"Good Experiences Build Motivation . . .

. . . and motivation leads to habit." Those are my husband's words after our day today and I agree! What we planned as a regular day turned into a RAW delight.

We started off the day heading to Santa Barbara but after three detours and 2.5 hours with more to go, SoCal traffic finally got the better of us.

Check out the traffic to the left

One of our detours did lead us to a fruit truck that I couldn't pass up. 

The good thing was that we weren't on a schedule so Derek pulled over. We didn't have much cash on hand so only mangoes won out.

Cannot wait to dig in!

We called 'uncle' shortly after this stop and decided to venture into Santa Monica. We've been there before and always enjoy the city. Santa Monica was hopping but the traffic was bearable. Here's a quick shot of the beach.

I have been wanting to try a RAW restaurant and settled on Planet Raw. While walking there we also stumbled upon Real Food Daily. That restaurant will have to wait for another day.

Snapped this pic from the car on our way out of town

Onto our Planet Raw experience. Here we are!

The menu included some great basics on RAW living

Derek was eager to try a beverage and settled on the Chai Shake. I was in the mood for a green juice but there wasn't one on the menu. Instead, I opted for Blood.

Can you say "yum!!"?

The Chai Shake was creamy and spicy. It included cashews, a homemade chai spice mix, ice and water. You could eat it with a spoon and Derek did just that (he loved his choice!). My Blood juice included Fuji apples, lime, ginger and beets. Very refreshing and light with only a hint of beets. The ginger is the star of this drink. I would recommend trying both of these beverages.

For an entree, I selected the Green Curry Pasta, a Thai inspired dish. Derek had the Pasta Fresca, similar to Fettuccine Alfredo with extra garlic. Both dishes were accompanied by green salads with a garlic ranch dressing (I think). Again, we were happy with both dishes. Derek especially with the extra garlic kick :)

Pasta Fresca

Green Curry Pasta

All together now. . .yum!

Here I am enjoying RAW fare

Derek has been hesitant trying raw dishes so I was a little apprehensive but this experience was, in his own words, motivating. He explained that he didn't want to be boxed in by a label - raw foodist. Fortunately, that's not my goal! I'm looking forward to embracing food in its natural form. I'm not about labels either.

He's on board with moving towards a high raw diet with me and that is wonderful! He's my partner in everything so I'm happy to have him join me on this journey. 

Before we left the restaurant we picked up Chef Juliano's uncook book.

We can't wait to try the Chai Shake which we are sure will make an excellent breakfast dish.

We left Santa Monica motivated to continue our journey into health and to build habits. What more can you ask from a Sunday?

Happy 4th of July!

- Kareen, RD