Hi friends! I wasn’t really planning on sitting down and writing this post just yet– but here it is, cause why not? So my diet has been going really well!! It’s great to be able to say that. I’m not being completely raw– like I mentioned yesterday, if I didn’t have to cook for Marlowe, I would probably continue raw, mostly fruit most nights– but if I’m making warm food for her, well then Im going to have some too. It would just be too much and unnecessary for me to cook two separate meals for the two of us. And while she’d be happy to eat all fruit too, I’m happy to continue feeding her veggies + legumesΒ + some grains.Β But overall, I do feel a lot better (still) from eating mostly fruit. The only times I don’t feel great is when I don’t sleep great or enough. So as long as I’m making sure to rest sufficient amounts and eating easily to digest foods (mostly fruitsΒ + some greensΒ + veg) and something cooked, but not overly hard to process for dinner, then I’m set!


So I’ve been mostly following that 801010 guideline– the book that I had linked yesterday. The book recommends that you’re completely raw, which I’m obviously not, but otherwise I am trying to follow it. The main focus is to keep the fats down. Which I know I mentioned this at some point in these food posts: cutting down my fat a few months ago (by suggestion of my acupuncturist) made a huge difference in how I felt. I had put such a focus on eating fats– with every meal and even as a snack– because I wanted so badly to gain weight. But it didn’t actually help me gain weight, it just put waaaay too much work on my gut and body and made me feel ill. I’m still eating things like avocado, coconut milk, and seeds for fat (sometimes a bit of toasted sesame seed oil for that delicious dressing recipeΒ thatΒ I shared), but other than that I’ve cut down on the fats significantly.It’s been so interesting learning completely new ideas on how our body processes food. I could hardly eat a tiny bit of strawberries when I first got sick, because I would have the most intense blood sugar spikes– it was terrible. It’s hard for me to even describe how terrible I would feel after eating right after c. diff. and for months after on a high fat diet. But now, since reading so many different books about this sort of thing and doing my best to really understand how the body processes food, well, I’m a bit blown away. THIS bookΒ + that 801010 bookΒ + others I’ve read all explained how (natural) sugar is not the problem in blood sugar issues– it’s fat. And after testing out the theory myself, I’ve found it to be completely true. I was eating fat for every single meal and unable to process anything, not even brown rice without a blood sugar spikeΒ + terrible symptoms. But after three days of cutting out the fat from my diet (at least most of it), I can sit and eat an entire pineapple without any sort of negative symptom or blood sugar spike. It’s insane… and amazing. If you’re interested in learning more about it, I would totally suggest getting the books– as they will explain it far better than I could!Like, I totally and completely get that this diet won’t be for everyone, but man, it’s made such a positive and healthy impact in my life, body, and mood.

Almost every morning I start the day with a 16 ounce celery juice. I loathe celery. Not as much as I once hated banana– but gah, it makes me cringe. I’m doing this in hopes to increase my hydrochloric acid and improve my digestion even more. I know it’ll be a long road until my gut is completely healed…. remember even ONE dose of antibiotics can and will change your gut floral for An ENTIRE YEAR. So for me? Well, I got a ways to go, but it’s surely getting better. And I’m going to take any little step I can to make a better impact on my life. And if that means that I’m going to gulp down celery juice in the morning— well, I’m going to suck it up and do it (pun intended).

Well, to be even more specific, I start my day with one to two glasses of water, and I still take my probioticΒ most days. THEN I chug down celery juice as fast I can…. to get it over with.

I bought my juicer about 7 years ago. And I’ve gone through phases where I didn’t use it at all… but now I’m back to using it everyday again. Weeeee!

I let that settle in my gut a bit and then I make myself a giant smoothie. And when I say giant, I mean giant. I think thats about 50 ounces of pure goodness. I often add spirulina to it a bit too. I’ve been able to basically cut out all the supplements and magical expensive superfoods, but I still hang on to that probiotic and my spirulina— I love them both.

I never, not ever counted or looked at calories in my entire life. Until now. Now I do it, but to make sure I’m getting (more than) enough. Honestly, eating mostly plants and little processed foods = not having to count calories. The only time I really had to worry about weight gain before was because of drinking (alcohol), not food. But now I do count calories, for myself, yeah, but also because I know people start to question the whole thing when I say I eat mostly fruit and I like to give them a total break down of everything and explain it as best I can. So when I say, hey, it’s cool I’m happily eating 1000 calories before 10 am everyday– people don’t question limitations or restrictions as much. So yeah, I start my morning, post celery juice, with an 800+ calories smoothie. PARTAY.

