Final Days at Hippocrates

Our last full day at the Hippocrates Health Institute, Friday, was Pizza Day. Or, rather, "Pizza" Day, as the raw, vegan version of pizza bears little resemblance to what normal people consider pizza. An average pizza will typically contain dough, cheese, and tomato sauce -- Hippocrates' "pizza" has none of these things. Raw foodists avoid flour (and aren't overly fond of any kind of gluten-bearing grains), and cheese is not vegan. But why nix the tomato sauce, you ask? Because the tomato is a fruit, and mixing fruit with any other food is heresy to the followers of the Laws of Food Combining. You can read a lot all over the internet about this, but the basic idea behind making sure fruit takes it's journey solo through your system is that it is very easy to digest, and can therefore get "stuck" behind other slower-digesting foods in your intestines, where it will ferment and become nasty. So I only eat fruit in the morning, on an empty stomach.

OK, back to the "pizza". Chef Ken Blue creates a crust from a mixture of almond meal, seeds, and herbs, and mixes this with water and Nama Shoyu (organic, unpasteurized soy sauce) to form the dough. This is pressed and dehydrated to make, essentially, a gigantic cracker, upon which he spreads red pepper "marinara". Then he sprinkles shredded squash on top, to simulate the look of mozzarella. This is sliced up and served with optional toppings like marinated mushrooms, cured olives, onions, and peppers.

Sitting down to a plate of this stuff is really nothing like enjoying a slice of pizza, but it is delicious. I never thought a plate of sprouts, vegetables, and Chef Ken's version of pizza would be anything to write about, but it was totally satisfying and extremely tasty. I decided after that meal that I could live very happily at Hippocrates for months. And, despite all the derisive comments I've been writing during my stay, I would highly, highly, highly recommend a visit for anyone -- stay for the full 3-week program if you can (http://www.hippocratesinst.org/). I know I'll be back next year.

Alas, the vacation came to an end, and Denise and I had to check out the next morning and head back to our regular lives in the world of People Who Eat Cooked Food. I totally fell off the wagon this weekend when I got home, indulging in ice cream cones and seafood, but am back on track this week, armed with my carrots, sprouts, and algae-packed supplements. I'm not going to be sticking to the program religiously (I think that would be totally impossible for me at this point), but I'm committed to changing my diet significantly.

I have a special motivator: I got the call on Friday morning that I've been accepted to the Cultural Traditions program at the School at Jacob's Pillow this summer. Now I've got to get myself in shape to hold up in a dance studio 9 hours a day. I've got two months to prepare...