The Vegetable Centric Kitchen

Today was long and busy, I woke up puffy and continued to get more bloated and headache-y as the day went on. I seriously felt like I looked pregnant by the time I got around to my colonic unit tonight. Has anyone ever described a colonic as epic? I can’t imagine a session any crazier than today. So, so, SO much heavy, dark, sticky, disgusting smelling matter poured out for TWO hours between pockets of gas. Graphic enough for you? I’m exhausted but my head feels spacious and light as air.

It was an emotional juice drinking day with the addition of the spirulina that I’m having such a hard time parting with. Really though, if algae is my biggest worry then I think I’m doing alright.

Juice:

32 oz celery/kale/apple/fennel/lemon/ginger juice with cayenne

32 oz watermelon/jalapeno/lemon/cilantro juice

40 oz celery/cilantro/pear/lemon juice

12 oz coconut water with e3live and vitamineral green

40 oz orange juice with spirulina

28 oz carrot/romaine juice

60 oz orange/kale juice

I need to find a way to relax after work. Since changing jobs I haven’t established that habit and I find myself wanting to guzzle juice to get a sort of grounded feeling when there are probably better (or at least other) options.

It was another great colonic today, similar to the heaviness that poured out of my body yesterday but as soon as I got a juice down afterwards I felt immediate gas pressure in my head again which remained throughout the day and turned into a headache by evening. It was a decent day but I’m still feeling challenged and like this last third is going about a hundred times slower than the first two thirds.

My juices were really sugary today. I’m not overly concerned, it’s just something I noticed. I like to keep things fairly balanced between the veggie and fruit juices but I just happened to swing towards the fruity side of things today. I’m also in love with coconut water which I’ve been adding Vitamineral Green and vanilla bean to at work. Today I thought it tasted like vanilla frosting!

Juice:

16 oz carrot juice

20 oz celery/pineapple/cilantro/lime/jalapeno juice

16 oz cucumber/kale/lemon/dill/garlic juice with spirulina

32 oz celery/pineapple/lime/kale/apple/jalapeno juice

32 oz orange juice

32 oz carrot/romaine juice with chipotle powder

12 oz coconut water with Vitamineral Green and vanilla bean

32 oz orange juice

12 oz coconut water with Vitamineral Green and vanilla bean

16 oz orange juice

Well first things first, the psyllium and bentonite experiment was short lived. That is just way to much work when you’re your own colon hydrotherapist! I’m actually feeling a need to make this all as simple as possible right now because it’s becoming rather difficult as the days go by. Today felt like it might have been one of my hardest since starting. I wanted to EAT. I felt moments of weakness and listlessness but when I finally got some juice in I was just nauseous. I feel emotionally fragile and generally just want to be alone. I was commissioned to make a certain sauce in our gorgeous little raw vegan cafe this afternoon and I cannot begin to tell you how much discipline it required to not dive in. I had to taste a bit with every batch and usually I’m good with just putting a dab on my tongue to get an idea but by the end of sauce-making I had probably had at least a tablespoon of oil and nut laden goodness. I developed a headache and stomach ache that eventually passed but it was not fun. It’s been interesting starting a new job at a fabulous restaurant, being surrounded by food that I would actually eat and not eating any of it.

I have a headache again and it’s time to get to bed. Fingers crossed tomorrow is a little gentler on me.

Juice:

32 oz cucumber/celery/kale/pear/lemon/ginger juice

32 oz orange juice with spirulina

32 oz carrot/kale/apple/lemon/ginger juice with cayenne

32 oz cucumber/celery/romaine/kale/lemon juice with a pinch of Himalayan sea salt

40 oz watermelon juice

8 oz cucumber/celery/kale/spinach/apple juice

1 Tbsp raw dressing (cashews, olive oil, spices and veggies)

20 oz coconut water with acai berry powder and vitamineral green

Day 60. Food is really intense right now. I’m still playing with the idea of being done at 60. I was reading Wellah’s post about how she knows when she’s done. She talked about being able to feel peaceful around food and whether or not she was satisfied with her juices. Honestly, I do feel like I could trust myself around food and I’m finding juice rather nauseating. But I still feel like I have the excitement and discipline to finish 90 days. I’ve agonized over the *right* answer and asked myself over and over until I realized…there is no right answer. There are only different experiences and I have to decide which one I want. I’ve never really thought I would stop early, I just wanted to truly give myself the option.

I’ve been coming up against a lot of instances where I’m feeling uncomfortable or emotional and have suddenly wanted to eat. Sometimes I drink juice instead and sometimes I just watch it. I want to feel this sane when I start eating again, like I can be in a completely un-cozy situation and know that I can breathe my way through it and eat when the stress is over and I actually need the nourishment.

I feel like I’m going to appreciate simple food more than I ever have in my life when this is over.

I’m still nauseous.

Today is day 60, there are 30 days left, and I’m 100% certain (unless my body outright rejects the process) that I can handle that.

Ingredients:

32 oz cucumber/romaine/kale/lemon/jalapeno juice with Himalayan sea salt

20 oz coconut water with Vitamineral Green and vanilla bean

14 oz carrot juice

32 oz orange/grapefruit/lemon juice with stevia

10 oz coconut water with a shot of E3Live

32 oz ginger/orange juice

24 oz cucumber/tomato/parsley/lemon/garlic/onion juice

10 oz coconut water with E3Live

16 oz carrot/romaine/mint juice

I approach day 60 with trepidation. The last few “momentous” days I’ve had in terms of numbers have been rough. However, I can’t imagine that it could be any rougher than yesterday. Today I still woke up sleepy but my mood and energy throughout the day were significantly shinier. I spent the day on my feet and still had enough leftover for a long walk with Britney after work. There was an hour or so of nausea and cramping after my juice with beets and again after my carrot juice. I also feel like my colon cleansing hasn’t been as productive as I want it to be. I’m still nauseous when all is said and done and I don’t know if I’m just not skilled enough to move what needs to be moved or if it’s just not ready to leave. Backing off the beets is probably a good idea, I don’t have any planned for tomorrow. I do wonder if I’ll wake up tomorrow and realize it’s my last day. I don’t think so, 90 still sparkles for me but who knows.

I realized today that I’m happy with my weight. I’m not waifish by any means (I don’t think my body type does waifish and it honestly took some work to accept that) but I feel like I’m a healthy slim and I’m happy with the way my clothes fit. I could be tinier or fitter I suppose but it’s nice to be at a size where I’m not concerned with changing anything, I’m just content and can worry about other things.

Juice:

32 oz cucumber/romaine/lemon/ginger juice with stevia and cayenne

32 oz orange/pineapple/golden beet/kale juice

32 oz carrot/cucumber/pineapple juice

32 oz orange/grapefruit/fennel juice

32 oz carrot/romaine/mint juice

2 Tbsp raw honey