Mother Earth’s Storehouse

We saw Eclipse at the drive-in Thursday night!!

First, we had dinner at Andiamo’s in Newburgh:

I had the vegetable lover’s “mini pizza.” Loved the assortment of veggies! Eggplant, broccoli, onions, and the mozzarella seemed like fresh mozzarella, not the plastic-y stuff.

Dustin had the all meat. Polar opposite pizzas, lol.

What is that green thing on his? Must have fallen off of mine or something. Green usually doesn’t appear on his plate unless I place it there or he drops George Washington in his food, LOL. Andiamo’s is a wood-burning pizza and Italian restaurant, this was our first time trying it. The inside was nicely decorated, and the service was prompt and friendly. Of course, we were the only ones there other than three people in military uniforms. So I can’t say for sure what it’s like when it’s busier. The pizza was really tasty, and REALLY hot. I burned my tongue, it still hurts a little! Totally worth it, though. I had 2 slices and took the rest home. We’ll definitely go there again, we liked it.

After we satisfied our tummies, we went to Mother Earth’s with ice pack-filled coolers in tow. My Mother Earth’s mission was simple: I was in search of raw food options, as I have decided that I’m going to do a 7 day raw (vegetarian) food diet, starting on Sunday. Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend I nerded it up and read an entire book in 48 hours. The book I read was called Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham. It was an excellent read that makes a compelling argument. Now, how does a book about the evolution of cooking and humanity inspire me to go on a RAW diet? Well, throughout the book it talks about how raw foods are extremely hard to digest and absorb nutrients from, which is completely true. So I decided to do this 7 day challenge as an experiment, and as a means of losing some water weight by significantly reducing my sodium intake for the week. I need a little jump start in my summer weight loss goal, and to me, this is a reasonable, yet healthy trial. I like to change things up, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating certain ways for a few days or months at time. I like variety, it keeps life interesting. Besides, if you never try out anything new, how will you know what works and what doesn’t, right? Trial and error, for sure!

Before you think I’m doing some kooky detox diet, please note that I don’t plan to adhere to strict calorie limitations; I plan to eat a lot of natural, raw foods in abundance, so I will not be starving in the least. I’m mainly doing this for medicinal purposes. I’m on day 4 of my Culturelle experiment, and to be honest, I can’t tell if it’s making my digestive woes worse, better, or no change. Probably too soon to tell, but guys, my stomach is on the fritz and getting progressively worse. So while I wait to see a specialist, I’m going to do some light experimenting. No, I’m not considering becoming a raw foodist or vegan, or even a vegetarian. I’ll never give up cooked food or seafood, I’m only doing this temporarily, as in a vacation from the norm. I’m mainly doing this to reduce some of the puffiness from eating way too many salty foods over the past month yearsssss, lol. My body needs a break, a dedicated 7 day break. So I’m taking it on a tour of raw foodism.

I’m not going completely raw, though. I’m going to keep 2 or 3 servings of dairy in my diet for the week, mainly in the form of yogurt. I’m simultaneously doing the Culturelle and probiotic experiment. This is also the ideal time of year to do this type of experiment: it’s hotter than hell outside, who feels like cooking anyway?! Personally, I don’t feel that eating a diet that consists of primarily raw foods is healthier than a cooked food diet or even healthy in general. But I do think that you can take breaks from the ordinary at your discretion and still keep it healthful. Like everything else, it’s the balance that matters most. I know I’m going to miss a lot of my favorite foods, but it’s only for a week. People can (and do) go weeks without food, certainly I can persevere on an overabundance of delicious foods at my disposal.

Aside from the obvious plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables that I’ll be consuming, I also stocked up on a ton of modern raw foods at Mother Earth’s:

Raw nuts and seeds: almonds, slivered almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds

Raw, New york state honey

An assortment of raw food bars — I don’t want to subsist off of these, though. They’re just a one-a-day deal. Americans can even find ways to make raw food unhealthy and full of empty, sugary calories, lol. Not all of them contain sugar or honey, though. Most are just blended fruit/nuts/seeds/grains.

Raw almond butter — this was $10.99, but the organic version was $22 bucks! I’ll take my chances on pesticides, kthx bYe

Raw hemp and seed crackers

I tried one. They taste earthy, hence the hemp. They’re good, though. I like the texture and can see myself slathering raw almond butter on them, LOL. See? I told you I won’t be starving.

