Adventures in Raw Food

Here's the thing. I like bacon.

I recently went a few months without eating meat. Not intentionally at first; it just kind of happened. Then one day, I smelled bacon sizzling away in my mom's kitchen. That ended things REAL quick.

But here's the other thing. I like being healthy.

Although I don't think I could ever fully embrace vegetarianism, I do value many of the reasons behind the lifestyle. Especially since "a National Cancer Institute study of 500,000 people found that those who ate 4 ounces (114 grams) of red meat or more daily were 30 percent more likely to die of any cause over 10 years than were those who consumed less" Um, yah. Pass the lentils.

In a quest to rev up my health and do a detox of sorts, I've devoted about 40% of my daily meals to raw foods. And the "raw until dinner" approach is really striking my fancy these days. I discovered Megan Elizabeth's "easytoberaw" YouTube channel and can't get enough. Here's a sampling of what I've been up to in the kitchen:

Veggie "Sub" - sweet bell peppers, carrots, celery, tomatoes and 1 tbsp. tahini nestled inside a romaine heart

Strawberry "Bread Pudding" - Black figs, strawberries, strawberry/date sauce (OMG this is good)

Apple Cinnamon "Oatmeal" - Apples, dates, almonds and cinnamon all chopped up and topped with banana "soft serve"

I'm really amazed at how good these meals came out. The flavors were crisp and the portions filling.

Have any of you tried raw foods?