Day 161

Thoughts: Pepsi has created a "raw" softdrink claiming to be 'natural born cola' to cater to the growing market of Raw Vegans. Their slogan is "Do what comes naturally". Smart. And a smart person also knows that pepsi is not naturally provided from the earth. Why Are Corporations Trying to Go Raw?
Isn't it bizarre that Pepsi is trying to make a Raw Food Beverage. Any rawist knows that you can't mass-market a really raw packaged food unless it is dried or dehydrated or powdered.
You gotta hand it to them, they are a smart bunch. The big food manufacturing companies know we are sleeping and they're taking advantage of us. 
Pepsi has decided to try and woo the health conscious people of the world with it’s newest Pepsi incarnation, Pepsi Raw which is claiming to be all natural, less carbonated, and less fattening. The fizzy caramel cola we all know is losing the artificial ingredients and are instead being replaced by apple extract, coffee leaf, cane sugar, and sparkling water. However, Pepsi is reopening hostilities by launching a new "healthy" option.
If you like artifical flavourings than Pepsi raw is somewhat of a healthier alternative then traditional soda because it does not contain HFCS and it is a more “whole food/natural form” which is ideal for any diet. However, it does contain sugar which means you’ll be taking in chemicals and empty calories.
The new drink claims to have 90 calories and have the following ingredients:
* Apple extract* Plain caramel colouring* Coffee leaf* Tantaric acid from grapes* Gum arabic from acacia trees* Cane sugar* Sparkling water


The question is, why would Pepsi bother with such a small demographic? Because the raw vegan market is growing over 100% a year, with popular raw food bar Larabar making over 15 million dollars last year.
The Raw-Vegan Diet is reaching critical mass and is moving from the fringe to the mainstream via numerous retreats, restaurants and books.
According to John Robbins, there is a Food Revolution taking place. This is a movement towards eating more locally grown whole vegetarian foods for health and for the planet. A major movement within this food revolution is a rapidly growing health trend known as the raw-vegan diet. The raw-vegan diet is similar to the vegan diet (a diet that excludes meat and dairy) and adds the additional caveat that all food should be eaten raw. The raw-vegan diet consists of fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains and legumes, seeds and nuts. Raw-vegan food is considered healthy because of its living enzymes. The enzymes in food aid in digestion and are destroyed at 118 degrees of heat. Therefore in order to digest cooked food your body has to use its own metabolic enzymes which takes energy from your body and leaves you feeling sluggish. Heating also depletes food of vitamins and minerals which is why cooked food is thought to lead to excessive food consumption in the body's attempt to gain adequate nutrition.
What does this mean for the raw vegan consumer? It means a lot more raw and vegan options will be available to us everywhere! Wooo wooo! Shopping malls, restaurants, and hopefully one day theme parks and airports! But if the big food manufacturers see the potential to make millions, they will jump all over it and try mass produce so we have to make sure we read the labels, not just the front title that may claim to be raw organic vegan. 
"If there's an ingredient and you're not sure it is raw, write it down and look it up online before you decide to buy the item in question. Once you start eating a non-raw ingredient, you might find yourself craving sugar or other cooked foods addictions you thought you were over, or find yourself losing interest in raw foods. Some ingredients to avoid: braggs amino acids, nama shoyu, miso, natural flavors, lecithin, cocoa butter, vegetable protein, canola oil, soy oil, and anything with the word hydrogenated." - The Garden Diet. 
The healthiest foods have no list of ingredients. They are what they are.
This blog thanks to the beautiful Jiveny Blair-West. 
http://healing.about.com/od/vegan_diet/a/rawveganfood.htmhttp://www.thegardendiet.com/news/Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-513523/Clash-cola-companies-Pepsi-launches-healthy-option-natural-ingredients.html#ixzz0kzMxRzsy


Challenges: For the past 6 weeks since being here in the USA and working on films, long hours and less time to prepare I have eaten quite alot of cooked meals. I have eaten more meat in the last 2 weeks that I had eaten in 3 months. I have noticed that once I start eating a non-raw ingredient, I do find myself craving sugar and other cooked foods addictions I thought were over. I have also found myself losing interest in salads and eating raw foods. I have stopped exercising as much, I have put on weight and I feel sluggish. My face is puffy and my skin has even aged and looks droopy. I have been thinking about food and eating alot and becoming consumed in living to eat and searching for new flavours. I am unsatisfied. 
Triumphs: Wow there is such a huge difference from when I am eating raw vegan. So tomorrow I am going to go on a cleanse for 7 days on raw vegan. And I don't want to, which is how I know I need to. 
What I ate today:
Breakfast: Strawberries and blue berries. 
Lunch: A beet, carrot, celery, ginger juice. Warm water with lemon squeezed in it. A bowl full of raw cauliflower. I love cauliflower!!! 
Dinner: Wild boar chop. A potato with a sprinkle of olive oil and himalayan salt. Raw green snow peas mmm so sweet! A salad with green lettuce and cabbage. 
Dessert: 4 chocolate balls with peanut butter. 
Snacks: Strawberries. 
Recipe: Recipe for chocolate balls on blog Day 115. 
Exercise: A walk around the block in the beautiful warm and sunny Florida weather :)