DAY FOUR OF MY CLEANSE

People have been telling me I shouldn't call this a cleanse, since my system is pretty much as clean as can be. I'd have to agree with this and I'll say right now I am not concerned about becoming more pure or losing weight or anything like that. I just love how I feel when all I consume is fresh juices and organic fruit! I am not restricting my calories as far as I know (although I do not, and never have, kept track); I am drinking and eating as much as I want/need so I don't feel deprived.

That being said, everyone fasts and cleanses for different reasons. Your aim may be to lose weight, detox, transition into a vegan or raw food diet, etc. Whatever your situation, make sure you have a clear goal in mind and that you do it safely! If you're "cleansing" with me, I hope you're doing great!

Today I took it easy again, certainly enjoying not having to work on my book - for now (I get my revisions back in a couple weeks). I cleaned and tidied the house, watered the plants, picked blueberries and immediately ate them, and I am still currently trying to bleach this cute lingerie-esque dress I bought at a thrift store two days ago. I figured it'd look great in white instead of black but the colour is taking a long time to come out... we'll see. Then I watched Reincarnated and almost fell asleep. Following that I made this juice (recipe below)! Hope you like it as much as I did.

ginger jive carrot apple juice:

3 large carrots
2 green apples
1 cucumber
1/2 pineapple
1 lemon
1 tablespoon fresh ginger

Wash, peel and chop the produce as needed. Put through your juicer, strain (optional) and enjoy! 

WATERMELON LOVE

My juice cleanse is going splendidly. I hope everyone else is feeling good too! This is my third day of just eating fruit and drinking juice. I am doing this to feel lighter, refreshed and give my system a break from heavier foods like nuts, grains and steamed vegetables. I started my day off RIGHT with a giant glass of watermelon juice. I'll give you the recipe in a minute below. Don't the photos just make your mouth water!? Yesterday I just ate fruit because I was lazy, and the day before I had a large glass of carrot apple ginger lemon juice and lots of fruit. Like I said, I'm feeling fantastic so I wanna continue with this cleanse for now. Maybe another day or two. In other news: you can pre-order my cookbook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! I know! I'm freaking out! In a good way!sexy and satisfying watermelon juice with peppermint:1 watermelon1/4 cup peppermint leaves3 ice cubesChop up the watermelon and then blend it into juice - it will liquify almost immediately. I blended up my watermelon in two batches because it was huge. Strain your juice and then pour it over ice and mint leaves. Slurp! So hydrating and sweet!

juice fast: day 2

Today is swell so far! Woke up, worked out (not too much though, gotta keep my body in a relaxed state to detox efficiently), cleaned my room, took a shower, then made this giant glass of juice. It is pretty sweet so I am now looking forward to making a savoury dinner juice for me and the boyfriend. Speaking of which - he is joining me in this juice fast! But only for the weekend. Then we are both back to school and work after the holiday. Hmph. 

I feel really good; I have lots of energy, am feeling clean and sense that my body is working to get out any toxins that have accumulated in my system. Tonight I will take it easy and watch a movie or something with my beau while we sip some kale & garlic concoction. I know many of you are joining me on this fast, and some of you were fasting already. How are YOU doing? 

pink lady juice:

1 large beet

2 carrots

1 meyer lemon

1 orange

2 green apples

2 pineapple slices

1 bell pepper

1 cucumber

Peel and slice as needed. Juice and drink. 
Have a wonderful Friday and listen to this song!

another juice fast & recipe for glowing skin

More juicing for detox! Cleansing your beautiful body is the perfect way to start off the new year, in my opinion. I'm going to do a juice fast, starting this afternoon. (This juice recipe is from yesterday afternoon after I worked out.) I would start right away today but I'm staying at my boyfriends and he is not fortunate enough to have a juicer. Sad face.

Anyone who wants to join me is totally welcome! It'll probably last about 5 to 10 days and I will be posting frequently on the blog (here) and facebook.

Even if you're eating 100% raw (or whatever you consider to be the most optimal diet for you), exercising daily and all that other good stuff, it is never a bad idea to do a juice cleanse - I use the words "fast" and "cleanse" interchangeably by the way - because you are not necessarily restricting your calories so you won't be starving or malnourished.

In fact, on a juice fast you will most likely be enjoying the most nutritious diet ever because - like I just said - you're getting adequate calories, but you are also receiving the highest quality, most nutrient-dense and high water content foods on the planet that are ridiculously easy to absorb and digest. Fresh juice is delicious and can save lives. It has already.

