Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 8 valencia oranges

9:00 . . . 12 satsuma mandarins

11:00 . . . 2 bananas in banana pudding

1:00 . . . 1 lb. raspberries + 4 medjool dates

3:00 . . . 2 bananas in banana pudding

5:00 . . . 1 lb. raspberries + 3 medjool dates

6:00 . . . 2 bananas in banana pudding

7:00 . . . 10 satsuma mandarins + a few campari tomatoes

8:00 . . . a few valencia oranges

Play: dance, acrobatics, stretching, lots of rest!

Since yesterday was Sunday and I had no obligations or unnatural schedule, I could eat whenever I wanted. And I literally ate from morning 'til night! Ha!

Now that citrus season is upon us, I am greeting my old sweet orange friends and really appreciating the lovely smell they bring to the house. I never tire of oranges. Never. They are brightening and uplifting in every way.

And these mandarin tangerines are really wonderful. So soft and delicate and sweet. They are so gorgeous I almost don't want to eat them. Sigh. But I do.

I am buying these mandarins in great abundance. Which reminds me of this:

My #1 tip for people who want to go fruitarian is to always have PLENTY (lots!) of really good quality fruit that you LOVE on hand at all times.

My #2 tip is to take all the time, energy, attention and money that you currently devote to restaurants, recipe books and ingredients, kitchen gadgets and appliances, cooking and cleaning up from the cooking, buying and eating junk on the sly (busted!), being sick and miserable, supplements and medications, caffeine and alcohol, doctor and dentist visits, and beauty products, and spend it all instead on sourcing really good quality fruit.

I took my own advice today and bought 6 lbs. of local raspberries, 20 lbs. of Earth bananas, and 16 lbs. of valencia oranges, plus a few pounds of other stuff like cukes and tomatoes.

I feel blessed and grateful to be able to have such an abundant life. I know that many beings are struggling and my heart goes out to them. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 8 organic valencia oranges

9:00 . . . 6 organic valencia oranges

1:00 . . . 8 golden kiwis

2:00 . . . 1 lb. raspberries + 4 medjool dates

4:00 . . . 4 bananas

8:00 . . . 1 large cantaloupe + a few dates

Play: dance, acrobatics, yoga

These golden kiwis are a blessing right now, when good fruit is not as abundant as I like. They would make a perfect baby food . . . soft and smooth and sweet, far sweeter than their green counterparts. When I see that there are some waiting for me in the store, I feel relieved and grateful. I like to cut them in half and eat out the inside with my bamboo spoon. Like most fruits, I don't eat the skin. I think of skin as the protective "packaging."

Citrus season won't be in full swing for another month. I am getting excited already thinking about it. It's hard to top really good valencias and honey tangerines. And I am stocked with some good organic dates from Arizona. I don't understand people saying they can't stop eating dates. To me, they are SO rich and sweet, I can only eat a few at a time. Dates stay longer on the tree than any other fruit, so they are loaded with sun energy! That is especially good at a time of year when we can't get so much sun energy directly.

Love the sun. ♥

Candy! ♥

OK, so I just HAVE to include a pic of my current favorite candy! I am eating this every day lately . . . it is fresh locally-grown raspberries with some wet organic medjool dates that taste like caramel. For some mystical reason, this combination of tastes goes perfectly well together and I feel like a child eating candy. Except that this is WAY better than any candy I ever had. And believe me, I would know! as a former white sugaraholic.

And if you spend any time truly gazing upon a raspberry (which I do constantly) you will simply have to believe in the intelligence and order of the universe. Look at the form and function of all the little sweet packets stacked so cleverly all around: It is genius! And beauty! Who thought of this? Who created this??? Who invented this most lovely color? Soft gentle raspberries . . . I love you! ♥

Yes, all day long I think I am eating dessert. Sometimes it is pie, or cake, or candy. Or bubble gum or marshmallows! Caramel frosting! Except it is REAL and PERFECT and ACTUALLY GOOD for me. All sweet gifts from Mother Nature.

