WIAW: Juicy-J

 

 

There I was strolling down the Whole Foods eating food of the shelves. I mean actually meandering through aisles with my hand in a large bag of pita chips, the other hand fingering a container of fresh guacamole.

Then I woke up. To realize I had two more days of my juice cleanse. @#$%

 

Let’s rewind to Sunday night, which involved ten avid hands in the kitchen and five too many eclectic dishes. To complement the burgers (salmon burger for me), Japchae (Korean vermicelli), shrimp cocktail, Kimchi, and wine, some homemade frying techniques demanded testing. Lots and lots of testing.

Japchae:

Katie’s twin, the vermicelli noodle bag

Zucchs for the Japchae

and chives

oh and finely diced mushrooms

voila

 

Burgers:

tomatoes ❤

rave reviews

 

And then these happened:

dutch oven versions

sweet potots. of course, my favorite

getting fancy

two styles of white potatoes

bigger cuts

matchstick, mcee-d’s

 

 

And here we are now. As I coddle my final juice of the evening, reliving the aroma of sweet potatoes experiencing rebirth in peanut oil.

 

It is Thanksgiving next week, and I will soon be wrecking havoc on my digestive system to next Thanksgiving week. Seven layer carrot cake, anyone?

I’ve never tried an official cleanse. I’ve juiced my own green juices throughout the day, I’ve watched friends suffer through their expensive concoctions, and I’ve cast a very very very skeptical gaze over the whole trend. But I had yet to experience it first hand until Monday. I’ll let you know my closing thoughts on my experience, the process, my energy, and the product!

 

Have you juice cleansed before?

You Do You 2K13

I may have gotten a taddddd carried away in amusement writing this title. You can’t blame me though. It’s my first full week back in the office after a long holiday break…and I have not tasted coffee in three months. Remember that little cleanse I did? Well, I feel invigorated being off caffeine despite my love of the taste of coffee, and for now it’s working for me.

Moving on from the silliness, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. The start of the year always feels so incredibly uplifting and inspiring. I agree that we can change ourselves at any time in our life if we choose to, but the beginning of a new year triggers an extra degree of positive and proactive actions. And I’m elated about 2013.

On the second day of the year, I started my morning with an early yoga class in the warmth of my studio. My teacher encouraged us to set our intention for the year at the start of our class. I was really moved by her encouragement to do so. Rather than set a transient intention for the day, I was encouraged to center myself on the person I wanted to become this year. There’s an almost palpable poignancy in deciding the person you want to be and the way you want to feel in the coming year.  How exhilarating is it that you can be in control of your own destiny?

Apart from resolving to floss your teeth every night and practice three sun salutations a day (yes, day eight and I’m going strong), you can commit to balance,  purpose, love, or being alive in 2013. And there’s a difference between setting these intentions and truly embodying them over the next 365 days or hopefully the rest of your life. At the root of transformation, we find change and the ability to respond to changes around us. You must be willing to embrace it proactively.

“I want my words and actions to be the quantification of my love. To make tangible the passions in my heart for the world and the people in it.”
-Anis Mojgani

Who are you hoping to be this year?

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From Zero to Eighty

My 21 day cleanse came to an abrupt halt this weekend.

Well, it wasn’t a kale cleanse (though I have that Eat More Kale shirt) ha.

A few friends from TT suggested an alkaline leveling diet they had read about. I adjusted the cleanse to my work schedule and nutrition needs–but I did the full three weeks. Basically, I tried to primarily eat fruits and vegetables with limited processed food. Though I did continue to eat eggs because I know from experience that my body does poorly without protein. When I wasn’t traveling for work, juicing was a refreshing and convenient option. Sure, sure it was challenging but did I mention that the cleanse cut out CAFFEINE and ALCOHOL from my diet?

The first week was a challenge. Despite my proclivity for half caff–the headaches and grogginess came on with a vengeance. I supplemented my morning java with green tea, and of course I discovered the other day that it was decaffeinated (unintentional cold turkey move). My cravings for a steaming mug of joe in the mornings and a bold glass of wine after a  long day were insipid. But honestly, I feel incredible and more refreshed without that constant dependency on caffeine. You’ll catch me with an occasional half caff with steamed almond milk but not on the regular. It just feels right.

There was an inconceivable amount of laughing, reminiscing, and imbibing this weekend. Let’s just say our boozy brunch, four hours at a biergarden, and tequila rounds were not fluid reintroductions of alcohol and processed foods. Moderation is the answer, but not when you’re in New York visiting some of your best friends 🙂

Despite my not having been home in DC for literally more than 12 hours in the past two weeks, another Monday bares 5am wake up calls, morning airport lines, and hopes of remembering my toothbrush. If you find any rogue plums on your next US Airways flight, don’t be alarmed, the fruit basket that is my purse may have fallen over during boarding. I’m going to attribute that incident to my mammoth laptop rather tan my lack of caffeine. It’s been a long morning.