Habitat For Humanity

Yesterday I accompanied my sixteen year old daughter and her friend from school on a build for Habitat for Humanity. They're girlie-girls to an extent, but also athletes on the track team. They have pretty cushy lives, and though I wouldn't say they seek it out, they aren't afraid of hard work.

And hard work it was. Because we were the least skilled laborers to show up for the day, we were sent to a site where the concrete hadn't yet been poured for the four homes that will be built there. Our first task was to move a large pile of bricks onto a pallet. We quickly sorted ourselves into a routine to handle the job efficiently.

We were next assigned to shovel and spread sand all over the soon-to-be garage areas until it was x inches deep. If you haven't picked up a shovel in a while, let me remind you: they're heavy even before they're filled with sand. By the time we were halfway done, it was 97 degrees. There was no shade and the girls were starting to flag. I was glad to have the energy to keep going, although I'd barely slept 4 hours the previous night.

I was proud of the girls. They voiced a few complaints, mostly through their laughter, but they completed the job. With any luck on the next build, the heaviest thing they'll have to lift will be a hammer.

Raw Food Defined

A few people have asked me what exactly Raw Food means. For me it means uncooked fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, along with extra-virgin, cold-pressed oils, and a bit of raw honey and raw cacao. Today I even had sashimi (raw tuna). Many raw aficionados are vegan... or vegan and organic... or eat raw meat or raw sprouted grains.

At first glance it may seem that all I'll have to eat is salad, but I've been fortunate in finding 100s of recipes for raw dishes. I've yet to try Raw Chocolate Pudding, but if it's as good as Raw Peach Cobbler, I'll be happy. For lunch yesterday, my raw pesto was poured over raw zucchini shavings, rather than flour-based pasta--quite satisfying.

Right now, I'm striving for 90% of my meals made up of Raw Food. Today's menu:

Breakfast: watermelon
1/2 cup coffee

Lunch: grapes
an apple
sashimi

Snack: 1/2 slice Ezekiel bread w/ coconut butter & raw honey
1 date shake (dates blended with almond milk) Addicting!

Dinner:Raw ratatouille (zucchini, eggplant, raw tomato sauce)

It doesn't seem like a lot of food compared to what I'd usually eat, but I haven't been hungry and my energy has been good. And that's after spending a full day on a Deconstruction project with Habitat for Humanity!