CSD Adventure Cleanse, Day 9: Digging A Hole To China With My Knife, Fork And Spoon

Feeling much better today. Doubled up on my EnergyPlus and green tea with mate and took lots of immune supplements because I felt like I was getting sick. Really have been enjoying the simplicity of my lunchtime salads. I don't have to think or fuss, and I don't feel sleepy after.

B: Green smoothie, 2 E3 live shots, sublingual B12, green tea with mate
S: apple juice with kamut grass
L: big ass green salad, a tangelo (OMG! que sabroso!), multivitamin and extra vegan vitamin D, green tea with mate
S: lara bar
D: quinoa with curried coconut tempeh, asparagus and carrots. I used soy yogurt to make the curry sauce. So good and I have leftovers for tomorrow!
S: mary's gone crackers black pepper crackers, edamame hummus

I barely even considered the Girl Scout cookies piled up under my desk. I gave myself permission to eat them, and then I was like, "eh, maybe not."

In the evening, I sat zazen and ignored the ghostly voice of my ex-boyfriend repetitively  saying, "My vipassana teacher says that practicing zen meditation is like digging a hole to China with a spoon." I love you, dude, but stop talking to me like that! And stay out of my head.

And there was 45 minutes of hip opening, ass kicking yoga, a serious kitchen purging and then dry skin brushing followed by a nice hot shower. I feel so grateful, lucky, blessed, (whatever lingo people are slinging these days) to have the time and space to take care of myself like this right now. When I finish, I will have so much more energy to give to others, and that's the whole point, right? Right.

Day 3, Kris Carr's 21 Day Adventure Cleanse

Well, it's been a little rougher than I thought it would be so far. I keep meaning to write, but I have been feeling really nauseous for the last 2 and a half days. Actually, I've been feeling so physically crappy that I didn't exercise for the last two days. I did get up extra early and meditate, which has been awesome! I never have been a good morning meditator, but I actually find that I am getting more out of it for some odd reason.

Today I was less hungry, which was fantastic because I was really hungry on days one and two. I haven't done a cleanse for almost 2 years, and the last one I did was Kathy Freston's Quantum Wellness Cleanse which I really enjoyed. CSD is a little more hardcore with the greens, and you are basically eating a 2/3 or more raw vegan diet if you do it strictly. I can't wait to get my juicer on Friday!! Also, I love Kris Carr's daily words of wisdom for the cleanse. She really makes me feel strangely giggly and motivated. I hope by the weekend I will be feeling better physically.

Here's how my day went today:
Breakfast: yerba mate and green tea with peppermint,
No. 9 Dream Green Smoothie (named in honor of the David Mitchell book, not the song):
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
squirt of agave and a splash of apple juice
1 tbs of Barlean's vegan 3/6/9 EFA blend
filled rest of blender with raw spinach and kale
blended, and then added rice protein powder, chia seeds, fiber aktivated barley powder and powdered barley grass
finally, added cherries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries
Snack: apple juice with kamut grass and aktivated barley powder
Lunch: big green salad with shredded carrots and cabbage, savory baked tofu and vegan "honey" mustard dressing, vanilla coconut rooibos tea
Snack: lara bar
Dinner: big salad with hemp seeds, balsamic dressing, southwest sunshine burger with daiya cheese and a pickle, baked sweet potato fries with truffle salt (OMG!!), teeccino with stevia and unsweetened almond milk for dessert.

Supplements: multi, B12, E3 Live Renew me!, EnergyPlus, Candisol (thanks, surgery and antibiotics! Thank God for this stuff or I would go crazy).

I am going to wait an hour or so and see if I feel well enough to do some Kundalini yoga with Ana and Ravi. Sat nam, bitches!

PS. Speaking of Kathy Freston, I watched a clip from the Oprah vegan episode yesterday. Good for you, 378 staffers who are willing to try vegan! And I loved the clip on her website where she talks about Steadman asking if things are vegan on the plane. So cute! Good for Oprah for getting the word out to more people, although I wish the clips of the slaughterhouse had more impact. It was all a little too peaceful and sanitized compared to most of the undercover video that's been in the news in the past few years. It was very telling that they didn't let them film the actual slaughter part. Imagine that.

Crazy Sexy Diet: book review

Yes, I am an unabashed fan of Kris Carr. I've read all of her other books, so when Crazy Sexy Diet came out, I rushed to get it despite my recent moratorium on all books with "Diet" in the title. Even though there's so much in the book that I've come across elsewhere, I just love the way she puts it all together. Not only is the information well organized, but the layout of the book is awesome. Everything is attractive and accessible, right down to the font, pictures and colors that she uses. All of the "guest columns" in the book are informative. I especially liked the Frank Lipman piece on Vitamin D, and her suggestions on supplementation were right on. Her writing style makes me giggle. She actually *motivates* me instead of making me want to starve myself in a cave. Any "diet" where I don't starve, I don't have to eat meat and dairy and where I am strongly suggested to meditate is A-OK with me.

There are some studies briefly mentioned in Crazy Sexy Diet. The nerdy little researcher in me would have liked foot notes and research/study citations, but we can't always get everything we want...maybe next time, Kris? Pretty please with yacon syrup on top?

I also would have loved more recipes, although the ones she included look pretty tasty. I am especially excited to try the vanilla chai tapioca pudding.

I am definitely going to give the 21 Day cleanse a spin, as I am feeling particularly gross after all of the vegan junk food I have been indulging in while I've been recuperating (read: sulking) from my hand surgery. Definitely letting my lack of mobility be the excuse for living on Uncle Eddie's vegan cookies, Tofurkey vegan roasted veggie pizza, organic popcorn with Earth Balance and english muffins. WTF? Some one's going to have to roll me out of my apartment soon, like Violet Beauregarde in Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory: "Would you roll the young lady down to the juicing room immediately, please?"

Here is a link to an excerpt from the book as well as a video appearance from Kris Carr on Good Morning America: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/book-excerpt-crazy-sexy-diet-kris-carr/story?id=12633095&page=2

And here's my personal favorite green smoothie for newbies recipe, straight from my test kitchen:

Mo' Greens, No Problems Smoothie
1/2 cup organic apple juice
1/2 cup hemp milk
three handfuls of spinach or 4-5 dinosaur kale leaves
1 tbs chia seeds
1 scoop plain or vanilla vegan protein powder
2 tsp E3 live blue green algae flakes or Crystal Manna flakes
1 tbs vegan EFA blend or flax oil (Barlean's vegan berry 3/6/9 blend is ridiculously good in this)
agave or stevia to taste (optional)
handful of mixed organic berries

The trick to not getting chunks in your green smoothie, even if you have a crappy blender on its last legs like mine, is to put the fluids in first, including the oil. Then add the greens, and if you are using kale, de-stem it and tear it apart with your hands. Blend until everything looks smooth and green. Slowly add the powders one at a time and blend after each one. Add the fruit last and if it gets too thick, add some water to thin it out. I usually don't sweeten mine, but if you have a sweet tooth do what you need to do, OK? If you want a super green colored smoothie, you can also substitute half of a banana or peaches for the berries---the color will be much more intense.