Oh Baby, I like it RAW!

Good Day, my Lovelies,

Twice or thrice a year, I have a group of girlfriends that organize a dinner outing for us, just to reconnect. Had this been a year ago or so, I would’ve totally been down for going to the typical outing at one of those bar patios…you know, where you can subject yourself to second-hand smoke as waiters with attitude serve you icy cold beer and deep fried finger foods, and where drunk (not to mention loud) college kids dominate. I even remember one time (a LONG time ago) when I asked the waiter about how their “chicken fried chicken” was (like I really needed to ask?!). From the waiter’s own mouth, it was “a heart attack on a plate”. However, what was most absurd was not the fact that the restaurant’s own employee couldn’t lie about the dish, but that I actually ordered it!!! AND I can testify that it totally lived up to its reputation...I didn’t have a heart attack, but I felt like I was going to!
Getting back on topic, when the girls were deciding where to go, I suggested that we try Raw Aura – it’s a cute, boutique restaurant in the heart of Port Credit – my next entry will be my attempt of a critique of the place. Now, I’m not 100% raw, but when it comes to going out to eat, I’ve been quite skeptical about restaurants these days, both the quality of food and the way it’s prepared. Preparing my body for pregnancy next year, I want to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the amount of chemicals (additives such as food colourings, and MSG and its other flavour inducing relatives), hydrogenated oils (as they’re usually used in deep frying), white refined sugar, and conventionally raised meat (I’ve talked briefly about conventional meat and produce in my Earth Day entry). I’m trying to avoid eating meat that I don’t buy and prepare myself, which leaves me with vegetables, so I figure, if you’re going to eat vegetables, they might as well be organic, and while you’re at it, raw! That way, you keep all those precious and useful enzymes intact, thus getting the most out of what you’re eating. Sounds good right?
Well, the girls were nice enough to entertain the idea, and actually showed up to dinner! I honestly thought they were going to shut it down at first. But they sucked it up, and tried something new….grudgingly, yes, but they at least gave it a shot….right? Well, I’ll give you the scoop, and you can decide for yourself.
I was the last one to arrive, and when I got there I was immediately greeted with snarky remarks and slightly bitter facial expressions. I mean, we didn’t even get our food yet, and they already decided that it wasn’t for them…and that I was to blame for their poor eating experience……that they haven’t even had yet. Anything they ordered would probably be one of the healthiest meals of their lifetime, and in return, they really went out of their way to not enjoy it. I mean, even before we received any food, one girl said “I guess it won’t hurt to try something new…ONCE!” She didn’t try anything yet, and somehow she knew she was never going to try it again? Even the vegetarian, who I thought for sure would’ve appreciated my choice of restaurants, was quite skeptical of the food. She couldn’t be bitter that there was no meat on the menu since, you know, she was a vegetarian. She wasn’t feeling the menu at all because everything was raw. But she eats a salad every time we go out anyways, so I didn’t really get what the real issue was. As the rest of the girls were harping about not knowing what to eat, she kept saying, “just order something that’s similar to what you would order at a ‘normal’ restaurant”. I thought that was very good advice. Then she ordered the mini burgers (may I repeat, she is a vegetarian)….so, you can probably guess how she liked her food.
The other girls seemed to like the taste and texture of their food, but were turned off by the fact that it didn’t come to them piping hot. If you ask me, there were expecting to HATE anything they got, so the fact that they admitted that it was okay equates to a little success.
I just couldn’t understand why there was such controversy with the raw menu. They would’ve gladly went to a sushi restaurant and order raw fish (farmed fish even, the worst fish you can eat due to the high mercury content), and yet, they had a problem with raw vegetables? I suspect if the restaurant was endorsed by Beyonce or Miley Cyrus, it may get a better review from the general public.
In any case, at the end of the night, I was the only one that finished my food, and the only one that ordered dessert (which was AMAZING by the way!). On top of all that, I had boxes upon boxes of raw, organic food packed up from all their leftovers. Moral of the story: take your friends to eat raw organic food, and you’ll come away with a full belly and lots of free, healthy food. And remember – we’re all together now, babies!