Mid Week Cleanse: Dia Dos

Day Two down of my short work week cleanse.  Are any of you cleansing with me??? ...Or let me guess, you're just living vicariously through my short cleansing journey.

I added a couple beets in today since they are such great liver cleansers.  The red one was used in my pressed juice and the golden was used in today's recipe:  Hara Mara Inspired Skinny Dip.

Here's what i've been munching today...

5 am: 1/4 of a cantelope, red rooibos tea

breakfast, 8:30am: 1/2 of a fresh pressed juice (1 bunch celery, 1 head romaine, apple, beet, lemon, stevia), 1/4 of cantelope

mid morning snack, 11:30: remaining half of pressed juice

lunch 1:30pm: remaining 1/2 of the cantelope, one hard boiled egg

mid afternoon snack, 3:30pm:  carrots and cut jicama sticks with hara mara inspired skinny dip made with avocado, carrot, and yellow beet. (see recipe du'jour below)

early evening snack, 5pm: nibbled on strawberries at the farmers market.  YUM!

dinner 7:00: steamed broccoli with a dressing of avocado, tamari, tahini, and stevia sprinkled with pan toasted sesame seeds.

The toughest part for me generally is the night time when i get my sweet tooth on.  The best way i have found to handle it is with either a cup of mint tea, a little bowl of fresh cut fruit, or a smoothie or green drink.  Last night after dinner i sliced a banana and a few strawberries...perfectly cleanse approved sweet.  Another great distraction from your sweet tooth is to get yourself moving.  Consider taking a yoga class to wind down your day or a trek around the hood with the pooch.

Here's your recipe du'jour:  Hara Mara inspired Skinny Dip

Ingredients: 1 carrot, 1 golden beet, 1/2 a large ripe avocado, 1 lemon wedge, 1 clove garlic

Chop the carrot and golden beet.
Steam or boil both until soft
Let veggies cool briefly then add to your blender with 1/2 a large avocado, 1 clove of garlic, squeeze in a lemon wedge, and blend well to puree.  You'll need to use a plunge or spoon to help push the ingredients in the blender.  If you need liquid to get it moving (i didn't) you could add a small amount of water from the pot your boiled/steamed your veggies in,  a teaspoon at a time.

Eat with any veggie crudites: carrots, jicama, cucumber, etc






*pictures from google images.

Mid Week Cleanse: Detox To Retox

my pup always reminds me to stop and smell the roses!

Oh Lordy...June is already proving to be quite a celebratory month for this little Gemini.  Not only am i faced with birthdays from all my cosmic twins (which it seems i have a lot of), but i've got bachelorettes, weddings, weekends away with my beau, and all sorts of wild adventures happening throughout the month.

Last weekend we melted poolside in palm springs.  It was super hot...super fab...super retro...and super celebratory.  We celebrated my birthday and our 4 year anniversary. 

 Del Marco Hotel...it's ooh-la-la so retro chic!

 Notice the mimosa aside Whole Living magazine.  Getting our Vitamin D and C poolside with a great read.

 Every issue of Whole Living has a page of thoughts they call "10 thoughts on whole living".  These quotes are always inspirational or reflective.  My favorite from this month was #8:

"Don't obsess over weight loss.  Wellness is about making your life bigger, not smaller."

Here are the other 9:
"Rather than try to fix your body, focus on how you want it to feel."
"The mark of true confidence is the ability to look someone in the eye"
"Let the seasons guide your diet.  The earth grows what you need when you need it."
"Respect your feet.  They've mastered the art of staying grounded while moving forward"
"Take charge of your own reflection: stop letting the mirror win"
"enlightenment doesn't always make a grand entrance.  It slowly transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary."
"Change happens somewhere between the acceptance of now and the anticipation of what's to come"
"Surprise yourself: push past your physical limits."
"Nothing connects you to who you are quite like the people who knew you when."

Since i've been (and will continue to be) imbibing on weekends throughout June it's pretty important that i take the weekdays to allow my body the time to recover, strengthen, restore, and detoxify.  So for the next few days this blog will serve as my cleanse journal.  Perhaps you're ready for a little mid week 'clean her up' too....and if you are please join me for the ride.  Hit the market and load your basket with fresh organic produce, get lots of greens and some lemons to add to your water, to juice, and squeeze on your veggies, and consider adding in some cleansing supplements like chlorophyll to help chelate heavy metals out of the body.  I'll blog my menu - comment back with yours.  We'll support each other.

