Market in Barcelona

Hi,

With Jenny's suggestion and help, I had my first "juice" this morning in my new juicer (cheapo 55-dollar Hamilton Beach from Amazon).  A half-pound of chopped kale, a cucumber, four celery stalks, two green apples, a half-lemon and a double knuckle of ginger.  All raw, naturally.

Much to my surprise, it was GOOD.  And refreshing.  The first impression was the lemon, with the tang of the ginger, followed by a mellow aftertaste of the green apples.  If the kale, cuke, and celery had distinct flavors, I couldn't tell.  I believe the stuff gave me a buzz.  A kind of low-grade all-over gentle wash of warmth, not heat, mind you, just a pleasing glow.  Pretty damn cool, really.

The juice was the Reboot Juice #1 from the Reboot Your Life website, a apparent spin-off of the Joe Cross documentary, "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead."  Which ,btw, is not about dying, but about healing.  I suspect this is the one they called "Mean Green" in the film.  I'll check on that.

Speaking of kale, which I've never knowingly had before in my disreputable life, I had a big kale salad for lunch, just to see (my favorite lately has been baby spinach).  The chopped raw kale comes in a bag at Publix and I did have a pinch of it before the juice; it was quite firm and chewy, with a kinda pleasant green taste.  Of course, on the salad, I had other stuff, too:  grape tomatoes, a hard-boiled egg, a sprinkle of a nut/seed/dried cranberry mix, a pinch of chowmein noodles... topped off with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a bit of balsamic glaze. 

This kind of salad has a built-in dessert.  At the bottom of the bowl, after you've gotten all the greens, you find a delicious mix of the nuts, seeds, etc., swimming in what's left of the dressing.  I eat that part with a spoon. 

Remember now, I'm just practicing for the official kick-off date of August first.  Maybe I should change that to my birthday.  Hmm.  Yeah, that would be a good thing.  It seems appropriate.  So be it.

Anyway, I'm still having some off-program stuff that will not be permitted once I start the six-week detox phase - now changed to August 10th.  I'll be 67 on that day.  What a rush.  How did I get here?

The program proscribes all animal foods, including dairy and eggs.  No oils, either, not even olive.  No caffeine.  No added sugar or salt.  The coffee might just be the hard part.  Since I haven't been having any wine, I'm drinking a lot more coffee, up to 5 cups in a day. 

Well, we shall see.  Meanwhile, I still have real milk in the fridge, ice cream in the freezer, and some Goya sweet creme wafers Jenny bought.  They're lightweight, but you just know they're not right.  Tasty, though.  So far, limiting myself to just 4 (the recommended serving size) at a time. 

So, things are underway, gearing up for the program.  Wish me luck.  Wish me health.

Cheers, BC