Cleanse Weeks #3 and #4- The Phenomena of Food

As the age-old adage goes, you are what you eat.  To me, this is a relatively good rule of thumb and if it holds true then we should soon be turning into legumes, dark leafy greens, and raw nuts.  Followed by blueberry pancakes, ice cream, and cookies.  Yes, it's true, I'm a backslider.  After three weeks of eating perfectly, I gave in to Allen's plea to have breakfast at our favorite neighborhood greasy spoon.  Although I'm not placing the blame entirely on him.  I was ready.  I heartily drenched my pancakes in syrup and slurped my coffee (cream AND sugar) with gusto.  It was so much easier to fall off of the wagon than it was to get on!

  Allowing ourselves a bit of a binge period, we ate with reckless abandon for about two days.  I'm talking candy bars, chips, popcorn, SODA.  Oh, for shame!  However, I'm not looking back with regret: It was disgustingly delicious and I enjoyed every minute of it.  But there was one change that was too drastic to ignore: eczema.  Terrible, itchy, hurt-y eczema.  I inherited this angel from my mother and grandmother, and even though mine is mild compared to some that I've seen it's still annoying!  I was never before willing to accept that it could be caused by my diet, preferring to believe that it was stress-related.  Yet, lo and behold, away it went when I cut out the three main triggers: gluten, dairy, and added sugar.  Bounce that happy little trinity back into the old diet and WHAM-O...flare-up!  So, for now, I'm experimenting...though that Asiago bagel with butter this afternoon was exquisite!  Sometimes you have to give in to the dirty, rotten gluten-sugar-dairy-addicted devil on your shoulder.

  Then you make up for it with these...     

Avocado-Vanilla Smoothie

Fresh fruit with applesauce-sweetened tahini and toasted coconut

Toasted coconut muesli

Amped-up muesli with golden raisins and Western Slope unfiltered honey

Chickpea burgers with oven fries

Kale and white bean stew with potatoes

Toasted-almond broccoli pesto

Pesto and noodles

Shiitakes and brown rice cooked en papillote

Tri-color quinoa with spinach and poached egg

Filet kebabs with grilled zucchini and brown rice

 While I have every intention of continuing to explore which foods harm and which foods heal, never once has 'deprivation' been a thought of mine.  Though every time I mentioned the cleanse to someone they made some comment about never being able to live without their coffee/beer/cheese/donut.  At first, I bristled at those remarks.  Of course you can do without (insert crappy food/drink choice here).  The key is that you don't want to, and so you won't.  But it's also not far-fetched to consider that most of us, are in some way addicted to the worst of the foods that we eat.  I will readily admit to this addiction!  Doesn't mean I'm going to wreck my body willy-nilly just because I happen to adore chocolate-covered anything.  
  How do we control that little voice that says, "I'm hungry," "Something sweet sounds good," "Just one more."?  I'm beginning to think that maybe control is an unattainable goal.  Maybe what we really need to focus on is tricking that voice into satiation by eating foods so fresh and full of flavor that it won't have any reason to complain.  For me, the prolonged and conscious commitment is the only way.  Awareness manifests into understanding and anticipating what the body and mind need to truly be nourished. 

If you don't take care of your body, where are you going to live?

~Lendon Smith, M.D.