I am waiting patiently for everyone to figure this out so we can have a big candy party all day every day. Time now for some Sweetarts I mean pomegranates.

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 6 valencia oranges
10:00 . . 8 valencia oranges
1:00 . . . 1 lb. raspberries + 3 medjool dates
3:00 . . . 4 zucchini + 2 heirloom tomatoes + some baby okra
5:00 . . . 1 lb. raspberries + 4 medjool dates
6:00 . . . 3 bananas
7:00 . . . few more raspberries + dates

Play: ballet, acrobatics, stretching

I took a pic of these few things I got at the Farmer's Market a couple of days ago. Those are zucchini, baby okra, heirloom tomatoes, and raspberries. So even though it is turning chilly, there are still wonderful things to be found from local growers. I discovered that one of my favorite families is growing raspberries all fall in a greenhouse. And there will be heirloom tomatoes (German Johnsons) available all winter long! This is very happy news!

There are also slews of apples at the Farmer's Market, but I am not a big apple fiend, so I just enjoy their beauty.

I have never been a big fan of raspberries, but after just one taste of these delicate sweeties I fell in LOVE! And when I pair them with dates, it is a match made in heaven! There are always surprises with this fruitarian lifestyle. Things are always changing . . . YOU are always changing.

Also in my kitchen now are golden kiwi, cantaloupes, a few persimmons, and a few pomegranates. I usually like to try a few tastes of seasonal fruits, even if they are not really staples.

For right now, I am paying attention to my current new love: raspberries. Mmmmmm. They are surely food for angels and goddesses. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . juice of 6 valencia oranges
10:00 . . juice of 8 valencia oranges
1:00 . . . 6 golden kiwi
2:00 . . . 1 heirloom cantaloupe
3:00 . . . 3 bananas
5:00 . . . 2 papayas
7:00 . . . 4 heirloom tomatoes + several zucchini
9:00 . . . 1 HUGE mango

Play: walking barefoot, dance, acrobatics, stretching

Lately I have come across some papaya and some GIGANTIC mangoes that are so good I can't believe it! Usually, I leave these tropical fruits alone in the store, as I think they are only really good right off the tree. (Not picked green and shipped.)

But wow, am I grateful for these sweeties! If I lived in the tropics, papayas and mangoes would be staples for me. They are such a treat! They both make me feel like a baby, eating the best quality baby food anywhere.

And also, this week I discovered a new (for me) fruit: golden kiwi. A super lucky find at Whole Foods! These also taste like baby food: light, creamy, soft, very sweet. These are far sweeter than green kiwi, and not acidic at all. I am in love with them! I'll add them to the list of things I would like to grow someday.

Man, I must be in the zone! This is usually a time of year where the pickin's are kinda slim until citrus season picks up. But right now I have so much good stuff that I don't know what to eat next! What a great problem. I feel almost guilty for so much abundance, when so many have nothing. If only we could get all of us and everyone planting fruit trees, this problem could be solved! There would be plenty to share.

I want to mention one detail, for those of you detail-oriented. I am listing what I eat and approximate times, not exactly accurate stuff. To me, it feels like I am eating all day long. I rarely actually sit down to eat a "meal." It is more like I am eating all day long, from morning 'til night, snacking on the best sugar on the planet! What a life!!! There is no way I could really record what and how I'm eating without being really anal.

Lately I have also been eating lots of black grapes and honeydew melons, and I just ordered the first organic dates of the season from Arizona. I thank my lucky stars every day that I am blessed to live this fruity life. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . juice of 8 valencia oranges

10:00 . . 1 pineapple

1:00 . . . lots of muscadine grapes (pounds!)

