A really great thing that I have started doing again, with the cleanse inspiration, is cooking.

I have always loved spending time in the kitchen. But for some reason, when I moved into my little studio apartment and upped my hours working in a restaurant, the thought of cooking in close quarters was exhausting. I started spending way too much money eating out. So, thank you cleanse, for getting me back in my kitchen. And, loving it.

One of my favorite cookbooks is "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" by Suzanne Goin. I think that Suzanne is arguably the best chef in Los Angeles. My mother and I had the pleasure of going to Lucques a few years ago and having a Sunday supper there. What an absolute joy, just a lovely place, with great seasonal, local food. Tavern is fantastic too. Well, all of her restaurants are, so next time you're in LA, test them out.

I made her fava bean spread, with feta and olive cured olives. So delicious. Fava beans are one of those things that you just have to snatch up as many as possible anytime you see them. Their short season makes them that much more special. A lot of times, I see them on menus, with someone using them because they're now a cult food. But, their taste is never really captured. You can't have too much going on in a dish with favas, or else you have no idea what they taste like. Suzanne's recipe makes you understand and appreciate this beautiful little bean. Instead of a baguette, I got my favorite naturally leavened bread. And, I kept the left over spread for days in the fridge, and just snacked on it, like I usually do with hummus. Get a great springy, bright white to go along.

Like it never happened, but it did.

It's been about a week since I finished my 14 day cleanse. I am back to eating my pasta at 11:30 at work, with my glass of wine. No bueno.
I can justify it, because this delicious meal and perfectly paired wine is part of my pay. And, what a beautiful way to end a night of battle.
No, not so beautiful when the glass of white and tajarin, followed by a beer, followed by chocolate cassata, and then a horrid stomach ache this morning.
Last week I was feeling so energetic, healthy, happy. This week, I am being hard on myself for behaving like a stoned 16 year old.
And, don't get me wrong, the ladies that set this cleanse up gave me clear and reasonable guidelines on how to come off the cleanse and eat in a way that I am cleansing all the time. But, I am struggling with the way I look at food. I LOVE food. I always have, always will. I have also been in stages of my life where I really hate food, or more so, the way I eat.
Okay, so where's this happy medium? 80/20? Eating like I was on the cleanse 80% of the time, then giving into my American way of eating 20% of the time - e.g. wings, fries, and seven beers... and some bourbon. I know exactly what to do, but putting it into practice is so challenging.

This is more personal than I intended this blog to be. I am stopping now.

I've been cupped.

Yesterday, I had my third session with my intuitive massage therapist. It was definitely our best session yet. To start, she noticed that my neck was "out". She explained that a vertebrae in my spine had twisted, which was causing tension on the tendons linked to it. She suggested I go to the chiropractor, which I had never done before, because frankly, they scare the shit out of me. But apparently, it's best to go to the chiropractor directly after a massage, because your body is warmed up.
She continued her massage, after kind of terrifying me and my vertebrae. She did a LOT of work on my back, particularly my left side. Now, she does deep tissue massage, breathing technique, and energy work. This is no relaxation massage at the spa. It is downright emotional and sometimes uncomfortable.
Towards the end of the session, she asked if I had ever tried cupping. I said that I had heard of it, never tried it, but was open to it, and asked her to explain it a bit more.
In Chinese medicine, cupping is commonly used down the meridian line of the body, to align your chi. You place the cups on different organs, and the Chinese believe that each organ is tied to a different emotion: lungs - grief, heart - love, kidneys - fear, liver - your ability to let go. (I believe I got those all right, by the time she was explaining all of this to me, I was pretty relaxed and still slightly concerned about my vertebrae.) The cupping can cause bruising, and the more you bruise in a particular area, can either mean that you are not handling that specific emotion in a healthy manner or that your body has toxins and tension that is moving out.

I came out of her office feeling incredible. Full of energy and smiles. I went straight to the chiropractor. A day of firsts, right?

I almost walked out when I was signing the consent forms - so scary! What if they cause a fracture or a disc slip?! Suck it up, just try it.
First of all, the chiropractic doctor was the nicest young man. And, he was so excited to see that I had just gotten cupped, which I used to convince myself that I was doing the right thing. Yeah, good job Paige. About 7 minutes later, he was all done, I was realigned again. No slipped discs or fractures, phew.

Went home, drank tons of water and still drinking it. I am a bit tender today from all the work, but not sore, and the bruises don't hurt.

Mom, I know you were concerned about my delicate skin, but I think my new alien looking back is kinda sexy.

Honeysuckle

I grew up in Pasadena, and my good friends up the street had huge honeysuckle bushes lining their driveway. We would spend hours around the bushes, breaking off the flower, popping the bottom portion off, and sucking the nectar that came out of it, probably destroying some poor bugs' food supply.

