Eating – Catamaran Pearl

OUR FOOD

Actually Alwin wanted to lose only a few pounds after our stay in Europe in the summer of 2015.
For this he had downloaded the following books from the Internet:

“Daily fresh salads get your health” and
“Fresh fruit and vegetable juices” by Dr. med. Norman W. Walker

I should also look into it.
Books about nutrition, I thought, how boring!
I read and read and was more and more enthusiastic about every page.

There was the diagnosis of my orthopedist last summer:
Osteoarthritis in the hip in the first stage, not to heal.

Would it be possible to alleviate or even arrest joint degeneration? By food?
I read more books and made myself smart on the internet. And was more and more convinced.
I just had to try it.
Alwin too. He struggles with gout and problems in the joints. If the partner does not follow, it’s very difficult anyway.
I have been a vegetarian for years (out of disgust for meat), and Alwin had simply adapted! (Wow!)
But would he also join vegan raw food? He finally gave me the books.
Yes, he did! He finally wanted to lose weight!
Alwin’s divorced wife had cancer. Therefore, the two lived vegan for three years. The cancer had gone down. And this diet was also very good for Alwin.

So we changed our eating habits from the beginning of August 2015.

No animal protein, which means no dairy products and eggs.
No cereals, no bakery and pasta and other “dead” foods.
No caffeine, alcohol and sugar.

That sounds really awful?
No wonderful fresh baguette for breakfast anymore … no coffee, no milk, no cheese, no pasta, no cake, no chocolate ???????????

But I found it really exciting at first.

We buy many things at the local market, but also in the supermarket.
How nice is it to go there only in the vegetable corner!
Fortunately, there are also some health food stores in Martinique.
There are seeds for sprouts, linseed oil, sunflower seeds, hemp seed, chia, quinoa, millet, Tahin, all for a balanced diet.
Unfortunately, there are almost no organic vegetables and generally hardly any fresh leafy vegetables. We take what we can get. Sometimes it’s just frozen spinach and broccoli.

But mostly we are rewarded with fresh tropical fruits! Wonderfully small bananas (fig bananas or ladyfinger) that taste sooo good.
In addition, mangos, pineapple and Soursoap …. which are particularly delicious!

In German it is also called Sour Sack, in other languages it means Soursoap, Graviola, Guanábana, Guyabano or Corossol.
And of course the coconut.!

For a long time we compared all sorts of juicers on the internet and found the perfect device for us. Now he is the jewel of our kitchen.
We mainly make vegetable and green juices. Sometimes there is a delicious pineapple orange juice. It also makes ice cream sorbets from half-frozen berries and almond milk possible.

For me, the change in diet was absolutely easy. How good suddenly everything tastes!
We start the day with a glass of ginger turmeric lemon tea, of course ice-cold. Tastes very exotic!
Then we eat ourselves full of delicious fruits. Before lunch we take a vegetable juice, and the main course is a delicious salad.
It tastes different every day and never gets boring.

After our daily swim in the afternoon we drink a glass of coconut water and eat fresh coconut pieces.
In the beginning we only ate raw, but that’s not so funny in the long run.
So now we often cook in the evening. But then vegan and very gentle.

The conclusion after about 6 months:
Alwin has lost 16 pounds, I fortunately only about 5-6 pounds.
Now everything has stabilized. In the beginning, I was afraid of being too thin.
Today our scales dust under the table.
Alwin’s gout cartilage on his fingers has almost disappeared. The skin fungus, which he had since I’ve known him, is completely gone, the ugly athlete’s foot fungal infection too.
I feel completely well. As the arthritis develops, time will tell.

Soaking sprouts, rinsing, etc. has become routine for me. Not easy with high humidity and temperature, but it works.
Thanks to the new gutter on the roof of our catamaran we almost always have enough water.
The book “The Proviant Bible” by Ralf and Birgit Londe gives valuable tips and should not be missing on any boat.

We are not one of the absolutist “vegans” or “raw eaters”. Whenever we have guests or are invited, we sometimes eat quite “normal”.
We also drink a glass of wine or a beer at the German Stammtisch.
Personally, I am free from all previous cravings. I no longer have any appetite for any “old” stuff. Our new food tastes too good!

We love this life on our PEARL. We want to enjoy it as long as possible.
Alwin wants to show me a lot of the most beautiful corners of our planet. There are many new things to discover for him.
And that is only possible if we stay healthy.
That’s worth it! Or not?

Christine