3:00 . . . more grapes

4:00 . . . 5 local heirloom tomatoes + some okra

6:00 . . . 2 heirloom cantaloupes + 1 honeydew

8:00 . . . 1 GIGANTIC organic mango

Play: walking/running barefoot, stretching, acrobatics, dance

Wow. This fruit was all out-of-this-world excellent. I LOVE a day like this, when everything tastes just so so GOOD. I admit that it does occasionally happen that I open a melon that is hard and not sweet, or bite into a piece of fruit that is mushy or tasteless. So I'm grateful when fruit is really what it promises: sweet, rich, bliss-inducing!

The melons pictured are from the Turlock Fruit Company in California, and when I see their seal, I know it will be a very high-quality fruit. This year is the first time I have found their heirloom cantaloupes in the store and they are superb. On the inside, they look like any other cantaloupe except they are richer and darker orange, in the same way an heirloom tomato has a very rich color. And their taste is definitely sweeter than the average 'loupe.

I am taking advantage of the varied assortment of fall produce, so wonderful. Because soon enough it will be winter and back to my staples of oranges, dates, bananas. But hey, I love them, too! Everything has its' season.

Lately I have also been eating some dates and bananas to fill in when I can't find much else.

And this discovery of the HUGE organic mangoes has me very happy. It is very rare to find shipped mangoes in a store that taste so excellent. I bought one when I saw them, on sale for 2 for $5., not expecting much, and it was so unbelievable that I ran back to buy LOTS. Now I have them ripening on the counter and they will be my dinner tonight, for sure. So excited! These mangoes are the best baby food! So sweet! I feel like a lucky baby when I eat them.

I have to say that I never got this excited about my old junk food. REALLY.

I read a quote last week I want to share, so true:

"Eating junk food is NOT a reward. It's a punishment." Drew Carey

Now if only he could discover the truth about fruit. If only EVERYONE could! ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . juice of 10 valencia oranges
11:00 . . juice of 8 valencia oranges
1:00 . . . lots of muscadine grapes
4:00 . . . 1 papaya (sublime!) + 1 huge organic mango
6:00 . . . 2 heirloom cantaloupes + a few heirloom tomatoes
8:00 . . . more muscadine grapes

Play: walking/running barefoot, dance, stretching

My love affair with the muscadines continues. Although the organic growers are all finished this season with the best grapes EVER, I am finding more elsewhere, even though they are of a lesser quality. I'm already dreaming of next year.

That is one cool thing with this lifestyle . . . you fall into a rhythm of the seasons. I know when my favorites will appear and I look forward to greeting them like an old friend. And then there are those nice little surprises that show up just in time. Like finding really nice papayas and mangoes, which rarely happens. But I found some the other day while urban foraging . . . you know, looking around in stores and at roadside stands and such.

I also found just last week honeydews AND heirloom cantaloupes from my favorite grower in Texas. (More on that next time.) This is the first time I've had heirloom 'loupes and they are seriously outstanding! VERY sweet and mineral-rich. I have a new love! ♥

We fruit lovers are so fickle!

And I have to give a shout out to whoever is growing these UNBELIEVABLE heirloom tomatoes that I have lucked into at a fruit stand minutes from my house. I am spoiled rotten now on their sweetness and richness and dark red soft interior that melts in your mouth. I am eating them like a fool as long as they last. They're called German Johnsons. I gave some to my mother-in-law and she called to tell me that they are the best tomatoes she's had in years. And she is a serious foodie. It's going to be a long winter without these sweeties. So I am giving them all my love and gratitude and attention every day. I'm about to eat some now!

Once you embark on this fruitarian path, the Universe will help you in so many ways. Like how I just came upon a really great papaya and some gigantic organic mangoes. Usually I steer clear of them because the quality of these picked-green and shipped tropical fruits is so bad, but on a day when I thought there wouldn't be much good to eat, these amazing beauties appear . . . just for me! Thank you, thank you, everyone. ♥

If I lived in the tropics, I would be all over the papayas and mangoes. Ripe on the tree is the only way. A really good papaya tastes like maple syrup, only better! Back in the day, I did love me some maple syrup, but I'm sure it would make me very nauseated now, like all of The Other. A lot of The Other is just trying to imitate really good fruit. Don't be fooled. Go for the real deal.

