Observations of a Newborn Grownup

Last year, I wrote a story for the paper about a place in Tampa called Glass Onion. Like the story’s headline says, it’s artful and meatless. There, something about the blown glass ornaments, abstract paintings and big organic garden just blew me away. I haven’t been back, and probably won’t go back, but something looms between the walls of that really old building. Ever since my series of interviews and encounters with the people who frequent the place, something about the lifestyle beckons.

It’s the raw food.

“Sushi?” somebody asked me once. “Sushi and abstract art?”

No, no, no, silly. Not sushi. When I talk about raw food, I talk about greens and green juices, green smoothies, sprouted grains, nuts, seeds. I talk about living from the Earth, and – if you go 100% – going vegan.

Ha! Arleen the vegan. Very funny, and almost certainly impossible. Milk is good. Steak is the man. I love chicken, cheese and chocolate. But I believe none are necessarily necessary for survival.

I like the simplicity of raw foodism. I like eating to sustain. I like that Whitwam, from my Glass Onion story, said that when you give your body what it needs, your body knows what to do. And I believe that. But I believe some bodies might need meat. And my body might be one of them, lol.

So far, I’ve managed to sneak in a single raw meal a day: breakfast. At Abby’s Health and Nutrition, I get an Apple Pizazz juice (apple, carrot, celery, beet, ginger), and I have them add spinach and kale. It tastes better than it sounds, and it’s always organic and fresh (I watch them juice it). Ultimately, my goal is for two raw meals a day. I’m thinkin’ lunch. But we’ll see.