One of the ultimate perks of going to culinary school is that I've found a way to validate my obsession with food. I have always been obsessed with food - and I often felt like a bit of a strange duck for constantly day/dreaming about food. One of my earliest memories was being
so excited to go out to dinner because I got to have a real Coke! I also have fond memories from Grade school of going over to the Giss' house because Debs seemed to have a never ending supply of home-made chocolate chip cookies in the freezer. I could not wait to get home from school to make a delicious after-school snack, and I always had room to clean my plate at dinner.
Then you grow older and your body doesn't seem to want to process 6 large meals a day the same way it used to during adolescence. Boy was that a major drag. I taught myself how to bake from an early age, and by the time I graduated college I was becoming more and more comfortable with cooking. Fast forward to my current age of 27 and I am now 110% in love, obsessed, enthusiastic, passionate, and fascinated with
everything food related!
When I was in Newport Beach the week before my brother's wedding, he and his bride introduced me to the concept of a juice cleanse. We bought a number of a la carte juices while we were there, and I loved the healthy taste of them. So when I got back to SF, I did a search to find a SF based company that offered a 3 day juice cleanse. With some help from friends and Yelp, I decided to commit to the
Living Greens cleanse during my break from Culinary School classes.
I like to think that I have a maintain pretty healthy diet. About a year ago, I decided to cut a ton of the meat out of my diet. When I cook for just me, I try to keep it to just vegetables. I remember awhile ago, at the onset of the Atkins craze, there was such a focus on getting a TON of protein in our diet. The truth of the matter is we really don't need all that protein - and that it's much healthier for you to eat plant versus animal proteins. So I've been having some fun trying new whole grains, beans, nuts and vegetables in lieu of a big ole hunk of meat each night. Plus, it's also a lot smarter to get your heavy proteins in at breakfast or lunch, and to eat more and more lightly as the day goes on.
Whoa, tangent! Anyways, like I said, I do eat pretty healthily. But I do drink a TON of caffeine via coffee and diet sodas. I know, I know, it's kindof hypocritical for me to drink the crap that comes along with diet sodas if I'm claiming to be such a health nut. But oh well, we all have our vices. But I did think it would be a nice challenge to try something like a juice cleanse (because I got news for you - I ain't running any marathons anytime soon!) and to just get my system revamped in time for me to return to Culinary School.
The juices arrived on Tuesday ( juices are pressed and delivered fresh each day ) and they included (in this order)
- a breakfast juice and an 4 oz shot of aloe
- a mid-morning juice and 2 cups of tea
- a lunchtime juice
- a midday juice and glass of coconut water (REAL fresh coconut water - it was heaven)
- a dinnertime juice
- a vegetable 'Potassium Broth' drink around bedtime
- laxative tea
- 2 laxative pills
The kit also included a lemon, and I was instructed to drink water, obsessively, all day long.
TRUTH: I really, honestly, thought this would be a breeze! Everyone in my office was teasing me, saying "we will pay you to stay at home during this cleanse!" The information sheet warned me that I might get cranky, irritable, lightheaded, might emit body odor etc. I read all this and was like, whatever! That's for the people who are
really in need of a cleanse!
Well, I did not experience most of the super-intense side effects about which I was warned, but I did experience a significant internal battle. My obsession with food had never been more clear to me in my entire life. I believed that all of the time in which I was normally eating or preparing to eat would leave me with oodles of time to do with as I pleased. It turns out I found this time to be disconcerting - I didn't know what to do with myself! Think of all the time we commit to food on an average week: shopping for food, mapping out dinner plans for the week, packing up lunches, cooking dinners, preparing our coffee maker or making coffee runs - let alone the actual act of eating food! There were also many activities which I had to take part in during my cleanse in which food was present: a Junior League meeting, seeing a movie (without diet coke, sour patch kids and popcorn!!!!!!!!!), birthday cake in the office, and a coffee date with a friend. It's really amazing how almost everything we do provides us with an opportunity to share and enjoy food. This is hard to admit because I am normally a Carpe Diem sorta gal, but I have never looked forward to going to bed as much as I did during this time! Without the exciting presence/promise of food in my life, time seemed to move very slowly and everything reminded me of the food I was unable to enjoy.
In my brother's experience, he was full of energy throughout his cleanse. However I myself felt very weak and tired. I even fell asleep on my couch one evening, and I have never been a napper. I would have loved to have gone for a walk or headed to the gym, but I honestly felt too exhausted and frustrated to get motivated.
I was hungry - almost starving - the entire duration of my cleanse. These drinks were not smoothies, they were actual
juices (I know, duh, right?) and I found myself to be hungry almost immediately after drinking a juice. I am a person that gets out of the bed in the morning
solely because of the promise of a cup, or four, of coffee, and it just wasn't the same waking up without that promise.
Hot water with lemon? That just ain't gonna cut it! Food gets me so excited - and it was almost as if I went through a post-partum food depression during the cleanse - I had nothing to keep me going!!
Am I glad I did it? Absolutely. I never once cheated, and I think I did a relatively good job remaining positive and pleasant to those around me. Some of the perks included sleeping like a rock, losing a few lbs (they are already creeping back, but I think this would be a great thing to do to jumpstart a new diet or to prepare for a big day, such as your wedding day), feeling wholesome, hydrated, and refreshed plus an all around feeling of pride for being able to stick with it - while keeping up my normal routine. I highly suggest doing this when you do
not have a lot going on - as everyone reacts differently and you should really take it easy on yourself.
I also treated myself to 'the ultimate detox' treatment at the Cavallo Point Healing Arts Center + Spa, which was absolutely amazing. I am not someone who treats myself to things like that on a regular basis, but it was even more enjoyable because I felt like I had
really earned it. The treatment included a full body scrub, wrap, soak, scalp/face massage, and 60 minute full body massage. I sat in the steam room for 30 minutes before and it was pure bliss.
Alas, food and I have resumed our love affair and all is right in the world of Allie again.
The daily delivery of juices
The Potassium Broth