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon
11:00 . . .1/4 watermelon
1:00 . . . 3 bananas
3:00 . . . lots of organic muscadine grapes (in the car)
4:00 . . . more grapes + a few tomatoes + some pickling cukes
5:00 . . . ~ 2 quarts muscadine grapes
6:00 . . . ~ 2 quarts muscadine grapes
7:00 . . . a few more grapes! : )
8:00 . . . one last grape (or 2, or 3 . . . Ha!)

Play: walking, yoga, acrobatics

It is now major grape season and I am all about these grapes! I put my hand in the picture so you could see how gigantic these organic muscadines are. They are to LIVE for!!! I am so happy and grateful to give these lovely growers my money. They are the dearest peeps. In return they give me large bags of their precious grapes. One of their friends told me that they work very hard tending to their vines and that they put a lot of love into creating their vineyards. It is obvious! ♥

The season is so short that I just give myself over to it. There will be time later for more melons, for bananas and dates, for oranges and tangerines. Right now it is GRAPES! They should be around for about 3 more weeks. I'm sure I will be having some days of mono grapes.

Nothing is easier than this: popping one super sweet grape into my mouth after another. They are VERY FUN to eat . . . and no preparation, no utensils, no clean-up! Just sweet grapey goodness.

I have to say that all other grapes pale in comparison. They were a delightful new surprise this year at the huge Farmer's Market. So wherever you are, be open to looking around everywhere. I have fruit radar now. Plus, the Universe is helping me, now that it is known that I am on the fruit. ; )

Also, on the little mountain where I live there are now lots of muscadine grapevines growing all over the place, thanks to me, Julie Grapeseed, who has strewn seeds everywhere in past years. I ate a few this morning on my walk around. They are not quite fully ripe yet, but it is very cool to be walking in Nature and stop when hungry/thirsty to eat right out there off the vine!

I intend to live this way every day in a fruitarian paradise of my own making, eventually. But if I am living then somewhere tropical, I will REALLY miss these grapes.

Best to be grateful NOW for what is. And I am. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon
11:00 . . 1/4 watermelon
1:00 . . . 4 peaches + 4 medjool dates
3:00 . . . 6 peaches + 4 medjool dates
5:00 . . . a few tomatoes + pickling cukes
6:00 . . . 2 quarts muscadine grapes
7:00 . . . 2 quarts muscadine grapes

Play: barefoot walking/running, dance, stretching

Whoa. Where does the time go? This summer is FLYING!

But right now is really my favorite time of year. The local produce is at its' best and the days are warm and sunny.

I'm not usually much of a peach person, but they are SO good right now and with a few juicy dates, it is DESSERT all day! Chloe is checkin' 'em out . . . they smell good even to her!

And I am very excited and happy because my beloved muscadines are in. Not only that, but I found a new grower this year who is growing them certified organic! Man, they are super sweet. I am drunk with happiness on these grapes. ♥ The growers were surprised when I wanted to buy 8 quarts at once. Shucks. That's nothing! These are the best grapes I've ever had in my life. They taste like a Nehi soda, but much MUCH better. ; )

I'm eating some right now. Sigh. Blissfully legally drunk.

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . several glasses valencia orange juice (hand pressed)
11:00 . . juice from 1/2 watermelon
4:00 . . . more orange juice
5:00 . . . handful of medjool dates
6:00 . . . 2 cantaloupes + a few tomatoes
8:00 . . . bit of watermelon juice

Play: walking/running, hiking in forest, acrobatics, stretching

This pic is what I have on hand right now: watermelons, cantaloupes, bananas, ataulfo mangoes, tomatoes, and valencia oranges. Plus I have a large bag of cherries and 3 lbs. of medjool dates. I try to keep a decent supply of food, enough for a day or two. I don't stock too much beyond that. I like to feel free to get whatever I want in the moment. I wouldn't want to commit in advance, for example, to a whole week of just mangoes, even if I got a great deal on them. Besides, it is possible that when you buy a lot of something, it may not all be of good quality. And THAT is a Big Bummer, to buy fruit that isn't good.

