Organic Avenue LOVEdeep: Day 4

Yes, I got lazy.

Click here for recaps from Day 1 and Day 2 and Day 3.

I last left you after my delicious Young Love on Day 3. I did manage to get the masters tonic down and moved on to the highly anticipated carrot ginger soup. I hated it. Seriously. I really enjoyed the soups of the first two days, and I look forward to the soups as they are thicker and really do feel and sit like a meal. I did my best to get the carrot soup down but I have to say, it was not easy. I think the reason I was looking forward to it was because I was (stupidly) expecting it to taste like my former coworker Erik’s carrot souffle that he made for many work occasions. I was madly in love with that souffle and would devour as much of it as I possibly could. Of course, that had sugar and who knows what else in it! So it was par for the course that this soup would not taste like Erik’s souffle.

And really, I am not a raw carrot fan. I don’t mind it when it’s part of a juice with other veggies but when I can taste it too much, I don’t like it. Once I tried juicing carrots in my green juice and had to pour it out. For the next few weeks, ALL my juices tasted like carrot no matter how often I ran the juicer parts through the dishwasher!

Moving on. Knowing that my almond mylk substitution for coconut water wasn’t starting until the next day, I stopped at the West Village Organic Avenue on my way to writing class to drop off some of my glass bottles and pick up an almond mylk for the night. I was SO tempted by all the food there! And the mint chocolate chip shake! I decided I will pick up dinner and a drink at Organic Avenue every Wednesday before my class. While it is expensive, it will make for a nice weekly treat.

I still had some time to kill before class so I forced some more carrot ginger soup down. During the halfpoint class break I forced a little more. At this point I made the choice to forego the Veg 8, being as I had absolutely no appetite for it whatsoever. And then I opened the almond mylk. And then I fell in love.

HOLY YUM this is amazing. I’ve had some very good almond milks before, but this was by far the creamiest and most amazing. I recommend you all go to Organic Avenue and buy yourself a bottle. Don’t stress about the price — you get a $2 refund when you turn in your bottle to them. So worth it!

And I was full! And I felt great. And if I did the 3 Day LOVEdeep like I had wanted, or if I did Blueprint Cleanse again, I would have been DONE.

But alas, I had two days to go.

Which brings us to Thursday, Day 4.

The menu:

• LOVE DEEP #1. (approx. 8/9am) Chlorophyll Elixir FYI: In his book Chlorophyll Magic From Living Plant Life, Dr. Jensen mentions several cases where he was able to double red blood cell count in a matter of days merely by having patients soak in a chlorophyll – water bath. (The Wheatgrass Book, Ann Wigmore)
• LOVE DEEP #2. (9/10am) Grapefruit/Orange Juice: FYI: It is well established that citrus and citrus products are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber (non-starch polysaccharides) that are essential for normal growth and development and overall nutritional well-being. However, it is now beginning to be appreciated that these and other biologically active, non-nutrient compounds found in citrus and other plants (phytochemicals) can also help to reduce the risk of many chronic diseases. (read article)
• LOVE DEEP #3. (11/12pm) Young Love: (Spinach, cucumber, celery) FYI: Spinach contains high levels of potassium and folate. Spinach may reduce the risk of cancer, help avoid and relieve anemia and may protect against eye degeneration and heart disease. (read article)
• LOVE DEEP #4. (1/2pm) Masters Tonic: (lemon, purified water, yacon, cayenne) FYI: Lemon water is a good morning drink to start the process of removing impure chi in the body. It cleanses the digestive system and relieves symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching. Also, it controls constipation and diarrhea by eliminating waste more efficiently. (read article)
• LOVE DEEP #5. (3/4pm) Cauliflower Soup: (cauliflower, olive oil, cumin, parsley, pine nuts, lime juice, garlic, coriander, tumeric, sea salt) FYI: Cauliflower contains allicin, which can improve heart health and reduce the risk of strokes. (read article)
• LOVE DEEP #6. (5/6pm) Fresh Pressed Veg 8* (Swiss chard, spinach, kale, cucumber, celery, romaine, carrot, tomato, green apple, lemon, lime) FYI: Cucumber has a cleansing action within the body by removing accumulated pockets of old waste material and chemical toxins. It might help in the treatment of arthritis since it helps eliminate uric acid. Cucumber’s liquid has the reputation of being a rejuvenator and makes us feel and look young. (read article)
• LOVE DEEP #7: (7/8pm) Thai Coconut Water: FYI: Coconuts are rich in lauric acid, which is known for being anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal. Coconut oil is used by thyroid sufferers to increase body metabolism, and assist in weight loss. (read article)