ALSO. Alex wants me point out that I fought him on buying a vitamix for about a year because they are so goddamn expensive— but then I finally gave in when my 8 year old stick blender broke and said, FINE you can get the refurbished one if you want– and it’s been one of the best purchases we (he) has made. The refurbished one is about half the price, and have zero complaints on it. Honestly, I use it about 3 to 5 times a day. So he won that battle. He asked if I wanted to buy it off him, heh.

fav. food latelyΒ + life changing foodsΒ + the 80/10/10 dietΒ reading.



After my smoothie I usually just eat more fruit until about lunch time. Papaya with passionfruit on top or a pineapple is my absolute favorite. I do eat at least half, but usually the whole papaya or the whole pineapple. Both are packed with really wonderful digestive enzymes. And are freaking delicious. I’m SO SO SO grateful to have organic papayas growing in the yard.

Lunch is either some sort of lettuce wrap (like this) or a giant salad (^^thats a VERY small one, more of a snack. ^^ but I realized I haven’t really taken salad pictures, so you get this photo) or sometimes more fruit. The biggest struggle I’ve found is creating salt freeΒ + oil free dressings that I really love. I might find a fruitarian cookbook to play with more dressing recipes.

For dinner, you can scroll through What Marlowe Eats-– what she eats is basically what I eat. For lunch she’ll have quesadillas and sandwiches and things I can’t eat. But for dinner we eat mostly the same. I tried to do raw pastas for a bit, but with the exception of few, I mostly hate them. And I don’t want to hate this process– I want to love it for what it is. I’m still making things like this yellow curry or eggplant pasta for the two of us– just slightly tweaked now. Even for Marlowe, we stopped using wheat noodles, we eat rice or quinoa ones. Sometimes what I’ll do is make zucchini noodles and toss them in with my pasta– so I’m eating more raw noodles, with just a bit of the warm ones for taste and texture. It’s been interesting making the foods that we’re used to without oil. It’s hard to shift the way you completely think and cook– I think anyone can agree on that. I use less or no oil, less salt (I’m trying to cut it out completely, but it’s hard so far), less roasting and more raw veg, etc. I’m still eating bits of grains here and there– mostly brown or black rice. But not everyday. And of course, I still don’t eat nuts or gluten– since they are both very difficult on the/my gut.


It’s been sort of pricey, yeah. Mostly because there really aren’t many fruits in season right now– even here in South Florida. I’ve been making it a point to buy things in bulk when I can. Eating a ton of bananas everyday (still can’t believe I eat bananas EVERYDAY now… or even at all. I couldn’t even peel them before without gagging!!)– but they’re cheap, high in calories, and nutrient dense. But I no longer have to worry about expensive things like oil or processed foods like almond milk or yogurts. We actually stopped buying almond milk completely– it’s not even a regular in Marlowe’s diet anymore either. I try to be smart about shopping– the hardest thing is the pineapples– they’re so expensive, but they get me every time— I love them so much.

Overall this has been a great process. I’m happy I took this step. It’s true, when you’ve got nothing left to lose…. well, I had nothing to lose… and I ended up gaining so much. Not only in health, but in knowledge. I could sit there and read and learn and try to understand all day. I’m looking at fats and proteins in ways I never had before. I’m eating more fruit than I ever have in my entire life. I’m appreciating my tropical location now more than ever. It’s all really good.

There are a few raw or mostly raw recipes I’d like to put together for you guys. Hopefully soon. If you guys have any personal questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. You guys know I’m open about sharing everything. And I totally love and appreciate all the positive feed back I get from people when they say they’re trying things I’ve suggested and it has made them feel amazing too. I know the vegan thing isn’t for everyone. And the fruitarian thing (actually so different from most typical raw vegan diets) isn’t for everyone– but I know it’s helped so many people, and I’m so happy to be an example of what it can really do. If you want to learn more about the science, I definitely recommend checking out the books searching online. There are so many resources out there! I don’t want to be one of those people– but we totally were designed to eat specific foods and fruit is one of them– and as long as you’re going about it the right way (not cutting out the fatΒ + eating lots of fruit = blood sugarΒ + candida nightmare), I think you’d be happy with the results you see <3

Hope you guys are having a delicious week!

oh ps. If you’re not looking into the fruitarian thing, but thinking about switching to veganism or adding more vegan meals into your diet, don’t forget about The Plantiful TableΒ  πŸ™‚ It’s a great holiday gift too πŸ™‚

21 Comments

  1. A bit late but I wonder if you could answer… do you still drink coffee? I guess coffee / tea / herbal teas are not accepted in a strict raw diet? In a "raw till four diet" where could coffee have its place? I think that coffee (in a moderate amount) makes me happier : ) Thank you for all you share and inspire here in the blog!