It's not really orange season, and I normally wouldn't buy oranges at this time of year, but I just had a hankerin' for them and they looked OK to me. They turned out to be surprisingly sweet so it has been a treat to have some fresh OJ.

The watermelons continue to be excellent! The other day I got 4 big ones (over 20 lbs. each) for $14. at the farmer's market. I have found one grower to have consistently sweet melons so I just keep going back to them. I feel spoiled with the abundance of great produce. There is so much to choose from I can hardly decide. And people think I am deprived because I am eating ONLY fruit. Ha!

What about horses, who eat only grass, or squirrels, who eat only nuts, or koalas, who eat only eucalyptus leaves?

We humans, natural frugivores that we are, have totally lucked out in the food department. ♥

I'm not so sure about the brain department, because from the looks of things we're not too bright. ; )

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . watermelon juice from 1/4 watermelon
11:00 . . .watermelon juice from 1/4 watermelon
12:00 . . 16 oz. cucumber juice (from a juice stand)
2:00 . . . several medjool dates
4:00 . . . a few more dates
6:00 . . . 4 bananas
8:00 . . . 3 glasses orange juice + 3 tomatoes

Play: walking and stretching

This watermelon juice is FANTASTIC! With all the heat we're having, nothing hits the spot like this juice. It totally reminds me of my childhood when I drank lots of red Kool-Aid. Except this is WAY better than that fakey Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid WISHES it tasted this good! Ha.

I do not use an electric juicer or blender for anything. So the way I make this juice is simply by using a large spoon to gently scrape the inside of the melon. Little wells form, the juice fills the wells, and I ladle out the juice into a glass. I usually put a mesh strainer over the glass to catch seeds and fiber.

It is super fast and easy this way, and very little to rinse off. With fruit, you never need to "clean" glasses or plates. All you have to do is rinse them and they are squeaky clean. So just imagine what the fruit is doing to the inside of your body . . . yup, it is rinsing everything squeaky clean!

Every day I am aware of the atrocities taking place all over the world, especially in regard to what humans are doing to animals and other beings. I see it everywhere. Yesterday I saw SO MUCH harm being done I could hardly stand it. My heart was breaking all over the place.

Our animal friends need us all to wake up, heal ourselves, come fully alive, and become emotionally mature. I'm working on this in my own self, an endless process it seems. A GIANT first step to to drop the eating of all animal "products" and start living on fruit. You can do it if you really want to. It will bring you more pleasure than you can imagine, FAR more than what you are currently experiencing.

Today I am dreaming of a world where all life is considered sacred, and all beings are loved and cherished. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 1/2 large watermelon
12:00 . . 1/2 large watermelon
2:00 . . . 1 lb. organic raspberries
3:00 . . . 4 bananas
5:00 . . . 4 bananas
6:00 . . . 1 large glass watermelon juice (to live for!)
7:00 . . . local tomatoes + pickling cukes

Play: barefoot walking, dance, acrobatics, stretching

It's been a long time (years) since I actually bought some raspberries. Usually, I sample some and find them sour, or they look old and moldy. Raspberries are so delicate. But these were unbelievable AND they were organic AND they were on sale! (magic words) They are such a perfect color and so soft and SWEET. I didn't know raspberries could be this sweet. I'm swooning! And I'm hoping there will be more tomorrow, 'cause I'm bringin' my money.

You may notice that I don't really eat "meals." It's true . . . I don't. I just eat when I want with no regard for schedules or customs. I feel so FREE. Sometimes I'll say I'm having a "snack." My cat Sophie loved the word "snack." ♥

And speaking of animals, one of the greatest benefits of the fruitarian lifestyle is knowing that you are not eating any of your animal friends. I cannot imagine looking at a beautiful animal and thinking, "I'd like to eat you." When I look at my cat Chloe, I only want to hold her and love her. It would seem like a crazy idea to want to eat her.

