Veggin' Out

To Cleanse or Not to Cleanse? (or something like that), Cleanliness is next to Godliness, or to quote Cervantes, "All will come out with the washing". Well, let's hope so. I'm on Day 6 of a 21 day cleanse and, all things considered, not doing too badly. I think about food A LOT and, as my friends can attest, find myself talking about it a lot. I find myself flipping over to the Food Network. Really, it's not too bad. It could be so much worse. The basic rules are stick to vegetables and fruits (2:1 ratio), no grains of any type, no dairy, no meat, seeds, beans, or nuts, no sugar, no chocolate filled croissants, no brownies, no caffiene or alcohol, no fast food. You get the idea. Drink between two-five only moderately gritty protein shakes a day and you're good to go! Eat as many low-glycemic veggies you can choke down...I mean....as you want a day, and flush the toxins out of your body and down the bowl. Oh, and take 30 foul-smelling capsules a day. Yes, it's just that easy!

I know cleansing seems to be quite the fad lately, or at least has gotten lots of press (that IS why I do things, isn't it?). I know people who've done the Master Cleanse and swear to it's efficacy. Personally, the thought of drinking lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper isn't too pleasant and the salt water flush sounds like a Barf-fest. That's one way to cleanse, I guess. So, at least I get to EAT. My Cleansing Buddy left a message for me last night in hushed tones that she thought we ought to be able to eat Terra Chips Spiced Sweet Potato chips since they're cooked in "canola and/or safflower oil". We're supposed to avoid canola but safflower is okay. The "OR" is critical on the ingredients list and we went with it. Sweet thing that she is, she bought a bag for me when she got her own. I was probably violating the Spirit of the Cleanse when I ate almost the whole bag this afternoon.

Sweet Potato chips aside, I have a feeling bordering on pride for getting this far without cheating. I've never been one for self-discipline, having been fortunate that my whims never led me too far down the path of illegal or dangerous activities. When opening a box of Girl Scout cookies my attitude tends to be to eat the whole box and get it over with as soon as possible rather than drag out the inevitable. Unfortunately, this attitude was starting to spill over into other foods, so I was getting into trouble. So, to sit at the donut shop with Little A while he gobbled down his post-vaccination donut, or watch Big E tear through her chocolate-filled croissant after our mother/daughter No-School Monday lunch is a small triumph for me. 5 down, 16 to go.