The juice I made today was to give my skin a boost in health and colour. Winter does a number on my skin and hair because both are pretty sensitive. Cucumber is excellent for your skin, as is celery and they are both included in this recipe. Want glowing skin? Drink cucumber juice.

glowing skin elixir:

1 cucumber

2 celery stalks

2 green apples

2 pineapple slices

1 cup mint leaves

Juice. Drink. Love.

another juice fast

hello, my sweet, plant-loving comrades.

i have decided to go on another juice-alicious fast. why? let's start at the beginning: i didn't tell you that when i THOUGHT i had strep throat and couldn't swallow without flinching for a week... i actually had MONO. it was total agony for seven days and i hope i never go through it again. would've been nice to know what i actually was suffering from...

thanks a lot, doc.

he tells me AFTER i recover... cool. anyways, that's not really relevant but you must deal with it. tough. the point  is - i didn't eat for a week. the first two days i just drank tea, lemon water and miso soup, the remaining days i basically went on a juice fast. it reminded me how much i love juice, and how much i appreciated my previous juice fast (search "juice fast" on my blog to get my posts about it.) it made me want to complete another one.

so i have the best news ever... for me, anyway. 

we (mom and i) have officially ordered our OMEGA VRT350 JUICER!!! i am way too excited about this, people. but as i said to my girlfriend - at which she promptly laughed - "why can't everyone get this stoked about juicing!?" as you may have noticed, i have gradually fallen head over heels for juice. i used to be a smoothie girl all the way. i will always keep a place in my heart for my green smoothies. but i have warmed up to juicing. i used to dislike the absence of fiber but my mind has been changed. taking out the fiber allows for instant assimilation... it is the fastest way to get the highest quality nutrients in the greatest quantity. simply put: it's excellent nutrition in a glass.

we should get our juicer in about five days (fingers crossed, canadian postal system) and then i'm going to sell our old juicer to my friend. at that point she will join me in a juice fast! i am really excited about this because i've only ever cleansed and/or fasted by myself. i think it's gonna be loads better with a partner. i don't want to set a number of days this juice fast will be, but i'd like it to exceed ten days (the length of my last one). we will see. i plan to listen to my body.

i'm going to be reading up on juice fasting this time too. so far i've gotten juice fasting & detoxification, and juicing, fasting and detoxing for life - sound pretty enthralling, huh?

just wanted to give you all a heads up about this! i will be posting recipes for shampoo and conditioner soon, as well as some salads and other raw concoctions that have come from my twisted mind and dutch-inspired kitchen. love all. drink juice.

YES

spa water! it's so pretty to look at, and the most refreshing thing to drink that i can imagine. here's a great article about it with delicious recipes linked at the bottom, such as "lemony lavender water". can you say YUM!? i can. yum.

in other news: MY GOJI BERRIES ARE GROWING! look at them... LOOK AT THEM.

maybe you can understand my excitement. maybe you can't. but i am thrilled, people. jumping up and down, singing to the clouds, hugging my goji bush - thrilled. this plant was not supposed to produce anything for at least one year, if it was ever to grow berries at all. but here they are in all their luscious, juicy, red beauty. our strawberries and blueberries are growing super fast too, and of course they taste A-MAZING. speaking of berries...

i think tomorrow i'll go on a fruit cleanse for a week. i've been eating really well and all lately but it's summer, fruit's in season and i may as well embrace it as much as i possibly can! besides, i feel best when i'm all fruit diet (for a certain number of days). i know as far as my digestive system goes, i'm really clean, but i wanna give my body a break from vegetables, whole grains and "processed" foods like sauces, seaweed and nut-based foods. oh, i should specify - i will still include greens.

addicted to kale for life <3

actually, scratch that. i will start on saturday. tomorrow my friend is sleeping over and we need to make a bunch of vegan delights, of the non-fruit variety. i'll keep it simple though because i don't want to eat a bunch of cooked food the day before a fruit cleanse. i think i want to make these coconut banana ice cream floats, and share a recipe for raw nutella!

stay tuned, my sweet darlings.

P.S. here's another weird song for you all to question my judgement to:

10 day juice fast: day 6, 7 & 8

sorry guys, i am house sitting this week and didn't manage to get to my lap top for a few days to write so here's day 6, 7 and 8.

DAY 6

i made the most delicious juice ever! it was so good i did the exact same recipe for my dinner juice. it was made of:

3 carrots
3 celery sticks
1 apple
1 orange
huge chunk ginger
2-3 pineapple slices

i also made a large glass of delicious "spa water". all i did was put in some lemon and cherries. there's endless combinations. i want to try lavender and lemon, for example. here's a bunch of recipes.

today i was feelin' pretty tired. just out of energy. i couldn't run or go up a set of stairs without losing my breath and feeling slightly light-headed. looks like it's perfect timing for this kind of detox because my juice fast ends in 3 days! i am SO EXCITED to eat. all i want is raw food. raw salad, sushi, pasta, soup, smoothies. i also can't wait to eat a banana with some kind of nut butter. and just like... a date. i know it's all gonna taste amazing because my taste buds have been recharged and sensitized.

