GOOP Day 6 Recap

Apologies for the gap in posts. Been at the bat planning some special yummies for a special Friday, June 4th! :p

So, day 6 went like this: On wake, had the usual water w/ lime followed by an orange blossom tea an hour later.

Breakfast was gluten free cereal w/ a ton of golden flax seeds, blueberries & almond milk.

I was real skimpy on lunch. I only snacked on almonds and flax seeds and raspberries and cucumber chunks and chewed on cilantro. And I had the above strawberry, parsley & cilantro slushie! (no milk or anything, just crushed ice).

Then, I had this! Per Gwynnie’s recipe ~ Beet, Carrot, Ginger, Apple Juice blended with watercress, arugula, cardamom (powder) & crushed ice!

Dinner rocked! I loaded a hunk of salmon w/ some no-salt herbal seasoning and poached it. Then, I made a raspberry vinagrette from scratch, (raspberries, red wine vinegar, cilantro, Grains of Paradise, organic cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, lime juice) and served it on a bed of raw kale & green leaf lettuce salad w/ raspberries & lime garnish. ~I like how the vinagrette looks hehe :p ~Looks like a river of bloooooood!

Tomorrow or the next day, recap of day 7 and my thoughts of the program after another run with it!

GOOP Day 3 Recap

Shotgun post tonight as I’m quite tired lol~ Here is how Day 3 went!

Had the usual water w/ lime then a blueberry tea an hour later in the morning.

Organic Overnight Oats as championed by Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows!

The night before, I prepared my oats with almond milk and put ’em in the fridge. In the morning, I pulled them out, added a bit more almond milk, some fresh organic blueberry puree, some almond butter and a pinch of cardamom, stirred and had at it!

For my smoothie a while after breakfast, I made one with fresh organic cherries from my local farmer’s market, organic avocado, parsley, cilantro & almond milk. It was fantastic! I love the herbaceousness of the parsley and cilantro, the tart/sweet of the cherry and the creaminess of the avocado & almond milk. 🙂

Lunch was great, too. I made a very thin, very brothy Broccoli, Arugula & Radish soup. 🙂  It also had parsley, cilantro, ginger, garlic and a pinch of cayenne pepper. :p ~Those are paper thin radish slices floating atop the foamy broth.

Awesome dinner salad of lettuce, carrot ribbons, blanched broccoli, radish & olives w/ a scallion garnish.

All for now. I’ve nodded out twice at the keyboard! :p That’s what happens when one wakes up @4:45 A.M.!

Raw Vegan Explorations

As a Chef and foodie, I feel the best way to understand people, their tastes and pallets is through their food; to live in their shoes for a time. With the growing popularity of Raw Veganism, superfluous requests for this kind of cuisine and a host of interested friends & family, I felt the time to see what it’s all about from the inside was nigh!

A few months ago, I went a solid week of full throttle Raw Veganism. I didn’t sway a centimeter! Honestly, I never felt better. After the third day, I noticed I had gladiator-energy. I felt lighter, peppier, more vibrant. I felt high or something! It’s difficult to describe but there was a definite difference between how I felt taking in only raw veggies and fruits and my regular diet. Raw Veganism is an awesome way to cleanse, I think.

I’d love to try it again soon but ya know~ I really love warm stuff. And hot stuff! Often, I prefer my food scalding hot, blistering to chew, injurious to swallow! But, at this point, I’ve managed to balance my diet into an 80% raw, 20% cooked model.

After much research, I’ve come to the conclusion that I can’t really say that strict raw veganism, strict vegetarianism or strict anything is THE BEST way to live. The human body is a complex system. What works for one person may not work for another. Where one person shines with a certain diet, another may suffer so my final take on “What is better?” is this: Try it out. Experiment. Research ad nauseum. Find what suits you best and always keep advice from your doctor and other health care professionals at heart.

What I would caution against is going in any dietary direction to fit in with a given group or to placate a fad. Our diets aren’t a pair of shoes or hairstyle. Our diets govern the health of our bodies and we only have one. Stay healthy, folks!

DAY 1 – Back on the GOOP Wagon

So today I begin the GOOP 7 Day Detox again! It’s my favorite detox, one from which I have extracted daily lifestyle habits.  Whenever I’ve used GOOP in the past, I feel like four-million dollars after the program. During it is no different and, I must say, feeling that fantastic is addictive so here we go! Besides, it’s the perfect way to get geared up for Summer.

GOOP is a detox developed by Actress Gwyneth Paltrow (who I ADORE!) & her friend, Dr. Andrew Junger. After she went to Hell and back having a go at “The Master Cleanse,” which she described as “hallucinogenic,” Gwynnie sought the expertise of Dr. Junger to compile a detox that was less aggressive yet effective. Personally, I am no fan of the Master Cleanse. If it works for ya, hat’s off but the program leans too far on the starvation side for me. I felt horrid when I tried it so I dropped it like a hot tater and prefer sticking to GOOP when it’s time to restart the body’s engine.

Here is the program:

http://www.goop.com/newsletter/15/en/

I will detail my progress and post photos of the things I make during the cycle. If you’re looking for an ace detox, I highly recommend this one!