A grey rainy day was perfect to drive along to the next amazing place  – Pancake Rocks.  We sat in a cosy coffee shop waiting for it to ease off but no luck this time.  Got the mac and brolley out and set off on the loop walk to see one of nature’s marvels.  Layer upon layer of rock forming stacks of ‘pancakes’.  Each corner of the well-paved pathway gave us a stunning view of the ocean and rocks.  The pathway made me think of China and paddy fields of rice.   It almost looks like a postcard or a painting but I was there and it was real. 

In between, my raw food diet continues to play a big part in my holiday life.  I wonder does the appetising smell of some foods ever diminish?  How am I going to stay on the fresh foods that my body loves when my eyes and nose are lusting after the wicked things?

Last night I sat on the cushioned bench at our little table inside the van, wedged in my corner, my healthy salad in front of me.  Fresh corn scraped off the cob, red capsicum, tomatoes, chopped raw broccoli (now that is a cooked smell I do NOT lust after!) and a touch of oil and sea salt.  I added some of the leftover sliced veggie sausages and some lentils.  It was tasty.

Right next to me stood Geoff slicing up fresh white bread, which turned into lightly toasted golden heaven with thick slices of tasty cheddar cheese to go on top.  But wait; first he put lashings of golden butter on the toasty delicious smell. Then he microwaved a bowl of canned baked beans with mini sausages and sat opposite me using MY sounds of pleasure.  “Mmm, mmm, mm” and he does this little jiggle thing with his shoulders while he says it. 

Secretly I thought, “I keel you!” But I couldn’t invest energy into those feelings because I had to invest energy in resisting asking for a slice of toast and cheese.  I ate a mouthful of salad and almost asked, quickly shoved another mouthful of salad in the mouth and bravely kept going.

So many raw foodies have asked at our potlucks  – how do you manage when the rest of the family or the partner doesn’t eat raw.  And I make some positive comments.  Ah ha, but Geoff and I don’t live together yet and the times we are together I can manage.  So what shall I do when we have a daily life together?  Having a reaction to dairy, gluten and even soy does help me keep on track.  I had a coughing fit the other night, a tickle in the throat that turned into an hour-long throat clearing, coughing up phlegm and mucous session.  Gross but that is what happens when my temple (my body) rids itself of sticky gluten and mucous forming lactose and the soy seems to cause wheezing.   Yes the body is our temple, we need to worship it.

In the future the smell of toasted cheese might have no effect on me but I haven’t quite made it there yet.    But for today I resisted!

My dinner on the right with fresh salads mixed with cooked lentils and vegetarian sausages sliced up.  Mostly good for me and better than the cooked non-nutrient meal that Geoff was having.  And I had the little container of ‘parmesan’ to sprinkle on top which is actually a raw version made with sunflower & pumpkin seeds with nutritional yeast.  Made by eternaldelight.co.nz and pretty damn good!

2 weeks and we’re both still smiling at each other as we travel along!