DAY 7

my juices today were watermelon-themed :) mmm, so refreshing.

juice #1:
2 cups watermelon
1 orange
chunk of ginger
1/2 cucumber
3 sticks of celery
1 cup grapes
1 cup strawberries

 look - it's glowing!

juice #2: sorry i didn't take any pics - i slurped it up in the backyard and forgot my camera.
1 cup watermelon
1 grapefruit
1 orange
chunk of ginger
1 cup strawbrries
3 carrots

i'm really looking forward to getting back to solid food and making delicious raw recipes for me and my loved ones. this is the kind of excitement i experienced when i first got into raw food (almost 2 years ago!) but to be honest - i had lost this kind of passion last year.

don't get me wrong, i never stopped loving raw food and the philosophy behind behind the lifestyle. but i gradually let myself become disconnected from that initial enthusiasm. and i was really depressed that i couldn't reconnect with it. slowly i lost my connection when i meditated, and eventually i couldn't find much passion in anything - even though i understood how much i continued to love the people and events happening around me.

this is why i wanted to challenge myself through a juice fast, then a 21 day water fast. i was hoping to regain that original passion and reconnect with what i know is important to me - my soul and it's relationship with the universe! yes, that includes food. food sustains us.

here's the good news. initially i was just incorporating this juice fast as a prequel to the mega water fast, and because i wanted to participate in "cleanse america" (even though i'm in canada); but through these past 7 days - and i'm sure these last 3 - i have already gained from the juice fast what i was hoping to gain from the water fast! plus... mom and dad still aren't very keen on me not eating for 3 weeks. understandable.
-
i have decided to conquer the water fast at a later date. i will certainly be doing it at some point. but it doesn't need to be - and i don't feel it should be - right now.

in these last 3 days i plan to do a lot of resting and meditating, finalizing my thoughts and cementing my renewed excitement and refreshed passion for life. i am so happy to be here, surrounded by my family and friends, living in a beautiful home and city, able to make my dreams come true, and having the best food in the world every day! well... for the next 3 days, it'll be juice. i am not ashamed to say that i can't freaking wait to eat salad. looooooooooooord.

further reading: here's the "diary" of Skinny Bitch co-author Rory Freedman when she did a 7 day juice fast. i love how honest she is.

DAY 8

alright. day 8! i have renewed love for this juice fast. food can wait; the time will pass. it's a gorgeous, sunny day and i intend to take advantage of it. i think i'll do a facial steam with rose water then lay in the yard. i'm seeing some friends later and i'm excited to talk and spend time with them. i've been getting so many amazing emails and comments from my readers! I LOVE YOU ALL! the fact that i can help change people's lives means so much to me, and it's the main reason i'm here.

you guys inspire me. you're changing my life!

my first juice today was delicious and made of: 

4 carrots

3 celery sticks

huge chunk of ginger

1 apple

1 orange

1 tomato

1 bell pepper

1 kiwi

i think it looks like a work of art. i'm actually gonna get some of these photos printed really big on a canvas because i like them so much. literally, photos full of life! i'll be making the same juice for dinner. i will probably have some herbal tea with lemon later as well.

- 

i need to share this with you: crunchy betty. the link i give is for cleaning your face but she has excellent posts about how to naturally keep your hair, skin and body beautiful, vibrant and glowing. she's also hilarious.  

fruit tartlets with vanilla cashew cream

these tarts are so cute. you can't resist them. it's funny how whenever you decorate things with fresh fruit they become more appealing. our bodies know what they want!

i thought i was only going to be able to use the kiwi we had in the house but just as i was about to decorate them my mom came home with fresh, locally grown, organic strawberries! perfect.

you know i'm obsessed with chocolate, so today my goal was to make something without it - for once in my dang life. it looks like there's chocolate in the crust but that's just the skin of the almonds, prunes and raisins.

the filling is like a cashew custard i suppose. it's actually just cashews,  maple syrup, vanilla seeds and nut milk. oh ma gad. too good. i was eating spoonfuls.

the light was great in the kitchen today so i took lots of photos - hope you don't mind ;) i think these would be fun for a garden party. it is finally getting to be that time of year! imagine bringing them out on a cute little tray with some fancy drinks or whatever and impressing all your friends... mhm. do it.

these better be gone by tomorrow because that's when i start my liquid cleanse (i don't know if i'll be able to resist the temptation!) as i said in the last post - i'll be having lots of juice and smoothies, and tea and nut milks as well. after my 10 day cleanse i will going into my 21 day water fast!!! yippie!

anyhoo - time to give you the recipe if you want to make these. as usual, they're super easy and far too delicious to be healthy... yet they are.

fruit tartlets with cashew cream: makes 1 large tart or about 6 small
-
crust:
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup prunes/raisins/dates
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds

cashew cream filling:
1 cup cashews
1/4 cup or so nut milk
3 tablespoons maple syrup/agave
1/4 teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon and ginger powder
seeds from 1/2 vanilla pod
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

to make the crust: pulse the nuts in your food processor until they are crumb-sized. add the other ingredients and pulse until the mixture starts sticking together. you might need to add more prunes/raisins/dates. press this mix into the bottom of a tart tin or several tartlet tins. put in the fridge.

to make the cashew cream filling: blend the cashews into cashew butter then add all the other ingredients until smooth. yummmmmm. spoon this evenly into your tart/tartlet tins and put back in the fridge while you cut up your fruit. decorate as you please - then enjoy!