DETOX DAY 12: NICE TO MEET YOU, POMEGRANATE.
Today, I eat a pomegranate. More importantly, today I open a pomegranate. Pomegranates are on Jen's list of very good fruits to incorporate during the detox, so I buy one at Trader Joe's. When I get home I look at the funny little guy with his quirky shape and inverted-nipple-stem and realize I have no idea what to do with him. So I leave him on the counter and proceed to go to the obvious source of information about this type of important subject: YouTube.
I find numerous videos about how to open a pomegranate - all kinds of crazy things like cutting off the top and hoping for the best as you lose out on all the beautiful juice contained in the seeds you just cut through. Another one just shows a British guy crushing the crap out of the fruit, and poking a hole in it it to drink the juice. Interesting and very rustic, but not what I'm looking for. Finally I find one that seems sane. The video recommends cutting out the stem and scoring the pomegranate along its natural segmentation, therefore allowing you to open the fruit without losing seeds or staining your countertop. Perfect!
I start my dissection and am suddenly having a blast! My only experience with pomegranates was in 5th grade when I was in the Talented and Gifted program and we did a unit about Greek mythology. My teacher brought in an actual pomegranate and I just remember...seeds. I literally haven't seen one since. So here's what it looked like!
post-segmentation, pre-seed removal.
I am having so much with my pomegranate adventure that I forget I can actually eat it! I remove all the seeds and am amazed at how many I get from just one fruit:
Not only gorgeous but delicious! I munch on seeds while I prepare my healthy lunch for the day. I have enough seeds to incorporate into various salads/wraps/recipes over the next day or two. Not only are they tasty, but healthy and full of antioxidants.
I am feeling great today! My energy is super consistent and I love learning new things. Now I know how to open a pomegranate! ...And how to eat it too.
Saturday, 29 October
DETOX DAY 13: SURE, I'LL USE THE SNOW AS AN EXCUSE TO HIBERNATE.
I teach my first class this morning and by the time I leave there is snow-rain falling outside and it feels like December. I teach my second class and by the time I leave there is legit snow falling and sticking to cars/sidewalks/trees and you would think it was February. I know exactly what is about to happen. I am heading home to warm up and I am not leaving.
Yes, yes. It's the Saturday before Halloween and everyone is treating it as if it is actually Halloween, getting dressed up and going to various parties and dressing in scantily clad outfits because they can. Perhaps I should be social and grab my "go-to" costume (sparkly scant butterfly shirt, green 'antennae' and jeans) and attend one of the various gatherings I was invited to.
But it's so cold out. And it's so warm in my apartment. And I have this recipe I've been dreaming up all week that I can't wait to put to the test. I pull out my dutch oven and go to work.
I end up making, quite honestly, some of the best soup I've ever had. Butternut Squash/Sweet Potato/Ginger soup... slow cooked with love and care. I don't even have a recipe - just put together a few ideas that I had seen and dreamed up as I was shopping for all my 'detox-approved' groceries. A garnish of a few sunflower seeds tops it off and I am in heaven.
Tonight, I will not feel bad about hibernating in my apartment. It's too cold to be half-naked anyway, isn't it?
Sunday, 30 October
DETOX DAY 14: THE END IS NEAR.
As I wake up today, I reflect on the past two weeks. While doing 14 days of a Detox seemed extremely daunting at first, now I can't believe it's already finished! In many ways I am stubborn, and knew I would get through it regardless. But in all honesty, once I started realizing how much better I felt, it was easy to maintain the diet and recipes, and to develop new ways of cooking, shopping, eating, and treating my body.
I don't miss coffee. Sometimes, I miss the flavor - but I don't miss the energy rush and drop (and often nausea) that would accompany my morning cup of joe. I have simply changed my old morning 'ritual' - which I thought I was ingrained in me forever. A warm lemon water and shake gets me started now, and I feel better for it.
I have explored new territory - in food, cooking, shopping, and self-care - that I may not have experienced otherwise. I have taken the time to stop and listen to my body and really hear what it's saying, instead of ignoring it and moving on.
I feel lighter - not necessarily that I've lost weight (I don't keep track) - but I feel a lightness in my body, like all the excess heaviness from food, alcohol, sugar, and other toxins has melted away.
Today I would like to think that I will be able to follow the Detox food recommendations even after the program ends. And while it may be unrealistic for me to follow every single rule I have been working on for the past two weeks, I know I will take many of the shopping guidelines, recipes, and self-care techniques with me, even as I work back to my new version of "normal." I feel healthier and more energetic than I have in a long time, and look forward to maintaining that in some respect.
...God, I can't wait to have a glass of wine.