If you are unable to cleanse this week, but would like to commit to a full 20 day program, i'll be hosting the next one in July at Core Power Point Loma.  Details to come!

Today's menu/journal:

early am (5am, before i taught yoga):  banana, red rooibos tea

breakfast, 8am:  fresh pressed green juice (one head romaine, one bunch celery, one apple, two lemons, stevia) and 1/4 of a cut cantelope

snack, noon:  1/4 of cut cantelope

exercise:  SCULPT CLASS FROM SARAH PEARLSTEIN - thank you for kicking my arse Sarah!!!

lunch, 3pm: one hard boiled egg, 1 1/2 cups baby carrots, remaining half of the cantelope.

snack, 6pm: Coco Cilantro Green Smoothie - RECIPE du-jour: 

coconut water from one young coconut

a few spoonfuls of coconut flesh from that coconut

3 large handfuls of spinach

1/3 of a ripe avocado

small amount of cilantro

and stevia to taste

dinner, 7:30pm:  small mixed greens salad with lemon, zuchini, avo, crushed red pepper and cumin, and dry toasted sesame seeds. Steamed green beans with a sauce made from 1 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp tamari, one slice avo, water, and stevia.

The coco-cilantro smoothie was delicious.  The beau tried it out (he now makes himself a green smoothie every morning) and said he liked it so much he thought he'd start adding cilantro to his.  Cilantro has great chelating/detoxing properties.  My pug was all about it too....i was trying to take a few pix of the beautiful orchid my girlfriend Melissa got me for my bday, and he had to stop and check it (and my green drink) out.  How could i resist not posting such a cute photo???

toooooo cute!

he actually eats organic gluten free green food everyday, check out honest kitchen for your pooch

so good and sooo green!

...And last but not least, now it's time to show you the newest Jane Jewels.  I've been selling them as quick as i make em' so my etsy site isn't very current.  If you see something posted here you like let me know and i'll make a custom pair for you.

FEATHERS!!

!!!!MORE FEATHERS!!!!

citrine stone helps promote happiness

turquoise helps to align your chakras

LOOPS!!! medium loop with turquoise drops

big ol' loops with citrine

medium citrine loops

AND....dangly things....

agate is grounding and helps dispel negative energy

more turquoise

....i'll be back tomorrow with another cleanse day/journal.  See you then!!

10 (mostly) Foodie Things I Am Grateful For.

1.  Carrot and Papaya Smoothies.  This has to be at the top of my list because i'm so into them right now!  (Press 10 carrots through a juicer and blend with 1/2 a papaya).  These are so refreshing, perfect for warm weather days, and make me feel amazing.  Plus they totally quench an ice cream craving!

2.  The fact that my little beach town has a juice bar right next to the bead store that i'm in all the time AND that they make carrot and papaya smoothies!

3.  Numi Red Rooibos Tea and Yogi Peppermint Tea.  Without you i would have a much harder time rising at 5am.

4.  Stone Ground Mustard.  Add cumin, EVOO, a splash of balsamic and some stevia and you have a killer salad dressing.

5.  Rudi's gluten free bread.  It's so nice to be able to enjoy sammies time to time, plus i'm loving just making a piece of toast with hard boiled egg, avocado, and sea salt.  num.

6.  Sweet Potatoes.  Does anyone need an explanation on this one?  They have to be like the number one most delicious food.  The boyfriend mashed some up on Easter with cinnamon and 'oh my god':  simply divine.

7.  Greens, green juices, and green smoothies.  I can never eat/drink enough greens.  I am grateful that our garden is so abundant. 

8.  Tamari.  If your dish is lacking flavor, tamari will usually take care of it.  Are your steamed veggies and brown rice a little boring tonight?  Try adding tamari!

9.  Guacamole and corn tortillas.  We make guac fresh with cilantro from our garden.  If you've never made guac before you need to get on it.  It's simple, delicious, and tastes awesome on baked corn tortillas.  (A few pitted avos, mashed with a handful of cilantro, sea salt, lemon, and cayenne or jalapeno.  Save the pits to put in the bowl with the guac.  This helps it from browning).  Get fresh corn tortillas at a farmers market, slice into triangles, mist with EVOO and salt and bake at 400 for about 7 minutes or until done to your liking.  Hit it with Tapatio!