There are things going on in this mixed-up world that are unspeakable. Heaven help us. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 1/2 watermelon
12:00 . . 1/2 watermelon
2:00 . . . 3 black mission figs (divine)
3:00 . . . 3 bananas, as pudding
5:00 . . . bag of cherries
7:00 . . . 2 cantaloupes + a few heirloom tomatoes (SO good)

Play: barefoot walking/running, dance, stretching

It is summertime and I have been traveling, vacating, and, I confess, experiencing a bit of summer languidness. And by languid, I mean LAZY!

The figs I ate yesterday came off of my own little fig tree. This year it has had over 30 figs already, and is still growing more. Each year the tree gets bigger and I can imagine that one day it is going to be huge and a prolific fig producer. These figs are just unbelievable. To me, a fresh fig tastes like a soft sweet marshmallow with a rich strawberry preserve center. These are the best I've ever had. No surprise, because I get to wait until they are really super ripe, so ripe that the tree actually drops them into my hand. It is a heart-opening and awe-inspiring moment when this happens. Love and gratitude. ♥

The whole thing of fruit growing on trees . . . of watching the fruit form, taking in the sun and rain and earth and wind . . . slowly ripening . . . developing into a work of art . . . becoming sweet food . . . it is really a miracle, isn't it?

There are also some tomatoes growing, and there are muscadine grapevines EVERYWHERE. I can hardly wait for the grapes to be ready. I feel at the moment that I am living in a beautiful little orchard. It is really lovely. And there is little or no effort involved on my part. Nature is doing it all! I can only dream and imagine how fantastic it would be to live in a year-round orchard that could provide all of one's food needs.

I have been buying most of my food from a fruit stand near my house and from the large farmer's market. The local melons and tomatoes are just perfect right now. In my kitchen I currently have watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, pickling cukes, valencia oranges, cherries, and bananas. I have actually been eating some bananas every day lately. Having a few each day seems to work like a charm. I go heavier on the bananas in the winter. You can always count on them for a reliable sugar hit. For now, I am revelling in the summer produce. Back to the farmer's market today for more 'maters and melons!

P.S. As I look at my list of food, I realize that I technically eat more than what I list. I mean, I am snacking all the time, a bite of watermelon here, a few cherries there . . . just so you know. : )

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 1/2 large watermelon
1:00 . . . 1/2 large watermelon
3:00 . . . bag of cherries
4:00 . . . local tomatoes + pickling cukes (refreshing!)
5:00 . . . 1 large cantaloupe
6:00 . . . 4 bananas
8:00 . . . bit of watermelon juice

Play: barefoot walking, acrobatics, stretching

Summertime. . . and the eatin' is easy. . .

Man, the cherries are really good right now. Firm, sweet, minerally. And there are so many fruits available that I can hardly decide what to have. The Summer Solstice is tomorrow, and the abundance only gets better from there.

The watermelons keep getting crisper and sweeter. Each piece is like a large sugar cube to me. I never tire of them. ♥

Living on fruit is so EASY in the summer, and in warm locales. No slaving over a hot stove or grill, no complicated preparations or clean-up. While everyone is complaining about the hot temperatures, I am delighted it is finally warm. I feel cool as a . . . cucumber, cool as a . . . watermelon. Yes, these summer fruits really do help us stay cool and hydrated. Such beautiful intelligence from Mother Nature.

Lately, this thought is running in my mind, and it applies to everything, including eating:

Why choose complicated, when EASY is available???

