do or do not - there is no try.

Well, it's finally time for the exciting food stuff!

Today is officially day two of my cleanse, and so far - not bad!

Day one probably could have been better, but I think I did okay with what I had since I couldn't get my cleanse groceries until today!
First up: a cup of warm water with half of a squeezed lemon first thing when you wake up. Now, I wasn't at the meeting this past Sunday, but Brittanie sent out the general content, which most importantly included poop ('Pooping is your friend now, love it!'). Also interestingly, it is highly likely after this warm lemon water in the morning that said poop will occur. And (I'm sorry if anyone uncomfortable with this kind of talk, but let's face it - I'm not, and I'm eliminating waste and toxins from my body - I encourage this kind of talk!) let me just say, I've only done two days and she was so right. Probably more effective than - according to my darling boyfriend - a coffee and a Bullseye.
A quick breakfast of my official cleanse tea followed by an apple (I know I know! Hey, it's better than the no breakfast that I usually have!) on the road as I drove Lexi to the airport.
Lunch was maybe more of a breakfast meal - I had a bowl of oats with almonds, dried cranberries and maple syrup! Yum! Delicious and sweet, nice and light, and oh so simple! I will most definitely be incorporating this as a staple in my breakfast/lunch routine.

Of course starting the cleanse - finally - had me itching to go to yoga! Day fourteen! I absolutely love the quote for the day - Yoda in his infinite wisdom motivates not only Jedis but yogis and cleansers and anyone who has ever done something difficult. Regardless of how high my hip rises in Toppling Tree, how many times I fall out of Dancer, have to drop to my knee during Runner's Lunge, or surrender to the painful screams from my legs to straighten them during Prayer Twist, today's theme helps me remember that as long as I am here, I am doing it. Even if I feel I have a shaky practice, or I'm hard on myself - the fact that I make the effort to go and do it is the most important part!
Tonight I tried out the 5:30 Level II class for the first time, and it was really wonderful!  It followed a similar sequence as a regular Moksha class, with slightly modified postures. I don't remember the names of many of them, but do remember a few in particular. We did Lizard pose, and variations of it - I had to spread my front foot a little wider and tilt it on a slight angle to comfortably (and I use this word with only slight hesitation) rest on my forearms. It is certainly a hip opener! I could feel it all day today, and it makes me realize just how malleable our bodies actually are. From one day to the next I feel so different in my capabilities and my limits. It's always great to find a pose that leaves you cursing it the next day! The other pose that really stayed with me even today was Square pose - oddly enough, another pretty deep hip opener! My top knee was sticking way up in the air, and I managed to curl down enough to feel a stretch through my hips and lower back so that was good enough for me in that moment! I will definitely be coming back to Level II, the energy in the room was different, but inspiring none the less.
I expected a little more lightheadedness, or weakness from the cleanse during class, but it was still pretty comparable to normal. I suppose being day one still it's a little too soon to tell. I did notice some minor headaches through the day (which no, I can't take ibuprofen for!) but I often get headaches so that's nothing new.

Post-yoga dinner I had to make use of my current ingredients, so I whipped up another peanut butter tofu! Just as delicious, and perfectly filling! That is most definitely a new favourite of mine! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you choose to look at it!) I had a rather large post-dinner nap and couldn't get out to buy my psyllium husk, so day one failed on that account, but otherwise felt pretty okay!

I spent some time searching some recipes and different ideas for meals for the next three weeks and beyond, and have fallen in love with ohsheglows.com! Fellow cleanser Meredith introduced it to everyone, and I am obsessed! There are so many fantastic recipes that I can't wait to try! I also discovered a really fantastic  iPhone app (there is an app for that!!) done by Whole Foods Market. Oh, and did I mention it's FREE?? What an awesome discovery! I haven't checked out their website yet for any similar features, but you can search any ingredient, list combinations of ingredients you have, narrow down for specialty diets (thank goodness for my dairy- and gluten- and animal-product- etc-etc-free self!) or browse categories from breakfast to snacks to sides and desserts. And then you can add a recipe to your shopping list where it will tell you how much to buy! I am very excited. Highly recommend it to anyone with an iPhone, whether on a restricted diet or not!

Day fifteen/two dawned dreary and chilly in Halifax, so I headed off for some warming up for the 9:30 class. I slept in a little (oops!) but still had time for my warm lemon-water-poop-accelerator, as I've just decided to call it after only two days. I needed an energy boost so I grabbed a banana with a dollop of peanut butter. Yummm. Class was surprisingly not full, maybe only about twenty people. It was a different kind of calm energy, perfect for a rainy morning! I felt a little stiff this morning, a usual feeling for an early class I suppose. I always relish the feeling in my hips and inner thighs in my first Child's Pose of the day - they feels so stiff, like they're begging me not to push down any further. I take that with me through the practice and into subsequent settling into Child's Pose, where I slowly melt down deeper, that tightness thirty minutes earlier gone from my mind. I just love feeling how my muscles warm up and stretch. I guess that feeling is especially prominent in morning classes! It was a fantastic class, and I barely noticed the rain as I walked out of there!

