Finding Balance: I'm a failure, and you can be too!

Tomatoes for everyone!

Remember when I said that Ryan and I would do a 7 day cleanse every 3 months so that we could end our last cleanse early? Yeah.....that didn't happen. We kept meaning to do it but I think subconsciously (ok and now consciously) we really hate the Clean Program. Here's our compromise: 7 days of whole, healthy foods....and, like the Clean Program, we're going to do liquid lunch and dinner (well...I might have some homemade flatbread with my liquid dinner...we'll see how much I can sneak by Ryan, the enforcer) with the 12 hour digestion period overnight. We're going to do no dairy, alcohol and limited gluten but as for yummy tomatoes, strawberries and oranges? Bring em on!

For someone doing the Clean Program for the first time, I agree that eliminating certain foods can be helpful in determining which foods your body doesn't agree with...but for us old pros, there is simply no point! My opinion is that the health benefits of these fruits and vegetables far outweigh any minor problems. We aren't going to have coffee this week but only because I can't drink coffee without nondairy delicious flavored creamer or half and half and Ryan wants to take a break and drink tea for the week. We are going to have maple syrup and honey instead of sugar but won't go crazy with either. 

Our hope is that the positive parts of the Clean Program (such as hitting "reset" and eating real food instead of frozen pizza and takeout every other day!) will still come through for us. Also, we're super simple creatures and doing 7 days of healthy eating seems a lot less daunting than forever and ever (what, no ice cream?!). Maybe, just maybe, the 7 days will turn into a lifetime of healthy eating choices but I'm not above the occasional greasy french fry or chocolate malt...that is just not realistic for me forever. In the end, we all have to make the choices that are best for us.

To start, I am currently cooking a whole (humane certified) chicken in a stock pot full of filtered water with some freshly ground pepper, sea salt and a few veggies I had lying around (thanks to our good friends TJ and Jen in Asheville, NC who graciously shared their garden's bounty with us when we visited last week) and a few I picked up today: parsley, zucchini, tomato, banana pepper, green pepper, onion, green onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. I'm going to use the meat and the broth for several of our meals this week and none of them are going to be made with processed food! 

So, here we go again! This time around for our "cleanse" we won't be hungry or cranky! I think this will be a whole lot more helpful to us than 21 days of deprivation and being hangry. I am hopeful that the lasting effects will be better too :)

What are your thoughts on the Clean Program and cleanses? How do you find balance for your health?

I tricked Ryan

Ryan is a health nut. He's always trying new things that he reads in Men's Health like Forbidden Rice or cinnamon in his coffee because it's good for you somehow. It was fairly simple to trick him...which just means that he trusts me because he loves me and I've a terrible person for doing this...




***DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. If you inhale cinnamon it can irritate your throat and cause other problems***

Hiking at the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens

This past weekend, we made the short drive to the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens, which is a beautiful area set up to study various plants and trees and also happens to have several trails. Now that I've been made aware that hiking is really just "walking around in the woods"...I have wanted to do it more and more. Not only do I feel healthy, walking around is exercise after all, but I feel just so in tune with nature. hahahahah okay I couldn't type that with a straight face BUT it was really nice to be out there with the trees, birds and little streams that we found. There are many trails to explore and one trail leads you to this very peaceful area by a stream where I could have sat all day.

Being a total nerd and shameless Hunger Games fan, I found myself asking Ryan what we could eat in the Arboretum...if we were to be put into it to fight to the death. Then I started panicking because I realized there was no way I could climb any of the trees but then I relaxed...I'm 27, I have been inelible for the HG for almost 10 years! Whew. Also, I'm 27...I have no business reading books meant for tweens. Also, the Hunger Games isn't a real thing..........yet.

The point of this embarrassing tale is that it got me to thinking about survival in the wild. True, most of us will probably never have to use these skills but it couldn't hurt to know a few basic things, right? Ryan and I are going to explore the edible plants in the area and report back to you pronto! I think the first one will be the Prickly Pears that grow on a cactus in our condo's parking lot. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?