Spring Cleaning

"Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es." (Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are) ~Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

Spring is almost here, and my resolve to treat my body in a more healthy manor is renewed. Once the sun began to shine, its like a desire to have be more healthful awoke inside of me. Earlier this year I decided to give up meat from my diet and become a "vegetarian". I decided to take this very slowly, because I've never been successful with it before. What I really wanted to do was to try the Raw Diet, but I knew I had to move slowly into that because if I tried it outright from the diet I had maintained before, I would fail miserably.

Currently I am doing a Colon/Liver cleans called Nutriclean. A dear friend of mine Laura Garza (www.marketamerica.com/nutrigenomics) got it for me. As well as being an amazing ballet guru she works for a company that specializes in nutritional supplements and health/wellness. The cleanse consists of a fiber powder you mix with water and two kinds of herbal supplements that cleans the liver and the colon. This is the second time I have done the cleanse, however the first time I didn't really stick to the dietary guidelines as well as I am now. I definitely feel the effects of the cleans in a more intense way this time around. Basically, I have given up meat and dairy for the 7 days I am on the cleanse and am eating mostly raw vegetables, fuits, nuts as well as lots of whole grains and legumes (I did eat a hard boiled egg on my salad today as well). I also managed to find some chocolate at whole foods that had no dairy in it which is really helpful since I can't seem to go a day without chocolate. I've been drinking soy milk in my coffee in the morning, but as soon as that's gone I'm going to be switching to almond milk.

I'm on day three of the cleanse and today I feel great. I will admit the first two days and nights were a little challenging because my body was getting rid of all the junk it didn't need. I had some night sweats and spent a lot of time in the bathroom (sorry, TMI!), but over all I definitely feel my energy has increased and I am noticing that my tummy is a lot happier. I'm looking forward to the next few days to see how the cleanse affects my overall well being.

I've decided to keep going to with the diet after the cleanse is over. After all, its about to be springtime and I know my cravings for hot food will be diminishing and I'm loving the way I am starting to feel on this new diet. This May, Mike and I as well as a few friends are going to embark upon the Raw Diet and I am really excited as I do more research. I'm hoping to stick to it for 40 days, that's my goal. Wish me luck!

A few of my favorite things to eat right now:

Chocolate!

Avocados

Raw Almonds

Mixed Greens (Arugula how I love thee!)

Tomatoes

Quinoa

Black Beans

Beets

Hummos and Pita

Coconut Keifer

Kombucha