I even scored some raw milk cheese!!

Not raw, but I picked up some grass-fed cow yogurt…

…and some sheep’s milk yogurt, just to try it out.

Raw chocolate: just keepin’ it real, gotta haz yummy flavas!

Raw sweetened cacao nibs. OMGawd, these are SO gooooooood!! TOOOOO good!

Grocery store raw food is expensive! How humanity went from free berries in the forest to charging $22 bucks for a jar of almond butter is insane to think about, LOL. The smarter we got, the harder the little corporate cogs churned inside our great big brains. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, makes convincing arguments about how cooked, nutrient-rich food made us stronger and smarter. Yes, cooking makes foods lose nutrients, BUT we also absorb the remaining nutrients far better than in the raw state, so it’s a worthy sacrifice. And I say this as someone who is about to embark on a 80-90% raw diet for the next week, haha. Don’t get me wrong, many raw foods are healthy and good for digestion (fibrous), but I believe cooked food is really where we benefit the most. So, believing that, why would I still decide to try raw foodism for a whole week? Why not? It’s fun, it’s experimental, and if I’m truly miserable and feeling ill, I can stop at anytime. It’s not like getting a tattoo, I can change my mind right after my first raw meal if I choose, LOL. And I just might. Who knows? Either way, I’m really looking forward to the artistic and creative aspect of this little journey. Coming up with new and tasty ways to stay satisfied on a raw diet is a challenge that piques my curiosity. If all goes well, I can see myself doing this a few times a year, but never ever on a permanent basis. Ever. No, really, never!

So, after spending a biz-oat load of cash at Mother Earth’s, we went to the drive-in to see Eclipse. We got there about 20 minutes before it started, it was still light out. We got a great parking space, plus some popcorn and bottled water at the concession stand. We left our car running with the AC on the whole time. There were people smoking cigarettes and burning small campfires on both sides of us, so screw it, we added our own pollution. Yeah, our comfort always trumps our greenness. We’re selfish like that, lol. Don’t judge me.

The movie started while it was still a little light out, so the first 10 minutes wasn’t the greatest picture. It also started with no introduction; no previews or announcements. Cool, but if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss a good chunk, lol. LOVED the movie! It was exactly what I expected, and much like I imagined while reading the book. It seemed very short, though. Before I knew it, it was over and credits were rolling. I still maintain that the books are better than the movies, especially because the movies skip over so many details that I feel are imperative to the storyline. For instance, Dustin remarked that Edward is a better choice because Jacob will die sooner. But if you read the books, you know there’s more to that than the movie lets on. I’m looking forward to seeing Breaking Dawn! Can’t wait to have all 4 of them on video so I can watch them back to back to back to back. Vampire love marathon! Ch’ea! <3

The acting is kind of lame, but Edward Cullen's hair makes up for the lack of talent throughout the movie(s), lol. I'd still rather watch the high school drama club acting in the Twilight saga than the overrated special effect end-of-the-world movies that Hollywood spits out every 3 weeks. Borrrrrrrrring! lol Don’t even get me started on True Blood. Why people love that show is beyond me. I watched one episode a few weeks ago, expecting it to be Twilight-esque, and what I saw can only be described as: 3 parts Jersey Shore, 3 parts Deliverance, a pinch of Twilight, a generous scoop of the redneck comedy tour, and 3 parts softcore cable porn. I’m not kidding. Watching that crap will rot your brain. I couldn’t ignore the HORRIBLE acting, much less the completely ridiculous storyline. At least Twilight is a little believable as far as fiction goes. I would offer my apologies to anyone that likes that show, but I’m afraid I have none.

/rant

I’m going to enjoy my last day of cooked foods now. I’m looking forward to my little raw food romp, it sounds refreshing! Have you ever done a raw food diet? Did you like it? What’s something that you wouldn’t eat raw? I’d have to say meat, especially chicken. *cringes* Yuck! Lovely mental picture, eh? I’ll leave you with something prettier…

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Tagged as: Andiamo's restaurant Newburgh NY, books, Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Richard Wrangham, Culturelle, drive-in movie theatre, Eclipse, grass-fed yogurt, Mother Earth's Storehouse, movies, nuts, probiotics, raw almond butter, raw food, raw food bars, raw food diet, raw foodist, raw hemp crackers, raw honey, raw milk cheese, sheep's milk yogurt, True Blood, Twilight saga, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian

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