The beauty ritual is something inherently connective; women all over the world bond over creams, lotions and potions. Recently, at an organic trunkshow, I met Katahrine L’Heureux, whose company Kahina Giving Beauty is all about “women helping women through shared beauty rituals.” 25% of profits are donated to the women in Morocco who harvest the argan oil that is the core ingredient of all the products. cont.

When we look back at this time a half century from now, how will we feel about our actions (or inactions)? Ana Sofia Joanes, director of the documentary Fresh, compares it to living in Germany during Nazi times, watching atrocities unravel while quietly standing by, doing nothing to fight for what’s right. cont.

On a usual Friday night after work, I would stop by Murray’s Cheese in Grand Central Station, pick up a few different wedges and a baguette at the bread shop. A cheese platter and red wine often became dinner that night. Then, I began to feel a bit cheesed out, but still kept doing my Friday ritual, because it seemed like a nice habit. The relationship was starting to get a bit one-sided, Cheese no longer gave me the satisfaction it used to. So, I decided it was time to break up. cont.

I am writing the last week of our raw organic vegan-ness diet a few weeks after we finished. In a way this allows me to reflect upon the entire experience as a whole and include further insight on coming off the diet which I feel everyone should know after completing such a long journey. Just as there were benefits and drawbacks of the raw diet, coming off it had many of it’s own. cont.

This week we got the first box of produce from our new CSA, J.R. Organics. Although we received a mid-week email update of all the items that would be in our weekly box it was a bit difficult to plan our recipes based on that information. We needed to know amounts as well. For example, if carrots are said to be in the box, that’s great, but if you are going to make a hefty carrot salad for the week you need a hefty amount of carrots. cont.

One of the added benefits of joining a CSA is the ability to pay a visit to the farm where your food will be grown. Mine, Paisley Farm in Tivoli, NY, just decided to start a CSA this year. To introduce their members to the farm, the farmers, the land and each other they decided to organize a series of foraging excursions. cont.

After I got over our decision to add in fish (fish oil for me, raw fish for Cameron), the journey was back on. It was just another week of otherwise raw organic vegan-ness, until one night, by chance, I mentioned slicing my finger on our mandolin to one of my freelance clients. Well, naturally this sparked conversation as to what I was making, which lead to the story of our decision to go organic raw vegan for 90 days. My client was floored! cont.

Proteins…. the word of the week. Where were we going to find more proteins at a cheaper price and in the volume we needed? A source that benefited both of our blood types, while providing a good amount of DHA’s and EPA’s? This is where the 90 days of raw organic vegan-ness was not so black and white anymore. cont.