Love your Liver, 2010
This came in from one of my favorite cleansers this spring, glad to share it with all of you...
I’m into my second week of being thrown back into my “normal eating habits” after cleansing for three weeks. I removed refined sugar, refined carbohydrates, dairy, caffeine and alcohol from diet which was much easier for me than I thought it would be. I still had plenty of food and meal options that were for the most part extremely tasty and satisfying. The cleanse gave me a chance to experiment with new foods such as amaranth for breakfast and prepare “old” foods in new ways. After three weeks of no vanilla almond milk, (my vice) I can now say I have fallen in love with organic canned coconut milk and I continue to use it in about everything I create in the kitchen.
Before beginning the cleanse, I had imagined cleansing to be difficult and distasteful, but I’m now finding the real challenge to be adding the forbidden foods back into my diet.
At first, I found myself thinking about food too thoroughly. What foods are healthiest for me? What foods should I cut out of my diet completely? Am I getting all the right nutrients? Am I eating too much... too little? These crazy thoughts lasted about a day until I remembered that instead of grasping for answers from an outside source answers to questions such as what I eat, how much and when are all questions that are answered by my body when I slow down and take a moment to listen inward.
Remembering this important tidbit relieved me from much anxiety and uncertainty, and brought me back into my beloved body. After coming back into my body and listening and trusting its dialogue, I realized how important quality of food is to me and my body. I started thinking to myself, if I’m going to eat bread now, why not eat the best quality of bread! And I rode my bike to Great Harvest early the next morning and picked out a steaming loaf of cinnamon raisin wheat bread. Of course I wanted some nut butter to spread over my luscious piece of bread so I bought my favorite kind of nut butter, fresh ground organic cashew butter, sweet, salty and delicious!
We all deserve to eat quality food. To me, quality could mean favorite, organic, local, in season, fresh, delicious, pleasurable, luscious, homemade or full of love. Not only does buying quality food elevate my pleasure but it also elevates how well I metabolize my meal and how many nutrients I am pulling from my food. What everyday foods could you elevate in quality? Instead of buying a bag of frozen spinach, buy fresh organic spinach from your local farmers market. When you go out for pizza, enjoy the best pie in town with good ingredients and a feel good environment. By taking time to listen inwards to the signals, needs and wants of our bodies, I find that all the answers to my unanswered food questions, become clear. I can feel the difference in my body after eating a donut from Safeway and a freshly baked pastry from my favorite italian bakery. Trusting the messages of your body takes time, patience, love, exploration, breath, and slowing down. So enjoy this time of getting to know your body and gifting yourself with quality nourishment.
Our next cleanse group will begin June 13th. If you are interested visit www.bouldernutrition.com or find us on facebook...