Lunch on day two and oddly enough I was craving the oats-cranberry-almond-maple syrup mixture from the day before; I made a slightly larger portion, didn't finish it all, and now have breakfast for tomorrow! It's a pretty perfect system if I say so myself.

Finally I could get out grocery shopping today! Armed with a list of necessities and general healthy and organic items, I headed to Superstore, excited at my prospects. Needless to say, I was there forever. I just wanted to try everything all at once! I had to talk myself out of buying every kind of fresh ingredient, that they would still be there when I run out of current ones! I had a great time navigating the tiny four-aisle organic section at the front of Quinpool Superstore, discovering new things and trying to figure out whether to try quinoa flour or rice flour (quinoa), almond milk or rice milk (rice), corn or rice pasta (both!) and on and on ... I did get my psyllium husks, local Nova Scotia-harvested quinoa (which I cannot wait to try! It is definitely on the menu for tomorrow!), nutritional yeast, coconut oil, avocado, fresh basil, mint and ginger, blue corn chips (for the hummus I made this afternoon and guacamole coming soon!) ... I could go on and on. Of course shopping organic is a little (maybe more than a little) expensive, but I feel like it will be so worth it. It is already motivating me and exciting me to cook (which, ask my parents or Jamie) I do not do unless it comes from a box! I love knowing that all of the food I'm going to be eating is completely natural and good for me. Not that it was easy to pass by the candy aisle ... or the bakery ... or the junk food aisle ... or the dairy aisle ... oh how I miss my milk! I forgot to put the rice milk in the fridge until just now, so I'll have to try it tomorrow!

I excitedly got home and unloaded, creating a 'cleanse food' shelf in the cupboard so it's all together. I was so anxious to drink my pre-dinner tea so I could try and make this 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta from Oh She Glows. It sounds absolutely perfectly delicious! So I have my brown rice spaghetti on the stove and the ingredients in my Magic Bullet (I think we need to invest in a food processor - you'll see why shortly!). I do think my avocado was not quite ripe enough to get the creamy texture, so I decided to add some water - only I couldn't get the effing thing open!! I am not kidding you - my spaghetti sat in the colander for probably 24 minutes while I tried various manoeuvers to get it open. I felt like it was pressing through my palms it hurt so badly - I even went to Canadian Tire to buy $2 rubber gloves to decrease slippage!! It didn't work. Rubber gloves have a much more satiny-soft finish now than they used to. So I tried for another inappropriately long period of time to unscrew the damn lid to the point where I was literally screaming at it. Why did Jamie have to be working tonight?? So, instead of taking my completely immovable Magic Bullet door to door down the hallway (which I seriously considered, and slightly regret not doing) I threw it into the fridge for Jamie to open later, and improvised. By this point my noodles were cold so I needed a way to heat them up; I chopped some garlic and sauteed it in some olive oil, tossed in diced plum tomato for about 20 seconds and then added the spaghetti. I probably could have done more, but I was just so starving I needed a quick fix. I chopped up some fresh basil and sprinkled it on top, and voila! Day two dinner:

It is definitely pretty plain, but was actually quite delicious! The basil was so fresh and flavorful, perfectly paired with the simple tomato and garlic. Once I'm off my cleanse I'd love to try it with some fresh bocconcini cheese and balsamic vinegar for my own version of a caprese pasta. Yummm! Fingers crossed this cleanse doesn't reveal a hidden intolerance for dairy! I shudder to think ... Anyway, the dish was very simple, but still pretty delicious! I am a big fan of the rice pasta, it tastes delicious and has a texture that is somewhat between regular semolina pasta and the slightly grainier whole wheat pasta. Perhaps tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to use the creamy avocado sauce that my Bullet (and not my nonexistent arm strength) is cruelly keeping me from!! Once Jamie flexes his muscles and saves the day I will hopefully still be able to use the sauce for something tomorrow! What a ridiculous thing to happen ...
I had some delicious fresh cherries for dessert, which was the perfect way to finish off my day!

So, I would say that so far on day two of my cleanse I feel successful! I am about to head to bed so I guess it's psyllium fibre time ...  one whole tablespoon in half a cup of orange juice or water. I learned from other cleansers that in OJ it just tastes like massive amounts of pulp, so I opted for that one ... It definitely sticks in your teeth. It's not the most pleasant think to drink, but it's not the worst either. I think I can handle it!

So it's off to sleep-meditate my way into day sixteen slash three ... I can hardly wait!

Namaste.