Holidays – The Perfect Time To Make A Change

The holiday season is in full swing. It's a wonderful time of warm sunshine, cycling, and travelling. Some prefer spending their vacation abroad, next to the clear sea, others opt for quiet cottage stays in the middle of forests and groves. We look forward to every single day, whether we go mushroom picking or decide to conquer the Atlantic in a yacht.

I have loved this season since my childhood when summer was defined by eating watermelon, apricots, and peaches from the garden. Oh, and Polárka, a classic ice cream, without which summer was unimaginable. There were other holiday symbols. Overripe cherries from the alley at my granny's or sweet apricot jam on a white roll (kifli/rohlík) from my aunt, for instance. That by the way was (and still is) referred to as Melon.

As the days passed by, the staples have changed. No one treats me to a glass of Polárka after I receive my school report, no one spreads apricot jam on a white roll. Perhaps it's because I don't bring my school report anymore. And I can notice holidays coming purely thanks to my daughter, who annually enjoys a two-month leave, just like I once did.

Maybe with a little twist now. Over the last ten years, I have embarked on a change that has literally turned my life upside down. And it has nothing to do with graduation. I left it behind a long time ago indeed. I have stopped eating apricot jam because it contains refined sugar and the apricots are totally destroyed by cooking. Neither I eat rolls, but rye sourdough I bake at home. Well, for the past five years I have not even.

The summer 2013 was a breaking point for me. From the vegan diet to the first raw meal, with no further ado. So, I was left with melon, apricots, and sweet cherries. And lots of other goodies, such as apples, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc. Now I go to the mulberry tree, whose branches hug me, and not seen by the surroundings, I eat passionately until my fingers turn blue.

Holidays' arrival is no longer defined by childhood symbols like Polárka but by the glorious singing of common swifts in the air and satisfied tourists' smiles in the café.
May summer be praised! Let the change come into our lives!

Sincerely yours,
Mirka MyRaw 

My morning smoothie:
a handful of spinach
dandelion leaves, young nettle, alfalfa, mint
1 tbsp of powdered young barley
a ripe banana (add some dates if you're a sweet tooth)

Mix with a bit of water. I use Blendtec.