So far on this cleanse, it’s been easier because we’ve been home. We were tested on day three when we went out to eat with my Mom and Aunt.I didn’t think much of it beforehand and went along with my morning making detox smoothies for Mando and I. He woke up ‘starving’ so I fixed him an avocado as well with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper.

When my family arrived we took my Mom’s dog Poppy for a walk at a park nearby our house which also happens to be near a nice cafe that I knew would have at least one thing for us to eat.

When we arrived I was excited to see the plethora of organic juices, smoothies and even an Acai bowl. Mando wasn’t as thrilled with the choices as he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that, yet again, fruit was the only thing on the menu. I was happy with my choice to share with him-an Acai bowl with no granola, extra fruit and a pear, pineapple, bee pollen and honey smoothie.

It wasn’t until my Mom and Aunt’s food arrived-the same ham dish topped with an egg and cheese and covered in a delicious-smelling dairy sauce, that my order started to seem less than.

I watched as both Mando tried having conversations with them but our eyes were focused on one thing-following their movements from fork to mouth with every bite of gooey, delicious-looking food.  I knew I had to snap myself out of it. I didn’t even like ham! I asked myself where this was coming from. Did I really want to eat the ham and egg dish? Or was it just because it was there? Was I just feeling deprived? And if so, why? Also,why did I associate certain food with  breakfast? Or happiness even? I also associated it with success, having enough and feeling secure.

I thought about the feeling I get when I eat a heavy egg dish with potatoes and toast. I feel  safe and secure. Happy. But I also feel heavy and when I do it regularly, it’s usually not great for me bathroom-wise and sets me off for salty cravings the rest of the day.

When I think back to times I’ve tried to ‘diet’ in the past, I can remember feeling sad. When fruit was the only thing I could have I felt empty, like I was missing out. I was so use to that FULL feeling that anything else felt less than. I didn’t see the possibility that I could feel this way with a different diet. Aside form the actually physically cleansing process that the body goes through, the mind and the body also get use to things the way they are and that’s why 28 days is important, because we need something to become a habit for it to stick.

I saw that my cravings and emotions were coming from years of patterns and truths I’d collected about food. I came back to the food that I had ordered and began to eat slower and with more thought. The reason I had chosen the pear over the other smoothies because of how little I have them in my diet and after reading Life-Changing Foods I realized that I want them in my life more.

My cravings began to subside and I looked back to Mando scarfing the Acai bowl desperately and thought how incredibly lucky I am to have a person in my life who was willing to go through these same emotions with me and deal with the same cravings let along do a 28-day plant-based cleanse with me. I felt really surrounded by support and blessed in that moment.

Second breakfast out at Precita Park Cafe-Acai bowl, no granola extra cantaloupe & honeydew melon w/ coconut flakes & Pineapple, Pear, Bee Pollen & Honey smoothie 

At breakfast my mom brought asked what was so different about our diet on this cleanse  if we ate a mostly vegetarian diet anyway? Which was a great question that I thought I should answer here. The difference about our diets for this 28-day cleanse is that we are eating entirely plant-based foods only, just fruits and vegetables. In my real life diet before this cleanse, although they were organic, I was eating a lot of chips and ordering too many fried dishes out at restaurants for my liking. Proof that a vegetarian/vegan diet doesn’t always mean ‘healthy’ and I wanted to get more toward a plant-based way of eating.

She told me to let her knows how it goes and maybe she’s try it too. That made me beam.

When we came back from eating I walked to the fridge to get myself a date and paused before just grabbing one. I remembered what Anthony William said about dates in Life-Changing Foods.

‘Dates teach us to shift from selfishness to selflessness. Their sweet, nourishing nature can be positively addicting-their delicious flavor so enjoyable that we tend to want to keep them all to ourselves. The lesson is in holding back from hoarding your supply of dates…. Watching friends and family smile as they take the dates’ sustenance into their bodies will help you cleanse yourself of greed, reorient toward giving, and ultimately recognize the truth that connecting to your inherent selflessness is an essential component of spiritual success.’

I offered one to all and everyone wanted one including Poppy who I was happy to share a few bites with as well.

My Mom’s dog Poppy sharing a date with me 

What we ate….

Wild blueberry smoothies (AM)

Steamed fingerling potatoes & Japanese sweet potatoes w/ Tahini dressing (AM)

filtered water (AM)

Avocado (M)

Acai Bowl (M)

Pear, Pineapple, Bee pollen, Honey smoothies (A)

Banana & Strawberry smoothie (A)

Bell pepper w/ Tahini dressing, tomatoes, berries, orange, green beans (A)

Cauliflower ‘rice’ in nori wrap w/ avocado, sprouts and radish (AM)

Ginger tea (A) minced ginger in hot water

Carrots, cherry tomatoes, avocado (M)

Roasted broccoli w/ sautéed mushrooms, garlic, onion, avocado, cilantro, lemon, w/ sautéed cauliflower ‘rice’ (A)

Cauliflower ‘rice’ w/ roasted broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, onions, garlic, green beans & topped with tahini dressing and avocado