  2. I wish I could eat more like this, but living in Northern Europe, fruit just ain't all around like in more tropical regions. I love your cookbook but kinda wish you had like "Northern edition" for all of us living in colder climates with more easily available ingredients. I mean, I wish I could find plantains (oh man I do), but ya know. Looking forward to hearing more about your fruitarian journey as it progresses πŸ™‚

  3. Hi Drea, Thanks so much for these posts. My husband and I have been on a food healing journey for the last couple of years – he got Lyme disease and then developed colitis from the large dose of antibiotics. By the time he had taken all the drugs that were supposed to help, he was in horrible shape. Now off all drugs and on a mostly raw vegan diet. Anyways, all that to say that your journey has been so helpful to read about and also so I don't feel so weird about the massive amounts of fruits and veggies we buy each week (we're not buying boxes of fruit, but might get there soon – how do you go about getting those? a co-op? regular grocery story?) Lots of love and sending you healing vibes (have been for awhile, just not much of a commenter πŸ™‚

  4. Hi Drea, I'm a big fan of the blog and have been for a while but it has taken me this long to comment?:) This might be a silly question but I'm wondering if you add any sort of liquid when making your smoothies. I usually use almond milk but I'm trying to reduce my intake. I guess I could just use water? But I'm finding it doesn't always taste as good? Do you have any recommendations for alternatives?

    Looking forward to your recipes and thanks for all that you do!

    • Hi! So depending on what I put in the smoothie, I may not always need to add water– like pineapples or starfruit are super juicy and don't need more liquid (usually). But for my normal morning smoothie I use coconut water! Or half coconut water and half regular water because coconut water is expensive! It was an adjustment for sure when we cut out the almond milk– but even Marlowe is totally okay with water /coconut water based smoothies now πŸ™‚

  5. Lovely pictures. There is such a variety of fruits!
    I don't use much fruit in my meals/diet. Too much fruit makes me run to the toilet πŸ™‚
    I live an ayurvedic lifestyle – or at least most of the time – and fruit is not a big part of it. For the reason I mentioned above πŸ™‚

    By the way, I'm enjoying your cook book! Made the 15 minute recipe with couscous and chickpeas for a second time. Also the calentado is a keeper.

    • the toilet thing was an adjustment– after a while your body becomes accustomed and now I def. don't go too much πŸ™‚ Before this shift I did focus mostly on ayurvedic cooking in my healing process but at the end of the day my body just couldn't tolerate a lot of it. A Lot of people cut out things like garlic and onions for this process too– and I'm like, no Im holding on to my garlic, onions, and ginger πŸ™‚

  6. Very interesting! I don't know what I would think if I saw a lady buying that much celery or that many bananas at once, hah! πŸ˜› I like learning about what you're eating, as usual, because you always have great insights. I have to say it seems very unbalanced to my untrained brain…. is it more of a healing regime or is this something people do all the time? How do you get all the other macro and micronutrients that your body needs? Maybe I should just read the book haha. Here's another question though – I can't imagine eating THAT MUCH FOOD. Was that hard to get used to? Does it take up a lot of time, just munching and chewing? (weird question, sorry). Thanks for being an open book πŸ™‚

    • Hahah! I do often get asked, "what are you going to do with all those bananas?" haha.

      It's def something people do all the time– complete lifestyle change! The whole thing is that people can get more than enough of what they need from raw fruit + raw veg– it's once we start cooking foods that the protein structures change and nutrients are hard to absorb. I still eat a bit of cooked food, I'd like to dive in more and do it completely for a while ethen go from there.

