First cleanse day!

My boyfriend Ryan and I are starting a 30 day cleanse today. We'll be having fresh vegetable juices in the morning for our breakfast, a leafy green salad with unlimited organic vegetables and a whole avocado for lunch, and for dinner we have a small salad along with some of of the following: fish, eggs, and starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, squash, etc. The goal is to cleanse the blood cells and bowels. A cleansed body digests food much more efficiently, and so cleansing from time to time helps when we're not able to eat an ideal diet, which we all know, is much of the time.

Many people immediately ask - where do you get your protein on this cleanse? Americans are a bit obsessed with protein. We tend to think in terms of animal protein, but in fact, there is protein in green leafy vegetables and nuts, not to mention the fish and eggs we'll be eating in the evenings. But surprise, surprise - 1 cup of spinach yields 5 grams of protein. One cup of peas has 9 grams! A 1/4 cup of almonds has 8 grams of protein.

What I like about this cleanse is that we're eating organic, fresh foods. You could ask nearly any medical doctor in America, and they'd say as a whole, we all need to eat more greens. Over the past year, I've begun to think of food in a whole new way. This is not a fad or crash diet. One of the speakers I heard recently asked the question "Are you eating for energy or for entertainment?" And as I look at foods now, I often ask that question. If you're choosing to eat for energy, you're eating veggies, whole grains, lean proteins like fish and eggs, etc. I'm choosing more and more to eat for energy, and my body is feeling the difference big time.

This morning, I'm making a carrot, beet, cucumber, kale, ginger blend. I've been learning a lot about beets, and how beneficial and cleansing they are for our bodies. However, you never want to drink pure beet juice. It is way to potent for the body to handle. It should be used sparingly and with other vegetable juices. My juice this morning is beautiful and delicious!!!