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.