      It is a lot of food! I ate a lot in general before anyway– people are always surprised at how much I eat. Alex always asks, "but where does it all go?" — the only thing I have trouble with is the salad eating part– it is A LOT of chewing. Half way through, I'm just like, ughhhhh I'm tired of chewing πŸ˜‰

  7. so glad and happy for you Drea!! you were one of the first 'vegan' blogs I started reading many years ago which helped kickstart me on my vegan journey – and i have learn't a lot from your recipes, honest diet reflection and even 'what marlowe eats' (my favourite posts!!). I came across the recommendation of lowering ones fat intake some time ago, and it's only recently that I've really implemented it (not all raw (maybe 40-60%), just whole food plant-based) after watching the documentary 'Eating you Alive' which was kind of the last straw. It seems like it's the final polish for many people to their diets in making them feel as best as possible. I'm definitely finding that and hoping you continue to too <3<3 Thank you for sharing and looking forward to those recipes XO

    • Yay πŸ™‚

      I'm going to get out that documentary! Maybe tonight!

      Thank you thank you <3

  8. I just wrote a super long and friendly and conversational comment. I hit "publish" and the whole thing disappeared.

    In short: have you read about bananas slowing down your absorption of nutrients? Or that in the banana industry tray, bananas are harvested too early to have developed and therefore don't possess the nutrients that bananas naturally should?

    I hope you can counter these statements because I LOVE bananas but have cut back on them for the above reasons ^ … off to do some more research. Thanks for reading! Love your blog

    xx Malory

    • Hi! I hate when that happens!!

      I have not read about bananas slowing nutrient absorption. There are a lot of things that can slow nutrient absorption– I'll have to look into the banana one!

      banana industry: ugh. yeah, it's not a great one. I have many complaints about the industry and mono cropping etc. many are harvested waaaaayyy too early. Most produce stores actually have to "sweat" the bananas to manually ripen them before they put them on the shelves. You might notice the weird ones that get soft but stay green? Those are very guilty bananas, haha. This is obviously NOT ideal. That being said, most produce industries pick their food before they're fully mature, so they can be shipped across the states or world. In a perfect world we would totally be eating ripened fruit right off the tree and getting the maximum nutrition the fruit contains, but thats not the case. That being said, I think having bananas (or any fruit) that was picked too soon is better than having no fruit at all. I personally still eat them despite this. Buttttt I also try to get as many local bananas that were picked later on when I can. But I'm in south florida, so this is an option for me. I'm patiently waiting for our 12 trees to start giving me fruit and then I'll have to worry less about the whole thing ;/

      Hope that sort of helped in some way? haha.

    • How were you able to kick the banana hating habit? I hate bananas still and struggle with the smell of the peel, touching them, and can't imagine eating them. I do feed them to my sweet nephew because I just love him so much. So curious how you managed to get over it! Thanks, Drea! πŸ™‚

    • Nikki: slowly! I started having them thinly sliced on acai bowls and smoothie bowls. Then adding a bit to smoothies. just working my way up little by little. I had to do this with tomatoes about ten years ago too, haha. I still can't peel back a cavendish bananas and eat it– but sometimes I can with an apple banana or some other variety πŸ™‚

  9. That's really interesting about the fat/blood sugar link Drea. I have horrible blood sugar problems, sometimes it's really hard to stabilise it. It has never occurred to me that fat could be a problem in it all. I shall give it some thought. It's scary how quick doctors here in the UK are to prescribe antibiotics. If children have a slight earache they hand them out "just in case". And very few people seem to have any idea about the potential problems. I have friends whose children take them on a regular basis. And apart from individual problems, it's helping bacteria to develop drug-resistant strains. So when antibiotics might really be helpful in a severe case, they don't always work. I know what you mean about the price of fruit. But I think the expense of a good diet is worth it if you can afford it. It's an investment in health. I know someone who spends a lot on food, instead of eg. CDs, DVDs etc. Makes more sense to me. CJ xx

  10. This is so interesting! I'm glad you have found a diet that works for you. I'm curious about how much fruit you have to eat for the rest of the day (not counting lunch salads or the smoothie) to feel full enough.

    • You know, to tell you the truth, I feel like I get full more easily now! At first I thought it was part of the detox process– slowing down my digestion. But post smoothie I'll usually have papaya or pineapple when I get hungry again. lunch. And then Marlowe and I will either have smoothies, banana ice cream, or fruit bowls when she gets out of school, until dinner πŸ™‚

    • @sydni!

      yes actually! VERY full! I didn't notice a huge difference between hunger/fulness from breakfast to lunch– but after lunch (especially after giant salads)– I started feeling VERY full. Honestly, most of the time I've been even bordering on too full for dinner— but then eating dinner anyway to be sure I'm getting enough calories as I transition. I thought for sure I would feel starving often, but I don't at all unless I skip a meal– which is normal πŸ™‚