20 Days of Raw/Plant Based Diet
I was able to complete a total of 20 days during which I only had a raw plant based diet. During the first week I experienced some lower energy levels, but the overall results I got from this experience were quite astonishing. I was full of energy during the second and third weeks of the three week period. The most spectacular and visible result was that my facial skin quality improved a great deal. I could feel it to be way softer than before. When looking in the mirror or at selfies, I could almost descry an orange colored glow radiating from my skin.
My First Time in Uruguay
On Friday, I had to make a trip to Montevideo in Uruguay. I decided to end the 20 day raw/plant based diet here. After my arrival I was able to find a vegetarian open buffet style restaurant named Espacio Samsara. I had some raw and cooked food. I’ve made an effort to avoid dairy products. Everything was delicious. Later on during my first day in Montevideo, I spotted a place called La Granola. They had cold pressed juices. I decided to have a spinach apple pineapple juice. I asked the person working there if they would be open during the weekend. He told me that they will be closed until next Wednesday because of carnival. This meant that I wasn’t going to be able to get some of their delicious juices again during my visit.
Knowing that it was going to be extremely difficult for me to find a similar store in Montevideo during my short stay, I decided to order a plant based milkshake made of mango, banana, coconut oil, and almond milk. The person making the juice put all the ingredients inside the juicer, when it was time to add the almond milk we both found out that the bottle of almond milk was empty. I told him that he could replace it with pineapple juice instead. I don’t know how the original recipe is supposed to taste like, but my plant based no-milkshake was extremely delicious an filling.
Uruguayan Red Meat
For dinner I decided to have red meat. It had been 20 days since last time I had put any animal product in my body. I went to this cozy and authentically decorated “parilla” called la Pulperia. I was able to get a spot at the bar just in front of the grill. The air temperature from where I was sitting was a bit high due to my proximity to the grill, but I could see all the cooking action to its slightest detail. I was really curious about the Uruguayan meat. I ordered a “Bife de Ojo” (Rib-eye steak), “Rinones” (kidneys), and a salad. To my surprise, out of the three items it was the salad that I enjoyed the most. The meat was good, so were the kidneys, but the overall taste of the meat wasn’t as good as some of the “parilla” I had in Buenos Aires. It is also possible that my personal taste and my perception of meat have changed a lot, since I’ve drastically reduced the meat component from my diet.
Eating some animal product again resulted in me having some puffy eyes the next morning. It could also be a combination of me having very little sleep for the past three days, since I had to move out from Colegiales for Palermo, and wake up at 4:00AM the previous morning to catch the boat for Montevideo.
A Quest to Find Healthy Food
On Saturday I knew that Espacio Samsara and La Granola will be closed. I went on a quest to find some healthy food. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon in Montevideo. After walking few blocks from the place where I am currently staying I found a juice bar named Tropical Smoothies. I am not too much into smoothies when they are mixed with a ton of ice, but this smoothy joint also had a juice menu.
I could see behind the counter that an employee was mass producing orange juice. Before ordering, I asked if the juice was pure juice. The cashier said yes, that it was. I decided to order a juice made of orange, lemon and pineapple. I told them to not add any sugar. After waiting for over ten minutes, I was handed a smoothy looking drink. I told the person who handed me the drink that it did not looked like a juice to me. He told me that it was just because the drink was a bit dense, but it was pure juice. Well, in my humble definition of juice, it was not, but decided to not be a difficult customer, and give the smoothy looking juice a try. The actual beverage tasted like a watered down orange juice. With my tongue I could feel some blended ice. The worst part was that they had left some pulp inside the drink, but it wasn’t some good tasting yummy pulp. At every single sip of me having the juice, my mouth would be full of the inner membrane wall material that separates the lemon quarters. On an empty stomach having the icy undefinable beverage was not the best experience I had in terms of having a juice. I should have just ordered some straight orange juice with no ice. Lesson learned for my next visit to a similar place.
Tenedor Libre
After walking for several hours, I decided to get some food. Half of the businesses seemed to be closed. At one point I came across to a shopping mall. Just like the ones one can find in the United States. I was surprised, I glanced at it and told myself; this is the last place in Montevideo where I would want to go. I kept walking for about three minutes, then I thought it could be a good idea to use the restroom of the mall to wash my hands. Who knows when I’ll be able to find a public restroom again. I went inside the mall. The second I walked in, the romantic aspect of me walking for hours in the streets of Montevideo and purposefully getting lost vanished. I was in an environment that was way too familiar to me from my past life. That said it was nice to be able to wash my hands and get some paper towels for the road.
As I exited the mall, I saw a chain restaurant named Don Peperone, it didn’t look like a place I would necessarily want to go when I am on a trip like this one; where I rather discover privately owned smaller local businesses, but I saw that they had an open buffet with an all you can eat deal. I went in to check it out. The food bar was well garnished, They did have some raw food, among all kinds of more cooked and traditional food. I thought I could find a better option and left Don Peperone. After walking a few meters outside of the restaurant, I checked the time, and it was almost 3:00PM already. I suddenly had an idea. Why not get the open buffet deal, eat as much as I can, and call it the day as far as eating goes until Monday afternoon. Since the next day, Sunday, was my dry-fasting day. I was able to convince myself to eat “Tenedor Libre” style for that day. I ended up eating four plates full of food, and two plates of dessert (fruit salad).
My first plate was all raw food, the second was a mix of raw and cooked vegetables, the third and fourth ones had in addition all kinds of meats as well. I stopped eating after feeling full and before feeling in too much excess. The deal came with a drink and a hot beverage. For the drink I had some plain water, but ended up not even having a single sip of it. For the hot beverage, I went with an herbal tea to help me digest the important amount of food I had just put into my stomach. As I am writing this it is Sunday 1:00PM, and I am dry-fasting. I feel fine and not hungry at all. Tomorrow is my last day in Montevideo, I am thinking of allowing my self some traditional cooked food if I can not find a better option.
Debrief on the 20 Day Raw/Plant Based Diet
When I return to Buenos Aires, I want to get back to the raw plant based diet. I feel like it did me a lot of good, and more importantly I feel like it allowed me to make some positive progress in my overall journey. During my regular Sunday dry-fasting days, I could feel that my body was able to cleanse itself more in depth. Even during the rest of the week I had the sensation that even though my body was getting some external food, the actual diet of only eating raw and plant based was helping it to heal. I also want to mention that during the 20 day period I did not consume any nuts. After two days of eating some cooked meals including animal products, I still feel good, but not as light and up beat as I used to feel during the two last weeks of the 20 day period.
I think it’s beneficial for me to experience some traditional prepared food to emphasis how having a raw plant based diet is closer to an optimum diet for me. I may be on the road again in about two moths. I am in the process of making an important decision, as to wether stay in Buenos Aires or travel north for a while. If I decide to go on an ongoing travel journey, I need to find a solution to be able sustain my diet on the go. Slow juicing is not going to be possible, but I want to try to travel with a chef’s knife, a cutting board, and a bowl, so can prepare my own food wherever I go. It would then only be a matter of finding good quality produce and a counter to prepare my food.
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I AM NOT A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. I would like to make it very clear that I am only sharing my own experience on this website, and have no intention to give any specific advice on health. Please read the disclaimer section for more information.