*Dori’s note – I had Almond Mylk in place of Thai Coconut Water.

Another work from home day.  I woke up and was very angry to see my early morning call was canceled and I woke up early for no reason. I couldn’t fall back to sleep and was very grumpy. All I wanted was some FOOD to calm me down and make me feel better. I just. wanted. to eat. Is that too much to ask?! But I knew I couldn’t. I got up from bed after declaring sleeping a failure and started on my day.

Chlorohpyll first, check. Next was an orange/grapefruit juice. I was a little nervous about this one because I have hated orange juice my entire life. To the point where if I even smelled it I felt nauseous. When we were children, my brother’s sippy cup had orange juice while mine contained apple juice.

But I had a reason for hope. I generally like oranges. I don’t like TROPICANA orange juice. But orange juice made from just oranges? Maybe I’d like that! And this one had grapefruit mixed in as well.

I decided to take a few sips to fuel me for my 3 mile run.

OMG THIS WAS DELICIOUS. So refreshing and just . . . yummy! I gave the bottle to the boy to taste and even he loved it — and he dislikes all juice/unsweetened. But he does enjoy fresh squeezed orange juice and he said that this was by far the best of all the juices I’ve had.

I left for my run and it went very well! I know some of you are thinking that after 3 days of not eating solid food, I could not possibly have had enough energy for a 3 mile run. Well, my friends, you’d be wrong. It was a nice and easy 3 miles using my recently calibrated PolarRSX300x.

came back and finished the orange/grapefruit juice. Yum! Young love, yum. Masters tonic, okay. Got it down. Cauliflower soup — AMAZING! Wow. This was, without any hesitation, the BEST of the soups on this fast. I didn’t expect to like it more than the cucumber basil but it was just so creamy and the flavors so delicious. And it was the first of the days I was actually able to finish the soup! The soups are so filling that I couldn’t get through even the ones I liked, but this one was so good that not only did I finish it, I would gladly walk into Organic Avenue and buy it again. The soup, which I expected to be white, was green. And so yummy. Mmmm. I miss it!

Once again I chose to forego the Veg 8. The tomato makes this juice less than desirable for me, but the good news is that these last 3 days, so I would be able to drink my Veg 8s on Saturday and Sunday morning, saving myself from having to make my own juices yet when the fast is over.

Almond Mylk could not have come soon enough. I mean that too — I even dug into it much earlier in the day for some sips of much needed deliciousness. When I decided to have it for real it was so great and so filling I had to put it away and have it in parts. But don’t worry — I finished it. Oh, yes, I did.

Which left just one day left. ONE. DAY. LEFT.  I did expect Thursday to be easy like Tuesday since I was home, but it wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. I think this is because the boy was home as well and when he ordered lunch I went into a major frenzy. I might have sneaked another teeny tiny bite of bread. ARGH. No big deal. Right after I was back on track for my final day! One more day and then I can EAT FOOD again. I couldn’t wait.

I will be back tomorrow with my Organic Avenue LoveDEEP Day 5 recap along with my reflections and thoughts on the entire 5 day fast.

And just a few days left until I announce the winner of the Core Fusion and Physique57 DVDs. Click here to enter!