Even though I’ve been eating a diet that consists primarily of raw foods for over a decade now, I still ask myself why I eat this way. Let’s face it. The world isn’t set up in a way that makes eating this way easy. It’s far more possible to eat raw today than it’s ever been, but it’s still not as convenient as being able to drive up to a McDonald’s and never even get out of the car to have a meal served to you in minutes.

So why do I do it? Why is raw food such a big part of my life? And why am I willing to go out of my way to eat like this?

1)    Eating raw foods is beautiful and beautifying. When I was in middle school I had a friend who ate a lot of fruits and vegetables. She had gorgeous skin and hair, and her eyes were bright and sparkly. I remember sitting outside with her on a warm spring day during a school recess. She was eating a green apple and I was eating something wrapped in crinkly, shiny paper. I remember thinking how beautiful she was, sitting there eating her apple, and how natural it was to eat in that way. There wasn’t much that was natural about what I was eating, and I could actually feel the difference, just by sitting next to her.

This moment in time has stuck with me through the years because I believe it was a moment when I was shown the vibrational differences in food. It makes sense that one vibration of food will lend itself to a particular outcome, and a different vibration of food will create another one. Today I recognize that I naturally gravitate toward a certain vibration when it comes to what I eat. Raw, organic, beautiful, colorful and how nature intended it – this is how I am drawn to eat even today.

2)    Eating raw can open up a world of variety. Over a decade ago I discovered that there were certain foods that, when I ate them, helped me to feel really good. There was also a whole list of foods that created the opposite effect when I ate them. I’d love to say this list of not-so-great-feeling foods included exotic and rare ingredients that aren’t in the mainstream, but I’d be lying. I actually have a very hard time digesting and assimilating wheat, gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts and sugar. That’s a pretty all-inclusive list!

If you take all of those foods out of your diet, what are you left with? If you’re eating the standard American fare, the answer to that question is “not much!” But if you’re eating a predominantly raw diet, the list is actually quite long. There are very few raw foods that I can’t enjoy on a daily basis. And for this reason alone, I love raw!

When I was eating a “healthy” American diet I felt a lot of deprivation and angst when it came to mealtime. But when I switched to a predominantly raw diet, so many more options opened up to me. I love that there are over 20 food groups in a raw diet, and that I can eat from every single one!

3)    Eating raw keeps the plumbing humming! Raw foods are high in water content and in fiber. Anyone who begins to incorporate more raw foods into their diet will tell you, often with wide eyes, that eating this way has dramatically improved their body’s ability to eliminate waste. And it’s true. This was the first “side effect” from raw that I noticed, and it was like the clouds parted and angels started singing to me from above.

If you’ve ever experienced constipation or chronic elimination woes of any kind, you’ll completely agree with me when I say that it’s a miserable way to live. Quite literally, your body is holding on to the very things that it wanted to eliminate in the first place – for days, even weeks longer than it intended. Over time your body will actually begin to reabsorb the waste, which is a form of “auto-toxicity”.

I don’t think I’m out of line in thinking that if you had a bin of rubbish in your house and it started to really smell that you would want to dispose of it someplace far away from where you live. Keeping your plumbing humming – this means eliminating daily, if not more than once a day –is the same thing.

Eating raw is a great way to easily and naturally ensure that you are properly and regularly disposing of your body’s waste. And the side effects of this side effect? Clearer skin, sparkly eyes, reduction or disappearance of body odor, flatter tummy your stomach flattens, clearer mind and more positive and inspired thoughts every day. All of that from eating raw. Really!

4)     Eating raw is quick, simple and delicious. I mentioned earlier that the world just isn’t set up to eat raw in a convenient way like it’s set up to eat fast food. It’s true. And I’ve yet to see a drive-thru raw food restaurant (it would be an amazing business idea!!!). But having said all of that, eating raw can be as simple and easy as eating a gorgeous green apple, spooning raw almond butter onto celery sticks, or squeezing oranges for a glass of fresh juice.

It can also be far more gourmet and impressive, taking days and countless hours in the kitchen to create a culinary masterpiece. For me, taking the gourmet flavors and concepts from my raw culinary training (thank you Living Light Culinary Arts Institute and Matthew Kenney’s M.A.K.E) and applying them to quick, simple, health promoting and delicious recipes is really the way to go.

I love that I can create an amazing bisque, salad dressing, or raw entrée in a matter of minutes and feel like I’m eating something completely gorgeous and decadent without the not-so-good-feeling after effects. And I completely adore that I can share my culinary experience and know-how with you.

To be clear, you don’t have to be a gourmet raw food chef to eat raw and love every minute of it. I started out with a wobbly cutting board, a dull kitchen knife and a blender with one speed. I read raw books, played with different raw recipes and created a repertoire of foods that I loved (and that my body loved, too).

Since my culinary training I’ve gotten better at distinguishing between ingredients that are more health promoting and those that are really serving a different purpose. I’ve discovered my own style of creating recipes that’s fast, enlivening and completely delicious. And all of this has only reinforced why I eat raw.

Stay tuned for “Why Eat Raw Part Two and Three” coming soon!