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

7:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon
9:00 . . . 1/2 watermelon
1:00 . . . 4 bananas
3:00 . . . bag of cherries
5:00 . . . hunk of jakfruit (in photo)
6:00 . . . more jakfruit
8:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon

Play: dance, stretching, yoga

This was a nice surprise at the local Whole Foods: jakfruit! Well, it was cut and packaged in plastic, and it was STILL really good. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be fresh and ripe right off the tree. You eat the yellow parts and it tastes like Juicy Fruit gum. And to me, it has a crisp and refreshing feel and effect. I still have some left for today and I am really happy about it. It was my first thought this morning: Oh, boy. . . I have more jakfruit today! : )

So yes, jakfruit tastes like Juicy Fruit gum, and bananas taste like bubble gum to me. So I was really reliving my childhood yesterday, as I used to be a bubble gum fanatic! Sometimes I can't believe that I really get to eat sugar all day, and REAL sugar, at that. I am sure that the fake stuff would taste abhorrent to me now.

The cherries are really good now as summer's abundance grows. Yesterday, my husband and I met up to run some errands and wound up under a tree somewhere, eating cherries, one after another. Sometimes, life really IS just a bag of cherries! These fruitarian moments throughout the day are always so special, so REAL, so beautiful, so life-affirming. Gratitude. ♥

And I'm looking forward to picking up some local tomatoes and pickling cukes (also called Kirby cukes) at the fruit stand near my house later today. I need more watermelons, as well. In case I haven't told you 87 times, watermelon is my favorite fruit! Well, unless I am eating mangoes off a tree, or some fresh mamey, or muscadine grapes warm off the vine, or . . . . .

Really, how is it that not EVERYONE is fruitarian??? You are missin' out, peeps, BIG TIME!

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . 1/2 medium watermelon
12:00 . . handful of sweet dark cherries (good!)
2:00 . . . lots of organic strawberries off the vine (heaven)
5:00 . . . more strawberries (lots!)
7:00 . . . local tomatoes + pickling cukes

Play: barefoot walking ~4 miles, dance, stretching

I made one more trip to the strawberry farm. And now strawberries are over for me this season, because after having them in a state of perfection, I wouldn't want anything less. More sweetness and aliveness, warm with the sun, melt-in-your-mouth softness. Super magical fruit pleasure. Sigh.

We as humans are so lucky. Most animals do eat mono in Nature: horses eat grass, squirrels eat nuts, koalas eat eucalyptus leaves. We get to eat fruit . . . and what an amazing variety of tastes and beauty we get to enjoy! There are so many types of fruit around the world that no matter how one would try, one could never get to sample them all.

So getting to eat strawberries this year just twice (but in abundance) I feel like some kind of fruit princess. What other surprises await? ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 12 valencia oranges
11:00 . . . 8 valencia oranges
2:00 . . . strawberries, right off the vine (lots!)
4:00 . . . more strawberries
6:00 . . . strawberries + local tomatoes (yes!)
7:00 . . . strawberries

Play: walking/running ~5 miles, dance, stretching

So I finally went to the organic strawberry field and picked my own. I went later this year than usual and the berries seemed sweeter than ever. It was just such a lovely day all the way around . . . very warm and sunny with a cooling breeze. Most of the time I was out there by myself, which I loved. So peaceful and quiet with all the sounds of Nature.

This is what is meant for us, to be picking our fruit right off the vine or trees, eating it warm with the sun and so alive and vital and SWEET. I ate an entire meal right off the vine. One for me, one for the basket. Two for me, two for the basket. I told the nice people that I wanted to pay them extra for all I ate but they wouldn't take it! It's toward the end of the season and they were just happy to have someone there at all. So I got a free meal of the sweetest strawberries EVER. Livin' the fruitarian life. :)

Each berry was so indescribably soft and light and sweet . . . each one literally melted in my mouth. They were like sweet marshmallows with a jammy sugary sweetness and a rich, rich strawberry flavor. Out of this world MAGICAL! The ones right off the vines were the best of all, full of prana. It was really interesting to experience how the ones I ate later were still wonderful, but missing a bit of vitality. It was noticeable, definitely.

