A spring cleanse in my step

[Post created on Monday morning but not published until the evening.]

My spring cleanse has begun. I’d been considering a spring cleanse when I spotted The Raw Food Detox Diet in a bookstore. I’d bought a Wild Rose Herbal Detox kit when they were on sale awhile back in anticipation for the spring cleanse and last week increased my raw food intake while I was reading  the book.  I started the detox kit contents today. Yesterday did a little colon/bowel cleanse and am intrigued by the idea of colon hydrotherapy. The fact that this intrigues me disturbs me a little.

Stimulating the economy:

Spent a crapload of money yesterday loading up on fruits, veggies and the like (I’m trying to decide if the word “crapload” is ironic in this case). I went to a number of less expensive stores, finally ending up at Whole Foods. Whole Paycheck indeed. I bought three young coconuts there. The first I unwrapped was moldy. The second didn’t seem right when I cut into it and tasted it. It didn’t taste like a coconut and seemed drier than it should. I have no idea how it’s supposed to be, but it just seemed wrong.  I’m going to return the moldy one and the third one. I didn’t think I could return the one I already cut into so into the green bin it went. I might need to give up on the coconut idea.

At Essence of Life in Kensington Market I earned that as long as dried fruit is labeled “organic”, it’s sulfite-free. Good to know. I bought some snacks there and am looking forward to trying the Mary’s Organic Crackers Sticks and Twigs, Chipotle Tomato variety. Wheat-Free Gluten-Free, whole grain, and not in the way that General Mills calls their cereals “whole grain”. Mary’s uses  amaranth, millet, two types of quinoa, as well as flax seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds and brown rice. The tomato powder and ground chipotle chili are organic. I like that the phrases “natural flavours” and “natural colours” to not appear. Transparency on food labels is important to me.
[Edit: OMG, The Sticks and Twigs are so good except for the pieces that were too salty.]

I bought a mandoline slicer. Again. The last time I bought one I returned it without using it but yesterday evening I used my new Zyliss folding mandoline to julienne vegetables for today’s lunch. I also bought a spiral slicer. I hope I actually use it. Here are instructions on how to make your own using components of a deodorant stick and a razor blade. It’s a pretty neat video with funky music.

This morning’s smoothie: 1.5 apples, 1 fresh banana, some mango, EFA oil blend, 2 tbsp greens powder, flax seeds, a bit of pulp from a carrot-ginger salad dressing that I’d made yesterday, agave nectar and water.

My Facebook status from Saturday is “Liking today’s smoothie so much that I want to cuddle with it.” In addition to the regular apples and bananas I used strawberries and raspberries that had been in my freezer since last summer when they were in season. They’d been lost and forgotten in my freezer and tasting them in the smoothie made me happy. The smoothie also contained fresh mint and hazelnut agave nectar. It was phenominal.

Lunch: A base of EB herb salad + carrots, purple cabbage, yellow pepper, a small beet, all of which were sliced julienne-style on my new mandolin, and a blend of sprouts. Dressing is a carrot-ginger dressing from the raw food book, although I like my simple lemon-walnut oil drizzle. The beet stained my green t-shirt.

I intend to go back to hot yoga this evening. It’s been awhile. I could use a good yoga class today because my shoulders are sore, plus the sweat is detoxifying.  I also need to get back to the gym. It’s been months since I’ve done a proper workout.

I realize that I can’t go on a health kick without exercise. One thing that  bothers me about the raw food book is that Natalia repeatedly talks about how much weight people lose on that lifestyle but makes no mention of exercise/calorie burning as a weight loss tool. Yoga for cleansing, yes, but the repeated idea in the book is that the waste that people carry inside them is extra weight and that once the weight is gone, so will weight. Be that as it may (and I’m not sure I believe the concept- maybe seeing is believing), fat makes you fat¹ (see footnote for Buffy reference that popped into my head).  The eating regime is a lifestyle change and not just a diet, but I feel that if you’re going to tell people that they’re going to lose weight you should also mention fat burning and muscle building. Of course, I’m not trying to lose weight (not sure I have any to lose) but I’m not in good shape these days.

I’ve looked at my schedule and put some workouts in my calendar for the week. I’ve already had to rearrange one, but can change my schedule accordingly. Hopefully it will become a habit.

I’ll leave you with that.
Eat well, be well.

¹Buffy reference:
Sorority girl vampire #1:”Does this sweater make me look fat?”
Sorority girl vampire #2: “No, your fat makes you look fat. That sweater makes you look purple.”