Raw Travels

I'm finally back home after what seemed like a long journey, but what really amounted to a week away. I guess it seemed so hectic because I drove to Tampa and back with my son for his college orientation, then got on a plane to NY the next day. Lots of packing and unpacking, although I still haven't unpacked entirely from the NY segment.
I had a very productive week, so I'll fill you in on each part of my trip.
First up- Tampa:
The trip took about four hours and much to my surprise I could have gone without stopping if not for my pea sized bladder and outsized water consumption. Not your ideal combination. Last time I went I had to stop because of the pain in my sit bones caused by the cancer, but not this time. Woo-Hoo- another great sign.
Anyhow, the orientation went well and although it was a bit talky, boring, and overlong, we did get at least some useful information. And my son got his schedule and signed up for the ultimate frisbee team, which is of primo importance of course!
The best part of the trip was a raw and vegan restaurant called The Grass Root.This was by far and away the best raw food I've ever eaten, excepting my own of course. The seaweed salad was magnificent, and Michael had the Live Spaghetti and Marinara with Treatballs, which was out of this world. We also had Marrakesh, which was raw hummus, assorted veggies and sprouts on a bed of lettuce. Yummy! Michael raved about the vegan key lime cheesecake for desert. I didn't have any because it was made with tofu, which I'm totally against, but is a necessary evil if you serve vegan food.
I also spoke to the chef for a long time. She looks 20 years younger than her actual age and saw many ailments disappear after trading in her SAD diet for a raw vegan one. She even gave me a piece of homemade natural soap made by one of her customers.
I loved the place so much that I went back the next night for the massaged kale salad while Michael was spending the night at the dorm. Definitely two enthusiastic thumbs up for this place!
We got home on Friday evening and I left the next night for NY. I flew into Long Island airport and spent a couple of days in Southampton for some quality time with my awesome, wonderful cousin. We had a great time shopping around Sag Harbor, pampering ourselves with a mani/pedi, lounging by the pool, shopping at the health food stores, and even going to the movies. We managed to fit in some green juices from the local juice bar and I made us green smoothies in the magic bullet. I actually found a way to make a mean smoothie sans Vitamix! The trick is to blend the leafy greens with some water first, then add the other ingredients in stages. A bit more work, but good in a pinch!
I made us a raw tomato tahini soup also in the bullet and some raw vegan sushi. I even found some raw, untoasted nori in the local health food store! NY rocks when it comes to raw resources. Of course my rolling skills are not up to the par of my cousin's wonderful husband, who took over the sushi rolling with ease. I think maybe he gets more practice than I do.
The next night we had raw cabbage salad and massaged kale and avocado salad wrapped in collard leaves. I put out the salads and it was "roll your own".
The next morning my brother came early, and after some green smoothies we were off to the city for my appointment with Dr. Gonzalez. Amazingly there was no traffic and we made it in record time.
Dr. G was his usual upbeat, positive, insanely knowledgeable self and he was thrilled with the results of my metabolic testing. Some of my numbers were extremely impressive, including the total toxins, which went from a 15 to a 10 in only 6 months! My cancer numbers were 23, down from a 29. The goal is to be at or less than 10, so I have a way to go, but still a big dip in such a short time. The first thing to go when this number reaches 10 is my 4AM enzyme dose, so I definitely have a new goal in mind! Overall, most of my numbers went in the intended direction or stayed stable.
After my appointment I met a good friend for lunch. On our long walk over there we stopped at a local juice bar for a green juice, then on to Quintessence.
I was surprised at how tiny the place was, but what we both noticed was that everyone eating there was so healthy looking and slim. This is in sharp contrast to what you see when you go to a traditional TGI Fridays type eatery.
I had marinated chard mixed with coconut noodles and my friend had a green soup and sundried tomato pate rolled inside cucumber or zucchini. Whatever it was it was delish! To my dismay, I was too full for desert, which looked amazing.
After dinner we walked back to her office after which I took a taxi to LaGuardia airport for my flight home. I definitely want to make sure I have more time in the city next time to try out all the raw restaurant choices.
Well, gotta go unpack, so here's my tomato tahini soup recipe:
This recipe is bullet sized for one person.

1 tomato cut up
2-4 tablespoons tahini (depending upon how much you like it)
1 clove garlic (there will be no vampires around after eating this)
1 tsp curry paste
cayenne pepper to taste
celtic sea salt
1 oz extra virgin olive oil
filtered water (start with a small amount and add more to adjust consistency)
Whirl in blender or magic bullet
That's it- enjoy!