So this serves to remind me of how fantastic it would be to really be living the dream . . . eating all my fruit right from the tree or vine, every day. I believe I will fit in one more visit to the strawberry farm before they are all gone. Thank you, Mother Nature. Thank you, organic growers. ♥

I will never forget this day. One of my best fruitarian experiences ever. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon
1:00 . . . 1/2 watermelon
3:00 . . . 1/4 watermelon
5:00 . . . 2 lbs. campari tomatoes
11:00 . . 8 valencia oranges + a few tomatoes

Play: ballet, acrobatics, stretching

Oh, boy. The good watermelons are here. And I feel a great peace and happiness, even more than usual, to know that for the next 6 months, I will have an endless supply of my favorite fruit!

Eating watermelon in hot weather reminds me of my childhood. Not because I used to eat a lot of watermelon, but because watermelon reminds me of Kool-Aid and icy slushees and popsicles, which were my summertime staples. I lived on those during the summer. . . lots of liquidy, fruit-flavored treats. (I knew. I KNEW.)

And the greenery in the above pic are muscadine grapevines. They are growning wild now, all around me. And all because I just threw the seeds from grapes everywhere as I walked around outside, eating my favorite grapes. I have done NOTHING to propogate them. What a fantastic gift from Mother Nature! I get to watch them grow and develop all summer. The grapes will be ripe probably in late August into September. There is nothing better than FREE wild fruit! ♥

But for now I am focused on my beloved watermelon. I am eating some right now! : )

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

9:00 . . . 1/2 small watermelon
12:00 . . 1 pineapple
4:00 . . . several glasses valencia orange juice + a few dates
8:00 . . . 1 large cantaloupe

Play: walking, dancing, yoga

This is the first whole watermelon I bought this season. It's still early and you can tell it is not of the best quality. BUT I have to say it was crisp and sweet. From here on out they will just get better and better each week.

When one is eating only fruit, the feelings of thirst and hunger are pretty much the same thing. They are not separate. To me it is like a baby drinking only mother's milk for the first few years of life. This one thing takes care of both thirst and hunger. Maybe we came up with two separate words to explain how one must hydrate after taking in dry food and poisonous spices and condiments.

And watermelon is one of the most wonderful thirst/hunger-quenching foods around. I am so happy it is almost watermelon season. Watermelon is the food of angels. ♥

Daily Fruit + Play

Yesterday I ate:

8:00 . . . hand-squeezed pineapple juice (SO good!)
12:00 . . several glasses honey tangerine juice
1:00 . . . some local strawberries
3:00 . . . 2 lbs. campari tomatoes + a few pickling cukes
6:00 . . . lots (!) of cantaloupe pieces
8:00 . . . a few dates

Play : ballet and stretching, walking

Yesterday I really felt like a princess with so many super good things to eat. I cannot express how vital and sweet the pineapple juice was. I wanted gallons of it! And the feeling and thought of it stayed with me all day. You just KNOW when you get something your body loves and needs. ♥

And I felt the same with the honey tangerine juice. Like a silky sweet waterfall for my cells. My tastebuds were tingling with happiness.

Eating these strawberries reminded me that the very best strawberries I've ever had were in Costa Rica, grown by an organic farmer. They were sugary sweet! I didn't know strawberries could even be that sweet. The second best I ate last year, right off the vine at an organic farm. I'll be going there again this week for more fruity pleasure.

Yes, it is so worth it to scout out the very best fruit you can find, wherever you are. After a while, you develop a 6th sense about what you need and what is going to be really good quality. All the time and attention and money that I used to spend on complicated recipes and the latest kitchen gadgets and restaurants and on thinking of what I should eat/shouldn't eat (whew!) I now spend on simply finding good fruit. MUCH easier and far more enjoyable and the payoff is THE BEST!

We went to an outdoor wedding yesterday, by a lake with beautiful geese, and it was lovely to be outdoors. Plus they had a huge platter of endless fruit, and I latched onto the melon. I ate many plates of melon and got to talk to people about eating fruit. I love promoting the idea of it and giving my message to the world. It is slow, it is subtle, but I can feel that people are waking up. Me included. There is still so much to learn and understand about this life experience and beyond! :)