hello again…

yes, i know it’s been a while. i’ve been swept up in the moment and going with the flow of – LIFE. and, it’s amazing. i’m getting married in less than 2 weeks, i am up to my ears in last minute wedding details, i’m teaching 5 classes a week, i’m an assistant manager at a budding yoga studio, and i’m getting all my shit ready to move in with my soon-to-be husband. what can i say? i like to keep busy  

on top of all this, which has just become a “normal” level of busyness to me, i’ve embarked on a 7-day ayurvedic food cleanse with talya lutzker, owner of talya’s kitchen, thanks to the yoga studio i work at for holding space for this! i am a firm believer that things come into my life at specific times for a particular reason. call it destiny, or God’s will (since i grew up catholic), or the universe guiding me towards something that i’m supposed to do; i believe it’s all those things.

i am compelled to share with you all of the parts and pieces of this cleanse: my experiences, my frustrations, and random moments throughout this 7-day process. i am inspired again to write…

i’ve been thinking about doing a cleanse since i first became gluten free back in march, but the timing and the circumstances were just off… do you know that feeling???  so, it just didn’t happen or work out. that is, until now. last week i went to the cleanse orientation at worlds yoga, lead by talya, who has an amazing spirit & energy. listening to her talk about all the benefits of the cleanse, and being surrounded by the small group of people that would take this journey with me, i was filled with so much excitement! …holy shit, until i started reading into what would could not eat: sugar, flour products – even gluten-free flour (!), caffeine – which i shouldn’t even be having because of my hyperthyroidism & meat. …yes, all these things make complete sense to eliminate if you’re participating in a cleanse, but we all have our achilles heel. while i was holy shitting in my head, talya had us flip to the can eat section of our manuals, and i was surprisingly put at ease. not so bad… AND i can still have my apple cider vinegar awesome.

…if you are wondering why the hell i am so excited about apple cider vinegar, it’s because i eat it with sliced apples (with a little salt) or cucumbers (with salt, pepper & a little sugar). my dad used to make it for me, so i grew up with the stuff – and i love it! maybe it’s a filipino (ilocano) thing. my fiancé, who is also filipino, finds it weirdly gross. lol. nonetheless, i will continue this tradition with our future children. 

an abundance of fresh & organic foods at our fingertips (photo courtesy of kb)

cleanse day #1  - shopping at the farmer’s market

so i have to say, i convinced my sisters to do this cleanse with me (to the level that they feel comfortable doing). how can we not? we get to cook together & learn how to eat healthier together – our last sisterly thing as “roomies” before i officially move out.

i met one of my sister’s at the farmer’s market after her ballet class to scope out what we could pick up for our cleanse. i found my season favorite: autumn royal grapes – crispy, fresh & slightly sweet and the unfamiliar: delicata squash – which Talya talked about during our cleanse. i was excited to try to cook something new.

before the “official” start of the cleanse, i had already started eliminating the difficult foods from my diet, starting with the coffee (even the decaf), red meat, sugar, and lastly – wine.

we lunched over quinoa with ghee, organic beets & baked kale with coconut oil. such a different way of eating than i’m used to! i was surprised at how little i needed to feel full, and how long i was satisfied before i started feeling hungry again.

i passed out for a good portion of the afternoon then treated myself to a couple of movies on the tube. i never realized how cute jake gyllenhaal was til yesterday… but that could just be the cleanse talking - cleanse goggles. that makes perfect sense.

day #1 summary: great food, good rest, felt a little lethargic & itchy as hell (more on the itchiness soon)

ended my night with a cup of vitamineral earth tea.

good night!

quinoa with ghee, red beets & baked kale with coconut oil. so satisfying! (photo courtesy of kb)