I was shopping for candles last week, and I always buy the same one: Votivo - Red Currant. The store was out of Red Currant, so I spent some time sifting through the other scents, and found Honeysuckle. Such a perfect fresh spring and summer scent that reminds me of home.

The great thing about Votivo's candles is that you don't have to burn them for too long to get a great scent from it. Also, the glass cups that they come in become my own glassware once I'm done. When the candle has about 1/4 inch of wax left, put it in the freezer. The next day, take a knife to the wax, and it will pop right out. 

Day 14

Last day of the cleanse.

Whoa. What a crazy two weeks. I have lots to catch you up on - not all today.

I think I am more nervous about ending my cleanse than I was starting it. I am very good at disciplining myself, so stopping the smoking and the drinking wasn't too much of a challenge, especially for just two weeks (well, I did allow myself to enjoy some wine a couple of the days. Okay, and a few drags of a cigarette.) But still, I did pretty damn good. But now, without a suggested daily regimen, I can do whatever I want. Scary. It's like going back to your home town and cramming in all of your favorite meals in three days. That's exactly what I don't want to happen tomorrow.

I am just hoping that I can implement a lot of what I learned about food and myself into my everyday. Like, eat your fruits and veggies! My skin looks amazing, I've lost weight (and not only weight, but inches), I have loads more energy, and my senses have totally heightened, especially sense of smell and eye sight. Obviously. If I'm eating what nature provides, what we are supposed to eat, I would hope to feel better.

The people who decided to do this cleanse are all amazing women, and it was such a pleasure to feel a connection with these people, based on taking care of ourselves and wanting something more out of our food.

This cleanse also opened my eyes to the world of raw foods. I have always been pretty good about eating whole foods, but the raw food aisle, I steered clear from. I kept the thought of "eating raw" on the same lines as de-caff coffee and the gluten-free mania. And yes, some of it is not good, and almost all of it is over-priced. But these "snackaroons" are out of control good. Check out Laughing Giraffe; if you live in Boulder, CO, all the grocery stores have a raw food section, but you can order these online too. BUT, this also makes you think how easy it is to make yummy raw food snacks at home. Most of the time, you just throw the ingredients in a food processor.

I am obviously not going to eat raw all the time. So, on to my new favorite meal.

Lettuce Wraps. 

Grab your favorite veggies and fruits, I used:

purple and green cabbage

cucumber

celery

red bell pepper

fresh english peas

green onion

avocado

carrots

champagne mango

arugula

basil

lime juice

iceberg lettuce for the wrap

Chop the fruits and veggies, and put in a large bowl.

dressing:

sesame oil

fresh ginger

fresh garlic

apple juice

rice wine vinegar

sesame seeds

raw honey

salt

pepper

I have no idea how much of each ingredient I added, sorry! Just play around.

chicken:

For the cleanse, I couldn't use any soy products, but a good teriyaki or soy sauce marinade might be fun.

boneless, skinless chicken breast

coconut oil (my new favorite ingredient.)

raw tahini

unsweetened coconut chips, chopped

garlic

fresh ginger

lemon juice

salt

If you put the marinade in the fridge, the tahini and coconut oil get too hard, so I kept the chicken in the marinade at room temperature, for about an hour.

You can make loads of this, and it will stay fresh for a few days. Be sure to keep the veggies/fruit undressed and sealed in the fridge, the dressing in its own container. If you do this, make sure you don't cut the avocado until right before you dress the salad.

make the bed

Not only my favorite song by The xx (hipster, yeah, I know), but not having "basic space" in a studio apartment, that I share with my very bored cat, can be quite difficult.
I am very good about making my bed. I feel like I haven't accomplished anything in a day, if my bed is not made. This morning, I took my shower, had my cleanse products (on day 5!!), made a delicious smoothie, and checked email/horoscope/madewell/etc. I look to my bed to find my precious little Mosey hanging out right where I had slept. Oops. This would be fine, if she weren't the hairiest animal I had ever come across. But, come on, she is just so cute.

The Cleanse

Two yoga instructors that I deeply admire have put a cleanse together. Today is day two, and I am feeling really good and inspired. I've been in the kitchen all morning, prepping my dinner for tonight and getting things together that will last me through the week.
The cleanse isn't one where I'm fasting the whole time or running to the bathroom, with a moment's notice. They have designed a great program that allows you to go on with your regular life, just with modifications to your diet.
I decided to do it, not only to clean my insides, but more so to clear up my mind. I am looking to de-clutter my pointless thoughts, and hopefully replace those thoughts with positive ones that will benefit my life.I work in a restaurant, and eating dinner at 11:30pm is not conducive to the sort of lifestyle that I want to live - along with that, I don't want to be smoking anymore or drinking as much as I do. I'm just hoping for some motivation and clarity.
I will keep you updated on how I feel and what I'm eating. If you're interested in the cleanse, let me know, and I'll pass on my teacher's info.