raw food cleanse: day 3

I finished my 3-day raw food cleanse Friday night. I decided to end it Friday night rather than Saturday morning because Ebert and I had an impromptu date night. We went out to dinner and then saw a friend in a play. I didn't want to rush back into eating "normally" right away so we dined at a vegan restaurant called Native Foods. We've eaten there before and the food is really tasty. I don't feel bad about ending the cleanse early because I still ate very clean even though I did have some cooked food - there was seitan in my salad, as well as some cooked veggies and we did order a side of sweet potato fries and they were oh so good. I didn't eat any animal product, sugar, or drink alcohol so I feel pretty great about that. Like I mentioned the other day the only thing I really missed was being able to eat cooked food. Ok, and maybe I missed drinking a little bit. It's not that I drink excessively, it's just nice to have a cocktail or a glass of wine at night.

I won't go into detail about what I ate on Day 3 because basically it was the same as Day 1 and Day 2. I didn't feel like making a variety of food since I was only doing a 3-day cleanse, it was much simpler to eat a variation of the same thing. Besides not eating cooked food this cleanse was not that different from how I eat on a regular basis. I think I would need to do a longer cleanse to see definite changes. It did feel great though to commit to something and finish it. I would like to continue to focus on eating more healthy, this is always a goal of mine. I feel like I go through cycles of taking really good care of my body and then other times just not caring at all. I would like a healthy body through a good diet and exercise to be a constant. That's definitely a goal of mine this year.

raw food cleanse: day 2

I really like cooked food. This is what I've come to realize from Day 2 of this raw food cleanse. There are just some foods that taste better cooked, like broccoli. I tried eating raw broccoli today but it doesn't taste as good as when it's steamed or roasted.

This morning was similar to yesterday morning. When I woke up I took a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, then drank a glass of warm lemon water and, yes, I did drink coffee again. I'm weak. I know it, but coffee is just so good. Then, I drank a green smoothie. I forgot to mention yesterday that I also had a green smoothie for breakfast. My go-to green smoothie consists of spinach, a banana, mango pieces, water and coconut oil. It's a simple and delicious recipe.

I didn't have a mid-morning snack today, but lunch was similar to yesterday - cauliflower rice, kale, but I added raw broccoli instead of an avocado. And this is when I realized that cooked broccoli is more delicious than raw broccoli. I ate an apricot, raw nuts and some raisins for my afternoon snack. I was feeling particularly hungry this afternoon so I ate way more for my snack than I did on Day 1. I think this was because I didn't drink as much water as I did yesterday. I have a tiny bladder so I hate having to go to the bathroom every half hour, it gets annoying. I know that's a terrible reason for not drinking more water, but it's the truth.

I wasn't feeling very motivated to make anything new for dinner especially since I had so many leftovers from yesterday so I pretty much ate the same thing as I did yesterday - cauliflower rice sans kale but with an avocado, sauerkraut, and some cucumber salad. I was still feeling a bit hungry so I also ate some cherries and strawberries. I feel pretty satiated right now. I'd say the main thing that I'm craving is a drink. I sound like a lush but really it's because it's the perfect summer evening for a cocktail. One more day to go.

raw food cleanse: day 1

cauliflower rice via rawmazing

I started a 3-day raw food cleanse today. Since I'm officially another year older I wanted to start this year off by cleansing out whatever is old, stale, and stuck in my body and bring in some fresh and vibrant energy. I'm hoping that this cleanse will not only bring on a healthier physical state but also a healthier, happier and more creative mental state. Also, I think it's much easier to eat raw foods during the summer time. I'm not following any specific program, I'm just kind of creating it as I go but I got inspiration here, here, and here.

The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was take a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water. I followed that concoction with a glass of warm lemon water. I've been drinking a lot of water throughout the day, way more than I usually do, and to make it even tastier I've added fresh basil leaves to my water - it is quite summery and refreshing. However, I will admit to drinking coffee this morning. I was not going but then it just smelled so good that I couldn't resist. I don't add cream or sugar to my coffee so I figured it can't be all that bad.

I needed a mid-morning snack so I ate a handful of raw almonds. Then, for lunch I ate the cauliflower rice, but I omitted the scallions, maple syrup, fresh ginger and pine nuts. I don't have Himalayan salt so I just used regular sea salt. I added some thinly sliced fresh kale and half of an avocado and it made a really delicious salad. My afternoon snack consisted of a cut up grapefruit and a Kombucha drink. I'm not sure if the Kombucha drink is considered to be raw but I went for it anyway. I should probably do some research on that to find out.

And then for dinner I did a hodge podge of raw things - carrot sticks, this cucumber salad from rawmazing minus the coconut sugar, sauerkraut, and a repeat of the cauliflower rice salad but this time without an avocado. So far I feel pretty good. I don't feel like I'm starving myself or anything. Tonight I'm going to drink more water and if I feel like I need to eat anything else I'll munch on some fresh strawberries or cherries.

Have you ever done a raw food cleanse? If you have any tips or suggestions I'd love to hear them.