Why clean your closets when you can clean your body?

My friend Emilie has talked me into a lot of things I might not otherwise do.

For instance I didn't used to feel compelled to publish my inner most thoughts in a public forum until she encouraged me to start a blog. And now look at the amount of potentially inappropriate sharing I do.

She somehow got me thinking that I could run a few miles.

Now I find myself on the brink of a food cleanse.

In general, this is not an oddity in our house.  Sandi has done countless juice fasts, intensive whole food diets and other sort of periodic down shifting and simplifying of her diet as a way to detox her body.  I usually partake of the delicious fresh vegetable juice and increased consumption of brown rice but I keep the chocolate and the tea and the crackers.

I have found that after a well-practiced history of dysfunctional eating (both in excess consumption and maniacal restricting) I don't tend to do well when I follow any sort of program that tells me I cannot eat certain foods.

Tell me I can't eat broccoli and it is all I want. 

I've worked hard to build up a body wisdom where I am work with my body and its needs rather than in the former push-pull war that was my norm for years.  Which isn't to say that I don't slide into periods of careless and unconscious eating both in manner and food choice.  It is fair to say that while I eat a very healthy diet, I go through periods were I am a rushed and distracted eater, ignore my body's signals of satiety and cannot picture an evening without some sort of dessert.


The cleanse I have been persuaded to do is not incredibly dramatic.  And it is only for 7 days.  This is Emilie's second cleanse and by watching both her and Sandi do cleanses, I am envious about how amazing they feel.  Plus, I have to say, I have always been a sucker for a fresh start. I like the idea of giving my body and my digestive track a clean slate.

This is the cleanse in a nutshell:  no processed food, no gluten (which means no bread), no caffeine, no sugar, no alcohol, no dairy, and (not hard for us since we have gone almost entirely vegetarian) no meat.

What is left to eat you ask?

Grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds.

The tricky part about this isn't what I will be eating. All these foods are part of my everyday diet. Rather it is the absence of all the other foods: my almost daily ice coffee in the summer, chocolate, yogurt, cheese and chocolate. Did I say chocolate twice?

Because it is positive to focus on the positives, here what I DO plan to do: consume a ton of water each day, (Emilie says a gallon -I say it depends how close I am to a bathroom), to eat food in its wholest form, and to feel cleaner about not just what I eat but how I eat.   I want to eat my food in a state of presence, rather than standing up and scarfing down lunch because I failed to leave myself enough time.  I also plan to fully reveal in the eating of nuts and nut butters that I might otherwise partake of with caution. 

Working with my strengths, I formulated a menu and grocery shopped accordingly today.  I spent $275 between the health food store and the grocery store (YIKES!) and I'm not certain I got anything the girls will eat.

I've been saying I want to put my money where my mouth is.  Now I'm going to put my mouth where my money is.

Cleansing Week Menu:

Quinoa Edamame Salad
Tangy Basmati Rice
Tempeh Stir-fry
Garden salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Tahini Balsamic Dressing
Ange’s Veggie Burgers
Lentil Nut Loaf
Teriyaki Barbecue Tempeh
Peanut Butter Soup
Coconut Lime Basmati Rice
Green Bean and Walnut Salad
Orange Saffron Rice
Pea Top Pesto Brown Rice
Green Monster Smoothies
Fresh Vegetable Juice (made with carrots, beets, oranges, ginger, garlic, apple and cucumber)

So I start in the morning and today so far I have consumed chips, chocolate, thin mints and I am contemplating an ice cream cone before bed. I feel like an alcoholic heading to rehab in the morning. 

The fact that this is starting to feel less and less like a good idea to me means more and more that I need to do it.

I know it will be breeze for Sandi and I will try hard not to feel jealous of her inherent grace around food.  I will accept myself if, after supper tomorrow night, I feel like hurting anyone who is in the possession of chocolate.  I will trust that I can still be a good parent without my afternoon coffee.  I will take a deep breath and tell myself, "Yes, but you can eat nuts" and pretend that is good enough. 

I'm going to feel amazing, right?

 Recipes and tales of my withdrawal symptoms to follow!