My 5 day vegan cleanse from Organic Avenue has come to an end (read my daily recap below) and I feel great. Not once during the cleanse was I hungry, although I did dream about food, I was not prone to mood swings, I lost weight and I succeed in purging toxins from my body. Most importantly, this break from grocery shopping and eating out has given me the opportunity to think about what I put into my body everyday and how I want to change that going forward.

While I have spoken about clean eating before, this cleanse has made me realize how much of a difference unprocessed food can have on your body. It has also made me excited to learn to cook this way. The first day off the cleanse I did not go wild and I was able to stay satisfied and interested in my food. Here was the menu:

Breakfast: 0% Fage Greek yogurt with agave and granola and a cup of coffee with soymilk

Lunch:  Organic Avenue's Portobello wrap Snack: a mandarin orange

Dinner: a treat at my favorite sushi restaurant consisting of: unsweetened green tea, grilled eggplant with miso sauce and 2 sushi rolls (toro and oyster) with brown rice.

Overall, if I can carry on with the routine of eating 3 meals and 2 snacks a-day, exercising, drinking lots of water and commit to cooking at least 2 vegetarian meals a week then this cleanse will be a continued success. Luckily I have a husband who is willing to alter his meal plan as he sees the value in changing our diet. This support will make sticking to the plan all that much easier. I enjoyed the experience of this spring-cleaning so much that I am going to commit to doing it yearly. Next year, whether I do the next step cleanse from OA or opt for a more economical route,  I hope to continue my food and health education and find new and interesting ways to take care of my body.

photo courtsey of Simon Howden

This year for my spring cleaning, I've decided to clean my body, in addition to my apartment. I was turned onto Organic Avenue by some friends who routinely use their products.  The purpose of a cleanse is to rid one's body of toxins, clear out your digestive system and feel more energetic. The Live Organic Vegan Experience, or L.O.V.E., cleanse that I decided to try is called LOVEeasy, This is the basic cleanse meant for someone who is not currently a vegetarian and ease the body into digesting nutrient dense foods.

Day 1 - I picked up my cleansing case at the beautiful new store on the L.E.S. and this is my menu for the day:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Pear Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Burrito Crudo
• Edamame Salad
• Vanilla Chia
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

Drinking liquid of any kind has never been my strong suit. It fills me up quickly and I always have to pee, so I knew drinking all these juices as well as the recommended daily amount of water was going to be my biggest challenge. Luckily, an email I received the night before I was to start simply stated: You do not have to finish every item. The above items were to be consumed in order about ever 2 hours. Immediately I decided that waking up to a shot of Chlorophyll is not the way I want to start my day, but hey, it's only for 5 days. There is light at the end of that tunnel. Throughout the day I ate or drank on schedule and by 7pm the thought anything crossing my lips turned my stomach. I decided to power through and even if I didn't finish the Vanilla Chia or Green Mylk if I could consume 1/2 of the servings, I would hopefully benefit from the nutrients offered. The one things that did surprise me about today: no caffeine headache. I cut down on coffee to 1/2 a cup a day in the week leading up to the cleanse, maybe that was the trick.

Day's winner: Burrito Crudo    Day's looser: Chlorophyll Elixir

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Day 2 - I woke up feeling great. I had a wonderful night sleep and the sun was shining into my bedroom. I checked my email and found today's menu:

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh pressed Grapefruit Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Sunflower Falafel
• Sunflower Sprout Salad
• Chocolate Mousse (really? YAY!)
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

I decided to alter my plan of attack and took the shot of Chlorophyll on the bus on my way home from picking up my daily cleanse. Being surrounded by people, I figured this would ensure that I wouldn't throw up. What do you know, the shot wasn't too painful this time around. Next to down: the Grapefruit juice, not a fruit I'd choose to eat, was actually pleasant. The tangy sourness didn't bother me as expected it would. I was looking forward to my lunch of sunflower falafel and it did not disappoint. Honestly, it tasted just like regular falafel, but healthier because there wasn't oil dripping from it. Sprout Salad lacked total taste and the thing I was looking forward to most: the chocolate mousse tasted more like coconut with a hint of chocolate, but was delicious non the less. Again it was too much food for me to consume in total and I only drank 1/2 the green mylk. Best of all, my husband thanked me today for not being cranky. Haha, it seems if you set your expectations low, everyone's a winner in the end.

