Ever since my back pain has started up again, I've been reanalyzing some of the food choices I've been making during the cleanse. There are so many opinions about what is the best way to eat. Some people believe you should only eat meat and very little vegetables (Atkins), some believe you should never eat meat or any animal products (Vegan), other believe we should eat like our ancestors (Paleo). There truly isn't one way to eat that works for everyone. After spending several months researching a variety of different diets, I've decided that there isn't any one diet that will work for everyone all the time. Moreover, we all know, diets don't work. If you want real change in your body and your mind, you need to adopt a brand new outlook and lifestyle. There is no other way.
I chose to do this specific cleanse because I wanted a reboot. A starting point from which I could begin my journey to redefining my relationship with food. Sometimes, no matter what you have read and what you already know about the "right" way to eat, it's never easy to actually do it. That's what I've always struggled with. I've been told so many times by so many practioners about what is best for me, but I haven't loved myself enough to actually stick with something. And so, I keep coming back to the same place. A new beginning, a new outlook, a new lifestyle.
One small issue with this cleanse for my constitution is that it's too cold. Pain, especially joint pain is often related to a cold constitution. TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) recognizes that when joint/muscle pain is fixated in one area, that is usually related to too much "cold" in the body. When I started exploring this pain, I had an MRI. The MRI showed that I had burstitis of the hip joint and tendontitis on the gluteus medius (butt). These are both inflammatory conditions. All of the raw foods and cold juices I've been enjoying may have aggravated my condition. And so, I've decided to be really dilligent about eating more appropriate foods for my constitution. Foods that have more warming properties, such as cabbage, pumpkin, root vegetables like parsnips and rutabagas, and herbs like cinnamon and black pepper. I am going to be limiting the amount of green juices I am drinking, especially in the morning when you need more digestive fire.
I didn't really have time to cook too much the night before, so I couldn't eat all cooked foods today. I did have a very nice satisfying breakfast made with pureed pumpkin.
Grain-Free Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Porridge
Ingredients:
Half a package of Fig Food Co. Organic Pumpkin
1 tbsp Ghee
5 drops of Stevia (optional)
Process:
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and heat in Microwave for 1 minute and 30 second.
2. Enjoy!
For lunch, I stopped by Whole Foods to gather organic salad fixings from their salad bar. They had shoestring zuchini, beets, carrots and I also got some black olives. While I usually have my daily 4oz of protein for dinner, today I decided to have sardines in my salad. Sardines are high in B vitamins, Omega-3's, and a variety of minerals. They are very important as part of an anti-inflammatory diet. I mixed everything from Whole Foods with organic mixed greens and edible flowers from yesterday's farmer's market. As a dressing, I squeezed in half a lemon and added a table spoon of organic olive oil. I also added baked Kale for texture.
After work, I went to a yoga class. One of my favorite teachers is Stephanie Snyder. She used to teach at Yoga Tree and now has moved on to a new donation based yoga studio, Urban Flow. Stephanie's classes are amazing. I usually leave very sweaty, very limber, and extremely relaxed. Her 90 minute classes are intense and non-stop, pushing you to the edge of your practice. At the same time, her motherly nature creates an energy of openness and compassion I rarely feel in other classes. Because her classes during the week are at 6:15, I don't get to enjoy them as often as I used to before my daughter was born, but when I do, it's really a treat. I also end up feeling sore for days after, so I know I get an amazing workout for not just my mind and soul, but my body too.
Because I came home late from Yoga and had to rush to put my daughter to sleep, I didn't have time to cook dinner. So I made myself a beet, carrot, apple and kale juice and added my shake. It was plenty of food, since I wasn't that hungry after the intense yoga class anyway.
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