10.  Numero 10 is a combo of many other non foodies things i am gratful for:  My Pug.  My Boyfriend.  My amazing friends and family.  My job and the beautiful community of yogis that i'm surrounded by daily.  My home for keeping me safe, dry, and warm.  And my hands for allowing me to craft.

Speaking of crafting.....here are some new danglers i posted on etsy (meredithgnau.etsy.com) :

Pugs and Pins and Needles, all things Green, and Hobbies: Oh My!

maaaaaa.  let's go for our walk!

If you live in So Cal, you are loving life right now.  The weather is insanely beautiful, and it's been far too long since we've experienced days like these.  Given that we didn't have many sunny days last summer, this spring time sunshine is a pleasant reminder of why i live in San Diego.

kale ready to juice from me' garden

 Being such a sunny morning my garden was calling to me as i walked by.  Our kale is growing like mad with two of the stalks over 4 feet tall!  I was reminded today of how amazing it is to start your day with a green drink.  I fell off the green smoothie bandwagon for a week or two.  My back went out last friday and I've felt stagnant, sore, grumpy, annoyed, achy, mad, and all out frustrated.  I started to eat eggs (which i haven't done in over  year).  Hard boiled eggs and fried eggs on toast.  I skimped on the green drinks and noticed that although i still ate salads and veggies daily, my fiber consumption dropped, as did my 'greens' consumption.  My digestion/elimination cycle changed/slowed.  My body is slow to heal (It's been a whole week and i've not been able to exercise, let alone hardly twist side to side due to the pain i've been in).  Then i started to think....now is the time i need fresh juice and green drinks more than ever - when my body needs the enzymes to heal.  Duh.  I swear, i can talk and talk and talk about what i know is 'right',  but often i have to hit myself over the head to hear myself...."woman - take your own stinkin' advice!"  And so i juiced.  And ohhhh, was it good.  I cut kale from the garden and pressed it with beet and broccoli i picked up at the farmers market yesterday and a cuke, lemon, and ginger from the co-op.  Dumped that into my blender and added spinach and half an apple.  Swirled it up and OH - MY - HEAVENS!  This seriously is the best way to start your day.  I feel amazing, and could care less about my back....i'm going to walk the pooch, listen to the birds, and enjoy the smile my pug, the sun, the birds,  and that green drink put on my lips.

Thank heavens for my recent decision to get back into my hobby of jewelry making.  It's been my saving grace during this down time with ye' ol' broke up back.  I loved the chain earrings i posted on etsy so much that i had to make a pair for myself.

 Get yours (click) here:  chain earrings

Other new things....Acupuncture.  Never had that done before.  Diggin it!  On Monday Dr Michele Ross at Tree of Life (click) gave me a chiro adjustment, muscle stem, and pinned me up good.  Have you ever had muscle stem?  It's this crazy machine with electrodes.  Electricity is sent to the pads on you and you feel like there are blue electricity currents zapping through your body.  It's CRA-ZEEEEE!  Dr Ross is great!  She's off of Morena down by where i take pilates, so if you are in need of getting pinned, book in with her and then head over to club pilates (click) for laura brownings reformer class - your thighs will thank you :)  I found some relief from the acu, but not enough, so i went on Wednesday for session numero dos with Aquilino at AcuSport (click) in my stinky little beach bum town, Ocean Beach.  He's got a great attitude, he's a fun conversationalist, and after the acupuncture he did some massage work which really broke up the hard knots that were the epicenter of my back-quake.  I recommend booking in with him on a Wednesday afternoon so you can cruise the farmers market after your visit.

the strawberries are soooo good!

I'm off to enjoy the sunshine (someone's letting me know it's time for their walk).

Ca'Mon Already! JEEEEZZZZ lady!

...i hope you are able to do the same.  Don't forget to support your friendly, local artist....ME:  (click here) Jane Shop On Etsy.

 xo

Less Eating, More Crafting: What I'm Making Now.

Helloooooo out there!  So i've been a little absent lately on me ol' blog for good reason: I've gone into production mode.  Jewelry making has been a hobby of mine for longer than i care to speak of, and though i often toss it aside to focus on my career, lately i've been heavily drawn back to it with this incredible need to speak to my creative side.  So while i still eat, and while i still love to talk about FOOD, i haven't been photo crazy on my meals because my mind has been tunneled on my next crafty adventure.  AND here i am sharing with you what i'm making lately.  (Yes, there will be a foodie recipe too, don't fret).

Right now i'm into copper and i'm loving hammering the wire, wrapping it, adding it to other textures, and just being creative.

