nancy @ cromulent

THE DEBUT: SaladDays.org!

For immediate release -

I’m pleased to announce that I have softly launched my new healthy lifestyle tumblog at SaladDays.org.  While still an ongoing chronicle of my personal adventures, I will also there integrate elements of my self-education in physical and spiritual well-being.  My decision was in part inspired by the momentum and inquiries generated from readers of this site, particularly following these handful of posts.

The intention in blogging in this information at Salad Days is to:

A) Pay my knowledge forward onto you, dear reader, and

B) Create a personal compendium on health.  That’s right.  I said compendium.

You can also continue following me by other means - with my updated twitter here and RSS feed here.

I hope that you will join me.  XO - Nancy

Tip: Drink Lemon Water First Thing in the Morning

If you do one small thing to cleanse yourself every day, this is it.  Drinking lemon water every morning was one of the first things my holistic health counselor recommended I do.  This is actually a tip that my mother and aunt previously passed onto me but of course, when your family tells you something, you act contrary until a friend helps you to realize the same epiphany.

But, why drink lemon water?

• As a 2-3 on the pH scale, it has an alkalinizing effect on the body
• Acts an antiseptic: purifies the liver and kidneys by eliminating waste and toxins from the body
• Good for digestion: alleviates bloating, constipation, and heartburn and is rumored to facilitate elimination (i.e., keep ya regular)
• Contains nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium
• Contains antioxidants that eliminate free radicals, thereby reducing cancer risk
• Its high levels of vitamin C rejuvenate skin and improve the function of the immune system

I haven fallen off the lemon water bandwagon as of late, but my flatmate just donated hers to the cause.  Will definitely integrate this into my continued juice cleanse prep tomorrow morning!

Lazy Girl Tip: I usually squeeze a lemon wedge into 10-12 oz. of water the evening before and let the water sit on my nightstand so I can grab it first thing in the morning.  Otherwise, I would never make it back to the kitchen until its time to brownbag lunch.

Our Deepest Fear - Marianne Williamson

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

How To: Pre & Post Juice Fast

To follow up on my earlier posts, I wanted to provide how I prepare for and break from a juice fast.  The steps are relatively easy; what most people, forget, however, is that they need to account for this preparation and post-cleanse time when scheduling when and for how long they’d like to juice.  Do not, for instance, plan to attend a barbeque, wedding, or public function the day immediately following your fast.  I.e., do not put yourself in situations where you will have little to no control of your food choices.  Moreover, don’t decide to ‘celebrate’ how well you’ve done by returning to your old - or even worsening - your eating habits.

To prepare: Steadily reducing intake of meat, dairy, eggs, and processed foods.  Instead, incorporate increasing amounts of preferably organic fruits and veggies to your diet.  The more raw the better.  I usually do this for the entire week leading up to the Blueprint Cleanse.

To break: There are many different ways to do this - it is recommended to break with a green smoothie (fruit smoothie with hidden kale, spinach, etc.) or with fresh fruit.  Eat fresh fruit for the first day; incorporate raw and cooked greens on the second; and adjust your diet until you have reached an equilibrium where you feel you are not deprived of the things you want but also not a slave to what you crave.

Personally, I feel the unbearable lightness of being during and after a cleanse and, in order to maintain that state, will continue to eat healthfully afterwards.

The End.

Blueprint Cleanse Cheatsheet: The Daily Sequence

It occurred to me in the last entry that I didn’t outline what the suggested #1 - #6 drinking order should be of the Liquiteria beverages. To parallel BPC, the sequence should be as follows:

1. All Greens
2. Grasshopper
3. All Greens
4. The Killer XX
5. All Greens
6. Cashew or Brazilian Nut Milk* (via Jubbs)
   

To start the day, drink lukewarm water with lemon juice.** As for the juices themselves, I recommend spacing these drinks out about 2 - 3 hours and drinking lots of fluids inbetween. Some recommendations include:

• Peppermint Tea - soothes digestive tract, limits indigestion, proven to alleviate the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome
  
• Ginger Tea - relieves inflammation, nausea, eases symptoms of the digestive tract
  
• Green Tea - polyphenol and antioxidant overall powerhouse
  

There are also sweet, fasting / craving-reducing / weight loss teas available you should feel free to experiment with. Please remember, however, that at the end of the day this should be a chance for your body and yourself to take pause from all the crap you put into it. It’s a good means of developing an awareness of what your body needs and wants distinct from what you may normally eat out of habit.

UP NEXT: HOW TO PREPARE FOR & FOLLOW UP TO A FAST

*Please note, you’d have to season this with the vanilla, agave, and cinnamon yourself to replicate BPC exactly. I think if I implemented this myself, I would use the milk to make hot cocoa instead: heat the nut milk and add Green & Black’s Hot Chocolate (Dairy Free).

**Here’s some evidence of the benefits of lemon juice. I, however, for the most part drink it because my mom and aunt tell me so. If you’re lazy like me, prepare your lemon water the night before so it’s on your bedside table first thing in the morning.

Blue Print Cleanse on the Cheap

To follow up on response to Mascarah and my earlier postings (1, 2), this weekend I did my own Poor Man’s* Blue Print Cleanse. Liquiteria was the source of my bottled juice goodness and my weekend menu looked as follows:

Saturday

• 2 ‘All Greens’: Cucumber, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Parsley
• 1 ‘The Killer’: Green Apples, Ginger, Lemon, Cayenne Pepper
• 1 ‘Grasshopper’: Apple, Pear, Pineapple, Mint, Wheatgrass
• Remaining figs and strawberries from last week’s groceries

Sunday

• 2 ‘All Greens’: Cucumber, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Parsley
• 1 ‘The Killer XX’: Green Apples, Ginger, Lemon, Cayenne Pepper
• 1 ‘Grasshopper’: Apple, Pear, Pineapple, Mint, Wheatgrass
• 2 Organic Fuji Apples
  

The total damage was $59; well, $62 if you count the apples. That is less than 1 $65 day on the Blue Print Cleanse. To be fair, if I drank a full 6 bottles each day instead of eating the fruits a la the BPC menu, the cost would be more like $45 / day. But still, that’s 30% cheaper. You would, however, have to get the much coveted Bottle No. 6 - Cashew Milk with Cinnamon, Vanilla, Agave - from Jubbs since Liquiteria only juices the fruits and veggies.

In terms of menu, I made the above purchases to best mimic BPC’s Level II: Foundation. Anyone who has done it can see the parallels in the juice ingredients. I, however, appreciate the ginger bite in ‘The Killer XX’ more than BPC’s Master Cleanse Lite and the hidden shot of Wheatgrass in ‘Grasshopper’.

In conclusion, I definitely prefer my less expensive, semi-DIY version of the Original Cleanse. While I respect and enjoy the convenience of having someone hand deliver the juices in lunchbags and ice packs, it’s not worth the additional $20 / day expense to me. The Liquiteria / Jubbs alternative will still let me be somewhat lazy next time around if I don’t want to break out my Breville.

Of course, however, I would reach this conclusion after my BPC Monday through Wednesday 3-Day Juice supply arrived. This experiment was only supposed to be a way to last me through the weekend. I didn’t realize how awesome my nutritional creativity would be. So I suppose this final cleanse will like breakup sex.

Hey BPC, it’s not you, it’s me.

xoxo

*Poor, of course, is relatively speaking. And yes, perhaps I should have said Person’s or Woman’s, to be more accurate.