cleansed

I eat everything. Well, almost. I've never been able to stand ketchup or barbecue sauce and American cheese makes me want to heave. I avoid cold soups and spinach salads. But in general, I love food and spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about/eating it. 

And yet. Every once in a while I find myself in need of a reset. Food habits- a nightly glass of wine, a sweet after dinner- occasionally need to be shaken up. When I feel this way, I have found that it helps to do a cleanse.

I'll backpedal a bit here. The term "cleanse" means different things to different people. I remember reading something about celebrities who cleanse by eating nothing but honey, cayenne pepper and lemon juice for days on end- an idea that leaves me feeling angry just thinking about it. For me,  a cleans is more about recalibrating the way I eat than overhauling my entire diet. I eat more vegetables, more fruit. I eschew pasta and bread in favor of quinoa and brown rice. I cut out coffee and booze and dessert. I drink more water, more green tea. It's basic stuff, really, but after a few days, I find myself feeling better- a little sharper, a little more energetic. It's a great reminder to be mindful about the food I eat.  

I always go back to wine and coffee, cheese and ice cream- life without such things would hardly be worth living, in my opinion. But all the same, a little break helps me remember to keep everything in balance.