Let me know what you think of these few weekend pieces.  Should i finally open my Etsy webpage?  (I registered years ago, but never posted on it.  I tend to like what i'm doing when i'm doing it, then cut myself short when it's time to make sales - marketing myself is definitely not my forte).

Okay...enough about my crafty side...Let's talk food...cuz that's why you're really here, right?  I have so many things to post about, however today we'll talk about 'stretching your juice'.

I love juicing.  I love starting my day with a nutrient dense, enzymatically alive beverage that makes me feel amazing.  Green juice does this for me.  Our garden is growing greens like mad and i've gotten some amazingly HUGE organic beets from my CSA that were beckoning to be pressed into a sweet beverage.  Done and done.  

"I juiced you...you deeeeelicous red beet, and you too my bright green kale, but now what am i to do with this meesley 8 oz of juice you produced when i want to enjoy you all morning in a big ol' mason jar that will supply me wth 30+oz of liquid to keep me hydrated and happy?"

answer: filler' up with coco water!

Coconut water...the amazing yummy beverage that i shared with you back in August (click here to read all the amazing bene's of coco water).  Coconut water not only makes your juice taste even more amazing, but it offers you a lot of electrolytes for very little sugar which is great if you are like me and spend much of your time in a hot and sweaty environment.  Now, pure coconut water from the coconut would be choice, however the price of these delicacies has been skyrocketing lately so your next best bet will be packaged coco water.  I've tried many of these, and they mostly all suck.  They don't taste like coconut water, and i'm not sure how many of the nutrients they rave about are still there after it's been pasteurized, however, i have found ONE brand that makes a pretty tasty and decent beverage, and it's this one i use to fill my jar to stretch my juice.  The brand is ONE....ironic...since it really is the only  one that i've tasted that actually tastes like coco water.

All you juice luvah's out there go get yourself some ONE juice.  Press your veggies then fill ur jar with this stuff.  My morning juice looks something like this:  5 stalks celery, 1 large red beet, handful of kale, one lemon, one navel orange, and coco water.   So good.

Now you tell me...What's in your jar????

Cleanse Thy Body: Juice Feasting & High Vibration Food

I hadn't realized that my diet for the past few days has been primarily red and green until i uploaded all the foodie shots from the days previous.  I'm on a juice feast, and red and green seem to be the name of the game.  For the past three days (and still thriving) i've consumed massive amounts of enzyme rich juice throughout the day, a satisfying smoothie in the late afternoon, and a raw dinner.  I feel TOP NOTCH with boundless energy and my body feels light and free.  My food seems to be either green from detoxifying chlorophyll or red with blood purifying beets.  HOLLAH!

I stick to my 3 meals / 2 snacks a day schedule, so a typical juice feast day looks like this:

morning: juice
mid-morning: juice
lunch: juice
mid afternoon: smoothie
dinner:  raw salad
dessert: fruit or nut based smoothie

I drink until i'm satiated.  I don't let myself get hungry.  At the top of the day i press out 64 oz (two large mason jars) of juice, and make about 25 oz of a smoothie.  Dinner has been greens from the garden with any other veggies on hand and a veggie based dressing.  Dessert is either fruit or a nut based smoothie, which i've found really satisfying.

Scroll through for a sample of juice feast days, and recipes.  Each image will have a caption with recipe.

Rock on in your sexy God Pod!

Potassium Broth and Basic Green Drink

Potassium Broth (red): 2-3 potatoes, 2-4 carrots, 2 beets, 4-6 stalks celery, bunch of parsley, optionally ginger and garlic.  Scrub all produce well but don't peel if it's organic.  Slice or grate the veggies and add to a soup pot. Fill with purified water and bring to a boil.  Reduce, cover, and simmer for 1.5 hours.  Strain the veggies out and discard or compost.  Enjoy the broth which is rich in minerals and electrolytes.

Basic Green Drink:  celery, kale, lemon, and apple

spinach salad with mixed grated veggies & beet orange dressing

Beet Orange Dressing - blend 1/2 a large beet with a peeled tangerine and a nub of ginger.  Add a little water to get to the consistency you like

Basic green drink with extras.  Beet Carrot Spinach Smoothie

The green drink had a few extras:  some cuc's, some chard, & some broccoli

The Smoothie is half a large beet, a few carrots, a couple dates, a few fistfulls of spinach and enough water to blend and thin (probably around 12 ounces of water).

