My raw hiccups

I am now into week 2 of the 30-day raw challenge/ feast. Attempt number 1 failed after 6 days for a combination of reasons, all of which I seem to have magically resolved! I expect a new crop of obstacles to pop up shortly, but so far, attempt number 2 is going remarkably smoothly. I thought others might be interested to hear, and perhaps discuss?, the first set of issues I faced, so here is a quick recap.

• Integration of raw and society. My first hiccup was self-consciousness. This came to the fore most prominently at work and when eating out with friends. There is a long discussion thread on this topic at rawfoodtalk so I will not go into all the aspects of this topic, but I have two key takeaways which I hope will be helpful to others. One, the individual constitutes society, and, therefore, society takes the form and substance that we individually give it. And two, most people are not concerned about what others eat. Of  those who are concerned, some will be genuinely interested to learn about the decision to go raw, and others will feel threatened and challenged by a choice that is different than their own. But this will happen with any topic that is based on a personal decision. So I got over myself and scratched self-conscious from the list.
  
  
• Eating in restaurants. This is related to issue #1 above. Ordering raw on a menu in Paris can be difficult, and raw vegan is extremely difficult. The options are less (if any), and ordering a small green salad for dinner while your friends eat savory, larger meals can make you feel isolated. Eating together is a social behavior, and changing this behavior is not easy. You are breaking years of habit and associations you have formed between food and friends. As I have done several cleanses in the past, I do have experience breaking food habits, so I immediately recognized the thought process and questions I had to address to get over this one. In the end it boils down to one question: Do you choose to eat this food? If yes, then be happy about your choice. And spending time with people is what makes memories, not the food that is on your plate. (Ok, in some instances this will not be true - if I am ever lucky enough to be at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck, I will probably not be eating raw...).
  
  
• Chocolate cravings. No need to go into details on this one! But there is raw chocolate, and from what I have read about it, it is a superfood high in anti-oxidants and rich in essential minerals. So I have ordered raw cacao powder as well as raw chocolate bars from Mamma Earth, a UK-based website selling raw food products. It is suppose to be delicious, stay tuned for a future post!