What are you eating?

"Sharon - I did so well today on my food intake, you are going to be so proud of me!"

"Whadya eat?" I ask with excitement.

"Well, first, on the way to work I went over to Jiffy Juice and got a smoothie - oh it was so yummy and sweet!"

"Oh really - that sounds great - what was in it?" I wonder.

"Well, there were strawberries in there, and some juice, and they put a scoop of this bright colored powder, and then I think - oh, ya, there was vanilla frozen yogurt in there. Doesn't that sound great?"

"Ummm...doesn't sound like you had much fruit in there!" I say.

**Juice from smoothie joints are often pasteurized. Frozen yogurt contains refined sugar and additives and there is a lot of sugar and artificial flavorings in the powders that are often used. Sometimes fruit in syrup is used as well. Be sure to ask what is fresh and for dairy and sugar-free smoothies**

"Anyway, whadya have for lunch?" I inquire.

"Oh, this is where I was REALLY good. I got this huge salad at the restaurant. Oh, it was so wonderful!"

"Wow, a salad!" I say "That's great! What kind of salad was it?"

"Oh it was a beautiful green salad with all kinds of veggies, but there was some chicken on it."

"Oh, chicken?" I say "What else was on there?" I start wondering suspiciously.

"That was the worst thing - just the chicken, oh there were some croutons and cheese - but that wasn't a big deal - right?"

"Um, okay. Well what about the dressing?" I ask.

"Oh, I just got ranch dressing - I figured since I got a salad, I was so good that I deserved some ranch!"

**Restaurants often offer salads that are no more than a regular unhealthy meal dumped in a bowl full of greens. Restaurant salads usually contain plenty of meat, cheese and noodles or croutons, and the dressings are full of fat, refined sugar and salt, and additives. People are fooling themselves if they believe that a standard entree sized restaurant salad is a healthier option than a meal. The best thing to order in a restaurant is an entree sized GARDEN salad, with everything on the side. This way you can be sure of getting everything you want and nothing you don't!**

"Well - what about your dinner" I am hoping my friend has redeemed herself here.

"I had a veggie burrito! Well, I know that wasn't all raw, but it was healthy, right?"

"Let me guess - the burrito had cheese and sour cream, right?" I ask

"How'd you know? It was a veggie burrito though!"

"Somehow I had a feeling!" I laugh.

"Well," My friend says "you make it sound like I didn't eat very well now," sulking.

"It's a learning process" I patiently answered.

"Well, you'll be really happy how I ended my day. I had a whole bag of baby carrots..." my friend cautiously tells me.

"Well, that was probably the healthiest thing you ate all day! Congratulations!" I pat my friend on the back.

**Some people believe that if they make a juice or have some fruit or veggies in addition to their normal standard fare they really are eating "healthy". While doing this is a step in the right direction, they are still eating their cheeseburgers, pizza, and other damaging foods which are not health-promoting.

Even though it is a process, be sure to look are your WHOLE MENU. If you are eating animal products or cooked food on a daily basis, you may need to re-think or readjust your diet. Even if you are not ready to eat 100% raw or 100% vegan, at least eliminate some of the damaging food from your diet 80% of the time, that way you are working toward your goal.

We can't get the results we want if we don't change**

Exciting news here for 2007! Just finished our Four-week Health Journey chart! You can check out the video here:

http://www.rawstepbystep.com/healthjourney.php

Also we put out a groovy gallery of recipe photos from the E-book. Here's the link for that one:

http://www.rawstepbystep.com/recipeimages.php

Our first newsletter should be out in the next day or so. If you haven't signed up for it yet, just head over to www.rawstepbystep.com.