Day's winner: Sunflower Falafel  Day's looser: Sunflower Sprout Salad  

Weight Loss: 1.8lbs

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Day 3 - Today I woke up with thoughts of food. I didn't feel hungry and I wasn't thinking about any specific food, but the idea of food was lingering. I drank a glass of water and set off to pick up my menu.

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Apple Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Portobello Wrap
• Sesame Seaweed Salad
• Key Lime Pie
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

Everyday I mind the Chlorophyll less and less. I'm not saying I'm going to continue this every day, but it's over in 2 seconds and I move on. The fresh apple juice was a pleasant surprise today as the package told me it was going to be grapefruit. Taking a break mid-day to attend my favorite yoga class at Sankalpah, forced me to wait a bit for my favorite meal of the day: lunch. The Portobello sandwich was wrapped in something, but I can't figure out what (see photo). Inside the juicy Portobello was wrapped in spinach leaves with parsley and the other ingredients including: carrots, cucumber, beets, ginger and nuts were pureed and used as a spread. AMAZING! Unfortunately the most disgusting thing followed this experience. I don't mind seaweed when it's wrapped around raw fish. While there was no fish in this salad, it still reeked as it had just been pulled from the ocean. I forced myself to eat a few bite and then gave up and ate out the peppers, shallots and sesame seeds. And then I cheated. I couldn't help it, my will power gave in and I ate a piece of gum to banish the awful seaweed taste. While it wasn't a big misstep, I suppose I could have brushed my teeth instead. Well, tomorrow is another day!

Day's winner: Portobello Wrap  Day's looser: Sesame Seaweed Salad 

Total Weight Loss: 4 lbs

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Day 4 - I was very excited when I picked up my daily servings today as the menu included a Wheatgrass shot instead of the Chlorophyll. Yes!! Today's feast:

• Wheatgrass Shot
• Fresh Orange Juice
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Raw Lasagna
• Fennel Orange Salad
• Apple Nectarine Crisp
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

Today was the hardest day of the cleanse for me so far. I wasn't temped to cheat, but I felt a bit tired and kept thinking about food. Part of the instructions for this cleanse say to let your body do it's housekeeping. I took that to heart and after my early afternoon cucumber juice took a nap. Though I was tired, I had trouble falling asleep. I started in on my relaxation exercises which must have worked because the next thing I knew I was being awakened by dreams of Greek yogurt with granola. I'm actually surprised the dream wasn't about chocolate and, if you knew me, you'd be surprised too. I think I'll rack that up to progress! Once again lunch didn't disappoint. Slivers of zucchini separated the mixture of spinach, nuts, pureed peppers and sun dried tomatoes makes for great raw lasagna. Yummy! The fennel salad gave me hart burn temporarily and the apple nectarine crisp with slices of fresh apple and applesauce wasn't too bad. Maybe it was the nutmeg :) Well, tomorrow is the last day and I'm proud I made it this far.

Day's winner: Raw Lasagna  Day's looser: Fennel Orange Salad 

Total Weight Loss: 4.6 lbs

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Day 5 - My final day. I couldn't wait to begin because everything I drank or ate was going to be the last.

• Chlorophyll Elixir
• Fresh Pressed Lemonade
• Cucumber, spinach, celery Juice
• Pesto Zucchini Noodles
• Kale Dulse (salad)
• Lemon Cheesecake
• Green Mylk Drink: (Cucumber, celery, Spinach, almond mylk, cinnamon)

I went to pick up my final day's food in the crummy weather and decided it was the perfect excuse to finish my cleanse by relaxing on the couch. Yay, last chlorophyll shot! The lemonade was delicious, but alas I did not finish it. Too tart to drink the entire 16 ounces. The cucumber/spinach juice did it's job of cleaning me out all week and today was no exception. Since I was staying house bound I got my butt on the elliptical and decided to rock my way through a few hundred calories with the help of some Young Folks. I had to dig deep to make it through the workout, but I suppose that's to be expected as for the previous 16 hours I had consumed nothing but liquid. Next up, my favorite meal. Thumbs down the zucchini noodles! I make spaghetti squash all the time it's amazing. These zucchini noodles lacked flavor and the pesto sauce was a runny mess. The kale salad did nothing to brighten my food mood; zombie-like I chewed my way through it because I had to. I almost forgot to eat my cheesecake as by 6pm I wasn't the least bit hungry. But, as I'm supposed to be savoring these dishes I decided to press on. What a wonderful surprise! The irish moss, vanilla, lemon juice, lecithin and agave were whipped together and put over ground almonds and cashews. Who said vegan desserts are bad? I thoroughly enjoyed all the ones that my plan had to offer this week. I am looking forward to working my way back to real food this weekend. I'll post a recap on Monday so check back.

