By the time this post goes live, I will have finished my One Week Raw Diet and most definitely will be feasting on some hot, cooked food. I plan to make dhoklas for my breakfast and in all probability that is what I will be eating the time this post goes live.

It definitely was a difficult week, with the dinner time being the toughest but honestly not as difficult as I thought it would be. I was sure I would quit by Day 3 or Day 4, and my body would be really weak, and would have a constant headache. The last time I went on a diet (quite a few years back) was when I tried the GM diet. By Day 4 of the GM diet, I had a headache and decided it wasn’t worth it and quit with a bowl of Maggi in my hand.

This diet, though, has been different. I did not feel weak at all. My skin improved- I had my periods when I started so I had the occasional pimple before that but I could feel my skin more bright than usual. I have lost about 5 pounds since the start of this month- which includes the one week of the gluten free sugar free diet and then one week I went raw. It might not seem much, but I was never going for anything drastic. My goal is to lose about 5-6 kgs (10-12 pounds) by the end of this month. I will be continuing on my gluten and sugar free diet till end October, with Halloween being the day I quit. I will talk more about how my raw diet went and share any other information that could be helpful to someone planning to do the same. But all that will be in another post. Today I will be sharing this lemon yogurt cake, which is neither raw, nor gluten free, nor is it sugar free, but if what I have heard about it is true, its one cake recipe you would want to try.

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One week. I survived a week!

Well, it is still a little premature to say it, since there are a few more hours left for the day, but I think I can safely say that these hours should pass without me faltering on the diet.

One week of raw food. 21 meals of uncooked food. Nothing heated above 115F, and since I don’t have a dehydrator that meant only room temperature food. But I survived and live to tell!

The basic principle of eating raw is to consume a diet of primarily (or exclusively) un-cooked whole plant food (75-100% of the time). The diet is centered around fruits, vegetables, nuts (in moderation), and seeds (in moderation), nothing cooked above 115F. While you can choose to be only 75% raw, I thought since I am doing it for a week, I would go completely raw.

This is the first time I have ever tried a crazy diet idea and seen it to full completion.

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I survived another coffee get together today. Every Friday, a group of us ladies meet at someone’s place for coffee and treats and general chit chat. Being raw or even gluten free/sugar free means that I can not have any of the goodies my friends make. Today the host had served an apple pie, a pumpkin pie, and a pumpkin bread. None of which I could taste, but from what I heard my friends saying, they were absolutely delicious. I just consoled myself by repeating 3 more days to go every now and then someone took a bite of pie from their plate. And continued chewing on my strawberries and apple. It did help when my friends noticed that going raw/gluten free was suiting me. I do have kind friends and that gave me the nudge I needed!

It’s not all that bad either. Not since I made these bars to treat myself.

These are raw, vegan, gluten free, sugar free, butter or oil free energy bars!  And they are pretty good. Well at least the “raw me” who has been deprived of all things indulgent thinks they are pretty good! If you are into raw energy bars maybe you should try these.

They are super healthy too with chia seeds, sunflower seeds and dates instead of sugar for the sweetness.

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