2 different parks.  I really saw my dd enter into the flow state.  And I wish I could offer her that everyday.  

Last night I started reading a book by Charles Eisenstein called The Yoga of Eating, that my friend that we visited lent me.  I like his ideas a lot - I'm also reading another book of his online called Sacred Economics.  I think this connects with my last paragraph because he articulated something that I have been thinking about which is that the diet you need/have is related to the kind of life that you lead.  Like, what vibrational level are you functioning on and how does that influence your choices and nutritional needs?  How does your diet validate your lifestyle and environment?

[Janet Carol Ryan]

you are modeling new ways of parenting and sharing the blessings of vibrant living foods - blessings to you and your family - keep up the wonderful ways!

[Stacy Daniels]

That is awesome that you have so much support!  That book Yoga of Eating sounds interesting, I will definitely check it out!

[Mae Jardine]

Yes, you are lucky, Amahla. You and your family are blessed with like minded friend and goals.

I like your question, "How does your diet validate your lifestyle and environment? It is an easy one for me to answer.  I like my life and surroundings simple.  Therefore, the high raw diet validates my lifestyle and helps me to keep my environment as pure as possible in this modern world.  It also means lots of trips to the recycling center but it is a worthy responsibility.  I've found a simple life doesn't mean a dull life.  It actually opens doors and makes room for new and interesting experiences.

Thanks for your uplifting blog and have a rawtastic week  : )