Day's winner: Lemon Cheesecake  Day's looser: Pesto Zucchini Noodles

Total Weight Loss: 5.2 lbs

With the weather starting to get warmer and the days getting longer, I have decided that I'm ready for my spring cleaning. In year's past, my spring cleaning was limited to my closets but, this year, I've decided to clean my body and mind and I hope to discover something new about myself in the process. Start a spring cleaning for yourself in these 3 easy steps.

1) Do something for yourself every day It might be as little as 10 minutes a day, but you deserve it! If you spend time in the car, clear your mind with a walk around the block. If you wake up feeling stiff, start the day with some stretching. If you have trouble sleeping at night, try meditation or breathing exercises to find stillness. What ever you do, you'll force yourself to slow down and relax.

2) Expand your mind Learn something new and exercise your brain. If you have time, take a cooking class, learn a new language, or volunteer in your community. If your time is limited, watch a documentary and get perspective on the food industry or learn the history of a foreign culture.

3) Do a cleanse Cleanses don't have to be intimidating, just pick one area of your diet to focus on. Eat dessert only twice a week instead of everyday. Move away from processed food and start to focus on clean whole foods. Make the switch from white flour to wheat. Whatever you choose, you'll notice a difference in your energy levels and your waistline.

For me, spring cleaning will consist of a few minutes of meditation a day, watching Food Inc at our Heal Your Body retreat in April and starting Monday, I'm embarking on a L.O.V.E. cleanse from Organic Avenues. Check back to our blog as I will be writing about my experience daily. I'm ready to do my mind and body good, how about you?

photo courtsey of Maggie Smith

I spent last Friday waiting out the big NY snowstorm at The New York Times Travel Show. My morning was spent taking notes and networking with other travel professionals at the educational seminars. The 34 available seminars ranged on topics from How social media can help to South African Tourism: World Cup Presentation. Regardless of where the attendees came to NY from; everyone was there to learn about going somewhere else.

After lunch, I headed into the trade show section where booths were organized by areas of the world. I made a beeline for the Central America section, since Pravassa has upcoming trips there. Panama was the first country I visited and imagine my delight when I discovered a newly opened eco-hostel. The Lost and Found Lodge is located in the Fortuna there. , high in the mountains. I can't wait to visit and experience the jungle animals, go on a treasure hunt and learn how coffee is harvested. I couldn't stay in Central America for ever, so I continued my journey around the world lingering in places such as Grenada, Croatia and Fiji; basically anywhere that has a beach!

The Travel Show is open to the public and if you couldn't make it this year for the great discounts, give-a-ways and talks lead by travel gurus such as Arthur Frommer, the show will return next year. If that's too long for you to wait, you're in luck as Pravassa will take you away sooner!

photo courtsey of Morgan's Rock

I was lucky enough to open my yoga week in sunny Ojai, California with Kira Ryder, owner of Lulu Bandha's. Ojai has long held a reputation as a place to heal the mind, body and spirit and Kira's studio is no exception. Having just returned from a weekend guest teaching at Kirpalu, the room of 25 students was eager to have their teacher and her wisdom back at home. This morning we students ranged in age from early twenties to late sixties and everyone modified to suit their needs as we moved along. Class ended with partner-assisted drop-backs, which created an atmosphere of trust and openness. After learning a bit more about the Ojai Yoga Crib that takes place in October, I got in the car and headed south.

What a difference 84 miles makes! I ended the day in Venice Beach at Exhale for Shiva Rae's Monday evening class. My 70 fellow students were abuzz with excitement as the live musicians who accompanied class set up at the front of the room. We did a lot of "moving with the flow" crescent lunges into standing splits while Shiva encouraged us to chat and use the breath to express our inner emotions. The last 1/2 hour was reserved for kirtan, or chanting, where the entire room was lead by the beautiful voice of Cecy. The African drums and guitar moved some people to dance around the room while others let the vibration from the room run though them while they sat and soaked in the energy. No matter how you decided to participate, you couldn't help but be moved by a room of beautiful people giving it up for Krishna.

photo courtesy of Nikolay