Sluggish. Sleepy. Stuck-in-a-rut. The Northern Hemisphere is awakening from its seasonal slumber but springing from sleep is the last thing my body wants to do.
Solution?
The one I’ve considered is a ten day green cleanse. The variations of which are endless but the point of this one is to cut out all ‘toxins’ and consume purely raw foods. No animal derived products, processed grains, sugar, caffeine or alcohol. Veggies, yes. Fruit, yes. Legumes, of course. Spriulina, chlorella and wheatgrass – YES! Anything meant to make you feel like a deflating birthday balloon? Give it to me!
My stomach has always rumbled when I’ve considered a cleanse – maple syrup and cayenne mixed into large mugs of water have never been enticing enough, but ten days of juice and raw foods can’t be that bad – can it?
It can be when trying to find raw foods at the supermarket, or <gasp> in a restaurant, which is not the easiest (nor cheapest) endeavor. But I thought eating mostly fruits and veggies would encourage me to try new things and in new combination’s. However on the second day I realized I had eaten eaten brown rice and a large spinach salad the day before. Not exactly the variety of options I had hoped for. Instead of cooking more brown rice I took a stab at eating out.
By the time I left for Queen of Sheba’s, an Ethiopian restaurant with vegetarian options on the menu, I was ready to eat through my refrigerator. Without incident to the refrigerator, or any other passing food filled appliances, I made it to the front door. The vegetarian options on their meat-filled menu looked quite promising though I had to forgo the spongy sourdough-like bread for more rice. What ended up in front of me – 50 minutes after ordering – was a large portion of (more) rice and beans. The turmeric assisted in enhancing the flavor of the lentils but had also turned the beans and rice yellow. And while that particular spice is known for it’s anti-inflammatory properties, antiseptic and antibacterial agents and aiding in cancer prevention the bright beautiful color made me giggle as I had just self-enrolled in a ‘green’ – not ‘yellow’ cleanse.
By day five, I caved.
I’m not a tofu eater as I normally prefer my juicy chunky stuff sourced from an animal but I really needed something with some sustenance, and had decided hours before making the trip to the market, that I was going to be biting into the biggest, juiciest chunk of organic tofu I could find. I marinated it in miso, tamari, citrus juice, onion, thai chile peppers, garlic and a generous dollop of agave. This marinade was transformed into a salty sweet sauce that was quite delicious. I paired the tofu with a light salad of spinach, tomato, baked sweet potato and quinoa. And though the Ethiopian meal was closer in color to the base food of my self-prescribed cleanse, this was, to date, the most fulfilling meal.
It’s now the evening of my seventh day and all I can think of is the moment when I can take the edge off and be completely satiated. Replacing coffee with spirulina infused green smoothies had left me with painful headaches on several of the days – and even though those headaches passed and my fluctuating energy levels tapered to a consistent level, mornings without a strong cup of coffee have not felt the same. I knew that caffeine withdrawals would be the largest physical hurdle to overcome and it was that knowledge – of the absolute fact that I daily consume large amounts of toxins – that encouraged me to jump start my body. I’ve always planned on incorporating elements of this lifestyle into my daily habits, but usually, it’s necessary to ‘walk the walk’ in order to fully understand.
Confronting my typical dietary routine has been both mentally and physically challenging. I am definitely looking forward to re-incorporating former staples back into my diet but taking a break from that routine was a great wake up call. As the year progresses and my diet continues to evolve and change, I look forward to revisiting the cleanse as a yearly rite of spring. And maybe next time my digestive system will get to feel the full force of the 21 day cleanse.
Interested in the Green Cleanse I tried?
{I know, I know…the name is stupid but the advice was generally good.)
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