Monday Morning Green Juice

4 cups baby spinach

4 peaches

watermelon (we used the trimmings from a whole melon the man had cubed up and packed for lunches)

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One of the (many) things I’ve been learning as I read more and more about green juicing and nutrition, is that when you get right down to it, it’s completely about what works for you.

I realize that I’m not breaking new ground by stating this.

But I need to state it, because it’s my baseline for how all this is working in our lives, and it’s important for me to remember it, when things get a little challenging.

A week ago Friday, I left work and went straight to the supermarket.  I bought two nice steaks, some asparagus, some portobello mushrooms and avocado.  I called the man, and told him we were going to drink the nice bottle of wine sitting on our wine rack (a Thanksgiving present from my boss the first year I was with the company and a very nice bottle of vino).  We’d been ‘saving’ it for a special occasion, but I wasn’t sure anymore what that occasion would be ~ and I was coming to the conclusion that I was going to have to make some changes to directly benefit my health. This was my ‘indulgent good-bye’ meal, if you will.

We had a very nice dinner, and years from now, I will look back and say I drank one of the nicest bottles of wine I’d ever owned while watching the London Olympics opening ceremonies.  It’ll make for a good story.

The following Monday (only a week ago) we somewhat awkwardly began our quest to change our diet and lifestyle.  It felt very challenging. and it didn’t help that we didn’t have a huge knowledge base, and were using bits and pieces of incomplete information to outline our meals.  Luckily (as I mentioned before) my boss’s wife is hugely knowledgeable, and I had two very good conversations with her last week, and she shared a ton of really valuable and *more importantly* useful information.

The man and I decided we needed to do a full seven day cleanse/elimination diet (which commenced today) and which we based on recommendations from my boss’s wife.  After last week, we learned two things.  First, the juicing made a difference, even though we did it without any real initial understanding.  And second, if we were going to do this seriously, we needed to commit to the plan, and learn from our bodies as we progressed through.

So here we are at the start.  We are one day in, and I have successfully made it to the evening and am not hungry (whoopee!).  We had spinach salad with cold salmon and sunflower seeds for lunch with an avocado as a snack, and for dinner, we juiced again (a mish mosh of greens and fruit ~ spinach, romaine, watermelon, peach, carrot), plus had some raw nuts and another avocado (mine from lunch was inedible, so I was glad to have a real one for din din).  It is sort of crazy how satisfying the juices are, and being so conscious about eating has made me very aware how specific foods affect me.

When I have a moment (like today, thinking about triple creme brie cheese and a fresh loaf of French bread) I remember that I made this choice in the first place, and I will only be as successful as I allow myself to be.  If I am not diligent and committed, then I’m self-defeating, and blame lies with me.  Which, on the positive side, gives me great control.  But it also requires me to find strength, motivation and conviction within myself, and that can be quite challenging at times.

As I sign off, I’m saying a little prayer that with each step forward and with each new day, the challenges become less daunting, and the rewards more sweet.