Rancho Food inspired:  another beet dressing

I ate at Rancho Foods in Ocean Beach this past weekend.  For those of you 'picky' or 'raw' san diegan's, they have a salad bar with 2 or 3 raw dressings.  I chose the beet dressing (obvi, i have a love for beets).  It was beet, EVOO, ACV, agave, and sea salt.  To make it cleanse approved, i took the salt out and used date instead of agave.  It was equally as delish!

Beet Dressing:  1/2 large beet (these beets i'm using are pretty insanely large), 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a couple dates and as much water as you need to thin to your liking (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup)

As you can see in the pick the dressing was smooth and creamy - DELISH!  I love it so much i could eat it with a spoon!

with less water, a thicker version

The next day i made it quite a bit thicker.  Just as good..with a little more texture.

Our Amazing Garden Fresh Greens and the thicker beet dressing.

Our garden is thriving!  We've got tons of kale varieties, spinach, and some crazy edible weeds!
Today's smoothie had some of the garden spinach in it:

1 pear, 3 stalks celery, 1/4 avo, fistfulls of spinach, water, ice

I didn't take a pic of the yumma-lish nut based smoothie i had last night for dessert.  It was SOOOO incredibly decadent.  It looked something like this, but not so orange tinted:

i think this one was cashew, carrot, date, pumpkin pie spice, water, ice??? can't remember if banana was in there.

Nut Smoothie:  1/4 cup raw cashew, 1 large ripe banana, small dash of vanilla, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a few ice cubes, and 6 oz water.

Happy Feasting!!!

Powered By Veggies: What I'm Eating Now.

I'm in the midst of leading a 30 day challenge at Sculpt Fusion Yoga.  I can't express how excited I am about this incredibly inspiring and open minded group, their enthusiasm is contagious!  As part of the challenge we are about to embark on a 7 day whole foods supported cleanse.  Taking out gluten, soy, dairy, salt, sugar, processed foods, canned foods, caffeine, alcohol, and chocolate may not sound like much fun, but there are so many incredible, flavorful, and high powered foods that don't contain any of these ingredients.

Here are a few that i'm really into right now...

Green Juice!!!  I should wear a shirt that reads, "Powered By Veggies".  This is my moto.  I am a vegetable machine, and these green juices and smoothies are my ammunition.   I'm loving drinking this simple green juice each morning that gets my vegetable machine engine gunnin'!

1 or 2 small red apples, lemon, celery,  kale, nub of ginger: all through the juicer.

Papaya!!!  Any reason to eat papaya is a good reason to me!  Here are a few good reasons why you might start lovin' on some papaya too!

*Papayas are a rich source of antioxidant vitamins (vit C, A, and E)
*Full of carotenes, flavonoids, B vitamins, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, and magnesium.
*They contain the enzymes papain and chymonapapain which help in protein digestion
*Papaya aides digestion, prevents constipation, lowers cholesterol, prevents formation of urinary stones, and prevents infection by parasites. (the seeds taken with honey are known to expel worms. Used in this way you would chew and swallow a couple teaspoons of papaya seeds after your meals). Click here to check out this old blog i posted with a recipe for carrot papaya juice.  It's super slammin'!

Sah - WEEEEEEEEET!

High Raw Veggie Salads!!!  Lunch is typically a high raw veggie salad much like the past two blogs i've posted.  I'll often add a little steamed sweet potato, steamed veggies, legumes, or just some fruit to my salads.

 

 

Grounding Foods In The Evening!!!  My dinners lately have been more grounding cooked veggies and roots.  Last night was bok choy cooked in a small amount of ghee and garlic with steamed sweet potato and broccoli (sorry no pic, devoured happily without thinking about photos).  I've also been diggin' on lentils lately, spicing it up with garam masala, cumin, raisins, sweet potatoes, and whatever veggies are on hand.

thinly sliced kale, cauli, broccoli, sweet potato, raisins, green lentils

Bring a 1/4 cup of green lentils with 1/2 cup of water to a boil, turn to low, cover and set a timer for 30 minutes.  Add the raisins, cumin, and garam masala.  At about 10 or 15 minutes in to cooking add the sweet potato (the smaller you chop it the quicker the cook time), and in the last 10 minutes of cooking toss in any additional veggies.  The greens can wait til the last 5 minutes, they wilt quickly.  Tada!  Need more flavah??  Add some more spices or use fresh cilantro as a garnish.