Raw and I were never exclusive.
In fact, a friend of mine in Peru would say there’s no need. We’re wired to polygamy and monogamy is learned. I’ve also heard that pheromones make us calm so that we simmer down when we’re around someone we’re attracted to, making us less likely to be violent and more likely to stay around that person that makes us addictively and deliciously docile.
So, I’m not in agreement with my friend, but I’m not going to get stuck snuggling on a couch with a raw food lifestyle forever and ever. There’s a world of flavour out there, much of it cooked (or at least gently steamed). Some of it’s even roasted and pressure cooked and braised and seared, but don’t tell that to raw food. It may not handle it well. There’s really no way to let it down gently. But if I was going to try to have a conversation with him/it/raw food about not committing it would go something like this:
Me: You should know, raw food, that I don’t own a juicer. This will make our life together very difficult.
It: Why not do like South American and blend the juice and then pass it through a fine-meshed sieve?
Me: Ah! Brilliant.
(Tries with apples, oranges, and kale).
Me: This takes forever. My sieve is very fine-meshed and too small. This is ridiculous.
It: You’re just impatient. Learn to appreciate the simple act of sieving.
Me: No, thanks.
… (Raw food stares at me, unimpressed).
Me: I think I will use non-raw, but unsweetened juices in places of whole, fresh fruit. It’s cheap, and it sieves better when I blend in whole greens like kale and organic spinach.
It: I’m not okay with this. You’re hurting me.
Me: You’ll get over it, probably.
It: If you loved me you’d invest in a juicer.
Me: Yup. I guess I would.
… (Awkward silence).
Me: Okay, well, thanks then. I really did like juice and all the time we spent together. And I’ll still make juice with whole fruits and sieve it when I have patience sometimes.
It: You can’t have it both ways.
Me: Actually…yeah, I can. Sorry.
It: You’re not sorry.
Me: I’m a little sorry. I just really like bottled exotic fruit juices. And I’m a little lazy. No way I’m buying a pound of quince or lychees, cooking or peeling and pitting them (respectively), and then whipping them into submission, just to spend way too much time sieving them.
It walks away dejected. I shrug.
Emotional attachments out of the way, here’s what I’ve been (fake) juicing lately:
Apple-Lychee-Quince Juice
1/2 cup unpasteurized apple juice
1/2 cup lychee juice
1/2 cup quince juice
1/3 cup water
2 leaves kale
1/2 tsp spirulina
Place in blender and liquify. Pass through a fine-meshed sieve. Be glad this is a juice, not a smoothie because the sieving doesn’t take forever. Enjoy.
Peach-Lychee Juice
1/2 cup unsweetened peach juice
1/2 cup unsweetened lychee or apple juice
1 leaf kale
2 leaves basil or mint (holy or otherwise)
1/4 tsp spirulina
Blend. Pass through sieve.
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