Feelin' Good!

Gotta say, so far so good - feeling pretty good on this cleanse (aside from the major headache I had for the first day and a half - sure as a result of the lack of caffeine). For the most part, I'm really sticking to it. (Questioned a sauce or two I had, like the sweet peanut butter dipping sauce that went with my very yummy veggie or "Fresh" roll at Sweet Lime - Thai restaurant - on Sutter/Steiner; went back a second time for them - got them to go - since they were so delish!) Guess what I'm most amazed by is how little I'm missing wine and my daily latte. And as for the juicing, thanks to Elise, I've signed up for Juicy Lucy for the next two weeks, delivering twice a week. David and I are going to share it - very excited! (David BTW is full force doing it and is feeling great!)

Looking forward to week two!!! Happy cleansing (in whatever form)!!!

Groupon

Great to see a few of you last night at the SF Friends Booktopia and talk CLEANSE. I mentioned Juicey Lucy's to Betsy Levy as a good local source for fresh pressed organic juice. Juicing takes time, requires lots of fresh fruits and veggies and creates a big mess, so I appreciate out sourcing my juicing to Juicey Lucy's.The great news I just found out is that Juicey Lucy is doing a Groupon for the next 3 days. There are several options for this Groupon, from a two for one Juice for only $10, to a three day juice cleanse. Fresh juice would be a great boost to any cleanse and a great way to get easy to digest vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help detox, oxygenate, and revitalize. You can do only juice or keep on eating. Click here  for this Groupon running for the next 3 days.

Modifying

So last year's cleanse was triggered by me after I was really (!) sick for many weeks.  I just wanted to feel better and the cleanse was my ticket.  My husband and I stuck to it to the letter -- no splashes of milk in coffee (no coffee for that matter, not even decaf), no nibbles of sugar.  We were hard core.  And the cleanse worked for me.  I finally, finally felt better (though I did put on a few pounds thanks to the chips and guac and peanut butter that were cleanse-friendly).  And I have maintained many of the cleanse habits.  For example, I now only drink decaf coffee and the only caffeine I've had in a year has been in green tea.  I think I've had one beer since last year and no other alcohol.  I have eaten meat a handful of times since December -- 99 percent of the time I choose a vegetarian option and it's just as tasty.  I'm more aware of sugar content in all foods (including things like salad dressing) and substitute brown rice syrup or similar options whenever possible.

But as great as the cleanse was for me and for as many habits as I've maintained, I'm not *really* doing the cleanse this year.  Long story short -- for the last several months, I've been doing another eating program that has worked great for me (and has helped me take off those chips-and-guac-and-peanut-butter pounds).  It's fairly restrictive and I just couldn't add several more layers of restrictions on top of that.  Soooooo...instead I'm making an effort during this period to eat more whole (vs. processed) foods and to drink a green smoothie a day.  The last two days, I've combined kale with coconut water and blueberries and raspberries.  It's not half bad.

So that's my story.  Kudos to Yunah for taking the cleanse torch this year!  :)

1st day

i had a good first day.
breakfast: pg tips tea w/ lots of milk, usual yogurt, blueberries, chia seeds, flax seeds, coconut milk (looks supergross). lunch: leftover sweet potato salad (recipe below), dinner: stir fried tofu & flowering chives (huge bowl, so GOOD), miso, snacked on tons of almonds all day, and an apple. i was still hungry so i had a really big mug of good earth tea (this is key, good earth is a really intensely flavored tea. it's not banana cake, but it's satisfying).
(scott - not a great first day b/c he had a dinner @ boulevard, so we'll see how that plays out.)

as i've said before ladies, i'm convinced that time of month is everything for starting a new food program. i even handled halloween candy w/o temptation. well, it wasn't very tempting. and, i took a mindless bite of xander's pb&j sandwich, but stopped when i realized it was so good.
anyone else doing this? i wanna hear the variations! mary?? where are you?

here's that sweet potato recipe which i think you've all seen before:
sweet potato salad
-sweet potatoes (or yams), peeled &cut into chunks (mix w/ some olive oil & a spoon of brown sugar. ok, nix that),
roast in oven @ about 380, for about 40 mins, mix them up about every 15 mins so they don't stick).
-italian parsley - about 2 huge bunches -but arugula would work.
-cheese: i used parmesan, but i think goat cheese or feta would be good too. yeah, nix that too.
-red onion, tiny dice.
-dressing: 2:1 olive oil to balsamic, w/ a spoon of dijon.
-nuts: i used walnuts, but almonds or pine nuts would be good. always toast nuts.
MIX!
(i forgot to do this, but next time i'll squeeze lemon over it).

getting ready for nov cleanse

check out david lebovitz website & make the brownies with powdered altoids for refreshing minty taste - eat many of them...

The Cleanse 2011

Just testing to see if I still knew how to post to this blog.  Stay tuned for details on The Cleanse 2011, coming to a refrigerator near you between Halloween and Thanksgiving!

The Veg Edge

I caught a show on the Cooking Channel called "The Veg Edge."  (Truth be told, I now have a saved search for "vegan" in my Tivo!)  It chronicled some of the most sophisticated, unusual and hip vegan/vegatarian chefs and restaurants around the country.  While I was dismayed that San Francisco wasn't represented, it did inspire me to visit Portland.  Anyone up for a road trip?

Speaking of San Francisco restaurants, I returned to Gracias Madre.  I *love* that place.  I do believe I could eat only that quesadilla for the rest of my life and be happy.  For real.